Council divided over Muslim resolution
Developer, minister to ask city to waive liquor sales restriction

By Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer

GALLUP — If the City Council passes a resolution on its agenda Tuesday evening condemning any offense against its Muslim community, it's unlikely to do so unanimously.

In a recent Letter to the Editor, Councilwoman Mary Ann Armijo argues that such religious matters are none of the council's business.

The proposal stems from The Independent's decision last month to reprint cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that after they were published by a handful of European newspapers sparked violent protests among Muslim communities around the globe.

In a prepared statement, Jamal Jawad blasted The Independent during the council's last meeting for betraying the local Muslim community's trust by reprinting cartoons it knew would offend them. A local Presbyterian pastor and a Lutheran followed Jawad, criticizing The Independent's decision and asking the council to condemn any persecution of the community.

Mayor Bob Rosebrough enthusiastically directed the city manager to prepare a resolution for the council's next meeting.

The resolution facing the council Tuesday evening blames The Independent for increasing tensions within the community and expresses support for its local Muslims.

"The City of Gallup does not condone any form of offense to the Muslim community or any other group of its citizens in any form," it reads.

In her letter, Armijo writes that, although she does not condone The Independent's decision to reprint the cartoons, "it is not my place as a city councilor to pass a resolution or otherwise intrude upon such a religious matter."

"The greatest thing about our country is freedom of speech," she writes.

Even when that freedom offends people, she adds, they ought to be secure enough in their faith to withstand such challenges.

In other council business, a local developer and minister are scheduled to ask the city to waive a state law that restricts any licensed liquor establishment from operating within 300 feet of a church or school.

Rick Murphy, who recently sold the building just east of City Hall to Camp Stronghold Ministries, and Hank Stokes, who heads the organization, do not want the purchase to stand in the way of plans to turn downtown Gallup into a successful entertainment district. The council has the authority to waive the state restriction.

Murphy and Stokes may be acting prematurely. According to City Manager Eric Honeyfield, it is usually the licensee or the license seeker who asks the city for a waiver, either when renewing a license or attempting to transfer it to a new location within 300 of a church or school.

The council will also consider a resolution backing the Indian Health Service's right to select a site for its new Gallup-area hospital free of political meddling. According to the resolution, the state's federal representatives were contacted by unspecified parties to express there preference for the Gallup Municipal Golf Course as the new hospital's site. The Indian Health Service's first choice is a site on the west end of town near Gallup High School.

The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. inside City Hall.