Mosque Bomb Hits Close to Home

This post is a little off-topic, but important.  I hope you can take a moment or two to send out some emails.  Feel free to encourage others to do so too.  Thanks everyone.


The mosque where my partner Kazim's family has attended has been in the news recently because of the actions of its neighbor. He placed a sign on his front lawn reading "Bomb Makers Next Driveway"  Read about it here:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/05/10/136185720/new-york-man-posts-bomb-making-lawn-sign-to-protest-new-mosque

I am sure that you, as I was, are shocked but maybe not surprised by such hate speech. It's clear from the article that the neighbor's beef with the mosque actually has nothing to do with ideology or politics, but rather lighting and zoning. What is scary is that the air in our country is so filled with this discourse that this man can pluck it out of for his own purposes so easily, and frankly, stupidly. Are we beginning to see the development of a climate similar to 1930s Germany, where the irresponsible discourse of hate from politicians is causing such a cultural momentum that anyone can make claims about "them," those hated Others, whoever they may be?
I don't often do this, but I felt moved to write some short emails. Might I ask you to do the same as a small gesture towards cleaning the national air of such hateful speech?
1. First to Michael Heick himself. You can find him on Facebook. Search his name and you will find a Michael Heick who attended Williamsville North. That's him. Here's the note I sent to him:

Dear Mr. Heick,
  Though you may have legitimate zoning/building issues with your neighbor, the sign on your yard can only be construed as hateful, and frankly, ignorant. Do you really think your neighbors, or all Muslims everywhere, are bomb-makers? Come on now... Years from now do you think your family, children (if you have), and friends will be proud of this statement of yours? Regardless of whatever light or other issues you have with the building, is this really what you think of the people inside of the building? Consider for a moment how you would feel if your neighbor on the other side put up a sign that said "Pedophile next driveway." Not only factually untrue, but deeply hurtful... You have created a lot of hurt with a small sign. Let's hope none of those "bombmakers" gets hurt by any misguided violence unleashed by your petty sign. Then you would truly be guilty of a heinous thing.
Sincerely,
Marco Wilkinson




2. To the Amherst town supervisor, Barry Weinstein. You can find him at bweinstein@amherst.ny.us. Let him know that the rest of the world supports Amherst's commitment to religious freedom and encourage him to take a stand that more firmly proclaims Amherst is a place of tolerance and civility. Here's mine:


Dear Mr. Weinstein,
  First, I'd like to congratulate you and the town of Amherst for understanding, respecting, and celebrating two pillars of American culture: religious freedom and peaceful assembly. That communities of whatever faith can come together in houses of worship is a fundamental right, is something many towns and cities in the U.S. lately have been forgetting or willfully ignoring, especially when it comes to our Muslim sisters and brothers. So, thank you to Amherst for allowing the mosque to be built.
  Second, I am of course writing because of the news I am reading all the way out in Oberlin, OH. The notoriety your town has received from the actions of Michael Heick and his "Bomb Makers Next Driveway" sign is certainly not something you can be excited about. Your response as it was reported, "Inappropriate but not illegal," was tempered but also tepid. Please take a more vigorous stand. While there may be no legal recourse for removing the sign, certainly it is more than just "inappropriate." Use your bully pulpit to celebrate the diversity of your town, to decry these ignorant and hate-filled assertions by Mr. Heick. Iimagine if the sign was some anti-semitic slur in Germany in the early 1930s -- sometimes the poisonous discourse in this country around Islam feels similar.
  Again, thank you for your support of religious freedom. Please stand up more forcefully to celebrate it. You have many many MANY people in your community and around the country who will stand up and celebrate with you.


Sincerely,
Marco Seiryu Wilkinson
a Zen Buddhist farmer from Ohio