Barnabas File

Daily News Journal photo “ He [Jesus] answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” --Luke 10:27, NIV Once again, a minority have displayed their hatred and ignorance by vandalizing the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, Tennessee , my hometown. Community response was swift as people of all faiths and none stepped forward to affirm the rights of all people to worship as they wish and to contribute to the common good in our city. At a vigil of support, Noel Schoonmaker, my pastor, said: "As a pastor and as a Christian, I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and I look to him and obey him in everything, and he taught me to love my neighbor as myself. So I am here to love my neighbor. We also have friends who worship here at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro and we want to support them." Schoonmaker models the attitude that Christian...

A week after the Presidential election, we are still processing the changes that the election of a new leader might produce.   This is not an effort to rehash the arguments of that campaign and my friends know my own inclinations.   Rather, this is an attempt to share one story that provides an example of how we can respond. As many know, there was dissension in our community when the Islamic Center in Murfreesboro began building a place of worship in 2010. The backlash included vandalism, a bomb threat, and an unsuccessful lawsuit. The challenges failed and the Muslim community has continued to be good and responsible neighbors. When worshippers gathered at the Islamic Center for prayer last Friday, they found that Rachel Sloan, a local leader, had organized a gesture of support and encouragement that was reported in the local paper . "The little group I started is called Murfreesboro Support Alliance,” said Sloane.  “We developed literall...

You may have heard about the mosque being built by the Muslim community in my hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  After county officials approved the building and issued a permit, concerned local citizens brought suit to block construction.  Charges by the opponents ranged from notification errors on the part of the county planners to fear that the mosque would be a place to train terrorists and promote the adoption of Sharia law.  While construction continued, the case dragged on with the judge finally ruling that Islam was indeed a religion with all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and that the R utherford County Regional Planning Commission had erred in the way they handled the case. The response of the commission is that the judge is calling upon them to discriminate on the basis of religion.  They will appeal his decision. Meanwhile, the building of the mosque continues with the goals of completion and occupancy by the beginning of Ramadan. ...

Photo from The Daily News Journal CNN has been broadcasting a “news” special entitled “Unwelcome:  The Muslims Next Door” this past week.   With Soledad O’Brien as reporter, the program recounts the negative response on the part of some citizens to the building of a new Islamic Center (mosque) in my town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   I am not a native of Murfreesboro, but I have lived here for thirty-seven years as a matter of choice not chance. In commenting on this program, I have to point out that this is not really a news program or a documentary.   This is the way that it is done in the national (and sometimes local) media.   Although I am a fan of Ms. O’Brien, she and her producers have attempted to distill a very complex event into a “story” with clearly defined protagonists and a predetermined point of view.   Unfortunately, events in Murfreesboro provide all the ingredients—colorful players (on both sides), elevated emotions, demonstratio...

My hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has been receiving national recognition in the news recently, but the increased visibility has nothing to do with down home music, home cooked food, or Southern hospitality. The news deals with a proposed Islamic center on the outskirts of our community and the opposition voiced by some local residents. The fact that we are in an election season has not helped the problem. I admire those candidates who have stood up for religious freedom and espoused a welcoming attitude for people of all faiths rather than appealing to the fears of the electorate. Things turned ugly over the weekend when vandals poured gasoline over construction vehicles doing site preparation for the Islamic center and set one vehicle on fire. Although there had been some vandalism earlier involving a sign on the site, this violation crosses the line. In an interview on WPLN Radio today, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen called for tolerance and “a step back.” He asked c...