http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/judge_rules_tn_mosque_construction_can_continue.php?ref=fpiA chancery court judge ruled today that the construction of a mosque in middle Tennessee can continue. The judge denied a request for a restraining order.
Three local residents had accused Rutherford County of breaking open meeting laws when it approved construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. Their lawyers -- funded, in part, by an anti-Islam Christian Zionist group -- quickly made the suit about Islam, however. They claimed that Islam is not a religion, prompting the Justice Department to file a brief noting that the federal government has recognized Islam as a religion since the days of Thomas Jefferson.
The judge, Robert Corlew III, ruled that the three plaintiffs did not prove that they had been hurt by the mosque's approval. Nor, he said, did they prove that the mosque would pose a threat to the community. He did, however, say he was concerned about some of the associations of mosque members. Plaintiffs had argued that some leaders of the mosque had ties to extremists.
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Jim Cope, the county attorney who defended the case, told TPM, "We are indeed pleased that it has come to a conclusion."
BULLETIN: Judge denies request to stop mosque's construction
http://www.dnj.com/article/20101117/NEWS01/101117020/BULLETIN++Judge+denies+request+to+stop+mosque+s+construction