“This is segregation by will and design,” said Luke Walter, an opponent of a housing project for Muslims in Minnesota.
“Going there, I felt like I lost 50 years of justice,” said Dean Dovolis, a supporter of the project.
Indian-origin developer Faraz Yusuf has built a residential project of 434 houses in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which also includes shops, restaurants, playgrounds, a park and a huge mosque.
What followed was a battle between the developer and the city, which wanted a Muslim housing project and the city which did not want one. The developer and his supporters asked why they could not choose for themselves and opponents insisted that segregation was not inclusion and that the city would not be divided. All of this took place at Harold Robinson’s sod farm.
Indian-origin developers vs. people of Minneapolis
This is his first project of this scale. Youssef started working with Zikr Holdings with Jamil Ahmed, which describes itself as a “recognized leader in the Islamic mortgage financing and real estate industry,” The New York Times reported.
Youssef attended local public schools and then the University of Minnesota. He and his wife, Sarah, live in Blaine, a city with a large Muslim community that borders Lino Lakes.
This housing plan was proposed at Harold Robinson’s sod farm. But not without a struggle.
A battle would ensue between the residents of Minnesota and a developer with a dream. He wanted a housing society for Muslims. They would not tolerate any kind of segregation in the community.
Yusuf’s project is called Medina Lakes. He said the development will comply with housing laws. The NYT reports that it will be “Muslim friendly,” but not just for Muslims.
The Muslim population in the region has grown, as people from Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia have migrated to Minnesota.
“Most of America is based on communities built around religious organizations,” Youssef said. “That’s how neighborhoods were built.”
A video was uploaded to the Medina Lakes website. It discussed the housing project and asked for a refundable deposit of $10,000.
This video became popular and there were very few people in Minnesota who had not seen it.
Why are Minnesota residents protesting Medina Lakes?
A British immigrant named Luke Walter began protesting against this. Madina Lake was a short distance from his home and Walter disagreed with religion-based housing societies.
The first thing they asked was, “Is this allowed?” Their concern could be summed up in one word: “separation.”
They objected to a location where non-Muslims would not be equally welcome and also questioned the credibility of the builder.
It was decided that the Council would discuss the issue next week.
There is another issue: the identity of Faraz Yousuf.
Walter also revealed that Yousuf’s real name was Faraz Mohammed. He was convicted of fraud in a criminal and a civil court. He served three months in jail and then changed his name, local KARE 11 in Minnesota reported.
While Youssef has said he is a credentialed contractor, KARE 11 revealed he is not and has never been a licensed contractor in Minnesota. According to the Department of Labor and Industry, he was a registered qualified builder from 2019 to 2021. He never applied to become a residential building contractor.
He is also charged with theft by deception. He signed his boss’s checks and paid his bills through the company’s electronic payment system, KARE 11 reports. Court records show he admitted his guilt and agreed to pay back $20,000, but only returned half.
Builder Yusuf’s grandfather was a respected judge in India
According to NYT, Yousuf was in jail for 90 days, his marriage broke down, his family felt humiliated, even though his grandfather was a respected judge in India.
According to KARE 11, he also settled a fraud case a few days ago. The case was due to him falsely claiming to be a licensed contractor and not doing US$50,000 worth of work he was paid for. He agreed to pay again.
The lawsuit says he used the new name to confuse others. Records also show he used his new name for Zikr Holdings, which began four months before the Medina Lakes project.
Many are concerned about how the $10,000 demand is being used to defraud residents.
But dozens of people showed up to a council meeting about the housing project in March. City officials said no project begins without a full review.
“The aim of our project is to be inclusive, open to all and to promote peace and harmony,” Yusuf said at the meeting.
Walter also spoke out and said if others aren’t made to feel welcome in Medina Lakes, it will be a “divided town.”
Even Robinson was advised not to sell his land to Muslims. He was also told that the local people would not allow this to happen.
A city within a city for Muslims?
Soon, a Facebook page was created and named ‘Love Lino Lex’. They clarified that they are not Islamophobic. We were fully aware that objecting to such a development was going to be a flashpoint. The scenes are horrific,” Walter told NYT.
This created a case of a divided city within a city.
According to the NYT, in an interview with an opponent of the project, Youssef said he envisioned a home for Muslims that would be populated by people “who look like them, talk like them and worship like them”.
Walter said that Yusuf was still involved in theft and had demanded US$10,000 from locals.
He said, “They may investigate my background and find some negative things in it, but I am happy with where I am.”
The future of the Medina Lakes proposal was being considered. Hundreds of people would come to the hearing.
There was tension in the atmosphere.
When Youssef addressed the city council, Walter walked out. For two reasons: he felt Youssef was not being sincere and “and, honestly, I want to meet him,” he told the NYT.
On the small hill outside the meeting many supporters of Medina Lakes gathered to discuss and plan their next move. Opponents had already begun gathering and began what they called “occupying the hill.”
A member of the Robinson family said the Love Lino Lex organization was a hate group. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization also known as CAIR, said the organization’s motivations were Islamophobic.
“You can have a mosque but not a home, or you can have a home but not a mosque,” Jaylani Hussein, the chapter’s executive director, told the New York Times.
“For the last three months we’ve seen hundreds of people attend every city council meeting or planning meeting,” Hussain told CBS News. “And in those meetings people consistently make Islamophobic, anti-Muslim statements about why they don’t want this project to go forward.”
He said that earlier local people were worried about security and cost.
But now it seems that the locals have been affected by something else.
Islamophobic comments surface on Muslim housing project
Islamophobic comments were made by some members of the Love Lino Lex organisation.
One comment said, “They don’t need to go to the mosque five times a day like they claim. I used to work in a nearby county and they stop and kneel in the corridors to pray. They’re full of crap.”
“Why does no one bring up 9/11? Because they’re too afraid of being called Islamophobic. Y’all probably don’t want me going to any meetings. I’m not afraid to say I don’t trust anything or anyone associated with this Muslim-centric ideology in my own backyard. That’s it,” another wrote.
Walter said such people would be suspended, but the problem is yet to be resolved.
“What’s the fear in buying one of the 67 single-family homes currently available for sale in Lino Lakes?” Walter said. “Buy the one next to mine. There are two on our street.”
Trouble was waiting for Walter.
He was suspended from work for a day, accused of spreading racism and Islamophobia.
Two people stood outside his house for two nights.
“We’re standing in the way of a multimillion-dollar deal, and money and religion are dangerous motivators,” Walter said.
The fate of the housing project was to be decided on July 8. Muslims offered prayers at the city hall and opponents of the project stood with banners demanding a postponement.
Harold Robinson and his sod farm await the final decision.
But what happened was this: the area would be studied for a year. Walter supported it.
Robinson was not happy. He faced a long wait.
Walter supported the ban. “We want to be heard,” he said.
“This is a premeditated murder of this project,” Dovolis said.