St. Louis getting a minaret (neighborhood, zoning, dangerous)

[STLCardsBlues1989]

MayorSlay.com - From the Mayor's Desk

So, what is a "minaret"? Barb Geisman, my office’s expert on such things, says that a minaret is a tall slender tower attached to a mosque, with one or more projecting balconies from which a muezzin summons the people to prayer, and can be freestanding or actually attached to the mosque. The City’s new minaret will be freestanding — kind of like a church steeple without the attached church.

This particular minaret’s balcony feature will be more decorative than functional. The Imam told the Post-Dispatch’s Tim O’Neil that the real value of the minaret on Lansdowne will be its symbolic power. "Everyone will know that we are a mosque," said Hasic. The zoning permit application advances the organization’s dream and will add yet another interesting, attractive, and highly visible feature to the south St. Louis skyline.

Apparently of the Bosnians moving into St. Louis, more are Muslim than croat or serb (from what they were saying on urbanstl.com).

I know a lot of people generalize that Muslims are bad, but I don't feel that this group is dangerous at all. I welcome growth in this city.

**EDIT: apparently the tower has been up for a while, the thread on the mayor's site is just old.

If I can find any pictures of it I'll post one.

[Danilo-11]

Saying that muslims are bad would be like generalizing people based on what some supremacist groups have done here.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Originally Posted by Danilo-11

Saying that muslims are bad would be like generalizing people based on what some supremacist groups have done here.

I know. I'm not saying they are, but unfortunately I know people around here who think that way. Hopefully people in a city the size of St. Louis are more educated and less prejudice.

[aragx6]

The Bosnians have generally been pretty welcomed in the city from everything I know of. I hope that's as true as I think it is, because sadly there are places in the states where this is just not true.

[st. louie louie]

The Bosnians have saved the Bevo area of south St. Louis from decline.

[Orwelleaut]

Originally Posted by st. louie louie

The Bosnians have saved the Bevo area of south St. Louis from decline.

That is what I understand. Kudos to these brave Bosnian Immigrants for creating a positive and vibrant neighborhood in St. Louis!!

As far as their being Muslim, folks must remember that these Bosnian Muslims who are now in St. Louis fled Bosnia because they were victims of a horrible campaign of genocide. The Orthodox Christians were the aggressors, and the Muslims the victims in this war. The Bosnian Muslims were peace loving people in their homeland, and it sounds like they are still peace loving in St. Louis. Their being the victims and the Orthodox Serbs the aggressors is a good example of how wars in the name of religion have operated throughout history. Sometimes Christians have been the aggressors, and sometimes Christians have been the victims. The same is true for Muslims. Middle Eastern Muslims have been more violent in recent decades, but Ireland has also had the Catholic/Protestant violence. The Bosnian Muslims, in recent decades, have been moderate Muslims, like the Turks, and have been very peaceful. Just being Muslim does not mean that they approve of the actions of the Middle Eastern Muslim extremists any more than American Catholics would approve of violence against Protestants in Ireland.