PALOS HEIGHTS, Illinois (AP):
A PLAN to convert a church into a mosque has divided this mostly Christian suburb outside Chicago and prompted allegations of bigotry against Muslims.
The Al Salam Mosque Foundation wants to buy the Reformed Church of Palos Heights for $2.1 million and turn it into a place of worship for the city's 450 Muslim families, many of them of Arab descent.
But some city leaders have come out against the project, saying the community should buy the church and convert it into much-needed recreation space.
Others have suggested that's not the real reason for the resistance.
"If you look inside your hearts, you know you do not want that mosque here," resident Edward Hassan, a real estate developer and a Muslim who plans to attend the new mosque, told the City Council.
Last month, the City Council voted to offer the foundation US$200,000 to drop its plans for the mosque. But Mayor Dean Koldenhoven vetoed the idea on Tuesday, calling it an insult to Muslims.
"Government has no place in this issue," Koldenhoven said at a City Council meeting in this quiet community of 12,000, known for its Christian Reformed roots.
Rouhy Shalabi, the lawyer for the mosque foundation, has called the community's reaction bigoted and originally said his group would turn down the $200,000 offer. Later, however, he said the group would rather accept the money and remove itself from the politically charged debate.
During the furore, a small number of residents declared Christianity the "one true religion" and called Islam a "false religion." A federal mediator stood up at a recent City Council meeting with an offer to step in. The council did not take up the offer.
Some have accused the mayor of inflaming the situation and have called for his resignation. "He's the one who says, '
You are bigots!' He's to blame!" local official Frank Passarelli yelled at a recent City Council meeting.
But many others have stood by the mayor and the community's Muslims, arguing that it is time for Palos Heights to take a good hard look at itself -- particularly since the church had been for sale for two years with no previous offer from the city.
Elsewhere around the country, residents in Wichita, Kansas, have tried to keep a Hindu temple out of their neighbourhood, citing parking concerns. And in Irvine, California, parents recently protested a plan to convert an ice rink into a synagogue.
"There's always a quasi-rational reason ... to thwart non-Christian groups from coming in," said the Rev. Stanley Davis Jr., executive director of the Chicago office of the National Conference for Community and Justice, a non-profit group of Christians, Jews and Muslims.
Davis said that while the reasons given are sometimes legitimate, bias is a frequent undercurrent. He said black and Hispanic Christian churches also often run into problems when they attempt to move into white suburbs.
"Particularly for the older generation, it causes an irrational fear because they remember having to deal with it the first time," Davis said.
In the Palos Heights dispute, several Muslims, such as Omar Najib, a resident of nearby Palos Park who also represents the American Arab Anti-Defamation Committee, say they hope the mosque foundation will proceed with its original plan.
