Houston suburb in dispute over mosque plan

[comicgirl]

Some residents object to plan; neighbor threatens to hold pig races

KATY, Texas - A plan to build a mosque in this Houston suburb has triggered a neighborhood dispute, with community members warning the place will become a terrorist hotbed and one man threatening to hold pig races on Fridays just to offend the Muslims.

Many neighborhood residents claim they have nothing against Muslims and are more concerned about property values, drainage and traffic.

But one resident has set up an anti-Islamic Web site with an odometer-like counter that keeps track of terrorist attacks since Sept. 11. A committee has formed to buy another property and offer to trade it for the Muslims’ land. And next-door neighbor Craig Baker has threatened to race pigs on the edge of the property on the Muslim holy day. Muslims consider pigs unclean and do not eat pork.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16095716/

Yee-hah! Yet another example of religious tolerance in the USA.

 

[Malice]

HAHAHAH.
That is not but 10-15 miles from where I live...
PIG RACES!

 

[Erzengel]

Then they should cook the loser of the pig race and offer up sandwiches for all.

One ham and bacon sandwich please.

 

[Mr Sparkle]

community members warning the place will become a terrorist hotbed

NOOOOOOO! last thing I want is some a-rab in line next to me at K-mart
least of all if he's all terroristical. how am I supossed to "git r done" with things like that weighing heavy on my mind?

 

[Malice]

Then they should cook the loser of the pig race and offer up sandwiches for all.

One ham and bacon sandwich please.

heh

Not to be rude to Muslims, I have nothing against them, the article just amused me...pig races...
haha

 

[Malice]

Katy the area they are talking about, is just west of Houston.
Its a massively growing areas since people keep moving farther and farther outside the city. Its has probably more than doubled its population in 10-15 years because of the massive growth.

its actually a nice little town (granted you cant really see the small town aspect to it anymore)

 

[Malice]

For those of you that didnt know, Nolan Ryan (the baseball pitcher) is from Katy as well....

 

[Kyalesyin]

Well damn. This is so shocking I fell off my chair. Nobody would ever have predicted this.

 

[Fenrir]

Some residents object to plan; neighbor threatens to hold pig races

KATY, Texas - A plan to build a mosque in this Houston suburb has triggered a neighborhood dispute, with community members warning the place will become a terrorist hotbed and one man threatening to hold pig races on Fridays just to offend the Muslims.

Many neighborhood residents claim they have nothing against Muslims and are more concerned about property values, drainage and traffic.

But one resident has set up an anti-Islamic Web site with an odometer-like counter that keeps track of terrorist attacks since Sept. 11. A committee has formed to buy another property and offer to trade it for the Muslims’ land. And next-door neighbor Craig Baker has threatened to race pigs on the edge of the property on the Muslim holy day. Muslims consider pigs unclean and do not eat pork.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16095716/

Yee-hah! Yet another example of religious tolerance in the USA.

Here's the rest of the article:

“The neighbors have created havoc for us and we didn’t expect that,” said engineer Kamel Fotouh, president of the 500-member Katy Islamic Association. Fotouh vowed to press ahead with plans for a mosque on the 11-acre site, as well as a community center that would offer after-school activities, housing for senior citizens, a fitness center and an Islamic school.
“We just bought it,” Fotouh said. “And we are going to use it. We have the right like any one of them.”
Katy, population 13,000, is a mix of middle-class bedroom-community neighborhoods and small farms on Houston’s western edge and boasts of being the hometown of Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger. It is 70 percent white and 24 percent Hispanic.
The Houston metropolitan area has about 170,000 Muslims, according to the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, and among their many mosques is one built in Houston by former NBA star Hakeem Olajuwon.
The Islamic association bought the land in Katy in September for $1.1 million. It said the overall cost of the project has not been determined.
Dispute started with cattle
The dispute began when the group asked Baker to remove his cattle from their newly bought land. Baker agreed but mistakenly thought the Muslims also wanted him off the land his family has lived on for more than 100 years. The rumor spread.
Baker, who makes marble and granite fixtures for kitchens and bathrooms and also owns livestock, said he got so mad he put up a sign announcing the pig races.
Baker’s attempt to offend missed its mark, according to Fotouh. Muslims do not hate pigs, he said; they just don’t eat them.
As for the Web site, the address is virtually identical to that of the Katy Islamic Association. The site claims the neighbors will have to hear the Muslim call to prayer from the mosque’s minaret five times a day — the Islamic group denies that — and offers an audio sample.

Click for message board
Discuss: What do you think of the community’s reaction?


Besides keeping track of the running total of post-Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Web site provides home addresses of some association members and advises people who see anything suspicious to contact the FBI. Many people have sent anti-Islamic e-mails to the site.
Complaints to the county
A few complaints about the mosque project have also trickled in to Harris County offices: The “Coming Soon” sign was on government property; the parking lot gravel was piled up without a permit; the project would increase traffic in the quiet neighborhood.
County Commissioner Steve Radack said traffic concerns can be addressed as they are elsewhere, with off-duty police officers. He also noted the group has said it would comply with rules on drainage and flood control.
Cynthia Blackman wrote Radack that the center was a security risk: “Would you and your family safely and comfortably live next to this 11-acre Muslim mosque and facilities?”
The reaction has not been all negative. Fotouh said one man came to the mosque on a Friday afternoon and apologized for his neighbors. “He moved me, really,” Fotouh said. “The sense of fairness, the sense of standing by the underdog.”
Though he now concedes the Muslims are probably not after his land, Baker said he is obligated to go through with the pig races, probably within the next few weeks, because “I would be like a total idiot if I didn’t. I’d be the laughingstock now because I’ve gone too far.”


© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.




Kin aye git a super saized rollsaye smailey here? These idiots cain't be any dumber.

 

[comicgirl]

NOOOOOOO! last thing I want is some a-rab in line next to me at K-mart
least of all if he's all terroristical. how am I supossed to "git r done" with things like that weighing heavy on my mind?

LOL! The pig race thing caught my eye too. Let's force dem terrr-rorists to eat some bar-be-que!

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Yay America! This story makes me really proud to be an American.

 

[comicgirl]

Yay America! This story makes me really proud to be an American.

me too ...pitiful

 

[Spider-Bite]

Stupid hicks. Pig races? That's the Bush state for ya. Prejudice till the end.
No offense intended towards Malice. I have no idea whether or not your one of the dumb cowboys or not, and I don't intend to imply that all cowboys are dumb.

but this is really funny. A bunch of Bush lovers threatening pig races over a church for a religion different from their own.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

LOL! The pig race thing caught my eye too. Let's force dem terrr-rorists to eat some bar-be-que!

That is funny, I don't hate pigs and neither does my family. Why would we hate a dumb animal?

I say let that loser have his pig race, it just makes him look uber pathetic.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

me too ...pitiful

BTW Great find CM, you always seem to make the most interesting threads.

 

[Fenrir]

Where the **** is celldog when you need him?!

 

[comicgirl]

BTW Great find CM, you always seem to make the most interesting threads.

*comicgirl blushes* .....Now I have a taste for barbeque.

 

[Malice]

Just so you know not all Texans support Bush...

 

[Superman4ever]

Though he now concedes the Muslims are probably not after his land, Baker said he is obligated to go through with the pig races, probably within the next few weeks, because “I would be like a total idiot if I didn’t. I’d be the laughingstock now because I’ve gone too far.”
.

lmao...I love that quote!

This is one of the funniest stories I've read in a while...it just shows how ignorance is a disease of hate. I love the rebuttel to the pig races.

Baker’s attempt to offend missed its mark, according to Fotouh. Muslims do not hate pigs, he said; they just don’t eat them.

 

[Immortalfire]

I hope to visit Texas in the coming year, my uncle lives there.
Don't panic Malice, I'll be in Austin if I do. So don't worry about me stalking you, lol.

 

[kainedamo]

I read the title of this thread, and thought to myself "This better not be about ONE single mosque being built in some suberb and people going nuts over it".

And what do ya know??

There are no words, really, for how disgusted I am. Something needs to be done to quell the rising intolerance towards muslims.

 

[Superman4ever]

I read the title of this thread, and thought to myself "This better not be about ONE single mosque being built in some suberb and people going nuts over it".

And what do ya know??

There are no words, really, for how disgusted I am. Something needs to be done to quell the rising intolerance towards muslims.

I think the opposition is a good thing. Once the towns people find out what Islam is really about...when they realize all the misconceptions are actually untrue (like Pig races are going to make us cry), then maybe some real positive change can occur. Some real unity!

 

[Malice]

I hope to visit Texas in the coming year, my uncle lives there.
Don't panic Malice, I'll be in Austin if I do. So don't worry about me stalking you, lol.

Thats great.

Austin is in the middle of the Texas hill Country...
There are some absolutely gorgeous areas near Austin.

Take advantage of it and travel around...
Basically within 2 hours or less, North, west and south of you are some really nice areas.

 

[Malice]

As an FYI to everyone...

I am texan, Yes. I love my State with all my heart.

I own a Ford Explorer SportTrak (kinda a Half truck)

I have a Black Stetson cowboy hay.
I own FOUR pairs of boot (two black, one brown, and one ostrich skin)

And no, I currently dont own a gun.

 

[souloffire]

I read the title of this thread, and thought to myself "This better not be about ONE single mosque being built in some suberb and people going nuts over it".

And what do ya know??

There are no words, really, for how disgusted I am. Something needs to be done to quell the rising intolerance towards muslims.

How about the intolerance towards Christians and Jews? Does that disgust you as well?

Cause we all know the one thing Muslims are known for is their tolerance towards other religions.