Not in Our Neighborhood!
Dateline: 06/09/00
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful.
The Chicago, Illinois area has one of the largest Muslim populations of any U.S. city. In the suburb of Palos Heights (population 12,000), residents and city council members are trying to keep the Muslims out. They don't say that, of course, but actions speak louder than words.
In Palos Heights, a church building had been up for sale for several months. The Reformed Christian Church congregation is looking for a larger building, and they put the existing church on the market. Several months later, the Al Salam Mosque Foundation made a contract with them to purchase the building. They would use it for the same purpose it is currently being used for - worship services and religious education. The two parties signed a contract to purchase, and the Al Salam Mosque Foundation approached city government to obtain the proper permits.
Immediately, the city government and residents began an all-out campaign to take over the building, saying that they need the building for "recreational purposes." All of a sudden, the city has an urgent need for more recreational space, and they have to have that particular building to meet that need. Their reasoning is flawed for several reasons:
Palos Heights already has an extensive recreational program.
City government had neither expressed interest nor searched for a recreational building until now.
The Muslim community has a $2.1 million legal contract to purchase this building.
Government and residents could find other properties to meet their need.
Of course, city government officials do not want to open themselves up to lawsuit. They insist that they need the building for recreation, and it has nothing to do with what religion the purchasers are. But the demand for this particular building is overwhelmingly powerful: over 150 residents came to the last city council meeting to protest the mosque, and the city council has discussed going so far as to condemn the building so that it cannot be purchased by the Muslim community (then the city would of course take it over). Or the city can call upon its "eminent domain rights" and just take it over because of overwhelming city need. Interestingly, the city Mayor has called upon the city council to respect the Muslims' contract and find another building.
The Chicago Tribune has been following this story in a series of articles:
"Council Pursues Purchase of Church," by Janice Neumann
"Bias is Seen in Attempt to Block Mosque," by Janice Neumann
"Mosque Dispute May Put New Law on Religion to Test," by Steve Kloehn
This last author raises an interesting question about the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and its applicability here. According to this new law (1998), government may not interfere with the free practice of religion, unless it has a compelling reason to do so. The author asks the question, is recreation a compelling need? Even if the answer is 'yes,' according to this law, government must find the least restrictive way to meet their need, without infringing on the rights of religion. Isn't taking a building away from a religious community pretty restrictive?
The next city council meeting is on June 20th.
Should Palos Heights find another recreational building and let the mosque stand? Or are they within their rights to take over the building? We're discussing it in the Forum.
[Graphic courtesy of Al-Muntada
Al Islami Graphics Gallery.]
