In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a proposed mosque has been the subject of weeks of hearings, as detractors try to make their case that a judge should halt construction. Their arguments have ranged from petty (planning meetings did not offer proper public notice, they claim) to outrageous (suggesting Islam does not qualify as a religion), in an effort to overcome clear constitutional principle and federal law (RLUIPA) protecting the right of religious groups to build houses of worship.
Today, what one government official described as "a circus" finally came to and end, as Judge Robert Corlew ruled against the plaintiffs and declined the request to issue an injunction.
Rutherford County Chancellor Robert Corlew said after closing arguments that he could not find that the “county acted illegally, arbitrarily or capriciously,” when county planners approved the site plan for an Islamic center.
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Corlew said there was some concern about the public notice requirements and suggested county or state officials look at those requirements. But he said the court did not find that members of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro adhered to extremist religious ideas.
