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Union Leader – June 26, 2006
Parking has mosque at odds with neighbors
By RILEY YATES
MANCHESTER, NH – Turf battles on Karatzas Avenue are continuing between homeowners and a planned mosque. Neighbors are calling for the strict enforcement of on-street parking bans, which has mosque officials charging they are being targeted.
Construction manager Nermin Cejvan said workers occasionally park two or three cars on the street when they can't be accommodated elsewhere. In response, residents regularly call police, he said.
The dispute made it to City Hall last week when homeowners sent aldermen a petition demanding parking remain prohibited on both sides of the road.
"We're not making this a mosque issue," said Blaise Blouin, the neighbor who started the petition. "We're making this a no parking issue."
But Cejvan and a state representative said residents are trying to hinder the project because a mosque is being built.
"I wish that that wasn't the reason, but I think that it is," said Cejvan, who is heading the all-volunteer construction effort. He said only a handful of cars drive on Karatzas Avenue each day, making parking a minor issue. "They should show some generosity," Rep. Saghir Tahir said. "This is harassment."
The Islamic Society of Greater Manchester has been seeking to build New Hampshire's first mosque since 1999. In May it began clearing the 3-acre site, which is off Old Wellington Road in east Manchester.
Two neighbors have already fought the 13,085-square-foot mosque in court. Last year, a judge ruled in the mosque's favor, in a suit that said it did not meet setback requirements…….
Tahir said opposition to the mosque is akin to other, earlier, biases. "It happened with the Jews. It happened with the Irish," Tahir said.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=c7d3fd11-073f-40dc-a831-4abb6e8d24c4
Local10.com – June 14, 2006
Pompano Beach Council, Florida, grants
approval for controversial new mosque
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- The Islamic Center of South Florida received the go-ahead Tuesday to begin construction on a new mosque, despite a fight from some residents in the neighborhood where it would be built who are opposed to bringing a Muslim place of worship into a predominantly black community.
The city council voted 3-2 to change the zoning of the proposed site from residential to commercial, allowing the Islamic Center to erect a larger mosque on undeveloped land on Northwest 16th Avenue.
Commissioner Pat Larkins was one of the most outspoken critics of a new mosque. Larkins, who is black, said there is a perception in the neighborhood he represents that Muslims do not give back to the community.
"I am not opposed to constructing the facility," Larkins said. "I am opposed to the conduct of the Muslim business community in our neighborhood."
Areeb Naseer, a member of the Council of American Islamic Relations, objected to Larkins' comments, saying that the decision to allow a new mosque in the neighborhood should not be based on perceptions.
"I find it very disturbing, to say the least, especially these comments coming from somebody in the leadership of the city," Naseer said. "Of all people, I think Mr. Larkins should not be the one talking about stereotypes or having perceptions and making decisions based on perceptions." ….
http://www.local10.com/news/9367230/detail.html
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