First the pig races were canceled in Katy.

Now the Quran burning is canceled in Gainesville.

Once again, Greater Houston leads the way.

There is still opposition to a new mosque planned for Katy, but at least some of the concerns are being dealt with.

As my colleague Cindy Horswell reported the other day, a 150-member group called Preserving the Lifestyles and Neighborhoods of Katy (PLANK) met with leaders of the Muslim group that is planning to upgrade its modest worship and school quarters into a stately mosque.

One PLANKster voiced his concern about the floodlights from the Muslim sports complex shining into his home.

First, let's ponder the evidence of assimilation suggested by the fact that the Muslims have built a lighted sports complex, clearly the first step toward becoming an American-style mega-mosque.

Then lets celebrate the fact that the Muslims responded to the complaint by shielding the lights so they don't shine at the home anymore.

All churches, synagogues and mosques should shield their outdoor lights — as should we all - so that we can see the heavens even in the city.

PLANKsters have also expressed concern about traffic, flooding and the possibility that loudspeakers in the proposed mosque's towers will blast out the traditional call to prayer five times a day - worthy concerns all.

I especially appreciate the concern about loudspeakers. I once lived in an apartment across a plaza from a cathedral whose Sunday morning bells made me repent my Saturday nights.

Even worse was the street preacher with the scratchy but powerful loudspeaker who warned Catholics emerging from Mass that they were going to hell.

Most the Catholics were amused, but I decided that while I was in favor of free speech, I was willing to exempt amplified speech inflicted on the unwilling.

Not alone in fear

I suspect the concerns can be addressed. There are plenty of Muslim engineers in Houston who can help with drainage, and I'm told most mosques here don't blanket their neighborhoods with the call to prayer, as mosques do in many Muslim nations.

But some PLANKsters expressed fears that are harder to address, fears that a mosque will foment radicalism and even terrorism.

They are not alone in their negative feelings toward Muslims. In his 2008 and 2010 Houston Area Surveys, Rice sociologist Stephen Klineberg asked respondents to rate their feelings toward Muslims on a 10 point scale, with 1 being very unfavorable.

"There was a highly significant drop in the mean score from 6.11 in 2008 to 5.50 in 2010," Klineberg said. "The drop was especially strong among Anglos and Latinos, with no change among blacks."

The rising fear is part of a national tide. The reality is that more than 100,000 Muslims live in Houston and are served by dozens of mosques, ranging from impressive structures to homes used for worship. They have been here for many years and they have not fomented terrorism.

David Cook, a Rice professor of religious studies whose books include "Understanding Jihad" (2005) and "Martyrdom in Islam" (2007), said Houston Moslems are "primarily South Asian, Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis, which is not surprising since their weather is like ours."

Many are doctors, engineers and scientists, prosperous Sunni Muslims.

"They are pretty well integrated," he said.

Cook said those most likely to be recruited by militants are converts and others who have little knowledge of the Quran.

Knowledge is the key

Cook agreed that there are passages in the Quran that can be interpreted as a call to violence, but "most Muslims do find a way to interpret those things as either being irrelevant or dealing with some other historical situation."

Much like Christians and Jews have been able to tame some of the more uncomfortable passages of the Bible.

"One of the things that inoculates against radical Islam is knowledge," Cook said. "Radicals are most successful among people who are ignorant. Those who are steeped in the legalistic interpretation of Islam, the backbone of Sunni-ism, are inoculated."

Home-grown terrorism in America is not to be discounted. But it is not likely to be fomented in big mosques serving highly educated Muslims who are prospering.

rick.casey@chron.com