Another Mosque permit denied in Georgia, let’s ponder! Dedicated to Khwaja Sher Ali

As a Pluralist committed to building a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other, I would request fellow Americans who are Christians, Jews and Hindus in Kennesaw to apply for a similar space to build a Church, Synagogue or a Temple and see what the council does.  If they deny all of them, then they are not bigots, and they will set a precedent for future.

On the other hand, let’s question ourselves.

Bill Harris in Marietta Daily Journal claims that the Mosque applicant was deceptive,  “A very wealthy Marietta Muslim, Abdul Kareem Amer, who lives six blocks from one of the referenced mosques and three miles from another, got a Kennesaw Muslim, Mr. F. Islam, to put in a “straw man” application for a store-front mosque in a retail center and also got Mr. Islam to put forth a bogus claim to the city that there is “no mosque within a 20 mile radius” for the Kennesaw Muslims to use. This rich Marietta Muslim wanted to run his own little boutique mosque and thought he would put it in a second-rate down-market strip mall in Kennesaw where he would be a big fish in a small pond.”

Professor Sherman Jackson observes, “Thus far, however, Muslims remain outside the American story, which is why, despite their positive contributions to society; they seldom enlist empathy when they are jailed, deported or discriminated against.” And he offers the solution, “Hopefully, however, it will not be long before Muslims come to understand this. Once they do, while guilt by association may continue, Muslims will be able to fight back. For in this they will be joined by others.”