LEWISTON — As Masjidu Salaam Mosque leaders work through the city planning and permitting process to enlarge a parking area at the 240 Bartlett St. building, complaints about building occupancy and parking violations at worship times continue to mount. 

Tensions between the mosque and Mid Valley Motors/Leonard Heavy Duty Towing, which sits directly across the street, culminated March 27 in the mosque alleging targeted harassment and racist behavior from the company and the city. 

“The Lewiston Police Department conducted numerous unnecessary and targeted parking enforcement sweeps near the mosque on Friday, ignoring their responsibility to keep the community safe to instead focus on a right-wing grievance,” the mosque said in a statement sent to the newspaper.

“Lewiston Code Enforcement, meanwhile, recently took time away from their responsibility to ensure renters have safe places to live to instead see if too many people were attending religious services at the mosque.”

The statement leveled accusations of harassment from the towing company. It said some residents are calling on city officials to cancel contracts with the towing company for its “hateful, racist signs” and referring to Muslims as “dogs.”

Matthew Theriault, general manager of the towing company, denied he or his employees have displayed any racist or anti-Muslim rhetoric toward those who worship at the mosque. He said parking issues have been constant for several years and his business’s position still stands and is well-documented on the business’s Facebook Page.

“If you park illegally, you will be towed,” Theriault said.

The parking issues, which peak on Fridays, are not limited just to his businesses, Theriault said. E.W. Mailhot Sausage Co. and the Italian Bakery have had to call for tows from their private parking many times, he said. 

“We just want to go about running our businesses,” Theriault said. “There’s no racial or religious thing to this — a red Honda Civic is a red Honda Civic.”

PARKING ENFORCEMENT

Lewiston Police Department’s role in enforcing parking is to focus on high-priority issues presenting safety concerns or on consistent complaints from the public, particularly from business owners, Lt. Derrick St. Laurent said. Police have received numerous complaints in the area and most tickets have been issued for blocking or obstructing driveways. The police department is required to take the complaints seriously, he said.

“Many business owners rely on clear access to their lots, and when a vehicle prevents patrons from entering, it results in a loss of business,” St. Laurent said, acknowledging Masjidu Salaam’s parking issue is a difficult situation for them with limited space. “We take concerns from the community seriously, including those attending religious services and to affirm when it comes to parking enforcement, Lewiston Police Department’s top priority is based on safety, access, and traffic flow throughout the entire city.”

LPD has issued just three parking tickets along that area of Bartlett Street this year, all in February. 

St. Laurent also said police always try to encourage worshippers at Masjidu Salaam to use alternative parking locations like McGraw Park, Longley School and The Colisée. The importance of access to worship and that of keeping businesses accessible to their customers are both paramount, but everyone parking in the area should follow posted signs, parking regulations and any applicable laws.

“Our focus is on fair, consistent enforcement and on encouraging respectful dialogue and practical solutions that support the broader community,” St. Laurent said.

CODE ENFORCEMENT

The mosque’s release also said local leaders have begun circulating a petition calling for firing Lewiston’s code enforcement director, Jon Connor, who the release calls a “Republican political operative.”

Connor said complaints and concerns related to occupancy at the mosque are not new and predate his tenure as director.

“We’ve had issues about occupancy and parking for this location for at least a decade. Recently, the Planning Board approved the Mosque’s plan to expand parking and increase occupancy,” Connor said. “However, over the past month, the city continues to receive concerns about these same issues.”

The latest complaint came from a city councilor who aired concerns about occupancy based on the number of vehicles in the area of the mosque. Code enforcement assigned an officer on March 20 to conduct preliminary observation to determine whether further review was needed, Connor said.

The response is consistent with how the city approaches such issues, he said.

“Regardless of the location or type of building — whether it is a mosque, church, restaurant, theater — Code Enforcement will conduct a hands-on, visual inspection. Further, we apply the same safety standards consistently across any and all properties. In this case, the code enforcement officer parked nearby and was able to observe without leaving his vehicle,” Connor said.

Connor said the March complaint found the mosque was in occupancy compliance, but that it does still have fire and code violations from 2021. Remediating these issues involves communication before moving toward enforcement, he said.

“The mosque’s development review recently submitted to the planning board was an effort to address those longstanding concerns through the proper civic process and, ideally, to move the situation toward greater clarity and stability,” he said. “The planning board approved the mosque’s development plan to approve their parking plan. This has never been a matter of choosing between worshippers or neighboring businesses. The city’s role is to remain evenhanded in its enforcement of our ordinances, apply the code consistently, and help protect the safety and access for all.”

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said he expects the planning and code department to conduct themselves in a fair and objective manner.

“If business owners or residents have concerns, they can reach out to city administration or our city attorney,” Sheline said. “They can also feel free to contact me at any time.”

FRUSTRATION FROM CITY OFFICIALS

Police and code enforcement presence and alleged harassment from a neighboring business still has people feeling targets, according to councilors. On March 27, Lewiston city councilors Josh Nagine of Ward 1, Scott Harriman of Ward 3 and Chrissy Noble of Ward 5 were present outside the mosque during its services. 

“If the city has any contracts with anyone in this city inciting their neighbors and disrupting the peace, they should be reviewed,” Noble said Friday evening. “I have heard complaints of code enforcement being weaponized against the Muslim community, but I would have to know more about how a complaint is handled before commenting on that.”

Nagine said he does not believe code enforcement acted on their own, but as a response to resident complaints. Allegations of ordinance violations creating life-safety issues cannot be ignored, he said. However, he said he does question the underlying motivations of some of those who may have leveled complaints. 

“I do not believe these concerns were raised out of concern for attendee welfare, but by those who are ideologically adverse to extending an equal level of respect for Islam or our Somali neighbors,” Nagine said. “I personally believe that careful and considered actions and speech are needed when considering actions that could be interpreted as interfering with religious services as the government has no place in discriminating against or favoring any theological belief system or the practice thereof.”

Harriman was also present on Friday, and noted that loud music was directed at the mosque, disrupting worship services inside. Unlike worship on March 27, which had a police presence, there was no parking enforcement on Friday.

Harriman said Lewiston police responded to the noise complaints and spoke to Mid Valley Motors employees. However, music continued after the police left. 

“The loud music was audible from inside the mosque while I was in there speaking with community leaders,” Harriman said. “Songs included ‘I’m a Little Teapot,’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle,’ ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ and the chorus of ‘What Does the Fox Say?’ played on a continuous loop for quite a long time.”

Theriault said the loud music noted by councilors was nothing but background music for employees at the business.

Sheline, who was briefly present at the mosque with councilors, said he made a stop there to make sure the Muslim community was feeling safe.

“Lewiston is a welcoming place for all and this includes our Muslim neighbors,” Sheline said. “Our two mosques are sacred places of worship in our community and are worthy of our respect and reverence.”