ON NOVEMBER 7, 2002, POLITICIANS AND OTHER LUMINARIES–including Boston Mayor Thomas P. Menino–gathered at the corner of Tremont Street and Malcolm X Boulevard in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. They held shovels and awaited a photo op to celebrate the ground-breaking of a new mosque for the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB). It was a special occasion. The design for the $22 million mosque included a125-foot minaret as well as a 75-foot dome over the prayer hall. Al Jazeera joined the local Boston media on hand to chronicle the day.
It must have seemed noble and high-minded to offer such public support for the construction of a prominent mosque, especially since it had been only a little over a year since the 9/11 attacks. Senator John Kerry, who couldn’t attend the event, sent a letter “recogniz[ing] the outstanding work of the Islamic Society of Boston” and praising the project for coming along at a time “when the need for cross-cultural understanding and cooperation has never been greater.”
