The Terrorists are Coming! Oh, Wait. . . .

I live in a fairly small town, deep in the heart of the Bible Belt. This is a deeply Southern Baptist town. The Baptists generally tolerate Methodists without much issue, but that's about it. As a teenager, I rebelled against my parents and joined a Southern Baptist church. They didn't understand it, but I guess they figured there were worse things I could be doing. In bible study, we were taught that Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Catholics weren't true Christians, but were actually cults. Seriously. Cults. Like, David Koresh, holed up in a compound with guns, FBI stand-off cults.

For some reason, Jewish people are oddly tolerated by the Baptists. I was told it was because they were "God's Chosen People," but unless they accepted Jesus as their lord and savior, they were going to hell, too. I never really was able to reconcile that. Also, because of the redneck, football, Baptist, culture, I find it surprising we've had a synagogue in our town for over a hundred years. It's not hidden in the outskirts of town, either. It's smack dab in the middle of town, and I can't ever recall anyone messing with them. The Mormons, on the other hand, decided they would also build a church in town, and all hell broke loose. The whole town became hysterical over it, but that was years ago, and the controversy has died down.

The next controversy is beginning. I was completely unaware that we had any sort of significant Muslim population in town, until today. Someone I know had posted the link to the website of an Islamic group that is trying to build themselves a mosque. In town. Near the college. I checked out the website, and it is modest, as are their building plans. They have also posted some of their legal documents, like their Articles of Organization, which is how I learned that they actually started to get serious about organizing two years ago. I suspect this is starting to make waves because they might be coming close to a goal of breaking ground. I honestly don't know, but I know my conservative Southern Baptist town well enough to suspect.

Fundamentalists ruin everything for everyone that isn't a fanatic, and the Christians seem to have a very spotty memory when it comes to their history. I think it would be great for this town to have more diversity, instead of just preaching whatever fits your current judgment of others. The very first thing you read at the very top of our Islamic Center's website is: Assalaamu-a’laikum (Peace Be Upon You). Welcome to our website. The Valdosta Islamic Center is a not-for-profit organization which strives to serve the religious, educational, and social needs of the growing Muslim community of the greater Valdosta Area. Also we reach out to the people of other faiths, convey the true principles and concepts of Islam, and build strong relationships with private, business, and public institutions around the area.

I guess we'd better hide our kids, hide our wives, because they're coming for us.