New Hampshire's first Islamic Mosque is under construction in Manchester.
The state's growing Muslim community, now estimated at over 3,000, has long desired its own place of worship.
And this past May, builders finally broke ground in a quiet out-of-the-way neighborhood in the state's largest city.
However, some local residents don't want the construction to continue.
NHPR Correspondent Debra Daigle has the story from Manchester.
Begin with ambi sound of praying.
Track 1: On Friday afternoons, Muslims from across New Hampshire crowd into this rented basement on Valley Street.
Offices here are home to the Islamic Society of Greater Manchester.
But over the past few years, the facility also served as a place of worship for the state’s growing Muslim population.
(bring in construction ambi sound)
Track 2: However, these cramped Friday afternoon services may soon become a thing of the past.
Construction has begun on Karatzas Avenue in Manchester – the site of NH’s first Islamic mosque.
“Churches are designed to build morality…that’s the purpose of religion, to speak the truth, relay the truth. So that’s what we are trying to do.â€
Track 3: Dr. Mahboubul Hassan is President of the Islamic Society of Greater Manchester.
He's been working to get this construction project off the ground since 1998.
(perhaps bring in ambi sound of construction here)
This afternoon (or “On a warm summer afternoon), a bulldozer clears piles of dirt, concrete and uprooted trees at the three acre site – to prepare for the foundation of the future mosque.
(bring up ambi sound just a bit)
Building Committee Member, Zahid Malik, says the completed mosque will be a 13, 000 square foot domed octagon surrounded by trees, with three levels – Main Prayer Hall, Mezzanine, and Basement;
And he says the mosque will serve several functions.
“Apart from offering prayer to Allah, it is also a place where people get together, they share their problems…and they also try to do many civic activities, like free education to the children. And then outreach. This place will not just be for Muslims…but will be open to people of all faiths.†:25
Malik estimates the project will take anywhere from six months to a year to build at a cost of about a million dollars.
They've been able to hold down costs by enlisting the help of volunteers.
For example, Babar Khan, Chair of the Building Committee points to the large Bosnian Muslim community, many of whom work in construction.
“A lot of those would do sight-clearing, manual labor and that sort of thing. But then we also have some skilled folks: electricians, plumbers, masons…so we’re hoping to utilize their expertise in those skills also.â€
Track 5: And in a manner reminiscent of an old-fashioned New England barn-raising, non-muslims too have offered help.
Track 6: Chris Emerson, Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Manchester – says the Greater Manchester Interfaith Council will be actively recruiting people of all faiths to pitch in:
…… We have folks in our church here for instance who are happy to put up wall…happy to paint…work on trim…various types of essentially Joe Homeowner things. We have some professionals…but most of our people are eager to help, if their level but limited skill is needed.â€
Track 7: However…the project also has a share of people who don't want it to be built.
Some soon-to-be neighbors don't think the 3 acre site on Karatzas Avenue is suitable for such a large facility.
And they worry that the five daily prayer services will attract hundreds of people to the area.
Frank Scarito has been the most outspoken opponent.
“The issue is, the situation of a large and heavy usage building in a predominantly residential neighborhood…on a street that is not maintained by the city (or loosely maintained by the city)…doesn’t have adequate size to accommodate two-way traffic…doesn’t get adequate snow-plowing…has no utilities, i.e., there’s no water or sewer up there. The plan itself doesn’t allow for what we think is appropriate parking for large volume usage. It just doesn’t make any sense up here.â€
(ambi?)
Track 8: “up here†is a little bit of country in the midst of Manchester; a hilltop area, where very few residents live several lots apart, surrounded by vegetation that provides plenty of privacy.
Scarito worries that his quiet world is about to end.
“They are only going to have 57 parking spaces…and knowing what I know about their faith, and need to pray five times a day, if they showed up each of the five times a day, there wouldn’t be enough parking to accommodate them."
Track 9: But board members have promised to enforce a maximum capacity of 200 people.
And despite the opposition, the Society was able to obtain all the proper planning & zoning permits to move forward with the project.
Then another roadblock appeared.
Because the project depends on volunteers, most of the work at the site was taking place during off hours and on the weekends.
And again the neighbors complained.
They said it violated a city ordinance.
The Society applied for a waiver, but Max Sink – Deputy Director of Manchester’s Building Department – says they failed to show a “compelling need for after-hours work.â€
“The ordinance restricts noise caused by construction…other than between the hours of 7AM and 9PM on weekdays…except in cases of emergency or urgent necessity in the interest of public health and safety. And then only with a permit from the building commissioner, for a limited time only, while the emergency continues or urgent necessity warrants.†:23
Track 11: The Society’s President, Mahboubul Hassan is disappointed that neighbors called police to complain about noise.
“You know it’s not true. It’s not the noise. They didn’t want us to build a mosque. They objected right from the beginning.â€
Track 12: And indeed, they did, and still do, object.
But Frank Scarito insists he is not biased against Muslims.
“We were called racist, bigoted. It’s not a racial issue, it has everything to do with public safety and conditions of the road. I don’t want condos, apartments…no church, no mosque, no synagogue, no temple, no Dunkin’ Donuts, no strip mall.â€
Track 13: Instead, Scarito says he and his neighbors are the real victims of discrimination, because they feel they have been ignored by the city.
The Interfaith Council’s Chris Emerson says he empathizes with the neighbors.
But he wants the Mosque project to continue.
“There’s no question that there is a tremendous heritage and history to Islam that the American people need to discover…which all the tragedies around terrorism have prevented many of us from seeing.â€
Final Track: The Interfaith Council has scheduled a meeting for next week.
There they hope to address neighbor's concerns and move forward with the project….to everyone's satisfaction.
For NHPR News, this is Debra Daigle in Manchester.
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