Posted on 07/30/2005 6:22:11 PM PDT by cp124
BIDDEFORD — The cluster of 50 or so headstones is set at a different angle from the other graves in Woodlawn Cemetery and inscribed with names like Mustafa, Adhams and Tahir. This small group of graves facing Mecca is the only visible reminder of a Muslim community that once existed in this city, far more famous for its Franco-American heritage. The graves belong to Albanian Muslims who came to Biddeford to work in the textile industry nearly 100 years ago.
And if they are a little known aspect of local history, the mosque they established in one of the mills - believed to be the first mosque in North America - has been even more obscured by time.
Now a group of Maine College of Art professors has plans to commemorate Biddeford's role in the establishment of organized Islam in America. But they've been unable to find funding.
The immigrants came to work in the Pepperell Mills, now WestPoint Stevens, beginning in the late 19th century, said Biddeford Historical Society member Charles Butler. He has researched this group by poring through obituaries and speaking with descendants.
In 1916, they set up a mosque which, by some accounts, was on the second floor of the mill's counting house on Main Street, although Butler said other evidence suggests it may have been in a nearby coffee house owned by one of the Albanians.
In any case, the mosque was short-lived and disbanded around 1918, the same year a worldwide outbreak of the Spanish flu killed a large portion of the Albanian community in Biddeford. Histories of Islam often cite the immigrants' improvised place of worship as the first mosque in North America, but no trace of it exists today.
After coming across Butler's research into the subject last year, Maine College of Art professor Chris Thompson said he felt there should be more to mark this short but significant passage in Biddeford's history.
"You'd think the first church in America has a lot more fanfare," he said. "The first mosque ought to be similarly commemorated."
In collaboration with two other colleagues, Thompson drew up a proposal for a symposium to bring together scholars, artists and religious figures to design a memorial for the nearly forgotten mosque. Thompson said he felt this sort of broad dialogue was needed to create a memorial that reflected the complexity of Muslims' place in America, especially given the current political situation.
But so far Thompson has been unable to obtain the $20,000 he estimates it will cost to get his proposal off the ground. A grant application he made to a foundation in Cambridge, Mass., last summer was turned down. The professor said he still intends to launch the project and is exploring other funding options.
Meanwhile, Butler remains one of the few people who has examined the lives of those buried under stones decorated with the Islamic symbols of the star and crescent in Woodlawn Cemetery. Butler said he collected information through third-hand stories from local residents, newspaper accounts, and speaking with the grandchildren of the Albanian immigrants who sometimes contact him over the Internet.
There is no getting any closer to finding people who may have actually visited the mosque because "they're all gone," he said.
Staff Writer Seth Harkness can be contacted at 282-8225 or at:
sharkness@pressherald.com
Me thinks those art professors from Maine are either suffering from a severe brain freeze or are not very familiar with the Quook-ran.
Sounds like the next ACLU lawsuit. They should check with the Saudis. I'm sure they'll find lots of money there.
Ya want "fanfare"?
How's this for fanfare...............
those graves sure don't look very old.
Bet that the graves have never been defiled. We know what would happen to Christian or Jewish graves in the lands of Islam.
I lived in Biddeford for several years. Just where is the cemetery? It doesn't look familiar.
You have THAT right!
This sure has that "Islam was here first" aura to it. Coming to a US history textbook near you...
While I can appreciate that these Muslims were American, one of the reasons there might be a problem finding financing is because Albanian Muslims were an intricate part of Hitler's war machine.
Outside of the German Holocaust, the second greatest genocide against the Jews occured in the Balkans, as Albanian joined the Axis Powers and annexed Kosovo to be a part of the Axis puppet states in the region.
With the recent hostilities in this region...and the other victims of this alliance, including Serbs, Gypsies, Jews, Slavs, etc., this would not be the best of ideas. Oh...and then there's our own recent Muslim problem to contend with.
What gives with the barbed wire. Is it to keep out critters?
It's to keep the zombies IN. You know, the undead. Where have you been?
A couple of years ago (shortly before I left the state), I had an interesting "dialogue" with a Muslim while in the check-out line at the Portland Christmas Tree Shop (probably buying Chanukah supplies, lol).
There was a cashier in hijab several cash registers away from me, facing my direction. Talk about the evil eye...
... For some reason I got this dame's attention. I'm guessing it was the blue zippered sweatshirt I was wearing (Israeli flag kind of blue). The sweatshirt has a small Israeli flag patch on one side of the front, which stands out nicely with the color of the sweatshirt.
The woman caught a glimpse of the patch and immediately seemed agitated. She was busy scanning purchases while repeatedly looking up at me with the most disgusted look on her face. She would glare intently at me, then look down at what she was doing, and then repeated this so often that surely she had some sort of problem. I smiled pleasantly, even though she continued with her bizarre expressions of peace and tolerance.
There are not many Jews in Maine (or at least ones who aren't JINOs), so the sight of an Israeli flag probably sent her over the edge. I was happy that in a small way, I was able to impress upon her the inevitable march of the Zionist entity to every corner of the globe.
She should merely go back to her jihadistan..
Wait, don't tell me. Soon to become the 4th holiest site in all of Islam behind Makah, Medina, and Jerusalem.
Safety measure to keep clear of unexploded muslim martyrs. This sign hanging from the wire is not in the photo:
This sure has that "Islam was here first" aura to it. Coming to a US history textbook near you...
Note to self: Don't even think of asking direction Kennewick Man's grave was facing.
This means Maine is part of The Greater Albania. But Baldacci and his merry band of sexually ambiguous socialist wonks have already promised it to incorporate us into Somalia!
Muslim Civil War could end the tourist business as we know it.
Albanians are only "Muslim" because Mohhammedan military forces invaded that region, with sword and fire. They murdered those who would not convert, and burned entire villages to the ground. Muslims were terrorists even then.
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