Welcome to Maryland, Now Please Leave

Quick to judge
Quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
And fear walk hand in hand...
Rush, "Witch Hunt"

The story of American often is told with reference to oppressed religious minorities fleeing persecution in their homelands and finding a home here. One would think that the Ahmadi Muslims would fit the bill:

Ahmadis are considered heretics by Islam's Sunnis and Shiites and maintain no ties to mainstream Muslims. The sect began in 19th-century India when followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad proclaimed him the messiah, fulfilling Christian and Muslim prophecies of a second coming. Although the Ahmadis' holy book is the Quran, the Pakistani government has declared them non-Muslims.

Abbasi, the pharmacist, says he left Pakistan after his house was stoned and other family members saw their homes and businesses destroyed by mobs. Today, there are 15,000 Ahmadis in the USA.

Alas, some folks in rural Maryland, where the Ahmadis want to build a worship center, would appreciate it if the they would practice their First Amendment rights somewhere else, thank you very much:

Among those opposed is Clark Millison, 70, a retired graphic designer. 'I don't know that much about Muslims,' he says, 'but I understand they want to take over the world and want us all dead.'

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'We don't begrudge the right' of Ahmadis to practice their religion, says Mary Mowen, 53, a college English tutor, 'but we don't feel that Walkersville is the best place' for them to do it.

Thankfully, the Ahmadis do have support from some folks in the community - their fellow religious types:

Gerald Hanberry of Glade United Church of Christ is one of the few pastors of Walkersville's 18 churches who support the group. "There are people adamantly opposed to a Muslim group doing anything in this community," he says. "I don't believe land-use decisions should be made on the basis of religious faith."

Good to see someone standing up for the right of everyone - even the outsiders - to worship as they wish.