Fire at Tenn. Mosque Building Site Ruled Arson

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CBS News

Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb.

Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, is being ruled as arson.

Special Agent Andy Anderson of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told CBS News that the fire destroyed one piece of construction equipment and damaged three others. Gas was poured over the equipment to start the fire, Anderson said.

The ATF, FBI and Rutherford County Sheriff's Office are conducting a joint investigation into the fire, Anderson said.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/28/national/main6814690.shtml

[MadMaddie]

1. Anyone surprised?

[JerseygirlCT]

47. Unfortunately, not at all.

Just afraid that this will only heighten the haters' taste for it.

[davidhilton]

56. Riley, I am not surprised one bit.

[saigon68]

75. Nope

The cross of Christianity is about to burn brighter

[The Straight Story]

77. Nope, with the hatred of the left for religion I am surprised we don't see it more

;)

[LostinVA]

82. ???

[The Straight Story]

85. I have heard the same hatred for christians here as I have heard hatred for islam on the right

If someone on the left rails against the idiot fundies who are christian it seems to be ok, but when the right does the same thing against some faith we call it 'hate'.

So when is it hate? when you only look at the negative and talk about it all the time?

[Celtic Merlin]

86. We don't burn their churches.

We may "rail against the idiot fundies" over their intolerance for others and their blatant abandonment and/or rejection of the message of the Christ, but we put down only this small faction of Christianity for their radical views on the issues. We on the left do not put down ALL of Christianity like the fundies put down ALL of Islam.

So here's when it's hate: When you attack an entire religion over the actions of the few radicals that claim to follow that particular religion. I've seen nobody on the left put down all of Christianity over the actions and/or opinions of the radical Christian fundies. We've all seen these same radical Christian fundies attack the entire religion of Islam over 9/11.

That's the important difference. I have no patience for the radicals of ANY religion - Christian, Muslim, you name it. I fully support the right of people of faith - ANY FAITH - to practice their beliefs in peace.

Oh, and I almost forgot - I'm an atheist.

Celtic Merlin
Carlinist

[LostinVA]

87. I thought that's what you meant,and that is hateful

Please show me where "The Left," many of whom are Christian, have beaten up folks for tehir religion or bunred down a Church.

[NC_Nurse]

2. Wasn't a lady on the Daily Show the other night claiming that the Nashville

Mosque was some kind of terrorist HQ? Somebody else must be googling the same RW bullshit.

[Neurotica]

7. In fact, she called it "the mothership"

Unbelievable...

[valerief]

51. Oh, yeah, that Mothership broad was damn cah-reeeeeeepy!!! nt

[wookie72]

15. If that's the one

The woman they interviewed from the Mosque was, other than her headscarf, one of the most Americanized Muslims I've ever seen.

This is getting just pathetic.

[uppityperson]

25. wtf is an "Americanized Muslim"? Seriously. There are lots of American who are Muslims

This is getting just pathetic.

[wookie72]

31. Sorry. It was a stereotype.

However, the show made a good point of essentially saying "why the hell are we afraid of these people?" by portraying her as sane and measured compared to the other woman.

[pezDispenser]

33. Don't be sorry

That was a fair description of that lady. I saw the show. People need to stop getting so butthurt about trivial comments. You, uppityperson and I probably have a ton of common beliefs. Lets start off on that foot vs the hypersensitive foot.

[valerief]

52. The Muslim woman wasn't the one. nt

[Drale]

84. Yeah

and I thought no one could be crazyer then "You betcha" Palin, but that lady set a whole new standard on crazy.

[angrycarpenter]

3. didn't really hurt anyone muslim

The contractor is quite possibly a christian and now he is out 4 pieces of equipment and the men who drives them out a job. The terrorists who did this need jail and lots of it.

[RKP5637]

4. Exactly!!! n/t

[Bette Noir]

5. Now who's the terrorist?

[polmaven]

40. Absolutely!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Arrowhead2k1]

6. Things have to get worse before they get better.

Disappointing nonetheless.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

20. I've been saying that for too long now...

[Arrowhead2k1]

36. lol, no shit.

:rofl:

[Lucky Luciano]

62. LOL! nt

[cheapdate]

8. I have a strong suspicion the perpetrator is a teenager,

and he acted on the hate and vile he hears at home. In general, vandalism like this is almost always the work of teenagers. I live in Murfreesboro and the atmosphere here is just sick with fear, hate and stupidity. The message of fear is amplified by politicians and "leaders" of the community. But there are also several groups that have organized in support of our Muslim neighbors and in support of the first amendment. Most notably, the group Middle Tennesseans for Religious Freedom was formed by students at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). They have organized several events and held a very successful downtown march. A candlelight vigil for peace and tolerance is planned to be held on the town square this Monday evening.

[Lucky Luciano]

17. Good job. Keep it up! nt

[RainDog]

27. I don't know why they insist on calling Murfreesboro a suburb of Nashville

it's not even in the same county - does Murfreesboro now consider itself part of metropolitan Nashville? it used to just be davidson co. has it expanded to rutherford and williamson, etc?

Please let us know what the SBC has to say about this. Since it is headquartered in Nashville, it's important that this religious group condemn this act of terror, imo, or it will be just another example of this religious group again failing those it claims to serve.

but any religious group that was started to support racism has a lot to live down.

[Douglas Carpenter]

32. Fantastic!!

[applegrove]

9. We know this shit starts to happen when one group is singled out by the teaparty/wingnuts

pundits and attacked day after day. First that cabbie was stabbed. Now this. Osama bin Laden must be thrilled. All he had to do was start a war and wait for a few years. America has handed him a win. It will be much easier to recruit now that it isn't safe to be Muslim in the USA.

[47of74]

10. Ok Sarah, Newt, Glenn, Rush, Billy, et al...

You've spent all this time riling up these nut jobs. Now they've gone and done something like this. You own this.

[TheEuclideanOne]

11. What are you trying to do.....

cheer them up?

[grahamhgreen]

12. Used to be BLACK CHURCHES, my how things have changed.....

[No Elephants]

43. Black, brown, beige Potato, potahto. A bigot is not fussy.

Different from Oral Roberts suffices.

Kennedy had to face it, just for being Catholic (or "shanty Irish," you pick).

[lobodons]

13. Terrorists won

Bring it on. Terrorists won I tell you. They have Americans hating on their own. Americans as sooo fucking ignorant!!!!! They fell for Osama's tactics head line and sinker. They wasted thousands of lives and tens of thousands maimed and injured for life, and not to mention trillions of dollars. For what? Nothing!!!!!! Nice Cowboy Diplomacy America.

[sabrina 1]

14. If they were sensitive, those Muslims would have built their

Mosque further away from the site of 9/11!

I hope people like Howard Dean now realizes why moving the NYC Mosque 'just a few blocks further from the WTC site' would make no difference at all. Bigotry cannot be appeased, it is an illness.

[Beartracks]

24. Bigotry cannot be appeased.

This. ^^^

-----------------------------

[uppityperson]

26. You made me laugh, in a really cynical way. Indeed, they should have built it further from that sacr

[Chicago dyke]

34. +10000

exactly. i want Dean and every other asshole trying to "compromise" with these people down there right now, alongside the Muslims and community members who will eventually try to rebuild... somewhere. let them get their hands dirty with ash covered brick and melted plastic, and smell the fragrant aroma of "compromise" with fascists.

[pinboy3niner]

89. Why don't they put it someplace like Temecula, CA? Oh...wait...

...they're protesting a mosque site there, too, aren't they?

I guess they can build it anywhere they want it, just not in the contiguous U.S....

[davidthegnome]

16. It's pretty sick

That people would actually do this. But it's been happening in one form or another since the beginning of civilization. There will always be those who allow their hatred to lead them down a more violent and closed minded path.

Those building this Mosque were in no way responsible for 9/11, nor are those building the Mosque in New York. If all Christians were held to blame for the actions of a few - we have the inquisitions, the crusades, abortion clinic bombings, countless wars and murders in the name of religion. Somehow I don't doubt that this was done by an individual or group of individuals who consider themselves to be Christian. It's sad and stupid and I hope who ever is responsible faces time in prison.

[davidpdx]

18. It is terrorism plain and simple

Find them put them on trial and convict them.

[Stuart G]

39. Yes it is. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. Shit

Thanks to Beck, Rush, Newt, et al.

[orbitalman]

21. This just PROVES...

there are people more dangerous than muslims. Those opponents certainly don't belong here; not for the reasons they're giving.

[johncoby2]

22. And so it begins......

[Odin2005]

23. It's only terrorism if "Brown People" do it, apparently.

:eyes:

[704wipes]

28. Coming soon to a Xtian church that practices Social Justice

thanks to Glenn Beck and his fellow traveling NAZIs.....
the Time Is Now

[mike r]

29. Vandalism of "Islamic training center" before the fire:

Pics from
http://www.realcourage.org/2010/06/murfreesboro-hate-continues/





http://www.wsmv.com/news/24025068/detail.html
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- One of three leading Republican candidates for Tennessee's 6th congressional district denounced a planned Islamic Center. Lou Ann Zelenik issued a statement Thursday evening saying she stands with those opposed to building what she calls "an Islamic training center." She says the center is not part of a religious movement, but a political one "designed to fracture the moral and political foundation of Middle Tennessee."...Zelenik, who calls herself a leader in the Middle Tennessee tea party movement, hopes to replace U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, a Democrat.

[pnorman]

38. Thanks for that link & photos!

n/t

[still_one]

30. From the Iraq war to incidents like this, the U.S. media has blood on their hands /nt

[alp227]

35. When was the last time Christian churches have been arsoned by Muslims?

Searching...searching...searching...not in America...but in Malaysia.

There've been shootings at churches, like this from 2008, but none I've heard of were from people like Nidal Malik Hassan.

So...bottom line is...all this anti-Muslim hysteria is more bigotry than intellect.

The perps need to pay big-time fines and go to prison for at least a few years.

[pezDispenser]

80. big time fines?

The perps are terrorists and need to be dealt with as such.

[krispos42]

37. And of course, the hosts of Fux News bear absolutely no responsibility for this.

Nope, not an iota...

[Botany]

41. "I have a dream ... "

[KillCapitalism]

45. You forgot someone...

?x=238&y=345&q=85&sig=PnUBDDCDC2mgap3uOj5J2g--

[sakabatou]

64. You mean...

[66 dmhlt]

76. Here's the way the Reality-Based world sees these a$$holes

[LawnKorn]

42. The equipment was probably leased, and is now unavailable for other construction projects

Stupid knuckle dragging Republicans destroy items needed to rebuild the economy in their blind hate.

[No Elephants]

44. How shameful. I am embarrassed.

[moblsv]

46. Where is the statement against these 'isolated incidents"

One lesson we should have all learned after the way Hitler let the "Final Solution" evolve without actually coming out and approving it. If Beck and Palin don't come out with strong statements against these attacks on Muslims, then they are tacitly supporting them.

[FirstTimeVoterAt37]

48. Sanity is the "isolated incident" now

Pretty much like a non-racist member of the Aryan Nation would be an isolated incident. Sorry, but fuck any and all apologists who try to pretend this hasn't become the new normal.

[wookie72]

49. Dean, Obama, Pelosi, Reid - (wo)MAN THE F*CK UP

ARe the Republicans worse? Of course. But at this point it's like the difference between (pardon the geek reference) Lord Voldemort and the people at the Ministry Of Magic who deny his existence.

[mwb970]

50. I assume they will blame this on "liberals".

Beck, O'Reilly, etc. had nothing to do with it!

[muddrunner17]

53. It must have been too close to Ground Zero...

[DonCoquixote]

54. This is just the appetizer

The theocrats have a nice fine banquet of pain ready, especially once they gut education. Consider that the Mclaughlin group just predicted Michelle Bachmann will be the VP candidate for 2012.

[AllyCat]

55. How bad does it have to get before we stop coddling the RW teevee/radio shows

and take them off the air, and into jail. All of these people need to be locked up. Let out all the people jailed for minor drug possession and we'll still need to build more jails for these murderous, criminal freaks.

[txlibdem]

57. Wow, you mean that a months long hate fest on "that" TV channel could result in this?

I'm so surprised. :sarcasm:

[Name removed]

58. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Binka]

61. Really?

:wtf:?

[Rage for Order]

65. Well, let's see. From the article linked in the OP...

Digging had begun at the site, which was planned as a place of worship for the approximately 250 Muslim families in the Murfreesboro area, but no structure had been built yet, according to Saleh Sbenaty, a member of the planning committee and a professor of engineering technology at Middle Tennessee State University.

"This is a shock," said Sbenaty. "We've had small act of vandals. But this is going to be a crime and whoever did it, they should be punished to the full extent of the law."

The center had operated for years out of a small business suite. Planning members said the new building, which was being constructed next to a church, would help accommodate the area's growing Muslim community.

"We unfortunately did not experience hostilities for the 30 years we've been here and have only seen the hostility since approval of the site plan for the new center," said Sbenaty.


There were no hostilities for over 30 years, aside from small acts of vandalism. All of a sudden the anti-Muslim sentiment is so strong that a construction site is torched? A construction site where nothing has been built yet? The items burned were earth-moving and other construction equipment. Sounds more like someone was after the construction company than the planned mosque/community center.

[Binka]

67. Things Have Changed A Lot in The Past 30 Years

Maybe you need to keep up with the times. The construction company is the victim now, and the community vandalized is suspect? How very 1950's of you. Ridiculous and :wtf:.

[Rage for Order]

68. You're right

Insurance fraud never happens, and things are always exactly as they are first reported to be, even before any investigative findings have been released.

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

72. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Binka]

74. The Link To The Bird Flipping Is In An Article Posted Down Thread

Yes you missed it. Here it is

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082202895.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2010082202944

If you cared enough about this story maybe you should read the thread.

[me b zola]

63. You forgot the sarcasm thingy

But what you said is exactly how the Becks & Limbaughs will attempt to avoid their responsibility in this.

[gibby2433]

59. I think I've figured it out

We're almost 9 years removed from 9/11, the failing and pointless "wars" in the Middle-East are now considered wrong by a majority of Americans. Until recently our collective feelings toward the Muslim world had become almost passive. So now the right-wing (politicians as well as the media) are actively trying to invent a NEW hatred toward Muslims in order to further their empirical pursuit to conquer the Mid-East (for oil, duh); which will become a focal point if they take back control of the Congress and Senate, because they know their addiction to military "force" has always been their most winning strategy (and the fact they have zero answers regarding domestic issues). They need to amp up ill-will from The People to re-energize their attempt to dominate the Middle-East. Mosques in America are hardly anything new, so why all the uproar and fear now? And the right-wing sheep are stepping in line faster than you can say, "Don't Tread on Me."

Sounds like a mild form of The Shock Doctrine. Muslims are trying to slowly take over our country by building religious structures to house and train terrorists (and drop "terror babies"). Because all Muslims are terrorists. Supposed "sane analyists" comparing the "Ground Zero Mosque" to building a Japanese Cultural Center at Pearl Harbor or a Nazi shrine at Auschwitz? Really?? Fear sells, and too many are buying.

Just a conspiracy theory? Maybe, but I believe it. This is and has always been considered "A Forever War" (to steal the title of the fantastic book by Dexter Filkins), and the Democrat in the White House has put a temporary crimp in their plans. It was labeled The War on Terror much like The War on Drugs and The War on Poverty, because an endgame was never an option, it just goes on and on and on...

[FirstTimeVoterAt37]

60. I guess I have to chime in again, because I’m freaked out

I really do believe it's a matter of time, maybe a matter of hours, before one of these insane gun nuts exercises his “second amendment remedies”. I’m talking maiming and killing a bunch of people that may or may not be Muslims. It only takes a few seconds to do, there’s no control, no tap-backs when you end a person’s life, and there’s ZERO reason to believe anyone would be held responsible.

Oh yeah, a culturally unimportant person might sit next to Scott Roeder for a couple years before getting paroled, but as far as culpability for the real instigators, it will be just another “isolated incident”.

Sharon Tate was an isolated incident too.

Fuck the Nazi references, we've got WAY more than our share of Mansons right now. I can name four off the top of my head.

[Douglas Carpenter]

66. WaPo 23Aug: TENN: Far from Ground Zero, other plans for mosques run into vehement opposition

By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 23, 2010

MURFREESBORO, TENN. -- For more than 30 years, the Muslim community in this Nashville suburb has worshipped quietly in a variety of makeshift spaces -- a one-bedroom apartment, an office behind a Lube Express -- attracting little notice even after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

But when the community's leaders proposed a 52,900-square-foot Islamic center with a school and a swimming pool this year, the vehement backlash from their neighbors caught them by surprise. Opponents crowded county meetings and held a noisy protest in the town square that drew hundreds, some carrying signs such as "Keep Tennessee Terror Free."

"We haven't experienced this level of hostility before ever, so it's new to us," said Saleh M. Sbenaty, an engineering professor who is overseeing the mosque's planned expansion.

snip:


Evangelist Pat Robertson weighed in Thursday, wondering on his television program whether a Muslim takeover of America was imminent and whether local officials could be bribed. (The mayor of the county where the Islamic Center is proposed called that idea "ridiculous.")

The members of the Murfreesboro mosque, who say they have always rejected extremism, have been bewildered by the vitriol.

Sbenaty, 52, who came to the United States from Syria for his doctoral studies three decades ago, gets misty-eyed describing the kindness his neighbors showed his family after Sept. 11. At one point, he recalled, he was in a shopping mall parking lot with his wife, who wears a hijab, and a group of locals made a point to stop and assure them they had nothing to fear.

The other day, however, as he was standing on the mosque's 15-acre parcel of land just outside town, drivers honked and flipped their middle fingers in the air as they rode past.

"It's tough to see that change," Sbenaty said.

link:

read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082202895.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2010082202944

[pettypace]

73. 1 out of every 4 kindergartener is Hispanic

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2010-08-27-1Akindergarten27_ST_N.htm

I think the white supremacists are targeting the wrong brown skinned folks.

I barely even see any Muslims on a daily basis. How the hell are they going to take over America?

[DeSwiss]

69. Not surprised in the slightest.

This has happened here before. Just a couple of years ago in fact:

Three Men Burn, Deface Mosque
NewsChannel 5
Posted: Feb 11, 2008 9:11 PM CST

COLUMBIA, Tenn. - The three men accused of burning down a local Islamic center appeared in court Monday. Eric Baker, Jonathan Stone and Michael "Cory" Golden are charged with arson. Police said they set fire to the Islamic Center of Columbia Saturday morning.

Graffiti, swastikas and phrases such as "White Power" were spray painted on the mosque's walls. Investigators said it's possible the three could face federal charges for attacking a house of worship.

"The Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and its Community Relations Committee condemn the destruction of the Mosque in Columbia, Tenn.," according to a statement released by the committee and federation.

"The use of white supremacist graffiti makes it evident that this was a crime of hate and religious intolerance. Such conduct in our society, against any ethnic or religious group, is reprehensible," the statement read.

LINK: http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=7857145

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=8243227">* Men Accused Of Setting Fire To Mosque Go To Trial

K&R

[Binka]

71. But But But A poster Up Thread Claims Insurance Fraud & Damage To The Construction Co.

Because the Muslim's are just rigging the game. You know riding the sympathy train.

[DeSwiss]

78. I suppose some might claim this is a coincidence.....

...but I've lived here since 1965.

- And I know better....

[Binka]

79. Thank You For That Reply

There is a poster on this thread that thinks the Muslim community damaged their site for insurance and or sympathy. Shameful.

[AsahinaKimi]

81. Another Hate Crime brought to you by our friends at FOX NEWS..

Thanks FOX! :sarcasm:

[Frisbee]

83. I am ashamed of what my country has become.

For a while, I believed we were on the right track, albeit, much too slowly. We are now headed backwards at a dizzing rate. If the RW has their way, the Bill of Rights will soon read "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed", and nothing else.

When you add this to what we are doing to the environment, at an equally dizzing rate, I really wonder how much longer we have.

[Tippy]

88. Where will it all end?

What happed to common sense?

[JustAnotherGen]

90. There's something about TN . . .

2 summers ago a wing nut shot up a Unitarian Universalist Church. He cited us being a bastion of liberalism or some such nonsense. Now - this most likely is true because I've never hear of another U that was a Republican. . . but it appears that the same darkness towards UU's is now being directed at Islam. That being the case - I'm standing with Islam on this one. And now? I want that mosque built in NYC more than ever . . .

[Green_Lantern]

91. was it really ruled an arson or do they just suspect that..

I thought they were investigating to determine if it was arson.

I know there has been vandalism at the sight of the building so arson isn't far off.