13th Street May Become Al-Rahman Street in Garden Grove, CA

January 13, 2003

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-street13jan13,0,6378380.story

On January 13, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that "Garden Grove [CA] officials are considering whether to change the name of a small stretch of 13th Street to Al-Rahman Street at the request of a local Islamic group... Most of the block on 13th west of Brookhurst Street is owned by the Islamic Society of Orange County, where thousands of Muslims congregate daily for prayers at the mosque or attend the Orange Crescent School. Al-Rahman, which means 'all merciful,' is one of several Islamic names for God... City staff is researching what other cities have done and are expected to bring the matter back to the council for review... 'We are a multiethnic community,' Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater said. 'Everybody has a right to have a seat at the table. We have the largest mosque in the U.S., and we have to give them some respect. If [the Rev. Robert] Schuller [of the Crystal Cathedral] came to us and asked us to change a street name, we'd look at it. So that's what we're doing, we're listening.'"