We are indeed lucky, then, that the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB)—located in the city that gave birth to the Revolution—is vigorously defending that same precious liberty in court by advocating the right of a faith community to build a house of worship for their own spiritual and communal advancement.

It’s no secret that the Islamic Society of Boston has for years been building a Mosque and Cultural Center in the neighborhood of Roxbury—and many Bostonians believe the complex can only benefit this often-disadvantaged area. But in early 2003, the ISB became the target of a series of sensational articles in the Boston Herald and on Fox TV Channel 25. In 2004, a resident of a nearby neighborhood filed a lawsuit alleging that the ISB had received city lands at rates unlawfully favorable to them. (Actually, the price paid by the Society will far exceed the land’s assessed value of $480,000.)

It turned out that the David Project, an extreme rightwing group espousing a particularly unattractive form of Jewish nationalism, had arranged for the lawsuit against the ISB and coordinated the negative media campaign. Also involved was discredited Islamophobe Steven Emerson, who supplied much of the misinformation used by media outlets—a mistake that will cost them dearly, since the ISB is suing them for defamation.

Supporting the right of the Muslims to build their community facilities is a growing coalition of progressive Christians and Jews, the driving force of the latter being the new Boston chapter of A Jewish Voice for Peace. "We’d like to a have a dinner or some other sit-down event in solidarity with the Islamic Society of Boston," Hilda Silverman of the JVP told InFocus. "Of course we’d like music and poetry, including both Arabic and Sephardic songs. And personally, I’d like to have both Jewish and Muslim comedians. You just have to laugh at politics these days."

Salma Kazmi, Assistant Director of the ISB, serves with Ms. Silverman on the Cambridge Peace Commission. "A Jewish Voice for Peace is an extremely important ally for us," she told InFocus. "We’re all learning a lot." The ISB is also receiving support from Christians in the Cambridge/Somerville area, reportedly including the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church. Sources report that Temple Beth Shalom, a synagogue in Cambridge, has a regular discussion group with ISB members, co-facilitated by Ms. Kazmi.

Clearly, the David Project has no interest in protecting Boston from terrorism—if they had any real proof of illegal activity, they’d simply turn it over to law enforcement. What they really want, sadly, is to stop the construction of a house of worship for Muslims. That is a fundamental violation of the religious liberty of a community, not just of Boston’s Muslims in 2006 but of future generations as well. This attempt to interfere with the spiritual and institutional growth of a faith community can and must be defeated.

What really bothers the David Project is that the organized Muslim community refuses to be intimidated by them and by other groups in the pro-Israel Lobby. Instead, Muslims and their progressive allies (including A Jewish Voice for Peace) often offer a politically savvy, morally-grounded defense of the Palestinian right to self-determination. That is the real reason, I believe, why rightwing groups hate the growing power and credibility of Muslims in modern America. And it’s one more reason why religious liberty for all the Children of the Book necessarily depends on the right of Americans to debate the Middle East without defamation, covert attacks, and reckless campaigns that divide our communities.