Somali fraud, parking problems, and the question “What does the fox say?” converged in Maine, where locals were accused of racism for protecting their business interests from mosque attendees.
Whether considering concerns about Sharia law or simply stark cultural differences with no interest in assimilating, the growth of Muslim populations in certain parts of the country has often proven incompatible with existing communities. Brewing conflict in Lewiston, Maine, seemingly pitted entitlement against alleged racism as a parking feud prompted blaring music and other forms of protest.
Weeks after the local planning board approved plans to expand parking at the Masjidu Salaam mosque, local businesses opposed to the project were the focus of a report from the Lewiston Sun-Journal, as the mosque alleged that the protests were “racist” and amounted to harassment.
A spokesperson for the mosque told the outlet, “The Lewiston Police Department conducted numerous unnecessary and targeted parking enforcement sweeps near the mosque on Friday, ignoring their responsibility to keep the community safe to instead focus on a right-wing grievance.”
The Sun-Journal reported that the mosque accused Mid Valley Motors Towing & Recovery of harassment, “It said some residents are calling on city officials to cancel contracts with the towing company for its ‘hateful, racist signs’ and referring to Muslims as ‘dogs.'”
The towing business, managed by Matthew Theriault, shared numerous examples of its alleged “racism and hate,” including projecting the national anthem out into the parking lot during services.
In a response to the Sun-Journal’s article, Mid Valley Motors stated, “Along with many other points raised, at no point in time did we or have we ever referred to anyone at the mosque as a dog. Hand to [God] never happened. We are adamant dog lovers and would never disrespect a dog like that.”
“Not sure what kind of world we live in where my daughter dancing in our shop driveway to children’s songs is considered hate,” the statement continued. “We also played the national anthem at 12 sharp, [God] bless America, and many other songs [our] sons and fathers have died standing for. If pride in our country is now considered hate speech, [I’d] suggest you pack your sh*t and get out cause we aren’t goin’ anywhere.”
Lewiston is home to a large Somali population and became a focus of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Operation Catch of the Day in Maine that identified roughly 1,400 individuals for arrest in January amid concerns of rampant fraud in Minnesota at Somali businesses like the “Quality Learing Center.”
The Maine Wire reported in March that the local planning board had approved plans to expand parking at the mosque. Meanwhile, local business owners like Theriault remained opposed to the project as “traffic related to the mosque has repeatedly disrupted access to his businesses, with vehicles blocking entrances and interfering with emergency towing operations.”
“He said the site already suffers from overflow parking and argued that paving more space would not solve the underlying problem,” detailed the Wire.
Addressing the parking issue, Lewiston Police Department Lt. Derrick St. Laurent reported that only three parking tickets were issued on the street in February and that the department encouraged mosque attendees to park elsewhere, like one of the nearby parks. “Many business owners rely on clear access to their lots, and when a vehicle prevents patrons from entering, it results in a loss of business.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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