By: Robert Spencer – Jihad Watch; jihadwatch.org
Fox 2 Detroit claims, without evidence, that “some of the past opposition” was “sparked by islamophobia.” But in reality, “some residents previously cited zoning rules and the residential nature of the neighborhood.” However, Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, said: “I do not buy that, I think they were using it as an excuse.” For “Islamophobia,” that is.
Well, maybe they were using it as an excuse, and maybe there weren’t. But now the precedent has been set, with the help of the Justice Department: Muslims can build a mosque absolutely anywhere they want, including in quiet residential neighborhoods, and obliterate all concerns about zoning and parking and the character of the neighborhood by charging that all such concerns are just cover for “Islamophobia.”
Also, it wasn’t the racist, redneck, “Islamophobic” yahoos of Leftist media myth who were opposing this mosque. It was Iraqi Christian refugees, who know very well from bitter experience what a mosque in the neighborhood means for non-Muslims. But their concerns were also brushed aside. It was all “Islamophobia,” you see. The Justice Department said so.