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A blue tarp covers the area where a dome will soon be placed on the new Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

A large mosque being built in Murfreesboro is almost done. From the outside, what’s left is capping off the structure with a quintessential dome and two small minarets. While construction nears completion, the fight to finish continues. Two years after the local planning commission approved the project, a judge will consider stopping work at a hearing Wednesday.

Inside the new Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, workers are patching seams in the drywall as leaders of the congregation make a tough decision…on the paint color.

“That’s China white?” says Essam Fathy. “For the big room inside.”

The local physical therapist originally from Egypt is in charge of the building. Paint color has been the least of his worries. He’s encountered vandalism, graffiti, even arson. And then there’s being accused of having ties with terrorists.

Essam Fathy is a local physical therapist who heads the planning committee of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

“They can say what they want to divide people or scare people,” Fathy says. “It will not work.”

There’s been some upside to the intimidation. Mosque leaders say it’s helped them raise money from sympathizers around the country and fast-track construction. They’re on pace to hold late-July Ramadan celebrations in the new facility. But that depends on Chancellor Robert Corlew. The judge already voided the planning commission’s 2010 approval of the mosque, saying that for such an important matter, the commission didn’t give adequate notice of the meeting.

Statewide Impact

County attorney Josh McCreary says the mosque was treated just like any Christian church. If the ruling is upheld, McCreary sees far reaching impacts.

“It could affect probably the standard for notice for public meetings in certain circumstances across the state, potentially,” he says.

And while opponents of the mosque have only had success challenging how the project was approved, they started out putting the religion of Islam on trial altogether. The judge ruled Islam is a constitutionally protected religion, but that’s still an open question to Joe Brandon Jr. He’s the flamboyant criminal defense attorney representing mosque opponents.

Asked if they want the nearly-completed mosque bulldozed, Brandon says he doesn’t “have an opinion on that one way or the other.”

“We don’t want Sharia law, we don’t want a Constitution-free zone in Rutherford County, Tennessee,” he adds, saying “it’s a probability.”

Attorney Joe Brandon Jr. is a criminal defense attorney who is representing opponents of the Murfreesboro mosque.

Brandon comes off as almost a caricature, complete with a closet full of colorful suits that attract stares in the courtroom. But in this instance, he’s not just mouthing off on behalf of a client. He’s got personal beliefs tied up in the case. A Bible sits open to the Old Testament on his law office desk.

“I believe there is only one God, and that is the living God of Israel. And with that said, I still do not oppose individuals that don’t believe in that capacity,” he says. “However, Sharia law is not religion, and I’m unaware of any situation where you can separate Sharia law out from under Islam. And quite frankly I see that as a problem.”

Anti-Muslim, Anti-Murfreesboro

Two years ago, marchers protesting the mosque held signs saying “remember the Twin Towers” and “Islam is not a religion” while circling the Rutherford County Courthouse. While the shouting has quieted, their concerns still echo on the town square.

On a bench under a century-old shade tree, Robert Godsey waits for his wife to get off work, plucking his six-string banjo and singing a Glen Campbell love song. It’s an idyllic scene that he fears may be in jeopardy because of the growing Muslim population.

“Islam may have a certain religious component to it, but it also has a political component to it that is bent on domination through violence and armed jihad,” he says. “Can’t people see that?”

Indictments of Islam have tarnished the town’s reputation for southern hospitality, according to resident Patti Smotherman.

“This is so anti-Murfreesboro,” she says. “It’s not anti-Muslim. It’s anti-Murfreesboro to be so rude.”

Polls taken over the last few years show a majority of residents being tolerant or at least indifferent toward the new mosque.

“I think if you’ve read much on it, there are a lot of things that are concerning,” says Vicki Taylor. “But that church has been here in our community for many years meeting somewhere else, and I didn’t even know it.”

They’re still gathering for prayers in the back of a nondescript office building. But with lingering procedural questions, Muslims in Murfreesboro may have to meet in the shadows for a little while longer.