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| Kevin Fisher: "Muslims saying they're like blacks is offensive" |
Murfreesboro, a suburb of Nashville, Tenn. is far away from the controversy surrounding the Ground Zero Mosque in New York City. However, when Murfreesboro community leaders proposed a 52,900-square-foot Islamic center with a school and a swimming pool this year, there was vehement backlash. The Washington Post reports that opponents crowded county meetings and held a noisy protest in the town square that drew hundreds, some carrying signs such as "Keep Tennessee Terror Free." (hat tip:
Black & Right).
The article continues: "In the Nashville area, the Muslim population has grown to 20,000 to 25,000, fueled by the arrival of Somalis fleeing strife and the federal government's decision to resettle Iraqi refugees there after the Persian Gulf War. Central Tennessee is now home to the country's largest population of Iraqi Kurds. The community has outgrown its four mosques, where men often have to pray in the parking lots because of the crowds, leaders say."
Who is leading the charge against the proposed Islamic Center for Murfreesboro? A black conservative: "The man leading the fight against the mosque is a stocky 44-year-old correctional officer named Kevin Fisher. After he heard about the proposal, he voiced his opposition with an op-ed in the town's alternative weekly. Fisher spent his formative years in Buffalo, where a homegrown terrorist cell of Yemeni Americans was uncovered in 2002. Its presence in a place so familiar haunts Fisher to this day, he said. He is well aware that clerics at U.S. mosques have been accused of espousing radical views in the years before and after Sept. 11. And he pointed out that one of the Murfreesboro mosque's board members was suspended after the discovery of a MySpace page where he had posted Arabic poetry and a photo of the founder of the Islamic militant group Hamas. Leaders of the mosque said their internal investigation showed no wrongdoing, and they are cooperating with federal authorities looking into the matter."
The article continues about the Tennessee controversy: "'So many things about Islam are disconcerting,' Fisher said. 'As they get bigger, there will be concerns about the ideology, what they preach and what they believe.' Fisher, who is African American, chafes when the mosque's supporters 'dial up the rhetoric from the '60s' to attack opponents by accusing them of bigotry against Muslims. 'It's offensive to me,' he said. His stepmother 'was dragged off restaurant stools in the 1960s and has cigarette burns in her arm. That's discrimination.'"
Discuss "Black Conservative Leads Vehement Opposition To Mega-Mosque" post here.
