Christians launch crusade against new U.S. mosque

A Baptist church in Ohio is being accused of religious intolerance for allegedly thwarting a plan to build a mosque on nearby property. The board of zoning appeals in Sugarcreek Township, Ohio, insists its 5-0 vote against a variance request that would have permitted the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton to build the mosque was not influenced by the local First Baptist Church. The rejection, officials say, was based only on the expected sewage and traffic impact, the Dayton Daily News reported.

But the senior pastor of the 1,900-member church, Barry Jude, has made his opposition to the mosque clear.

"We just feel that Christianity is right and that Islam is wrong," Jude told the Daily News. "Therefore, we take a stand to see (a mosque) not in our community. The wonderful thing about our American culture is that you have the right to speak out against something you don't support."

The paper says the issue "has touched on larger questions: Does the presence of a mosque locally evoke feelings of fear or even hatred? Are church officials saying out loud what a lot of people are thinking privately?"

The Islamic Society of Greater Dayton says it will consider its options now, including a legal appeal. The plan is to build a mosque for up to 975 people and a family center for up to 400 on 15 acres it owns.

The society, on its website, notes its association with the Islamic Society of North America and the North American Islamic Trust, which both were named last summer as "unindicted co-conspirators" in a plot to fund the terrorist group Hamas.

Federal prosecutors also named the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, as a participant in a plot with five officials of the defunct Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.

Stephanie wrote:Keli,
Most nights, I still check for fundies under my bed!