Parking policy masks anti-Muslim discrimination for communities building new mosques
When the Islamic Society of Santa Barbara welcomed its community to its newly built mosque in 2019, nearly 19 years had passed since it purchased the property. The city's permitting process alone took 10 years. The project faced delays during 16 public hearings, at which residents of the suburban town of Goleta raised concerns, particularly about where worshippers would park their cars.
In 2019, the Islamic Society of Santa Barbara opened its new mosque, marking nearly 19 years since the property's acquisition by the community. The city's permitting process, however, took an additional 10 years, involving 16 public hearings where residents expressed concerns, particularly regarding parking. A study by scholars from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and UCLA reveals that Muslim communities building new mosques experience disproportionately more opposition, particularly in parking disputes, compared to those building churches.
This disparity suggests that procedural delays might mask anti-Muslim prejudice. The research, published in the Journal of the American Planning Association, shows that newly proposed mosques are 16% to 18% more likely to face opposition than new churches, a difference that exceeds what would be expected by chance. Mark Fathi Massoud, a professor at UC Santa Cruz and the study's senior author, attributes this to the intertwined fear of religion and parking in many communities.
He notes that combining these two fears can create a visceral response that masks discriminatory actions. Adam Millard-Ball, a study author and UCLA professor, highlights that while parking concerns are legitimate, they can also be used to disguise prejudice. The researchers found that mosques faced opposition in 20% of the 107 cases studied, with parking cited in over half of those instances.
In contrast, only 5 out of the 107 new churches faced opposition, with no parking-related issues mentioned. The study suggests that the "parking cover" allows community members to express prejudiced opinions under the guise of legitimate concerns, creating additional challenges and delays for mosque construction.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
