NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Construction of a Tennessee mosque that has been strongly opposed by critics of Islam likely will be stopped after a judge ruled Tuesday that local officials didn’t give the public adequate notice before the meeting where it was approved.
The mosque was one of several Muslim projects in the U.S. that hit a swell of conservative opposition around the same time as the controversy over a plan to build a Muslim community center near New York’s ground zero.
Chancellor Robert Corlew found that the Rutherford County Planning Commission didn’t do enough to inform the public of the May 2010 meeting when it approved the site plan for the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.
Though his ruling voids the approval, he noted there was nothing stopping the commission from reconsidering the issue and voting on the mosque site plan again, as long as any action they take is for “non-discriminatory reasons.”
Saleh Sbenaty, a spokesman for the mosque, said the ruling was disappointing but his group remained committed to building the Islamic center. They have been worshipping for many years at a smaller site in Murfreesboro, a booming city of about 100,000 people southeast of Nashville.
Categories: Americas, Islamism, Islamophobia, Law and Religion, Mosque
How can you allow Churches and ban Mosques and call it non-discriminatory?
These guys seem to be similar to the Mufti of Saudi Arabia …
We do not agree with the Mufti of Saudi Arabia (that churches should be banned in Arabia) and therefore have the right to disagree also with those wanting to ban mosques.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO HEAR?
On March 12, Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.” The ruling came in response to a query from a Kuwaiti delegation over proposed legislation to prevent construction of churches in the emirate. The mufti based his decision on a story that on his deathbed, Muhammad declared, “There are not to be two religions in the [Arabian] Peninsula.” This passage has long been used to justify intolerance in the kingdom. Churches have always been banned in Saudi Arabia, and until recently Jews were not even allowed in the country. Those wishing to worship in the manner of their choosing must do so hidden away in private, and even then the morality police have been known to show up unexpectedly and halt proceedings.
What else do you need to hear? You need to hear what the Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community said about this subject:
http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2012/04/islam-2/khalifa-of-islam-condemns-saudi-arabias-grand-mufti-for-calling-for-churches-to-be-destroyed
Therefore, if you like, ban Saudi-financed mosques, but do not ban any others, as no other Muftis supported the Saudi views.