Thread: Local Road name is protested, terrorists ties

Local road name protested over claim over terrorist ties
BY JAMIE C. RUFF / Richmond Times-Dispatch
Feb 21, 2007


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CHARLOTTE COURT HOUSE- Carrying signs and chanting as they marched, 20 people turned out last night for an hourlong protest over the name of a road they say honors a terrorist.

Repeating, "Remember our heroes and ground zero," "It's about time to remove the sign" and "V-A the American way," the protesters marched around the Charlotte County administration building, waved their signs along the road and gathered on the lawn under a flagpole in front of the building.


The Forest-based Christian Action Network contends that Sheikh Gilani Lane, located in the Muslims of America enclave, was named after an international terrorist. The network has pushed to have the road sign removed.


Martin J. Mawyer, the group's president, said he hopes the protest will raise public awareness and urge the county's supervisors to change the name.


Established in the mid-1990s, the Muslim community sits on 44 acres in the western part of Charlotte County and is made up of mostly mobile homes. Sheikh Gilani Lane was named after Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarik Gilani, who founded the area and other similar sites in the United States. About 20 families were estimated to live at the Charlotte site a few years ago.

Opponents of the road name say the Muslims of America communities are hideouts for the al-Fuqra terrorist organization. They also blame Gilani for the beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was reportedly on his way to interview Gilani when he was abducted Jan. 23, 2002, in Karachi.

But residents of the communities repeatedly have denied terrorist ties, insisting the areas are "a pure and safe environment for raising families and for worshipping the One Almighty Creator of all things."


This month, the county supervisors declined to change the name of the road, citing their long-standing policy against changing road names. County rules allow residents to name their private lanes.


"As citizens of the United States, these individuals have the right to name the [road] whatever they want to," Supervisor Joseph Carey said.


Mawyer said he will contact the national media about the issue. "It had been our hope that the Board of Supervisors would handle this without bringing national embarrassment to the state and the county," he said.


The Christian Action Network is a nonprofit lobbying organization that says it is dedicated to protecting traditions of the American family and defending the nation against radical Islam.


The Rev. Sam Weddington, who lives in the county, said last night's protest makes Muslim residents feel they are not welcomed.


"They are good people," he said.

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Contact staff writer Jamie C. Ruff at jruff@timesdispatch.com or (434) 517-0997.

The Rev. Sam Weddington, who lives in the county, said last night's protest makes Muslim residents feel they are not welcomed.


"They are good people," he said.

Why the hell should we welcome terrorists, bank-robbers and criminals who belong to a death-cult?

Gilani is an associate of Osama Bin-Laden.

These are not "good people."

They're evil, deluded creatures.

Next they will put up a statue of the guy!

Probably.