DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MISSOURI: ST. LOUIS COUNTY REJECTS A PROPOSAL FOR A SATELLITE TERROR OFFICE (MOSQUE) - - - LAWSUIT PENDING

A mosque for South County

Between the legitimate concern about terrorism and the overheated rhetoric it often generates, it's not beyond possibility that religious discrimination has played a part in the St. Louis County Council's wrongheaded rejection of a proposed Islamic center on Lemay Ferry Road near Buckley Road in south St. Louis County.

It's also possible, though, that the opposition stems from simple misunderstanding.

The proposed center would serve a congregation that is about 85 percent Bosnian. Some 50,000 Bosnians have settled in the St. Louis region since fleeing the brutal civil war that attended the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

The immigrants arrived nearly penniless, as many immigrants do, and promptly went to work. They fixed up homes, started businesses and revived neighborhoods in south St. Louis. As their economic fortunes improved, some moved into south St. Louis County. St. Louis' Bosnian community is an American success story, built on determination and hard work.

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Mr. Campisi has declined to answer questions about the issue, citing a pending lawsuit aimed at overturning the council's rejection. But only two of more than a dozen nearby residents interviewed by a Post-Dispatch reporter and an editorial writer objected to the development.

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Pertinent Links:

1) A mosque for South County