Texas Town Wants to Shut Down Proposal to Build Muslim Cemetery

Locals in Farmersville, Texas worry that the construction of a Muslim cemetery will lead to Muslims taking over their town.

Video Still via WFAA

Locals in a predominantly white town in Texas are trying to stop a proposal to build a Muslim cemetery alongside one of its highways, citing feats that its construction would lead to the construction of mosques and Islamic training centers and the eventual Muslim takeover of the town.,

Farmersville is about 35 miles from Dallas, and about 25 from Garland, Texas—where two people were fatally shot in May during a satirical cartoon contest about the Prophet Mohammed. Farmersville residents showed up to a city council meeting to voice their concerns about the Muslim cemetery.,

"I do not want my child indoctrinated toward their religion," said one woman told the City Planning and Zoning Commission. Another resident said, "We do not want this to be a Muslim dumping ground."

Others went resorted to making threats. One man told news station CBS Dallas-Fort Worth that he would "dump pigs' blood and put pig heads on a post" on the 35-acre lot that the Islamic Association of Collin County has requested, so that they "won't buy the land."

David Meeks, a Baptist pastor, said the community was worried that the cemetery would lead to the construction of radical training centers. "The concern for us is the radical element of Islam," Meek,told the Dallas Morning News. "How can we stop a mosque or madrassa training center from going in there?"

Despite the criticism, Khalil Abdur-Rashid from the Islamic Association of Collin County, said that most of the town's concerns are based on misinformation about what the group really wants to do.

"Some thought it was a mosque going to be build, others thought it was a training ground," he told WFAA. "We want to be very clear that this is a cemetery."

"We wanted our community to be able to visit their loved ones in a place that is known to provide honor and dignity, and fond memories of those of the past," he added.

The Islamic Association purchased the land today, but the Planning and Zoning Commission still needs to sign off on the proposal. Still, some people are convinced it's a bad idea.

"There is something about it that y'all are missing," one man said at the city council meeting.

[via WFAA, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth, Dallas Morning News]

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