Norton Islamic center proposal gets mixed response from residents

NORTON — A proposed Islamic community center in Norton has sparked opposition among some local residents, even before any permitting and zoning administration process has begun.Approximately 50 Norton residents gathered at an Oct. 20 City Council meeting to hear 19 residents speak for and against the Southwest Virginia Community Empowerment Center plan by the Staunton, Virginia-based Islamic Leadership Institute of America.The center proposal involves purchasing the former Bank of America building at 702 Park Avenue NW. Bank of America moved out of the building approximately a decade ago, and the site housed a small business for a few years.According to ILIA Chief of Academics & Research and spokesman Ayman Nassar, the organization already has conducted a range of educational, charitable, and community development initiatives in the region since 2021."The center is not intended to serve Muslims exclusively. Its educational, workforce and community development services are intended for all eligible residents, regardless of their religious beliefs," Nasser said in an email interview Saturday with the Kingsport Times News. "We envision a place where people from different backgrounds can cooperate on shared community priorities while respecting one another's distinct identities and beliefs." NORTON RESIDENTS SPEAK Approximately 50 residents attended an Oct. 20 Norton City Council meeting, where the majority of the 19 public comment participants made several allegations against Islam and the ILIA project.Many of the participants claimed an Islamic center would attempt to pressure people to convert to Islam in return for receiving any community services, while others accused Islam of being a cult or violent religion.Two residents — David Dotson and Felicia Keys — said Muslims should be given the same consideration as Christians."America is not a Christian nation," said Dotson. "America has always been a secular nation … Most of the people you hear speak tonight condemning a religion they do not understand would not know [the Islamic prophet] Mohammed from the boxer Muhammad Ali.""I would trust children around the Muslims of this community than I would the majority of the Christians," Dotson said, referring to the 2018 conviction of Wise County pastor Jeff Rolen on charges of sex with a teen in the 1980s. "The Muslims who live in and around Norton are doctors, businessmen, neighbors, and they are friends. They pay taxes, they shop local businesses, they have children attending school here and a lot of the doctors in the local hospital are Muslim.""I spent the majority of my natural life incarcerated," said Travis Pratt, a former resident of the Dearborn, Michigan area, "so I was rubbing elbows with Muslims."Pratt claimed that chapters of the Quran call for Muslims to unfriend, fight and kill "infidels.""I don't see any Muslims sitting in this room," said Pratt, "so that makes each and every one in this room an infidel. Your children are infidels … They may come in the beginning in peace. If you haven't seen what's going on in other countries, this is coming to a city or town near us."Jonathon Viperman, a local youth pastor and Wise County Sheriff's deputy, recently posted a campaign on social media to oppose the ILIA plan and to raise money to buy the site before ILIA completed the purchase.Vipperman did not attend the city council meeting. The Kingsport Times News reached out to him for this article.Other residents questioned what impact the center would have on available downtown parking. Within a two- block radius of the center site, there are a call center on the same block, the city's Expo Center and two restaurants on Park Avenue. Three municipal parking lots already serve the other facilities. STATUS City Mayor Joe Fawbushi told the audience at the Oct. 20 meeting that ILIA has not begun any processes required under the zoning ordinance. The city's zoning administrator sent a Sept. 21 letter to ILIA that specified the site's zoning and permitted uses there.Fawbush said the letter was not a building or business permit but only answers to ILIA's questions about zoning and compliance.The city's zoning ordinance and the Code of Virginia's zoning provisions allow for religious facilities and uses by tax-exempt organizations in a B-2 zoned district as long as they comply with permitted uses, City Zoning Administrator Winfred Collins said Monday. The B-2 zoning also allows for some mixed business-residential use. Neighboring buildings on the 700 block also have apartments above ground-floor business and office space.ILIA had asked earlier this year about zoning and permitted uses at the Park Avenue site, Collins said, and has not yet started the process for any needed building permits or site use plans.Zoning review and special use permit requests would be required only if ILIA wanted to use the building for purposes not listed under the B-2 classification, Collins said.At least three churches already exist in the city's B-2 district — a 65-acre zone along Park Avenue — Collins said.Nasser said the building purchase has not yet been closed. RESPONSE Nasser, in a Saturday email interview with the Kingsport Times News, said the center could serve approximately 50-70 Muslims in the Norton area and a similar number in the neighboring Wise area.The three closest centers, mosques and worship sites for Muslims in far Southwest Virginia are in the Roanoke, Blacksburg and Johnson City areas, Nasser said, and that dispersion has been a challenge for the Muslim community."Our contacts throughout the region include multigenerational local residents, first-generation immigrants, professionals, university students, medical trainees, business owners, and individuals employed in local services and institutions," said Nasser. "We also serve incarcerated Muslims in Southwest Virginia's correctional facilities, including individuals participating in educational and personal development programs."Nasser said ILIA's programs have no requirement for participants. Those programs include community workforce development, youth leadership, food distribution and worship services for area Muslims."Like many Christian organizations, Muslim institutions may explain their religious beliefs and respond to individuals who wish to learn more," said Nasser. "This should not be confused with forced conversion. ILIA's community development programs do not require participants to become Muslim, participate in Muslim worship, or adopt Islamic religious beliefs.""We have cooperated with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and secular organizations on such initiatives for many years, and joined hands in joint economic development solutions with government, faith and nonprofit partners," Nasser added. "We have no interest in diminishing the Christian heritage of Southwest Virginia or interfering with the rights of local churches. We respect the freedom of Christians to practice their faith, just as we value the freedom of Muslims and people of other beliefs to practice theirs.""We understand that trust is developed through actions and relationships, not through announcements or press releases. We do not expect everyone to agree with our religious beliefs. We do believe that people from different backgrounds can work together to give young people better opportunities and strengthen the communities they share."We understand that trust is developed through actions and relationships, not through announcements or press releases," Nasser said. "We do not expect everyone to agree with our religious beliefs. We do believe that people from different backgrounds can work together to give young people better opportunities and strengthen the communities they share."ILIA is holding a free open house Tuesday 7-9 p.m. for the public to learn about ILIA and the proposed center. To register online, visit: https://www.tfaforms.com/4970236?section=SEC-002699.