is Nashville A Muslim friendly city?

[Khorasani]

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Your post is old but I register for this forum to reply your post after see it in google search. My family live here, in Antioch, we are Tajiks from Afghanistan. I drive taxicab here in Nashville. Nashville is VERY good city for Muslims IF you know where to live and do business. Example, I still wear same stuff as in Afghanistan (payraan tumbaan, beard, pakol, lungee turban, etc.), my wife wear burqa and we are not only ones but you must know where to go. Come to Antioch and South Nashville!! We have here Muslimeen from everywhere (Pashtuns from PAK and AFG, Tajiks from AFG, Uzbeks, many different Arabs from different countries, LOTS of Kurds and Somalis, smaller communities of Turks from Turkey, I meet Bosniak earlier today). HOWEVER, you will feel distinct change of environment if you travel outside of Antioch / South Nashville. Around here are MANY MANY halal bakerys, rug shops, small grocerys owned by Muslims. You will see countless shops with all sign in Farsi or Arabic IF you stay in Antioch / South Nashville. Certainly your wife would be okay wearing hijab, I know Pashtuns and Tajiks here who wear niqaab or burqa everyday and all is well, just come to Antioch. When we go to local grocery usually half of customers is Muslims. BUT places I go outside this area is very different and I rarely have seen Muslims in other areas of the city or suburbs so I would remain inside the Muslim safe zones. Everytime I have left this area, it feels different, people stare and I am only Muslim usually. Also, if you don't feel safe you can easily get handgun carry permit in Tennessee if you just have basic legal resident card and here they have stand your ground law you can research so no reason to worry about safety here unlike places like New York, Illinois, New Jersey or California. For work, taxicab driving is easy to get permit here, you just must pass basic English competency test and 3 day class on American culture, Nashville attractions, map reading skills and local taxicab laws.

wasalaam

[0'Farrell]

Originally Posted by Khorasani

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Your post is old but I register for this forum to reply your post after see it in google search. My family live here, in Antioch, we are Tajiks from Afghanistan. I drive taxicab here in Nashville. Nashville is VERY good city for Muslims IF you know where to live and do business. Example, I still wear same stuff as in Afghanistan (payraan tumbaan, beard, pakol, lungee turban, etc.), my wife wear burqa and we are not only ones but you must know where to go. Come to Antioch and South Nashville!! We have here Muslimeen from everywhere (Pashtuns from PAK and AFG, Tajiks from AFG, Uzbeks, many different Arabs from different countries, LOTS of Kurds and Somalis, smaller communities of Turks from Turkey, I meet Bosniak earlier today). HOWEVER, you will feel distinct change of environment if you travel outside of Antioch / South Nashville. Around here are MANY MANY halal bakerys, rug shops, small grocerys owned by Muslims. You will see countless shops with all sign in Farsi or Arabic IF you stay in Antioch / South Nashville. Certainly your wife would be okay wearing hijab, I know Pashtuns and Tajiks here who wear niqaab or burqa everyday and all is well, just come to Antioch. When we go to local grocery usually half of customers is Muslims. BUT places I go outside this area is very different and I rarely have seen Muslims in other areas of the city or suburbs so I would remain inside the Muslim safe zones. Everytime I have left this area, it feels different, people stare and I am only Muslim usually. Also, if you don't feel safe you can easily get handgun carry permit in Tennessee if you just have basic legal resident card and here they have stand your ground law you can research so no reason to worry about safety here unlike places like New York, Illinois, New Jersey or California. For work, taxicab driving is easy to get permit here, you just must pass basic English competency test and 3 day class on American culture, Nashville attractions, map reading skills and local taxicab laws.

wasalaam

A very optimistic view. Nevertheless, if you stayed in the South Nashville/Antioch area you would be fine. I am Afghani and I used to live in Antioch over by Ocala dr & Nolensville road. I lived there about 7 years ago it has only diversified since then.

[watchinthesunbake]

We're staying right now with Muslim friends of ours while we're waiting for our apt to become available. Our friends just moved here two months ago and have found it welcoming. They are from Bangladesh and some Bangladesh friends of theirs advised them to live in Bellevue, which is where they are. There is a large, active mosque in Bellevue and an Islamic school they'll send their kids to. They said there are so many Somali muslims that they have their own mosque (to give you an idea about diversity and numbers of Muslims in the area).

I am Catholic and my husband is agnostic. I have no firsthand experience with what it's like to be a Muslim in N'ville but I can tell you my friends (a couple in late 20s/early 30s) have been very pleased with the community they've found here. That said, they have expressed dismay about the Murfreesboro mosque situation and said they could never live there because they fear they would be ostracized. Quite a shame.

I didn't see anyone mention Bellevue so wanted to throw that in as a possible good location for Muslims.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by 0'Farrell

A very optimistic view. Nevertheless, if you stayed in the South Nashville/Antioch area you would be fine. I am Afghani and I used to live in Antioch over by Ocala dr & Nolensville road. I lived there about 7 years ago it has only diversified since then.

Ocala & Nolensville....that's definitely a very diverse area. That census block (roughly Nolensville Rd, OHB, Amalie, and Brewer - 3,320 people)...34.2% white, 29.2% Asian, 20.7% Hispanic, 12.0% black. Easily one of the most diverse in the entire city.

[0'Farrell]

Originally Posted by nashvols

Ocala & Nolensville....that's definitely a very diverse area. That census block (roughly Nolensville Rd, OHB, Amalie, and Brewer - 3,320 people)...34.2% white, 29.2% Asian, 20.7% Hispanic, 12.0% black. Easily one of the most diverse in the entire city.

Easily. The apartments on hickory trace on that block is home to all of Nashville's Bhutanese population. They were brought here because of a war and I guess they all ended up in the same apartment.

There is also albaraka market there. I don't know exactly what ethnicity it caters to most but it is a middle eastern market with arabic writing on the signs.

[ariesjow]

Originally Posted by Khorasani

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Your post is old but I register for this forum to reply your post after see it in google search. My family live here, in Antioch, we are Tajiks from Afghanistan. I drive taxicab here in Nashville. Nashville is VERY good city for Muslims IF you know where to live and do business. Example, I still wear same stuff as in Afghanistan (payraan tumbaan, beard, pakol, lungee turban, etc.), my wife wear burqa and we are not only ones but you must know where to go. Come to Antioch and South Nashville!! We have here Muslimeen from everywhere (Pashtuns from PAK and AFG, Tajiks from AFG, Uzbeks, many different Arabs from different countries, LOTS of Kurds and Somalis, smaller communities of Turks from Turkey, I meet Bosniak earlier today). HOWEVER, you will feel distinct change of environment if you travel outside of Antioch / South Nashville. Around here are MANY MANY halal bakerys, rug shops, small grocerys owned by Muslims. You will see countless shops with all sign in Farsi or Arabic IF you stay in Antioch / South Nashville. Certainly your wife would be okay wearing hijab, I know Pashtuns and Tajiks here who wear niqaab or burqa everyday and all is well, just come to Antioch. When we go to local grocery usually half of customers is Muslims. BUT places I go outside this area is very different and I rarely have seen Muslims in other areas of the city or suburbs so I would remain inside the Muslim safe zones. Everytime I have left this area, it feels different, people stare and I am only Muslim usually. Also, if you don't feel safe you can easily get handgun carry permit in Tennessee if you just have basic legal resident card and here they have stand your ground law you can research so no reason to worry about safety here unlike places like New York, Illinois, New Jersey or California. For work, taxicab driving is easy to get permit here, you just must pass basic English competency test and 3 day class on American culture, Nashville attractions, map reading skills and local taxicab laws.

wasalaam

I'm happy to hear you've had a good experience in Nashville as well, but I wish you felt more comfortable in other areas of the metro. I know that parts of West Nashville have a healthy number of international transplants as well. My neighborhood seems like a melting pot of all sorts of folks.

[0'Farrell]

Originally Posted by ariesjow

I'm happy to hear you've had a good experience in Nashville as well, but I wish you felt more comfortable in other areas of the metro. I know that parts of West Nashville have a healthy number of international transplants as well. My neighborhood seems like a melting pot of all sorts of folks.

what part of West Nashville? I know there is an asian population off Charlotte dr but I was under the impression that WN was the city's white area.

[ariesjow]

I was thinking Charlotte Pike just south of White Bridge. I live in the White Bridge area. My street is fairly racially and ethnically diverse, but it's probably less so the closer one gets to West End.

[watchinthesunbake]

Originally Posted by 0'Farrell

what part of West Nashville? I know there is an asian population off Charlotte dr but I was under the impression that WN was the city's white area.

See previous post of mine about Bellevue. It is in West Nashville.

[Abigail Pereira]

I wear hijab here in Nashville and I think it depends. The problem is some folks here are very traditional. They don't like anyone who is different. Nashville also has a lot of soldiers from Fort Campbell. They fought in the Middle East and they think the Taliban is actually representative of Islam. Honestly, usually I feel welcomed here. Usually I am treated normally, except for a few people staring. But other times I get hate. People stop me in the street and ask why I wear it. Or waiters in restaurants refuse me service. But it's not every day. Basically, I just try to greet everyone with a smile and be kind to them even when they're unkind to me.