A week before Ramadan ends, disputed Tennessee mosque opens doors - Los Angeles Times
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A week before Ramadan ends, disputed Tennessee mosque opens doors

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Muslims in central Tennessee moved into their newly built mosque Friday with a week left to go in the holy month of Ramadan, capping a multi-year struggle that included vandalism, threats and lawsuits from local residents.

A temporary occupancy permit issued Tuesday put a stay – for the time being – to a legal dispute that began in 2010. That’s when the Islamic community broke ground on a 12,000-square-foot mosque, and local residents sued.

Moving in was a milestone for the Islamic community, but the day was tinged with worry over religious freedom, according to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. On Sunday, six Sikhs were killed when a gunman opened fire at a Wisconsin gurdwara. On Monday, a mosque in southwestern Missouri burned to the ground.

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“We now celebrate this ruling — not as a victory for our congregation, nor as a victory for American Muslims — but as a victory for the American Constitution,” said Dr. Ossama Bahloul, the imam of the Islamic Center, in a statement. “Part of what makes our nation great is that we protect religious freedom for all: Muslim, Christian, Jew, and others.”

On Thursday, 13 Rutherford County residents filed a motion in U.S. District Court to void the temporary occupancy permit and a permanent move-in. The motion would insert the residents as a third party in the lawsuit.

A judge will decide whether the so-called defendant intervenors will be able to participate and whether the judgment they seek is legal. Joe M. Brandon Jr., an attorney representing the 13 residents, did not return a phone call seeking comment Friday.

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“Further court rulings will vindicate the mosque’s right to worship in peace,” said Lori Windham, a lawyer for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, co-representing the mosque.

The Islamic community has been in Murfreesboro for 30 years and had outgrown its previous mosque, which had no ventilation or air-conditioning. The congregation bought land for a new mosque just outside town, and a local planning commission unanimously approved a building permit.

After the congregation broke ground on the mosque in 2010, problems surfaced. A vehicle caught fire. Someone scrawled “Not welcome” in violet spray paint on a construction site sign. A bomb threat in 2011 resulted in the federal indictment of Javier Alan Correa, 24, who awaits trial.

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Then, opponents sued to block the mosque. They contended that the planning commission did not follow proper procedure in approving the mosque’s permits – and that Islam was not a real religion, so its devotees had no 1st Amendment right to religious freedom.

In the motion filed Wednesday, Brandon reiterated that point, writing that whether Islam is a real religion is “unresolved as a matter of law.”

In June, a local judge of the Chancery Court voided the mosque’s building permits and blocked an occupancy inspection. A federal judge ordered Rutherford County to immediately finish the inspection process. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a separate suit siding with mosque supporters.

The mosque is now ready for worship on Eid-ul-Fitr, Aug. 19, a religious holiday in which Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan.

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