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The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today welcomed a federal agreement over the rejection of the planned Abu Huraira Islamic Center in St. Anthony Village, Minn.
CAIR: St. Anthony Islamic Center Squabble Ends in Settlement
“This settlement sends a clear message that there are consequences to denying people their constitutionally-protected rights,” said CAIR-MN Executive Director Lori Saroya. “Catholic churches and Jewish synagogues faced this same bigotry less than 100 years ago in our country. This vicious cycle ends here. No other community should go through this.”
She added that the case in St. Anthony is one of six Muslim land use opposition incidents in Minnesota over the past two years. The other proposals — in Blaine, Plymouth, Willmar, and Bloomington — were eventually approved despite community opposition. The St. Cloud mosque proposal was withdrawn.
In 2012, CAIR-MN asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch an investigation into whether the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
The DOJ agreed to investigate in October 2012 and concluded that the city of St. Anthony Village did indeed violate RLUIPA when it denied a conditional use permit to the Islamic center. The federal government filed a lawsuit against the city in federal court in August 2014.
Backgrounders:
Feds Plan to Sue City of St. Anthony Over Rejection of Islamic Center (Star Tribune)
Meeting Set on Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against St. Anthony Over Denial of Islamic Center
Video: CAIR-MN Rep Optimistic About Mosque Dispute Settlement Talks (KSTP)
In June 2012, the St. Anthony City Council voted 4 to 1 to deny a conditional use permit for the Islamic center, despite a recommendation by the St. Anthony Planning Commission to approve the project. The project had been on hold since a March 2012 moratorium by the council.
At the June council meeting, the proposed Islamic center faced opposition from intolerant speakers who, Islamic center proponents assert, clearly exposed the real reason for the delay and ultimate rejection.
Several residents made anti-Muslim comments at the city council hearing, including: “There is no other religion in the world that condones violence. Islam is evil,” and, “Where did you come from? [Go] change your own country.”
Islamic center proponents said the city allowed similarly situated secular assemblies in the same building while denying a religious assembly, a possible violation of RLUIPA’s “Equal Terms” provision.
RLUIPA protects religious institutions from unduly burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. RLUIPA and the Minnesota Constitution ban zoning restrictions that impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person or institution unless the government can show that it has a compelling interest for imposing zoning restrictions and that the restriction is the least restrictive way for the government to further that interest.
The DOJ has launched investigations into dozens of cases nationwide involving local denials of mosque construction applications.
One of the most controversial anti-mosque efforts nationwide involved a campaign by Islamophobes to block construction of a new Islamic Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn. That Islamic center opened its doors in August 2012after intervention by the DOJ.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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