KATY, TEXAS — While Kamel Fotouh makes plans to build a mosque on 11 acres of pasture here, neighbor Craig A. Baker is making plans of his own -- plans to hold pig races.
Baker figures he'll need a tent, souvenirs and a track for the pigs to race on, all in full view of the Muslims next door, for whom pigs are forbidden as food.
As a bonus, Baker will host the competition on Friday -- a Muslim holy day.
This is not meant as a slur on Islam, Baker said. It's a dispute between two neighbors. "A lot of people are making this into a racist situation, a redneck guy from Texas saying 'We're going to put on pig races,' " he said. "But I'm standing up for property rights."
The trouble started in October, shortly after the Katy Islamic Assn. bought the land next to Baker's marble business.
Katy, population 13,000, is a mix of largely white, middle-class housing developments, shopping centers and fields. Until now, it was mostly known as the home of a Rice Harvest Festival, an outlet mall and actress Renee Zellweger.
Like many drawn to a quieter lifestyle and lower housing costs, about 500 Muslim families have moved to Katy over the years and become an accepted part of the community. "I have never once felt discrimination," said Fotouh, an engineer and president of the Katy Islamic Assn., who has lived here for 20 years.
Baker has even longer roots in Katy -- his family settled here during the 1800s and never left. The street that runs past the mosque site is named Baker Road.
Baker and Fotouh both say their first meeting was initially cordial. Baker readily agreed to remove his cattle from the association's land. He also offered to donate granite fill for the group's new driveway.
But Baker says that as their meeting wound up, Fotouh suggested that he move, in order to keep the place of worship separate from the business. Fotouh denies making such a request.
"We would not go to a land owner and say 'We're moving in, you move out.' It does not make sense," he said.
Baker insists that Fotouh asked him to leave, and has offered to pay for lie detector tests to prove it.
After Baker moved his cattle, Fotouh sent a thank-you gift -- a crystal clock. Baker returned it.
Baker, 46, said he was going to let the matter drop until a second incident occurred. At a homeowner's association meeting, someone asked a mosque representative why Baker was asked to leave his land. The representative said that Baker was a liar and that the exchange had never happened, Baker said.
