Mosque or No Mosque in Wallingford

Snuggled into the New England landscape, the tiny town of Wallingford is once again embroiled in a struggle between change and the status quo. An immigrant resident of an adjoining town is vying to place a mosque in a historical building located in a residential neighborhood, and the residents are having none of it.

Local newspapers gave a front page review of Farid's life. It is the classic American immigrants' story. He immigrated with his family from Pakistan when he was eleven years old. His family started a small flower shop and prospered with long hours and Spartan economy. When Farid wanted to start his own business, his mother happily produced the seed money and his resulting success was stellar.

Farid then founded a Muslim school in another adjoining town naming it in honor of his now deceased mother. His ambition is to establish this mosque in his mother's name, as well. Curiously, Farid decided to place both the school and the mosque in adjoining towns rather than his own upscale community. Instead he chose a community with a long history of maintaining the status quo.

Wallingford has always resisted change - from the no computers in the town hall debate to the debate against a holiday for Martin Luther King's birthday. So, as expected Farid and his supporters cry prejudice while the Wallingford opponents decry the traffic and the expected noise disturbances in their peaceful residential neighborhood.

I can understand the positions of both sides. As Wallingford is labeled as discriminating, I wonder how such a virtue as discrimination has taken on such a sinister meaning. We have long applauded gourmets, designers, architects, authors, and other creative people with their discriminating palates, yet this word can be leveled against anyone who will not comply with an other's opinion to manipulate the outcome of a debate.

Discrimination is not motivated by hate - as some would have you believe - but by the delicate balance between fear and embrace. To those evolutionists, discrimination is the tool that allowed the evolution of man. To creationists, discrimination allowed the survival of each race. Without discrimination, we would have been eaten by saber tooth tigers or poisoned by nightshade. Discrimination is a natural instinct and to legislate the extinction of this discernment will surely eradicate humankind.

My proposal for the stand-off in Wallingford: Allow the mosque on Leigus Road if a corresponding synagogue can be built next door.