The Mideast Came to Idaho State. It Wasn’t the Best Fit.

The New York Times reports:

When the Rev. Jim Jones, pastor of the Blazing Grace Church here, approached the lectern at City Hall, he was holding a copy of the Quran.

The Islamic text commanded followers to embrace intolerance, hate and violence, he told the zoning panel, explaining why he felt uncomfortable with the plan of Middle Eastern students at Idaho State University to build a mosque within walking distance of campus.

“I get very fearful because I live close to this place,” Mr. Jones told the panel, which was considering a rezoning request.

The mosque was approved. But the remarks by Mr. Jones and other opponents at the February 2014 hearing were signs of the fissures developing in this railroad town as Idaho State became increasingly dependent on Saudi and Kuwaiti students to replace income lost from steep declines in local enrollment and state funding.

The potential payoff of having these students was big — $20,000 per student in annual out-of-state tuition, nearly three times what state residents pay. As the number of Middle Eastern students grew to nearly 1,200, almost 10 percent of the school’s enrollment, that meant an estimated $40 million for the local economy every year.

But Idaho State had not bargained for the cultural clash in this isolated community. Even if they were just normal, rowdy college kids, the behavior of the mostly male students stood out in this conservative, predominantly Mormon city. Free from the strict cultural mores of their home countries, some students have faced charges like drunken driving and stalking.

A Christian country isn't for everyone.