Story Archive

All Your Arabic Looks Alike

While his new Tarpon Springs, Fla., home was being built, a man drove up to Gareth Whitehurst’s building site and demanded to know what the finished building would be. When the man was told it was a private home, he scoffed and said the building’s unique design showed it was going to be a mosque. So, Whitehurst, 76, put a sign on the gate that read, “This is not a mosque.” The sign is written in Arabic. “At least the people who spoke Arabic wouldn’t be confused,” Whitehurst said. “Those other SOBs could construe it any way they wished.” The home is nearly finished and its purpose is clearer: it’s an homage to the Jefferson Memorial. Out of all the numerous features of the six-acre compound, Whitehurst insists on one being included in any description: another sign hanging on a brick wall. It has a quote from Samual Adams that reads, “If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” (MS/Tampa Bay Times) ...He needs one more sign: “(O)ur civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson.