"Islamic Society of Boston Marking Their Turf?"

UPDATE BELOW

Eleanor Duckwall poses this question and links to Daniel Pipes' blog post on the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB). The latest entry has pics of a mural of the mosque being painted at the MBTA Roxbury Crossing station.

"July 24, 2008 update: A reader, the producer of L'Afrique (lafrique.com), was surprised to see that the Roxbury Crossing station of the Boston area subway system sports a painting of the nearby Islamic Society of Boston mosque and other Islamic themes. He sent me pictures of the still-unfinished mural and its surroundings, one of which I reproduce here. (For the others, click here, here, here, here, and here)."

"Comment: As the photographer points out, the Boston public transportation system does not sport crosses, stars of David, or other religious insignia. How did this exception come about? One hopes that Bostonians are not so beat down by ISB litigiousness that they have lost all curiosity about that institution's activities."

I vaguely recall the interior of the Copley Square T station (on the Green line) having a stylized silhouette of the Copley Trinity church, and the Kenmore T station had (still has?) references to Fenway Park (also sihouettes, strike signs, etc.).  Having such references inside the subway stations gives a distinct sense of place to each station and alerts riders to what station they're in.  But a detailed mural on the outside of a T station seems to be doing something else.  When the mosque is right there in front of you, why paint a mural depicting it?  I find it odd, and I tend to agree with Eleanor that someone's marking their turf.   

I'll try to find out how this mural came to be, who designed it, etc.  I didn't find anything on the MBTA website about this.  You'd think the MBTA's website would have a page about the artwork at each station, but no such luck.  If anyone has the scoop on the mosque mural at Roxbury Crossing, please contact me at [email protected].

I hope the mural isn't part of the "services in the public interest" that the ISB is providing to the City in exchange for the BRA property.  As you recall, BRA Parcel R-14 in Roxbury had a fair market value of $2 million according to the BRA, although the BRA later reduced that figure to $400K.  The BRA transferred the property to the ISB for $175K in cash and $225K in "services in the public interest," including an Islamic law library at Roxbury Community College (RCC), lectures about Islam in Africa at RCC and maintenance of the local Clarence "Jeep" Jones park.  We haven't heard a peep about these "public benefits", although the ISB has held several park cleanups.

Universal Hub also noticed the Pipes entry, and Adam G writes " I have no love for the the Jew-hating First Amendment deniers at the Islamic Society of Boston, but really, turf marking?"  He asks, "Is this worth getting upset over?"  No, but it's worth looking into.

UPDATE: False alarm? Molly provides some info in the comments below:

"All right then, if the painting of the mosque means that the Muslims are taking over, how do you explain the painting of the basilica on the other side of the post?"

"Seriously folks, not a single person has gone to look at it for yourselves, have you? The painting of the mosque is done so that a person looking at it will see the mosque in the background. On the other side, there's a painting of the Mission Church so that a person on that side will see the church in the background."

"I'm heading over to Mr. Pipes's site next, but sometimes a distinctive building is just a distinctive building."

       

"As for the design and execution, it's being done by a bunch of high schoolers. I think they're doing fine."

Thanks for the info, Molly. 

Comments

[Sissy Willis]

PLUS . . . the design and execution are utterly inept. :-)

[Molly]

I commented on UH, but I thought I'd head over here as well:

All right then, if the painting of the mosque means that the Muslims are taking over, how do you explain the painting of the basilica on the other side of the post?

Seriously folks, not a single person has gone to look at it for yourselves, have you? The painting of the mosque is done so that a person looking at it will see the mosque in the background. On the other side, there's a painting of the Mission Church so that a person on that side will see the church in the background.

I'm heading over to Mr. Pipes's site next, but sometimes a distinctive building is just a distinctive building.

[Molly]

As for the design and execution, it's being done by a bunch of high schoolers. I think they're doing fine.

[miss kelly]

Thanks Molly, for the info. I'll update the post. This post was taken from Daniel Pipes blogpost on the ISB, and he based it on several photos sent in to him by someone in Boston. That person either didn't see or didn't include photos of the Mission Church, which clearly is a different thing. Thanks for the information.

[Azzam]

The comparison of two murals, a minaret and a Mission Church
makes the whole argument cast in a certain light.
But the light people are looking for in this argument is of valid concern not just to secular Bostonians but also to a large number of Muslim parents.
One example of this light is put out by MissKelly in a post about a prayer which no one has denied so far.
Red bricks or a minaret by itself does not throw any light around but the people who are in control.
And who is in control? Do they have a democratic structure? As far as I know ISB and ISBCC or MAS Boston has no democratic structure that I could organize the parents in Boston area and throw out this light and replace it with the wishes of the parents.
The only democratic (Muslim )Institution that existed for a long time is the Islamic Center of New England at Quincy and Sharon. The pages of MissKelly are full of posts about the goings on there and the role ISB and MAS Boston played in the take over.
This takeover was not possible without stealth money. There are copies of million dollar checks that were going into accounts in New Hampshire of ISB , of course, (by a wire transfer from Saudi Arabia) and then finding their way (some of this money) into schools that were put up at the Islamic Center of New England buildings and the general membership (of ICNE) had no control over.
The mambers were raising money by selling barbequed chicken legs at $1.00 a piece and were no match to the stealth wire transfers.
The Mission Church is known to us. We know what light flows in their.
Can anyone tell me what ideology is supposed to flow in the red bricks at Roxbury?
If this ideology had democratic underpinnings the whole project would be run by local Muslims of Roxbury. Is it so?
So the argument that people want to debate is a valid one. It is not a comparison of two pictures in two dimensions but it is a question of paramount importance to the whole of USA and to all different communities including Muslims.
Two examples may bring to light the underlying questions.
you have seen MissKelly post about a fund raiser for Masood by ISB/MAS Boston/Islamic Council as a tax deductible event (yes it happened, with about 40 people and loud speeches in praise of Masood).What is the message in it for our children?
And an other example is a top man at ISB who has become a top man at Islamic Center of New England. He could not satisfy his spiritual needs at ISB with Imam Basyouny Nehela (the man in red hat a la MissKelly post)?
Is not that a valid question? (And since he is a public figure and he got a green card thru a staelth marriage can such matters be discussed publically?)
So what message these two examples give our children who have taken the oath of allegiance to the Constitution and also follow the Holy Quran?
Hence, this is not a matter of two two dimensional murals but a matter of serious and open debate.