In US,shrill protests against new mosques

While a high-profile battle rages over a mosque near ground zero in Manhattan,heated confrontations have also broken out in communities across the country...

While a high-profile battle rages over a mosque near ground zero in Manhattan,heated confrontations have also broken out in communities across the country where mosques are proposed.

In Murfreesboro,Tennessee,Republican candidates have denounced plans for a Muslim center near a subdivision,and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march. In June,in Temecula,California,members of a Tea Party group took picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a worship center on a vacant lot nearby. In Sheboygan,Wisconsin,Christian ministers led a fight against a Muslim group that sought permission to open a mosque in a former health food store bought by a Muslim.

At one time,neighbours who did not want mosques in their backyards said their concerns were over traffic and parking. But now the gloves are off. In recent conflicts,opponents have said their problem is Islam itself. They quote passages from the Quran and argue that even Americanised Muslims want to replace the Constitution with Islamic Shariah law.

These skirmishes make clear that there is now widespread debate about whether the best way to uphold Americas democratic values is to allow Muslims the same religious freedom enjoyed by other Americans,or to pull away the welcome mat from a faith seen as a singular threat.

Whats different is the heat,the volume,the level of hostility, said Ihsan Bagby,associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky. Its one thing to oppose a mosque because traffic might increase,but its different when you say these mosques are going to be nurturing terrorist bombers,that Islam is invading,that civilization is being undermined by Muslims.

However,in each community,interfaith groups have defended the mosques. The mosque proposed for the site near ground zero in Lower Manhattan cleared a final hurdle last week before the citys Landmarks Preservation Commission. While many groups supported the project,opponents included the Anti-Defamation League,a Jewish group,and Republicans like Sarah Palin.

Smaller controversies are occurring in places like Temecula,near San Diego. A Muslim community has been there for 12 years and has expanded to 150 families who have outgrown their worship space. The group wants to build a 25,000-square-foot centre. This has started protests. Diana Serafin,a grandmother,said she reached out to others over the issue. As a mother and a grandmother,I worry, Serafin said. I learned that in 20 years with the rate of the birth population,we will be overtaken by Islam,and their goal is to get people in Congress and the Supreme Court to see that Shariah is implemented. My children and grandchildren will have to live under that.