On July 14, Murfreesboro saw its latest round in the continuing debate over the proposed new Islamic center to be built on Veals Road near Bradyville Pike. The subject has already generated several emotional confrontations and a ton of local and national media. The comment pages of the local papers have been flooded with an equal amount of passionate support for both sides. The nightly news has featured several stories on this subject, there has been cable news coverage and I even saw a piece about it on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” You know, it’s not as funny when he’s making fun of my hometown.
This latest chapter revolved around an anti-mosque march on the county courthouse. A large group of those opposing the mosque gathered at Central Middle School and marched several blocks to the Public Square to present petitions that, according to march organizer Kevin Fisher, contained over 20,000 names. A roughly equal number of mosque supporters gathered at the courthouse and waited for the marchers to arrive. Both sides carried signs, shouted slogans and bore a commitment that what they were doing was both morally right and an exercise of their First Amendment rights.
Truth be told, there can be an argument made that both sides were right and both sides were wrong. There was a very visible police presence all along the march route and around the county courthouse. You could feel the tension build as the march made its way up East Main toward the Square. As the marchers arrived, the mosque supporters lined up across the street with large signs displaying their support for the mosque and religious freedom. At first the march passed slowly and quietly by . . . it was quiet, really quiet. Then, gradually, shouts and singing spontaneously began to emit from both sides. As the march continued around the Square, the chants and shouts grew louder and more tense. By the time the marchers stopped on the west side of the Square, all the mosque supporters had moved to that side and taken their place between the courthouse and the marchers. They lined both sides of the walkway as the petition was carried up and presented at the county courthouse. Mr. Fisher then attempted to give a speech on the steps of the courthouse, but the shouts and chants had risen to the point that any attempt to address the crowd was almost impossible.
Although protest and public demonstration is a guaranteed right, there is a problem with this type of confrontation. After all the energy spent, after all the effort made, after all the shouting, sign carrying and marching, not a single soul that I could find had changed their mind. Debates, rallies, protests and all that goes with them are important tools by which people can be heard.
But what’s is the point if no one is listening?
When Mr. Fisher and subsequent speakers, including an 81-year-old lady in a wheelchair, addressed the crowd, they were shouted down. When a mosque supporter tried to give a flower to Mr. Fisher, he was yelled at and a few obscene gestures were made. It was obvious that both sides of this debate had no interest in what the opposition had to say. It could easily be assumed that the confrontation, rather than any type of understanding, was the point. That may be great for the news cameras and Jon Stewart, but it does damn little to close the ever widening gap that exists in our community.
The heart of this debate is getting buried under a media circus. Both sides of this issue seem to want to be viewed as the oppressed, the ones having their rights infringed upon. I can find validity in both points of view; what I can’t find is a rational approach. The dialogues, compromises or even legal challenges one would expect to arise in a situation of this nature have not, to the best of my knowledge, even been discussed. Religious freedom is one of the pillars that this country is built on, as is freedom from religion. A 52,000 sq. ft. religious structure of any denomination would be and should be a concern to the community it is built in. If it were a store, a bar or any other type of gathering place, the public would have to be notified, but not when it’s a religious construction project. The good residents of Veals Road and the surrounding community deserve to have their concerns addressed, but by the local laws regarding religious constructions, no public notice had to be given. I can’t give you a reason for this rule, but in my opinion, its just plain wrong. Zoning laws are supposed to be designed to prevent just this kind of thing. Giving this kind of special treatment to any group seems wrong.
As a curious point of note, the Islamic community was conspicuously absent from the ranks of those opposing the march and petition. Depending on your point of view, it might have been a wise choice. For all the effort put forth by both sides, sign carrying, flag waving and claims to be exercising their First Amendment rights, not one single person I asked for comments said anything about the people of Veals Road or the reasons why the Muslim community needs such a huge mosque. Now don’t take my comments on this event to believe I didn’t interview any reasonable people; there were passionate and rational opinions on both sides of the argument, just not any that addressed the heart of the debate.
A walk through the crowd revealed as many different opinions as there were people. After wading through the standard cliché comments of religious bigotry and terrorist training grounds, there were a few comments that gave this circus a sense of the democratic process at work. Kelly Northcutt Hayes said, “Mostly I’m here to support the First Amendment. It protects the marchers as well as those that support the mosque. If you diminish the rights of one person, you diminish the rights of all people.”
Kelly’s 10-year-old son Michael said, “There are soldiers dying for the rights of those that oppose the mosque as well as those that want to build it.”
Roland Huddleston stated, “This looks a lot like the famous movie Inherit the Wind, about the Scopes Monkey Trial.” (This comment was my personal favorite.)
Marcher Vicky Peacock stated, “I don’t like the closed door policy of the mosque. Churches all across America have an open door policy, so should they.” This is a valid point, not because the Islamic center does not allow non-Muslims in; as I understand it, they have an open door policy. It’s valid because there is not enough understanding of their culture and the goals of their community. Although the Islamic center has been here for over ten years, it is still up to them to cultivate their image and acceptance in the community.
County commissioner candidate David Beardsley says, “This is just like the debate over the Bible Park. The focus should be about responsible growth. There was no water, sewer or traffic study done before the mosque was approved.” When asked his opinion of the law that allows religious construction without consent of the people, Mr. Beardsley said, “The law should be repealed. The residents should have a voice, especially on a project this big. This mosque is too big to be considered responsible growth.”
Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess had these comments, “We have had a healthy turnout and they have every right under the First Amendment to assemble in a peaceful and orderly manner. It’s the right thing to do, and that’s what they’ve done here today.” When asked if he thought the county would take another look at the mosque, he said, “There is nothing in the law that requires us to take another look. At each phase of the building they will have to bring forward their plans. If they deviate from the original site plan we will address that then.”
Mayor Burgess comments on a peaceful and orderly gathering was right on target. With all the raw emotion and sensationalized news coverage, it would be easy to overlook that this was a peaceful gathering. Yes, there were harsh words, and verbal altercations, but no violence. At times both sides chanted “U.S.A.” and toward the end of it, joined in the singing of “Amazing Grace.” If you took the time to listen, it was actually very moving. I didn’t hear any of that mentioned on the 6 o’clock news.
The singing and the people who lingered after the march to discuss, shake hands and hug may not be worthy of the evening news, but it’s the headline news to The Murfreesboro Pulse and to me.
