Anti-Muslim sentiments have crossed the Red River, with Oklahoma now joining Texas in public fights against Muslim building projects.
City Council members in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, voted Jan. 12 to deny a rezoning request tied to a proposed mosque and retail development, according to TV station News on 6.
The council’s decision followed weeks of public debate and an investigation by the state’s attorney general, Gentner Drummond, who is running for governor.
The Islamic Society of Tulsa says it needs a second mosque in addition to one currently located in Midtown Tulsa. The society says half its members live in Broken Arrow.
An architect for the group told the council the building plan follows all proper requirements and regulations. The group already changed its plan to decrease the number of parking spaces from 600 to fewer than 200.
Still, at the end of a four-hour meeting, the council voted 4-1 to deny the rezoning request, saying the Muslims’ proposal did not meet standards for appropriate land use.
The TV station reported an estimated 1,300 people attended the meeting and more than 400 signed up to speak.
In December, the Broken Arrow Planning Commission voted to approve the rezoning request for the proposed mosque and retail development. About 70 people spoke then, with the majority opposing the rezoning.
Although opponents of the project cite concerns about traffic and land use, that’s a smokescreen for anti-Muslim bias, according to Mitch Randall, CEO of Good Faith Media, who grew up in a nearby area of Tulsa.
Mitch Randall
“Oklahoma reminds me from time to time that I live within an ocean of Christian nationalism,” he said. “Denying this rezoning request for the Greater Islamic Society of Tulsa to build a mosque on land they own, then for the Oklahoma attorney general to launch an ‘investigation’ while running for governor, violates the religious liberty of Oklahoma Muslims.
“Let’s be clear: This would not be an issue if a Christian church wanted to build a facility. Additionally, I got word that ‘In God We Trust’ was plastered on our County Courthouse today. Lord, have mercy that Oklahoma continues to trivialize faith for political purposes.”
Randall, who currently lives in Norman, Okla., has been a plaintiff in recent lawsuits against religious indoctrination in public schools.
Dan Kaiman
Rabbi Dan Kaiman of Congregation B’nai Emunah also expressed concern about opposition to the mosque in Broken Arrow.
“Over the past weeks, many of us have been watching what is unfolding in Broken Arrow around the proposed opening of a mosque,” he wrote on Facebook. “The public conversation has been framed in familiar terms. Safety. Values. Process. Zoning. Prudence. The language is careful and procedural. Yet beneath it, something older and more dangerous is stirring. Fear of a religious minority simply because it is visible.
“As a Jewish community, we believe deeply in the right of all religious groups to build vibrant and meaningful houses of worship that serve their spiritual and communal needs. Religious diversity is not a problem to be managed. It is a strength to be protected. When the religious life of one community is treated as suspect, religious freedom for all communities becomes fragile.”
This Oklahoma controversy follows several years of battles in North Texas over a planned mixed-use community in Plano, Texas, nicknamed EPIC City. EPIC is an acronym for East Plano Islamic Center, which has faced opposition and investigations from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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