Frightened Christians lose battle over U.S. mega-mosque - Mayor was 'literally acting like a dictator'

In the end, the Iraqi Christians of Sterling Heights, Michigan, say they felt abandoned and left vulnerable by their government.

It didn’t matter that they had escaped genocide in the Middle East.

It didn’t matter they had 180 people at the City Council meeting Tuesday to voice their concerns about a large mosque being proposed in the middle of their neighborhood.

It didn’t matter, they say, that Donald Trump is their new president or that Jeff Sessions is the new attorney general.

They lost. The Muslims won.

The city on Tuesday night agreed to a settlement with a Muslim group that wants to build a mega-mosque on 15 Mile at Mound Road, in the heart of a residential area filled with Christians who escaped Muslim persecution in Iraq.

The nearly 200 people who packed city hall in protest of the mosque were limited by Mayor Michael C. Taylor to two minutes of speaking time.

“There were people crying, complaining about not being given enough time to speak,” said Nahren Anweya, spokeswoman for the approximately 50,000 Chaldean and Assyrian Christians living in the area.

“The mayor was literally acting like a dictator, wouldn’t let people finish their statements,” she told WND. “As soon as they said something about the persecution their family experienced from Muslims in Iraq, he would shut them down.”

Anweya said her own great-grandfather was crucified by Muslims in Iraq because he refused to remove the large gold cross he wore around his neck. Her family immigrated to the U.S. in 1989, when she was 6 years old...

“They didn’t even want to discuss it; their minds were already made up. [Mayor Taylor] really didn’t even want to hear the people out,” she said.

“Whenever someone voiced concerns about future persecution, he cut them off and called them out of order.”

She said her people are concerned the Shiite mosque is being funded by Iran.

“Why would you build a mosque when you don’t have a large population of Shiites in Sterling Heights? They’re wanting to bring in people from other areas,” Anweya said. “You’re talking about a city that doesn’t blink at spending $1 million on a playground, but they don’t want to spend $350,000 on defending this lawsuit.”

There were complaints, tears and shouts of betrayal as the citizen were ushered out of the meeting chamber...

Update

Sterling Heights, Michigan Residents Sue City to Stop Construction of Mosque, By Pamela Geller, March 18, 2017.