Murfreesboro Mosque Draws Equal Numbers For and Against

On the Murfreesboro public square, mosque supporters on the left face off with protesters on the right.

A proposed mega-mosque in Murfreesboro attracted hundreds of protesters to the public square yesterday afternoon. They were met by an equally-sized rally of mosque supporters.

After mosque opponents took a lap around the Murfreesboro square, something of a shouting match broke out on the courthouse steps. Supporters of the mosque chanted a line about the First Amendment as protesters sang “God Bless America.”

Sherry McLain says she’s suspicious and even fearful that building a 50,000 square foot Islamic center would attract more Muslims to the area.

“What’s the point of having something so large? What’s the bigger plan for it? That frightens me. Or if they’re going to build another one up in Antioch. Something’s going on, and I don’t like it. We’re at war with these people.”

McLain and others say Islam is diabolically opposed to Christianity.

Tony Pegel supports construction of the mosque and holds the view that to do otherwise would be un-Christian.

“How are we going to convert one single Muslim, if you think that’s what your job is to do, convert Muslims, then how are you going to do that if you drive them out of the county and make them hate you also?”

Like Pegel, most rallying in support of the mosque were not Muslims.