Tennessee Mosque Continues Struggle

Amid claims fuelled by Islamophobes that Muslims are trying to undermine American society from within, a legal fight over the building of a mosque in the state of Tennessee is turning into a full-fledged war on Islam.

“We are going to closely scrutinize everything they do,” Rev. Darrel Whaley, a mosque opponent and pastor of Kingdom Ministries Worship Center in Murfreesboro, told The Tennessean in early August.

“We are not against Muslims praying in a mosque,” he said.

“We are against Islam.”

Fueled by fears that Muslims are gaining influence while Christians are losing clout, anti-Islam activists have been running a long fight against the building of a mosque in Murfreesboro, about 30 miles from Nashville.

Since plans for the new mosque to replace a 30-year-old facility were approved by local authorities in 2010, opponents have tried to stop it.

Opponents have argued that Islam is not a religion protected by the U.S. Constitution, and that the mosque would promote Shari`ah.

Before the mosque plans were unveiled, Muslims in Murfreesboro faced almost no problems.

Such objections from non-Muslims and Muslims in regards to the mosque being occupied, has allowed many to recognize the need for Muslim-Christian dialogue.
Sociology professors see the hostility against Islam a result of a growing “persecution complex” or the activists’ idea that they are losing influence in American culture, as reported by OnIslam.net.
Living in peace with their neighbors for decades, Murfreesboro’s Muslims feel betrayed when people stereotype them as being radicals.
The Murfreeboro Muslim community  only hope to live out their faith just like any other Americans.