By Bob Smietana, Religion News Service with BJC Staff Reports
The four-year legal conflict over construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, ended June 2 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
Hundreds marched in protest after Rutherford County officials approved plans for the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro in 2010. Televangelist Pat Robertson labeled the Islamic center a “mega mosque” and claimed Muslims were taking over Murfreesboro. An arsonist set fire to construction equipment on the building site.
Mosque opponents eventually filed a suit against the county, seeking to block construction of the worship space.
On the surface, the fight was over the minutiae of Tennessee’s public notice laws. Mosque foes claimed local officials failed to give adequate notice of a meeting where plans for the mosque’s construction were approved.
But a thriving anti-Muslim movement in Tennessee fueled the fight. Mosque foes asserted that the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom did not apply to the mosque. In court, Joe Brandon Jr., a lawyer for mosque foes, said Islam is not a religion, and he argued that the mosque was a threat to the community.
Initially, a local judge ruled for the mosque foes and ordered a halt to mosque construction. But a federal court quickly overruled that decision, paving the way for the mosque to open in 2012. A state appeals court also later overturned the lower court decision.
Local Muslims, many of whom had worshiped in the community for years, found themselves having to defend their faith and their status as American citizens at the trial.
Members of the Islamic Center found help in local interfaith groups and other local leaders who rallied to their assistance. More than 100 local religious leaders signed a letter supporting the mosque.
Foes of the mosque haven’t given up yet. A group of plaintiffs recently filed suit to block local Muslims from building a cemetery on the mosque grounds.
According to The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, a ruling on the cemetery lawsuit is expected in mid-June.
From the June 2014 Report from the Capital. Click here to read the next article.
