GI Joe
12-28-2006, 01:56 AM
KATY, Texas -- While Kamel Fotouh makes plans to build a mosque on 11 acres of pasture here, neighbor Craig A. Baker is making plans of his own -- to hold pig races.
Baker figures he'll need a tent, souvenirs and a track for the pigs to race on, all in full view of the Muslims next door. Baker will host the competition on Friday -- a Muslim holy day.
This is not meant as a slur on Islam, Baker said. It's a dispute between two neighbors.
"A lot of people are making this into a racist situation, a redneck guy from Texas saying `We're going to put on pig races,"' he said. "But I'm standing up for property rights."
In Islam, swine are considered taboo for consumption. In Judaism, pigs also are considered unfit, or unclean, for food.
The trouble started in October, shortly after the Katy Islamic Association bought the land next to Baker's marble business. Katy, population 13,000, is a mix of largely white, middle-class housing developments, shopping centers and fields. Until now, it was mostly known as the home of a Rice Harvest Festival, an outlet mall and actress Renee Zellweger.
Like many drawn to a quieter lifestyle and lower housing costs, about 500 Muslim families have moved to Katy over the years and become an accepted part of the community.
"I have never once felt discrimination," said Fotouh, an engineer and president of the Katy Islamic Association, , who has lived here for 20 years.
Baker has even deeper roots in Katy -- his family settled here during the 1800s and never left. The street that runs past the mosque site is named Baker Road.
Baker and Fotouh both say their first meeting was cordial. Baker readily agreed to remove his cattle from the association's land. He also offered to donate granite fill for the group's new driveway.
cont
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/12/27/news/national/572bc4f2e432c7bf872572510007acdf.txt
also
http://www.townhall.com/blog/g/eed008e6-b791-4889-a7e0-60f3fcd90a59
Baker figures he'll need a tent, souvenirs and a track for the pigs to race on, all in full view of the Muslims next door. Baker will host the competition on Friday -- a Muslim holy day.
This is not meant as a slur on Islam, Baker said. It's a dispute between two neighbors.
"A lot of people are making this into a racist situation, a redneck guy from Texas saying `We're going to put on pig races,"' he said. "But I'm standing up for property rights."
In Islam, swine are considered taboo for consumption. In Judaism, pigs also are considered unfit, or unclean, for food.
The trouble started in October, shortly after the Katy Islamic Association bought the land next to Baker's marble business. Katy, population 13,000, is a mix of largely white, middle-class housing developments, shopping centers and fields. Until now, it was mostly known as the home of a Rice Harvest Festival, an outlet mall and actress Renee Zellweger.
Like many drawn to a quieter lifestyle and lower housing costs, about 500 Muslim families have moved to Katy over the years and become an accepted part of the community.
"I have never once felt discrimination," said Fotouh, an engineer and president of the Katy Islamic Association, , who has lived here for 20 years.
Baker has even deeper roots in Katy -- his family settled here during the 1800s and never left. The street that runs past the mosque site is named Baker Road.
Baker and Fotouh both say their first meeting was cordial. Baker readily agreed to remove his cattle from the association's land. He also offered to donate granite fill for the group's new driveway.
cont
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/12/27/news/national/572bc4f2e432c7bf872572510007acdf.txt
also
http://www.townhall.com/blog/g/eed008e6-b791-4889-a7e0-60f3fcd90a59