Brooklyn mosque moves forward, clears legal hurdle

Anti-mosque demonstrators in Brooklyn, NY // Source: loganswarning.com

A mosque in Brooklyn, New York is moving ahead with construction plans after a New York state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by an anti-mosque organization.

The proposed mosque is to be built in Sheepshead Bay, but its construction was blocked after Bay People, a local organization “dedicated to preserving quality of life” in the area, and several local residents began actively protesting the religious facility on the grounds that it would negatively affect the neighborhood. Judge Mark Partnow ruled in favor of the mosque’s proponents after Lamis Deek, the attorney representing the mosque’s builder, suggested that opposition was based on racism, going so far as to call protestors terrorists.

“This is entirely motivated by racism,” Deek said. “[The Bay People] has forced my client to expend his resources for no good cause and terrorize people with the vitriolic rallies that they hold.”

Deek added that Bay People would not have protested had the proposed mosque been a church or synagogue.

“[They] claim that the mosque will be a nuisance and will be out of character with the neighborhood,” she said. “They’ve held rallies, protests and filed repeated complaints with the city, but have never done anything like this to a nearby church that doesn’t have any on site parking or a nearby synagogue that’s twice the size of the mosque.”

In the past, Bay People has held rallies protesting the mosque and accuses the Muslim American Society (MAS), the mosque’s sponsors, of having ties to terrorism.

John Press, the founder of the Brooklyn Tea Party, who joined Bay People for an anti-mosque rally, said, “The mosque is founded by a very scary organization and the Constitution does not guarantee the right of a foreign nation to build a mosque in our country.”

Another protestor said, “We don’t need to watch Sheepshead Bay get raped by people using the Constitution who are not even from this country.”

One man carried a sign that read, “Hamas Kills, MAS gives them money. They have blood on their hands.”

So far there has been no evidence linking MAS to terrorism or any terrorist organization.

Others opposed the mosque on the grounds that it would disrupt traffic.

“People from the mosque will be praying in the street,” insisted Susan Gerber, a local resident. “People living on the block will have to step over them.”

Albery Butzel, the attorney representing Bay People, said that the organization is not anti-Muslim and insisted that the group’s opposition was based on a lack of parking.

“We do not have a problem with the fact that this is a mosque,” Butzel said. “This is a residential neighborhood and the mosque has been plunked down in the center. Problems with street parking will be extreme.”

After the judge issued his decision, opponents accused Deek of “playing the race card.”

One disappointed opponent said, “This is very painful for us. We are being hurt by this mosque and all [Deek] did was play on the judge’s emotions and make false accusations that she couldn’t prove. Anyone with common sense would see that this mosque is going to affect the welfare of people living on Voorhies Avenue.”

The judge’s ruling comes after someone vandalized the fence surrounding the proposed mosque site spray painting a happy face and the words “he is dead,” in reference to the killing of Osama bin Laden.