Muslims in the Tennessee city of Murfreesboro said Friday they hope the opening of their new mosque after more than two years of controversy will be a new beginning for relations with the community, particularly their opponents.

Islamic Center of Murfreesboro members include immigrants from Iraq, Egypt, Syria and other countries, as well as American converts. Many of them said that before the opposition to their new building they had always found Murfreesboro to be a welcoming community.

If it were not, the congregation would never have grown to the point where they needed to build a new mosque, they said.

"We are here 30 years and I never had a problem with the people here," said Safaa Fathy, a member of the mosque's board of directors. "It only started two years ago."

That's when the Islamic center received permission to construct a new mosque to replace their overcrowded space in an office park.