Posted on 05/10/2015 6:17:56 AM PDT by HomerBohn
Nestled in the heart of Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains lies an Evangelical Mecca, where Christianity and Country music are as indigenous to the region as the seven hills of Lynchburg and thousands of students make their annual pilgrimage, every fall, to study at the largest Christian University in the world. But in the ‘buckle of the bible belt,’ some residents answer a different call to prayer.
And if Obama has his way, many of the 100,000 Muslim refugees expected to arrive this year will be dumped right in the heart of America’s Bible Belt, transported and supported on the backs of hardworking US taxpayers.
WSET: The Muslim community in the Lynchburg area is made up of around 50 families. Like many of those families, Mohammad and Asma Rahman moved here to seize a better opportunity.
Going only on his word, Asma, Mohammad, and their two sons made their way to Lynchburg in 2006. “We knew about Liberty and Jerry Falwell.”
Asma Rahman says she had reservations and was a little scared. “Here when we came at first, I was a little bit, because I knew there weren’t that many Muslims” said Asma Rahman. “We didn’t have a mosque at the time,” added Mohammad Rahman.
A stark contrast to the mosque in New Jersey where their kids attended Islamic school– or their native Bangladesh — home to some of the largest mosques in the world. “People in the Boonsboro area and the Lynchburg area were praying in people’s homes on Fridays,” said Mohammad Rahman.
So a group of Muslim families, including the Rahmans, formed the Greater Lynchburg Islamic Association and raised enough funds to buy and repurpose a home. “Alhamdullilah, we’ve been very grateful,” said Mohammed Rahman.
At the same time GLIA was constructing Lynchburg’s first mosque — tensions overseas were escalating as the U.S. entered its 7th year in the “War on Terror.” And Al-Qaeda militants and its subsidiaries’ claims to be fighting in the name of Islam, were further changing perceptions of Muslims at home.
9/11 put Islam in the national and international spotlight, often in the context of terrorism. But Asma Rahman can recall an incident that predates the attacks. “When my children were young, I was in New Jersey, my son came home a couple of times even before 9/11 and said mom why do they talk about that we are terrorist?” said Asma.
Since, headlines have been filled with Islamic extremist claiming responsibility for a number of attacks — the Boston Marathon bombings, the Charlie Hebdo attack, brutal beheadings. But how can a religion many of its believers argue is peaceful… be used to justify such atrocities?
“In any religious text out of its content, it becomes a pretext. You can use it for whatever you mean,” said Liberty University professor and Theologian Dr. Chris Gnanakan. Dr. Gnanakan says terrorism justified by religion is often rooted in power and politics.
“Religion was never meant to be volatile. I think peace is what all religions seek. Muslims will say that, Hindus live that and Christians pursue peace,” said Gnanakan.
Many Muslims in the U-S have publicly condemned and disassociated themselves from extremist views. “We are non-violent people… Sometimes people get scared because of hearing all the news. And sometimes that may lead to something but fortunately for me I haven’t been exposed to any of that,” said Mohammed Rahman.
The Rahman family has now lived in Lynchburg for 8 years. They say from the start, their neighbors welcomed them with open arms. “As they interact with us, they see what we are, so I never felt any kind of discrimination,” said Mohammad Rahman.
To see the ABC Special Report Video of this story click HERE
Tennessee alone will get up to 10,000 Somali Muslims this year. As crime rates soar in every city in America that has a significant Somali Muslim population, home values drop like a stone.
I hope so. To me, it looks like the Tories winning in England could be up to the people finally being fed up.
I know that Torie party is not perfect but it’s still remarkable. Hope we in the US can follow suit.
yes, because Obama hates the three Cs:
Christianity
Constitution
Capitalism
I’d like to think they’d have a hard time here, but I’m not so sure any longer. Leftist PC has infected so much of society that Southern morals and ideals are suffering. Even in my tiny, rural, heavily Christian town the introduction of Islam would most likely be tolerated and treated as something harmless - at first. That initial lapse on our part would give the evil time to spread, take root and eventually lead to our destruction.
What is wrong with you?
“If they go for someone’s head deport or jail and deport.”
If they go for someone’s head ... kill immediately.
Thanks “educators”.
Yes, I notice that the woman quoted here does not condemn the violence.
” 100,000 Muslim refugees expected to arrive this year
Treason “
The crime rates will skyrocket, like it did in Minn.
If you catch them in he act, but these people come out of the shadows and then later you get the priveledge of ending them.
It doesn’t matter when they show their hands, they are enemy combatants and need to be treated as such immediately
Of course, but usually that happens after the occurance and not before, right?
Why, I wonder, didn't they do a story on the Muslims of America paramilitary compound ten miles away in Red House, VA? I think I'll call them and ask them.
Also, this from Liberty University?
“In any religious text out of its content, it becomes a pretext. You can use it for whatever you mean,” said Liberty University professor and Theologian Dr. Chris Gnanakan. Dr. Gnanakan says terrorism justified by religion is often rooted in power and politics.
Religion was never meant to be volatile. I think peace is what all religions seek. Muslims will say that, Hindus live that and Christians pursue peace,” said Gnanakan."
Just WTH?
Average Americans have no idea what Taqqiya allows moose slimes to engage in with their koranic blessings.
Special Report: Islam in the Bible Belt by Mona Abdi
The federal government is responsible for taking in refugees, but where they end up in the US may not be their doing. State and local governments, churches, and philanthropic organizations play a large role in determining destinations.
more semi satire ping
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