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My Masjid is in Trouble...Please Help....
Trustworthy
07/19/04 at 21:56:32
[slm]....

WARNING:  Sister in serious venting mode.  Repeat: Sister is in SERIOUS venting mode.

Note: “Those people” does not reflect a generalization of all non-Muslims, they represent my so called “neighbors.”

OKAY.  I just got back from a Public Hearing, one that concerns the construction of our new Masjid/school.  I’ve told you about the surrounding KKK and that they’ve stopped harassing us years ago.  I’ve also told you that we were getting ready to build a new Masjid/school.  This is going to be 12,500 with 3 floors.  Top for women, bottom for men, and basement for play, an un-inhabitant dome and minaret.  The Dome was going to be 63’ and the minaret 72’ tall, but regulations of our zoning district does not allow anything over 45’ tall.  Ok.  I can live with that and will get over it someday.  It’s going to be landscaped and the parking is adjustable.

Well, we had a number of opposers to our construction of the Masjid.  They were afraid that traffic was going to increase, parking will overflow onto the road, the noise pollution will be out of control, and get this, that it was going to be an “eyesore” for the neighborhood.  Now let me tell you this, we have about 15 neighbors (literally) so our “road” is not a busy road.  There are no sidewalks (the only sidewalk there is is in our community) and the shoulder is too small to be considered a walk way which I don’t understand why the city did not build a sidewalk when the surrounding neighbors not on our street walks to school on our street..

Here are some of there complaints:
1.      Minaret is too tall. (We agreed to 45’ within jurisdiction)
2.      Prayer calls over the loud speaker is unacceptable. (Because of their complaint earlier, we hadn’t had that done for a year now and we will continue in that respect.)
3.      Teenagers have loud cars (double mufflers-they’re teenagers and they knew of our many children when we had our first hearing for building our community with a Masjid in 1990).
4.      Parking on road instead of within community (We have always had our guests park in the Masjid’s parking lot or within our loop/street.  I have never seen our guests park outside our community even during our 500 people fund raising event.)  Our boys do play basketball at the school with their freinds outside the community who do park there once in a while, but I’ve seen those people’s boys park there late at night also once in a while.
5.      Adding too much people traffic (noise pollution).  We have guests for Friday prayer (known when at first hearing upon community development.) and Eids sometimes-not every Eid-when we know there’ll be a lot of people, we rent some place else and we do not have a lot of BBQs – weddings (just during a growth spurt of a generation which is now.)
6.      Masjid would be an eyesore to the neighborhood.  Concerned it was going to look ugly-needed to know the colors (Right now our Masjid looks like a 2 story home)
7.      Was there any jurisdiction to having a soccer field in our community? Made it sound like we have soccer tournaments year round cause the crowd just goes wild when their seven year old makes a goal (Our kids do play soccer in the yard in front of the masjid, but they also play baseball, and football and various games that kids play.  And they also play once in a while, but the crowd is there only when we have a game during our annual fair which started 3 years ago and we skipped one year so that was like only twice since the 11 yrs we’ve been there.  Our soccer team practices at a nearby school and have tournaments wherever but never in our community – not big enough.)
8.      Garbage was getting out of control.  (There is no garbage in our community and I did not see any garbage on the street either.  We recycle for Heaven’s sake.)
9.      Yes we have landscape planned for the Masjid but 3 yrs from now that landscape is not going to be pretty if no one takes care of it....Where did he get the idea that we were not going to take care of it.  My people consists of farmers and gardners even Abdullah Idris (president of ISNA) loved how our community landscapes.  He commented on the many trees and beautiful flowers that we have growing everywhere.
10.      And the increase of traffic and conjestion.  They used “If we build it, they will come.”  That was too funny.  However, the traffic will not increase because the majority of the Masjid members live within the community not EVER adding traffic. The traffic will increase due to the site that is being built across the street from us.  The lady that complained also was the owner of the 21 home construction called “Pleasant Acres” across the street.  The man that complained said that he was trying to sell his house and is afraid that no one is buying it due to Masjid being built (Uhm…hello….we never advertised our Masjid being built and there was no sign of construction because we have to get it approved first, you DUMBA**.)

Even if we had the 72’ minaret, it would still be isolated from the public because we are so way in and our road is so short that no one cares to drive through it.  The only people that drive on that road are the people that have homes on that road and when the Elementary school is in session.  I really don’t think that their reasons for objections is legitmate. It’s just plain STUPID and they all added that it’s nothing against the religion, it’s the size of the masjid and the traffic it will bring.

Our children (which they all knew we had 10 years ago) have now grown and having their own children, we need a bigger place.

So they want a complete mock up of our proposal with landscape, Masjid with dome and minaret, color of the Masjid, parking spaces and surrounding traffic signs, the whole nine yards.  Cool, ok.  But this is to decide whether they’ll agree to it or not.  Most likely NOT since they also said that if they did not like that mock up, we’d have to create another reconstructed of one of the changes they asked for which was:  45’ minaret (or none would be better), dome the same, and suitable parking, and entire street repaved with sidewalks to accommodate the “extra” traffic.

What pisses me off is that they wanted us to delay our construction as to wait for the 21 homes that is being built (only one foundation was done today for one house) and the 2 more developments going up around our area, not road, AREA and it’s tenants to occupy the houses (not yet in construction) because they have a right to know that they will be living across from our HUMUNGOUS Masjid.  Problem is, the Pleasant Acres have just advertised that homes are being built and is looking for buyers.  Get that…LOOKING for buyers AND they want us to FREAKIN’ wait for them to be occupiedt o have another FREAKIN' hearing.

I’m upset because I thought these people were cool with us.  I mean they come inside our community to take walks on our sidewalk and sometimes comes to our BBQs that they complained about.

Someone please advise me on how to refute them.  What can I do to save my Masjid?   We’ve been waiting 10 years for this to happen.  The next street from us, has 2 churches across from one another, don’t look like an eyesore to me.  But they say even if it was a church or synagogue, they’d feel the same way.  For some reason, I don’t believe that.

Advise me and make du’as for us and our Masjid,  insha-Allah.

Allah (SWT) bless…

Ma-assalaamah…..
Re: My Masjid is in Trouble...Please Help....
siddiqui
07/19/04 at 22:11:33
[slm]

This is standard not just here but even India where I come from

In India there were other ways of doing things :) but here the best way is to hold a party at the Masjid for all the residents of your neighnour hood

Then have a post dinner discusssion (since you know their arguments) get a level headed person(who wont get provoked) to speak to them and address their concerns , tell them you are a part of their community and a party to their concerns and this how we are going to plan it Inshallah.

Try to organise a community soup kicthen/fall cleanup/snow removal where the youth of the masjid go into the community to healp the folks irrespective of their faith fee sabillilah


Try to be heard by writing a column in your local news papers

Try to involve your local authorities in these activities

Insha Allah every thing will be okie

A minarrette  and other physical sure increase the asthetics of a Masjid but its real beauty emnates from the Aqlaaq of its congregation

[wlm]

Re: My Masjid is in Trouble...Please Help....
al-ajnabia
07/19/04 at 23:06:14
[slm]
"But they say even if it was a church or synagogue, they’d feel the same way.  For some reason, I don’t believe that. "
Yeah, if you believe that I have some property you could build your masjid on.
people just stink and I think they only need the slightest rumor of an excuse to let their ture colors shine.
Re: My Masjid is in Trouble...Please Help....
Trustworthy
08/05/04 at 18:25:35
[slm]...

ALLAHU AKBAR!!!  WOOHOO!!!  YEAH BABY!  AL-HAMDULILLAAH!!!

I just got the great news that I had to tell you guys right away even if it is during work and using their equipment.  Hehe.  Shhhh….

Anyways…..the county approved our construction of the 12,500 square foot Masjid with minaret and dome, thank you very much, of course with the zoning restrictions of having them no higher then 45 feet.  No problem, no big deal.  Construction is going to start in September, insha-Allah.

So I’ll let all y’all know when our open house party for the Masjid is so y’all can come, insha-Allah.  I’m so excited, I can’t wait.  I hope this Masjid helps the community realize that IT IS TIME TO CHANGE and change for the better because Allah (SWT) is on OUR SIDE!!!  I love you all ukhti wa akhi fideen.  FI SABI LILLAAH! Fi sabi lillaah.

Many du’as and Allah (SWT) bless….

Ma-assalaamah….
Re: My Masjid is in Trouble...Please Help....
Nisa
08/05/04 at 19:33:19
[slm]

Let me second that ALLAHU AKBAR!!!  WOOHOOOO!! ALHAMDULILLAH  :-*

That's wonderful news ukthi...I was wondering what the outcome would be and it's awesome that amid all the injustice, we see a glimmer of light finding its way through.

May Allah swt make the masjid a place of sanctuary and peace for all the Muslims who visit, Ameen.

[wlm] :-)
Re: My Masjid is in Trouble...Please Help....
Trustworthy
08/06/04 at 13:29:25
[slm]...

Jazakhullah...for your du'as.  Here is the link to the decision and their conditions.  I guess they agreed to reduce the size of our Masjid to 10, 500 which still cool.  The county didn't ask us to, but I think we wanted to make it good with our neighbors so we compromised and decreased it by 2,000.

http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/permitting/Hearings_Examiner/Decisions/2004/020421.decision.cham.pdf

So many conditions, but Al-Hamdulillaah.  I'm still happy. []

Many du'as and Allah (SWT) bless...

Ma-assalaamah....
08/06/04 at 13:30:07
Trustworthy


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