Rural Texas Town Freaks Out About Plans to Locate Muslim Cemetery There
Hysteria over a Muslim community鈥檚 plans to place a cemetery in a small rural Texas town has reached such heights that residents are proclaiming that burials would likely contaminate the town鈥檚 drinking water 鈥� leading one resident to recommend that the site be contaminated with the blood and heads of pigs.
The residents of Farmersville, Texas 鈥� located about 40 miles northeast of Dallas 鈥� to demand that city fathers put a stop to a request from the Islamic Association of Collin County to turn a 35-acre open tract into a Muslim cemetery. The request was filed because the region鈥檚 Muslims face a shortage of cemetery space for members of their faith.
The meeting was replete with fears that the plan is mere cover for more nefarious purposes.
鈥淚t is my duty and my right to warn when there is a danger,鈥� said one resident. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e at war with us,鈥� said another. 鈥淚t鈥檚 gonna kill Farmersville,鈥� warned yet another.
A local pastor, David J. Meeks, told the Dallas Morning News that residents fear an expanded Muslim presence in their town. 鈥淗ow can we stop a mosque or madrassa from going in there?鈥� he asked. 鈥淭he concern for us is the radical element of Islam.鈥�
But the wildest charges came from people claiming that they were concerned the cemetery would contaminate the city鈥檚 water supply.
鈥淲hen somebody dies, they bury them at that time,鈥� Farmersville resident Troy Gosnell told KTVT-TV. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know whether they were shot, diseased or anything else. All they do is wrap them in a sheet, throw them in the grave and bury them.鈥�
Another resident claimed that this was part of a plot to poison the town鈥檚 water supply. 鈥淭heir bodies are generally above the water,鈥� she explained. 鈥淲e get rain, it鈥檚 going to be in our drinking system.鈥�
An elderly resident proposed a plan of attack for locals to dissuade the Muslims from seeking the land: 鈥淭ake and dump pigs鈥� blood and [plant] pigs鈥� heads on a post,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd they won鈥檛 buy the land.鈥�
In reality, Muslim Americans use coffins and vaults to bury their dead. Khalil Abdur-Rashid, a spokesman for the Islamic association, said misinformation was behind the criticism. He contended that the plans for the cemetery have more to do with 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� than religion.
鈥淪ome thought it was a mosque going to be built, others thought it was a training ground,鈥� Abdur-Rashid told WFAA-TV. 鈥淲e want to be very clear that this is a cemetery.鈥�
鈥淭hey are fearful of what they don鈥檛 understand and hopefully it鈥檚 an opportunity for us to come together and learn a little bit more about each other and hopefully dispel some of those misconceptions,鈥� said Alia Salem with the Dallas-Forth Worth chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) Texas.
Of course, such irrational behavior related to Islamophobic hysteria isn鈥檛 confined to rural Texas. Recently a Florida gun shop owner announced via YouTube video that he was declaring his store a 鈥淢uslim-free zone鈥� as a way of preventing terrorism.
CAIR officials in Florida noted that such a declaration violated state law, and the organization would be requesting an investigation.
鈥淚 invite Andy, the gun shop owner, to come and break bread with us, to get to know us as his fellow Americans. As his neighbors. We might be his doctor, his police officer, his firefighter. That鈥檚 what the American-Muslim community is. And I think he should get to know us, and not let fear and hatred divide us as Americans,鈥� said Hassan Shibly of CAIR Florida.
