Memphis church extends neighborly welcome to mosque

(NewsCore) - As American headlines were dominated by international outcry over a preacher's plan to burn the Koran and the ongoing dispute about a planned mosque near New York's Ground Zero, one Tennessee church chose to extend a warm welcome to their new Muslim neighbors, local news station WREG reported Thursday.

The Heartsong Church in Memphis, Tenn., did more than bring a welcome basket to the Memphis Islamic Center being built in the community. When unfinished construction at the center meant Muslims could not worship there yet, the Christian church opened up its sanctuary for nightly Ramadan prayers.

"They're our neighbors across the street and we follow Jesus, who teaches us to love our neighbors," Heartsong pastor Steve Stone told WREG.

Stone admitted to feeling "a little tightness in my stomach" when he heard the center was being built, but he dismissed the feeling after realizing it stemmed from "fear" and "ignorance."

"Once you meet a Muslim, once you know that they're just like you, they eat, they drink, they have the same worries, they have the same hopes and dreams. We're paying our taxes, we're worried about the schools, we worry about the economy and health care. We're all in the same boat together," Yasir Quadahi, of the Memphis Muslim Center said.