I hope you will take a moment to read this, GUEST COLUMNIST I DANIELLE LONGAMORE Christianity used as weapon by Kennesaw mosque opponents Hello, America! I am a natural citizen. I am an “Army brat” and I am a Religious Studies student. I was raised Catholic. I work full time and I give my time to charity as much as possible. I was taught to be good to people. I was raised to understand that judging someone else was not my job. Most of all, I am angry. There has recently been a smattering of media attention in regard to a proposed mosque in Kennesaw. Some of my friends are Muslim. Some are pagan. Some are Christian. Yet, we stood together to support this mosque in a room vibrating with bigotry. Why? Because in a country begun by people fleeing religious persecution, it was the right thing to do. It is our constitutional right to speak freely, to protest, to worship. That is unless you happen to be Muslim and live in Kennesaw. The proper things were said in the beginning of the first meeting. The mayor indicated that it had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with zoning, overcrowding, etc. Granted, permits can be tricky, but he also said the city of Kennesaw had never issued a permit for a place of worship inside a retail center. What about The Redeemed Christian Fellowship right on Cherokee Street? A quick Internet search will show it is zoned for retail. Parking was then brought up, which was addressed with compliance from the mosque organizers by agreeing to a set number of spaces. Even after acquiescence, the decision was “no.” There was only one consistent “yes” vote. Councilwoman Chris Eaton-Welsh seemed to be the only member of the Kennesaw City Council who believes and stands for our Constitution. Unfortunately, upholding the law comes with a price. “Anti-Islam” protesters went so far as to threaten her so much that she felt it necessary to have police protection before and after the meeting. In case anyone missed that last point — let me narrow it for you. A city councilwoman was threatened by her Christian constituents and not by the Muslims who wished for a place to worship. There were no Muslim threats against the other council members, either. The decision was a farce. During the first meeting, I was shocked that the council opened with a rather long, blustery, Christian prayer. Did I bow my head? Nope. Separation of church and state, folks, I’m 100 percent behind it. You know who did respectfully bow their heads? Every Muslim in the room. By channeling the same prayer for the final meeting, it became clear that the Christian faith was being used as a weapon. One protester was pleasant earlier in the evening when I passed out Bible verses, but was quite hostile the next day online. I don’t think they appreciated the irony. I see so many Christians walking around with their noses in the air, claiming to be “good” when in reality they are making a mockery of the very faith they claim with passion. I have heard such phrases as “There’s violence in the Quran!” but let’s be fair for a moment. There’s violence in the Bible too. Judea was constantly at war. There were horrific killings, slavery and let’s not start on the abuse of women throughout the Old Testament, but one doesn’t see blood packs of ignorant people picketing proposed churches with the same short-sightedness as these Kennesaw concerned Christians opposing this mosque. Jesus Christ, whether you believe him to be the Son of God, or a most respected Prophet, was above and beyond everything else a good man. He took care of the sick and the poor and helped any and all to the best of his ability. So I ask you, those citizens against this mosque, why can’t you follow in the footsteps of a truly good man? You should be ashamed of yourselves. You make those of us who strive to be good people, raised in the Christian faith, look suspect. To the rest of the world — I promise you that we aren’t all bigots. However, the loud, ignorant and rude individuals always get the most play and now it also appears they get the most power, not unlike Nazis from our not so distant past, and we bear witness to the devastation a few could do to a whole group of people. Hello, America. My name is Danielle Longamore. I am still angry. Danielle Longamore is a resident of Dallas, Ga.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 13:48:30 +0000
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