Faith, freedom and the law

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Never heard of it. The only reason that caught my attention is that it is only a short distance east of where our daughter and family live on the southeast edge of Tulsa. It seems that a group of Muslim believers have petitioned the City of Tulsa to build a Mosque on ten acres of land that they already own.

No mention of whether Sharia law will be required. Despite over 60 individuals testifying against the petition in Tulsa, their planning commission authorized a go-ahead. The Broken Arrow planning commission was to have a hearing for the authorization of building the Mosque yesterday so it will be interesting what they permit. I am sure that the hearing will be packed with Oklahomans opposed to the building project.

Another proposed Muslim community called “Epic” was recently planned and laid out in Texas, not far outside the Dallas area. It was to be a little more grand and was some 1000 acres. They were going for a Mosque, a K-12 school, a college and a junior college and supporting community shops. In their petition to the state to form the community, they mentioned that Sharia law would govern. That Sharia bit got Governor Greg Abbott’s attention, and he raised up quite a resistance to the whole thing. So far, that development is stalled.

Here we live in the most successful country that the world has ever seen, and it is totally based on Judeo-Christian based law principles. Throughout our history, immigrants have been welcome, but all are expected to learn to speak English (the American version) plus learn and abide by our version of law.

That law comes from God and is not directed by some dictator or political party. “One nation under God.” The Muslim god is their Allah. Both religions, Jew and Muslim, are based on the first five books of the bible, or Torah, but the radical Muslim believers teach that Allah demands that any individuals who have beliefs, Christian, Jewish or any other religion, be forced to deny that religion and convert to belief in Allah or be killed.

Now that thought brings me to what is happening now in the African country of Nigeria. Roughly half of that modern state is populated with Christians in the South and radical Muslims in the North. Jihad is taking place today, and the radical Muslims have been killing the Christians by the thousands, over a million so far, burning their churches and destroying their villages and cities. So far, our USofA has not demonstrated any long-range plans to stop the slaughter.

Now closer to home in Nebraska. Grannie Annie and this old guy used to visit our daughter in Omaha on occasion. Returning to McCook, one drives through Lincoln. Driving west on Interstate 80, we’d divert south on 27th Avenue to shop at SAM’s, the large retail Department Store in Lincoln, on our way home.

I noticed that many of the clerks, maybe the majority of the female clerks, wore the hijab covering their hair as they did their duties. (An example of wearing the hajib we see daily on television is the U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar representing Minnesota) The men working there also seemed to wear Muslim garb. I did note that the store still sold pork products in their meat market, though eating pork is forbidden in the Muslim religion.

Driving through Lincoln on Interstate 80, one can notice on the north side, just west of 27th Street, a long, low, concrete-looking building, no signs, that looks to me to be a Mosque. I’m assuming that is the religious meeting place for the clerks that work in the SAM department store that Grannie and I used to frequent.

So far, to my knowledge, there have been no disruptions to life in Lincoln, and I know of no other Muslim community in our fair state. Rarely do I see any lady dressed in a hajib in the Southwestern area that we call home.

So, what is the future of the Muslim religion in our beloved Judeo-Christian United States of America? Do we allow the radical Muslims to become established, or do we forbid that from happening? I am probably too old to have to take a stand, but it may become a problem for our children or grandchildren. It may be wise to pay attention.

That is the way that I saw it.