The public comments at Broken Arrow's city council rezoning hearing Monday night were all over the map, coming from rizzed-up Muslim teenagers to fearful xenophobic weirdos and just about everybody in between. Watching the video today in light of the council's 4-1 decision to deny the Islamic Society of Tulsa's rezoning request, I'm struck by how badly Broken Arrow fumbled an opportunity to benefit from a minority culture with deep roots in Oklahoma. Included in the IST's plans for the 42,000 square-foot development were more than just a worship center: they wanted to build a strip mall and a free public clinic. What city in America says no to economic development and healthcare?
In light of this disappointing news, we've pulled a pair of stories from the This Land archives charting Oklahoma's multi-decade relationship with Islam. The first, from James Murray, was originally published in 2016 and centers Oklahoma City's Masjid Mu'min mosque, then the state's oldest.
In recounting the history of the mosque, Murray introduces us to its new leader Ibrahim Abdullah, who gave this stunning quote to The Oklahoman in August 1975: