Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Proposed Mosques


Whether seen or unseen, American immigrants usually bring their religious brand with them as culture. While Muslim is not a typical immigrant category except by religion, the uniqueness and difference from standard European Christian religions stands out when any immigrant brings their religion like Islam with them.

The Vietnamese come to mind. They were different in looks and they started to gather in clusters at various points around the United States after their Diaspora from Vietnam. Close to twenty three percent of Vietnamese Americans are Roman Catholic. It was not their religion that possibly made them stand out when they settled in a Midwestern town, it was their skin color.

News begets news and a Mega Mosque in Tennessee is now being plagued by protests. The mosque viewed above is proposed for Cologne Germany. Architecture worth looking at can house any religious belief system.

Small Town Residents Boycott 'Mega' Mosque
Several residents in the small community of Murfreesboro, Tenn., are outraged over plans to build what some are calling a "mega" mosque.


About 600 people recently crowded a county commission meeting at the Rutherford County Courthouse, urging officials to reject site plans for the mosque. Residents say the proposal for building the 52,000-square-foot center south of Murfreesboro was never put in a public notice.

"I think we're very disappointed in the fact that that you did not give us ample notice," one resident told city officials.

"I'm sorry. [Muslims] seem to be against everything that I believe in and so I don't want them necessarily in my neighborhood spreading that type of comments," Stan Whiteway, another mosque opponent, said.
In any case, mosques are here to stay. They are part of the great American Immigrant dream thing.