(LifeSiteNews) — A former Catholic seminary and boarding school in New York is set to become a Muslim boarding school.
According to Long Island Business Insider, the former Montfort Spiritual Center in Bay Shore has been sold to United American Muslim Association (UAMA). The Muslim group acquired the three-story, 70,000-square-foot building on 14.6 acres of land at 26 South Saxon Avenue for $5.2 million.
The seminary complex at Bay Shore was founded in 1926 by the Montfort Missionaries. The missionaries closed the boarding school in 1972, and it has since served as a home and retreat center for Catholic priests.
The site was scheduled to be transformed into an assisted living facility for the elderly. However, the plan was foiled after strong opposition from residents who did not want the area to be re-designated from a residential zone to a commercial zone due to the negative impact it could have on the neighborhood.
Local residents are also opposing the plan to turn the premises into a Muslim boarding school. A Facebook page called “Saxon Says No” is organizing protests in opposition to the plan. A post from June mentions that the new owners plan to operate a boarding school for 120 middle-school- and high-school-age boys. The neighborhood is currently dotted with “NO Boarding School” lawn signs.
Long Island Business Insider reported that UAMA has applied for a change of zone for the premises in Bay Shore as part of its plan to turn it into a boarding school.
The United American Muslim Association was founded in 1980 and aims to provide education to Muslims in line with the Islamic religion.
“All organizational activities must fully comply with the words of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad,” the UAMA website states. One of its core tenets is “complete compliance with the Quran and Sunnah.”