Mosque to be built in US city after appeal denied

 Posted: Thu Jan 27 2011, 08:37 hrs

Los Angeles:

A California city decided to allow Muslim families to build a mosque after months of angry debate over the plan that included protests, petitions and letter-writing campaigns.

The Temecula City Council yesterday voted 4-0 to approve the project after a nine-hour meeting, despite fears by opponents that the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley could bring extremist activity to the region about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, said some of the opposition was hateful.

"After this decision, we all need to work together to restore the fellowship of the citizens," he said. "We need to heal ourselves."

The controversy played out against similar outcries over ongoing plans for a USD 100 million Islamic centre two blocks from the site of the Sept 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York, and opposition to a new mosque in a Tennessee suburb.

Muslims in Murfreesboro have endured marches and a lawsuit, while those in another Tennessee town withdrew a mosque proposal in May after residents mounted a campaign against rezoning the property.

In Temecula, the Islamic center was formed in 1998, and its members have been worshipping in a warehouse for a decade. The group plans a 25,000-square-foot (7,620-meter), two-story mosque that will be built in two stages and feature two minarets topped with crescent moons.

Leaders of the mosque reacted to the council's decision with relief and joy and seemed ready to put the angry debate behind them. The mosque spent more than USD 17,000 in 2010 on the planning process, said Hadi Nael, chairman of the mosque's board.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mosque-to-be-built-in-us-city-after-appeal-denied/742564/