Zoning in the suburbs

My friend returned to her apartment in Manhattan reeling from an experience she'd had in suburban New Jersey. She and others from New York went there to attend a township zoning hearing. And why would they go? To offer support to Muslims in that community who would like to build a house of worship, a Mosque. The Muslims have been met with opposition from the township government, the residents.... What they are hearing is" build your mosque somewhere else." They are also hearing thinly veiled ethnic, racial and religious slurs; voices with bigotry, prejudice, hatred and intolerance. They've met islamafobia.   

The group my friend is part of is "Jews Say No" They say "no" to Israel's inhumane treatment of the Palestinians. Feeling strongly about equality, justice, acceptance they traveled to that suburban enclave saying "no" to bigotry, hatred, prejudice. They said "no".....silently, but solidly, standing beside a group of Muslims wanting nothing more than to build a house of worship.

As I said in the beginning, my friend was reeling from what she'd witnessed....in a state of shock and disbelief. The hatred was evident....how could these people, these Muslims, these awful terrorist Muslims even think of building in their township? Were those words said? No. Were they  hanging in the air? Yes. Were they written on faces? Yes. Could it be detected in their tone of voice? Yes! She couldn't believe her eyes and ears. Not one elected official or non-Muslim offered a kind, welcoming or inclusive word to the Muslims.

The zoning concerns were for safety...too much traffic....way to much traffic coming in to the township.... what about traffic patterns,....possible traffic conflicts with surrounding communities....would special activities be held in the mosque....they would pose risks, traffic risks the need for extra security...the children in the township deserve to be protected from these...traffic problems. When you live in the suburbs you learn ....control the zoning, you control who is in your community. There "traffic issues", creatively imagined traffic issues almost outnumber cars on the street.....it becomes a farce.

And so, another community does its best to remain exclusive using their right of free speech to hamper someone else's freedom of religion. When does freedom of speech cross the line and become intimidation... Today we're faced with Americans, waving flags, professing love for their country...their idea of America values are their own values. They live in an America I do not know.

America is a country that is inclusive..."the melting pot"....a land of freedom....equality for all...opportunity for all...that all includes "all" not a "select all" We, America,  found ourselves excluding people from "all""....having laws to deliberately exclude people...women and blacks pop into my mind. And our courts threw out those laws, upheld the constitution inclusion of all people regardless of age, sex, religion, country of origin, sexual persuasion .....

People originally came to this land escaping religious persecution. They came seeking religious freedom ..and now, in 2011 we find a suburban community that seeks to deny religious freedom and the equality of all people....and accomplish that exclusion through their zoning, especially when "traffic safety" is affected. Suppose those seeking religious freedom so long ago had been required to overcome "zoning and traffic issues" and the fact their religion was Islam and they in turn were Muslims?

At this time in our country's history, we all need to follow the lead of  "Jews Say NO" and stand in support of Muslim throughout our country. It is the right thing for "all" to do.