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  johnpi 8:33 am on February 13, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: faith schools (11), girls schools (6), Islamic centers (9), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), Muslim Schools (8), new mosques, schools (20)

  Green light for Muslim girls’ boarding school in Burnley.

  The new college will have 1,500 students, 230 of which will be boarders from all over Europe.

  Vice principal of the new college Jean Weston told the committee: “The college will improve achievement in the town and will raise aspirations locally.

  “People from the college will go on to employment locally and will be of benefit to the town.

  “They will shop in Burnley and will use local services while the boarding part of the college will create jobs for local people.”

  One key to the success here was that a school had been housed there previously that had 4,500 students. I think it was hard for opponents to argue against 1,500 with that history.

   

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  johnpi 9:55 am on February 8, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Islamic centers (9), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), Muslim Schools (8), new mosques

  A 5,000 student Muslim girls school planned for a small town in northeast England that was huge and out of scale to the surrounding communities has not only been halted by the Charity Commission but the local MP will attempt to compel legal action against the charity that proposed the project.

  The prospect of a boarding school for 5,000 Muslim girls being set up in Pendle has been shattered by the Charity Commission. The charity watchdog has ruled Birmingham-based charity Islamic Help was operating outside its charitable objects in raising money for a school at Brierfield Mills.

  In a hard-hitting decision, the commission has ordered donations to be returned to those who responded to the appeal for funds.
  ….

  Pendle MP Gordon Prentice called in the commission, insisting Islamic Help was breaking charity law in asking for money for a purpose outside its charitable objects.

  “I shall be raising this issue in Parliament. I want to see a full audit of the finances of Islamic Help. And I want the Charity Commission to maintain an oversight and supervisory role.

  “I am also left wondering what kind of assurances were given by the charity to Lloyds TSB (57% privately owned) to secure the £650,000 loan.”

  You can’t just say, “Inshallah!” and come blazing in without regard for the local political response, which is nearly always cautious at best or alarmist at worst whenever new religious institutions come to a community.

   
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  johnpi 8:25 pm on January 29, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Islamic centers (9), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), Muslim cemeteries (2), new mosques

  Neighbors raise groundwater concerns in objections to Muslim cemetery in Ct.

  Some residents in the Eastern Connecticut town of Canterbury are concerned about a proposed Muslim cemetery.

  It would be built on 69 acres of land on Lisbon and Gooseneck Hill roads. First Selectman Brian Sear says a town meeting on the issue was packed.
  ….

  Muslim tradition calls for the bodies to be enshrouded in cloth and buried directly into the ground. No embalming is necessary because the time from death to burial is short.

  Some residents worry about the groundwater. State health regulations say a vault is needed if it is within 350 feet of a home.

  “This property is so large that there’s a lot of room that’s outside of that buffer area so that I think is why they like this property,” said Steve Sadlowski, Canterbury Town Planner.

  The Muslim group won’t purchase the land if it adversely affects neighbors, ie, won’t be approved by town commissions.

   
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  johnpi 9:01 pm on January 11, 2010 | 2 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Gamma Gamma Chi, Islamic centers (9), Muslim sorority, new mosques, US colleges and universities (2)

  Nice feature article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about the Muslim sorority Gamma Gamma Chi.

  The sorority originated with a mother-daughter team after the daughter struggled to find a sorority where the practices didn’t go against her faith. They merged a sorority’s traditional values of volunteering, leadership and friendship with a way to promote and improve the image of Islam and Muslim women. They also wanted Muslim women to have the opportunity to build the lifelong bonds that develop among sorority sisters.

  Chapters observe Islam’s holy days and other practices. The emphasis on volunteering and leadership makes Muslim women visible in the community, said Rasheeda Salaam, vice president of the Atlanta chapter and a board member for the national association.

  I would have been far more interested in how internal dynamics in the Muslim community are reflected (or not) in the sorority. I would anticipate (and hope to be proven wrong) that similar issues that have arisen in mosque communities might show up in the sorority:

  In the first phase of a Center’s development, all categories of people are welcome to join – regardless of their ethnic origin or their particular religious sect. Arabs, Pakistanis, Turks and all others join together to establish a place of worship – and to start an Islamic Sunday school. All pervading unity and togetherness characterize this first phase. Simple and moderately disposed people who happen to have access to financial or other resources come out to lead the effort.

  This group has links both to the ultra conservatives as well as the liberal segments of the Muslim community. Funds are raised, property is purchased and in effect an Islamic Center or a Mosque becomes a reality on the ground. At this time, the second phase starts in earnest. People of moderate views are still in active control – but sooner or later differences in interpretation of the canonical details of their religion start to show up with increasing intensity.

  Then the exodus begins!

  Etc, etc…

   
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  johnpi 10:24 pm on December 27, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: assimilation (10), france (71), integration (15), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), new mosques, xenophobia (7)

  ‘Marseillais Islam’: The New York Times had a feature article today on responses to a large new mosque that is being built in France’s second-largest city.

  The large new mosque, which its builders call “the symbol of Marseillais Islam,” is a source of pride here in France’s second-largest city, which is at least 25 percent Muslim. But it is also cause for alarm, Mr. Geisser said, embodying the paradox that visible signs of integration set off xenophobic anxiety. “All these symbols reveal a deeper, more lasting presence of Islam,” he said. “It’s the passage of something temporary to something that is implanted and takes root.”

   
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  johnpi 8:15 am on December 19, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Atlanta, georgia (10), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), mosques (38), new mosques

  Atlanta-suburb Muslim congregation sues over mosque rejection.

  A Muslim congregation filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against Lilburn after the suburban Atlanta city’s council rejected its request to build a 20,000-square-foot mosque.

  The complaint, filed Thursday, seeks to overturn the city council’s Nov. 18 decision that barred the Dar-E-Abbas congregation from building a new complex that included a cemetery and gymnasium on an eight-acre plot.

  The council said the plans would pose traffic problems and violate the city’s land-use plan.

  The lawsuit claims the city council’s 4-0 decision was “unreasonable.”

   
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  johnpi 12:44 am on November 13, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: crime in Muslim communities, denmark (10), Islamic centers (9), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), new mosques

  Anti-mosque attitudes afflict Denmark as Sunnis and Shiites try to advance plans separately for new grand mosques in Copenhagen.

  The city, Denmark’s capital, is now inching toward construction of not one, but two grand mosques. In August, the city council approved the construction of a Shiite Muslim mosque, replete with two 104-foot-tall minarets, in an industrial quarter on the site of a former factory. Plans are also afoot for a Sunni mosque. But it has been a long and complicated process, tangled up in local politics and the publication four years ago of cartoons mocking Islam.

  The difficulties reflect the tortuous path Denmark has taken in dealing with its immigrants, most of whom are Muslim. Copenhagen in particular has been racked by gang wars, with shootouts and killings in recent months between groups of Hells Angels and immigrant bands.

   
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  johnpi 11:37 am on November 12, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Islamic centers (9), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), new mosques

  A resident’s association in Burnley in the UK is circulating a petition to oppose a new 5,000 student Muslim boarding school for girls.

  Recently, I created tags here at TI for new mosques, mosque expansion, mosque construction and Islamic centers because it seems a lot of Muslim communities in the US – and apparently in the UK too – have to deal with these issues at some point and a database of stories about how these situations have played out elsewhere might be helpful.

   
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  johnpi 8:22 am on November 6, 2009 | 3 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), mosques (38), new mosques

  Modified Muslim center plans in Chicago suburb addresses criticisms from earlier public meetings.

  Stipulations designed to accommodate the qualms of residents near a proposed Muslim center in unincorporated DuPage County just east of Naperville were put in black and white for a special meeting Thursday, but neighbors still left with some of their questions remaining unanswered.

  A dozen conditions were spelled out by the county’s Development Committee after its members agreed last month to recommend granting a permit for the Irshad Learning Center, which would go on the north side of 75th Street east of Naper Boulevard.

  Several of the stipulations concern hours of worship, one of which (no activities onsite before 6 am) is going to make the mosque off-limits to morning prayer for a significant chunk of the year:

  (More …)

   
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  johnpi 7:47 am on November 6, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Islamic centers (9), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), new mosques

  Widespread opposition to Muslim girls school – in the UK.

  Usually, we see this kind of headline coming out of Afghanistan. This time, it’s the NIMBYs of Britain – though a new 5,000 student boarding school with a population larger than that of nearby towns was bound to draw significant concern and resistance…

  Mr Prentice said: “The scale of what is being proposed is truly staggering. We can only go on press reports, but 5,000 students is a huge number – equivalent to the population of the town of Earby. It would dwarf every one of our secondary schools in Pendle. I want to see young people of all faiths and genders study and mix together as they grow up.”

  British National Party councillor Brian Parker said in his letter that the school and an Islamic college proposed for Burnley were not needed.

  “Quite apart from anyone’s view on the desirability of having two communities living side by side with little in common and divided by religion, the sheer scale of these proposals make them unsuited to our two towns. Six and a half thousand young women will make up a very significant proportion of the entire population. Over the years, some will doubtless settle and like any other university those over the age of 18 will be entitled to vote, affecting the political make up of the councils and even who will be the MPs. One would like a little more information about the nature of the education intended to be provided by these colleges and why Muslims wish to be educated apart from the rest of us,” he said in a letter jointly signed by John Rowe, the BNP’s prospective Parliamentary candidate in Burnley.

   
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  johnpi 5:33 am on October 15, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), new mosques

  Neighbors resist plans for Muslim school in a Chicago suburb.

  The people who live near the location of a proposed Muslim school and meeting place on unincorporated land between Naperville and Lisle are adamant: They have nothing specifically against the practice of Islam in their neighborhood.

  The attorney acting on behalf of the five applicants, however, said the request, which includes no variations, is a matter of law and nothing more. Religion, he added, should not have a presence in the decision.
  ….

  Although the application says events would not go later than 10:30 p.m., the neighbors remain skeptical.

  “The essence of the concern from the neighbors’ perspective is we’re talking about very frequent use of the property that begins at sunset and continues for a minimum of three hours. In the summertime, that’s 11:30,” said Wallace, adding that certain observances that take place elsewhere on several dates throughout the year last until around 3 a.m.

  He insists those events are relevant to the Naperville request.

  The construction of new msoques and community centers – and the resistance they frequently are met with – is an ongoing issue for many Muslim communities in the US, so I’m posting these stories as I find them.

   
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  johnpi 3:03 pm on September 12, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Islamic centers (9), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), new mosques

  An observer of the development of Islamic centers and mosque communities in the United States writes about the “three stages” he has observed:

  In the first phase of a Center’s development, all categories of people are welcome to join – regardless of their ethnic origin or their particular religious sect. Arabs, Pakistanis, Turks and all others join together to establish a place of worship – and to start an Islamic Sunday school. All pervading unity and togetherness characterize this first phase. Simple and moderately disposed people who happen to have access to financial or other resources come out to lead the effort.

  This group has links both to the ultra conservatives as well as the liberal segments of the Muslim community. Funds are raised, property is purchased and in effect an Islamic Center or a Mosque becomes a reality on the ground. At this time, the second phase starts in earnest. People of moderate views are still in active control – but sooner or later differences in interpretation of the canonical details of their religion start to show up with increasing intensity.

  Then the exodus begins! The ‘Liberals’, who joined this group early on, are the first to depart. Naturally, they need to get busy with their own lives.

  Shiite Muslims are the next group that moves out. In many communities, they don’t even get involved in the day to day affairs of the center, particularly, as is usually the case, if the Sunnis in the congregation, who are always in majority display acrimony or bias against them, since the more tolerant among them have already left. The second phase can continue for a long time depending upon the community’s composition.

  The third phase begins when the ‘ultra conservatives’ in the group muster enough courage to flex their muscle! This ticks off the ‘moderates’ who gradually begin to depart. They do so because they find they cannot afford to waste their time and resources on “smear” campaigns and “negative” thinking that are generated by inter personal differences or rivalries. In this phase we find that some of the Centers, where dedicated members predominate, doggedly continue on their path of progress, while others languish in the throes of disillusionment.

   
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  johnpi 11:29 am on September 8, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: English Defence League (15), islamophobia (228), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), new mosques, racism (201), right-wing morons (71)

  All the participants for this Friday’s showdown…err… ‘demonstration’ in front of Harrow Central Mosque in London during Jumaah between the EDL and the anti-fascists have pledged a peaceful event.

  A new five floor mosque is being built at the site, which seems to account for the reason why it was chosen.

   
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  johnpi 6:40 am on September 7, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: mosque (7), mosque construction (15), mosque expansion (14), new mosques

  Baltimore Sun: People don’t like super-sized churches, synogogues and mosques, so they are setting strict zoning regulations to ensure that none get built.

  It’s a scene that has grown familiar in Maryland: A successful congregation, enjoying growth, looks to build a larger house of worship, the better to host events, manage ministries and win souls. Church (or synagogue or mosque) leaders try to sell prospective neighbors on the good that the new quarters will enable them to do.

  But the pitch does not forestall the seemingly inevitable opposition. Residents – and, in some cases, local officials – raise worries about the impact the new facility will have on their lives and communities.

  This brings to mind Thabet’s important point yesterday about not viewing ‘Muslim problems’ outside the context of the larger community. Taken in isolation, one might suspect discrimination when you see media reports of local officials in a town somewhere working overtime to prevent a large mosque getting built (as happened in Walkersville, MD), but it’s actually happening to Christians and Jews too.

  The phenomenon isn’t limited to Maryland. Dave Travis, managing director of the Dallas-based consulting firm Leadership Network, tracks conflicts nationwide between growing churches and the communities into which they want to expand.

  He says a week doesn’t go by that he doesn’t find a new example.