MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Muslims in the Tennessee city of Murfreesboro said Friday they hope the opening of their new mosque after more than two years of controversy will be a new beginning for relations with the community, particularly their opponents.
Islamic Center of Murfreesboro members include immigrants from Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and other countries, as well as American converts. Many of them said that before the opposition to their new building they had always found Murfreesboro to be a welcoming community.
If it were not, they would never have grown to the point where they needed to build a new mosque, they said.
‘‘We are here 30 years and I never had a problem with the people here,’’ said Safaa Fathy, a member of the mosque’s board of directors. ‘‘It only started two years ago.’’
That’s when the Islamic center received permission to build a new mosque to replace their space in an office park. Since then they have faced protests, vandalism, arson of a construction vehicle, and a bomb threat. Opponents of the project held a protest rally and then sued the county to stop construction.
Last month, a federal judge granted the mosque’s request for an emergency order that would open the building in time for the holy month of Ramadan, which is now underway.
ASSOCIATED PRESS