“If they were willing to compromise, then I’d love to hear that. But they have not been able to offer any reasonable compromise to any of the neighbors here,” said resident Mark Leonard.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday evening, the mosque invited us inside as people were saying prayers and breaking their fast. WVMA’s religious leader, Imam Basil Farooq, says he’s listening to his neighbors’ concerns.<\/p>\n
“This is something that we talk to our community about as well very seriously. That we’re out of this area before 10 o’clock, and that we keep it as quiet as we can even before 10 o’clock hits,” Farooq said.<\/p>\n
The imam says while WVMA wants to be a good community partner, some mosque members feel like they’re being unfairly targeted.<\/p>\n
“We constantly keep coming back under the microscope, and it’s almost like we have to prove why we have to exist in the first place,” said Farooq.<\/p>\n
A sentiment denied by people like Ratcliff, who says she just wants everyone to get along.<\/p>\n
“It’s not a religious thing. It’s just that this type of event and activity does not belong in a residential neighborhood,” she said.<\/p>\n
WVMA applied for the updated conditional use permit in September 2024.<\/p>\n
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