IT’s Tough to Build a Mosque These Days
West Bloomfield, Michigan is described by the WSJ as a Detroit suburb that “leans Democratic and liberal” and “prides itself on its religious diversity.” As long as you’re not trying to build a mosque.
Residents and activists say the plan [to convert a former school into the town’s first mosque] has rankled some in West Bloomfield’s large Jewish community, while the sale of the school to a Muslim association has drawn opposition from some other residents and a prominent Christian-rights group.
Take heart, Republicans: even “liberal” Democratic Jews are complete xenophobes, just like you! It’s not just idiots in Tennessee or Missouri who have violent, knee-jerk, ignorance-based reactions against the prospect of a mosque; idiots in cosmopolitan, urban New York City do the exact same thing. On Staten Island, they might even throw bacon at you, if you’re a Muslim. Many people, throughout America—all of whom surely consider themselves to be reasonable—are hateful anti-Muslim bigots. Each generation has its “acceptable” form of prejudice, and (now that homophobia is falling out of favor) this is ours. Which is too bad, and which will be looked back upon in shame by future generations.
West Bloomfield is really, really far from Dearborn, like about an hour’s drive.
