Practical objections to mosques often mask anti-Muslim sentiment.

Evidence

In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, there have also been violent attacks on mosques. In 2010, someone burned playground equipment and painted a picture of Uncle Sam assaulting Allah at an Islamic center in Arlington, Texas (Tranchin 2010). In 2015, the Islamic Center of Irving had to increase its security upon receiving a series of violent threats after a man posted a video intending to highlight the traffic issues that the mosque brought to the neighborhood (Paul 2015). David Tyrer (2013) argues that this fear of mosques reflects an anxiety of the proximity of Muslim bodies to whites in the United States. It represents to many non-Muslim Americans an invasion of Islam in the West. According to the ACLU report on antimosque activity, “While mosque opponents frequently claim their objections are based on practical considerations such as traffic, parking, and noise levels, those asserted concerns are often pretexts masking anti-Muslim sentiment” (American Civil Liberties Union. n.d.[c]). The state of affairs for Muslim Americans in the United States has not improved in the decade after 9/11, but rather demonstrates how anti-Muslim sentiments have increased over time. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 117

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels ACLU findings cited in the Complaints About Immodesty article’s pattern of pretextual moral objections masking identity politics. — connects to: Racially coded threat claims justify exempting Muslims from ordinary zoning procedure. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 350; Anti-sharia litigation frames mosques as terrorist-breeding sites to justify exclusion. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 372
• CANDY: The burned playground equipment with Uncle Sam assaulting Allah is a striking, darkly vivid image for conversation.