There's no ambivalence here.
The Sterling Heights Planning Commission voted 9-0 Thursday night against a proposed mosque on 15 Mile Road between Ryan and Mound roads, Aaron Baskerville of WXYZ reports.
The vote is based on objective land issues such as neighborhood impact and has nothing to do with religion, the city insists. Islamic leaders offered to downsize the proposal, but that didn't change anything.
Mayor Michael Taylor says in a statement: "Sterling Heights is a community that has and continues to welcome diversity through many programs and events."
City hall Thursday night was filled to capacity, WXYZ says, and hundreds more stood outside chanting "No more mosque" and "God Bless America."
The mosque would congest traffic, critics said, and a small group hinted at concerns about extremism, WXYZ reports. One person tells the station: "This doesn't seem like Sterling Heights. I feel like I'm in Baghdad."
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