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Houston Chronicle - January 16, 2007
Katy, Florida pig races near mosque site
sparked meetings to prevent bigotry
By HELEN ERIKSEN
A Katy man's decision to stage weekly pig races to protest a mosque construction has prompted an alliance of local clergy to conduct a series of forums aimed at what they characterize as preventing bigotry and promoting religious acceptance.
Local Christian and Jewish leaders say they chose Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to launch the discussions. Leaders from Christian, Jewish and Islamic denominations delivered speeches Monday night to about 200 people at Katy's Living Word Lutheran Church, touting the significance of being able to live, worship and be respected in a community of choice.
Rodwan M. Saleh, President of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, condemned the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, describing the events as acts of hatred that have pit Americans against Islam.
"It's difficult to like anyone who bombs our homes or the city of New York," Saleh said.
A dispute between the Katy Islamic Association and some Katy area residents has been brewing in this affluent West Houston suburb since the group bought an 11-acre property to build a mosque next door to Craig Baker's marble shop on Baker Road.
In late September, the lifelong Katy resident said a member of the association advised him to relocate his marble shop because it would not go well with the mosque. Baker protested by staging weekly pig races during Friday prayers. An association spokesman , Yousef Allam, said the group never meant to suggest that Baker should move.
Baker said in asking him to move, the Muslim group showed no respect for his family, which has 200-year-old ties to the land.
Some residents from neighboring subdivisions have formed a group called PLANK, Preserve the Lifestyles and Neighborhoods of Katy. They are also critical of the mosque project.
These residents say the mosque has the potential to increase traffic, flooding, noise and light pollution plus lower property values.
Rabbi Todd Thalblum of Houston's Temple Sinai said he does not believe there would be the intensity of neighborhood opposition if a church or synagogue were planned for the site.
He said many of the objections to the mosque are due to a lack of knowledge about the Islamic faith and are not rooted in hatred.
Thalblum said members of the ministerial alliance were dismayed when they learned about Baker's Friday pig races and what it considers to be an anti-Muslim Web site, www .katyislamicassociation.net.
"The Web site is intimidating and if it were my choice I would take it down," Thalblum said. "The pig races are a joke and make the Katy community look backwards."
Speakers at the event included leaders from the Roman Catholic Church, the Islamic and Jewish communities. Questions from the audience ranged from what training is needed to become an Islamic leader to how to find the best translation of the Quran……
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/katy/news/4472857.html
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