TN MOSQUES FOES LOSE: MUSLIMS GIVEN BUILDING PERMIT

Somewhere the people responsible for vandalizing this sign not to mention Nashvile hatemonger Laurie Cardoza-Moore are home today crying into their Confederate Flags with swastikas for stars because they learned the hard way last week that try as they might, Tennessee is not entirely the racist redneck paradist they want it to be. Now don’t get us wrong. Tennessee conservatives have been giving it the ol’ college try, as evidenced by the scores of articles we end up posting here, but when it came to trying to keep a mosque that has been there for over 20 years from expanding, no, they couldn’t do that. As it is the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, TN will be able to go ahead with their plans to build a new mosque in town, despite the best efforts of hatemongers around the globe to keep it from happening. One plantiff named Lisa Moore, a Jewish woman who is of no relation to Laurie Cardoza-Moore (although both should learn the origin of the surname “Moore”!) even tried to say that she would be targeted for death per her interpretation of Sharia Law, which was shot full of holes when it was learned she doesn’t even live in the area! Here’s a word of advice to all the jackoffs who are trying to pull this crap across the country: You can’t whine about your Consitiutional rights and the First Amendment when you are busy trying to take them away from others. No one will listen to you, and you will be seen moreso as the threat. Alas, you will still persist, won’t you. Fine, more fun for us!

OnIslam.net

Ending months of debates, the Islamic community in the Tennessee’s city of Murfreesboro welcomed a local judge ruling in the favor of constructing a new mosque, saying they hope the project would help in building bridges inside their community.

“We put our trust in our judicial system and always believe that truth and justice will prevail,” Saleh Sbenaty, a member of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, told The Daily News Journal newspaper on Friday, May 20.

Earlier this week, Chancellor Robert Corlew ruled that the construction of a new mosque in Rutherford County, Murfreesboro, does not harm the residents who sued the county to stop it.

The plaintiffs had argued that the mosque violated their constitutional rights, claiming that Muslims were compelled by their religion to subdue non-Muslims.

Their attorney Joe Brandon even questioned county officials on whether Islam is qualified as a religion.

“We must note that, under the law, the plaintiffs have not demonstrated a loss different from that which is common to all citizens of Rutherford County,” Corlew said in his ruling.

“That Islam is a religion has been proven in this case.

“That the county ordinance allows construction of a church or place of meeting within a residential planning zone as a matter of right in this case is further undisputed.”

The judge also dismissed the argument made by one plaintiff, a Jewish female, that she would be targeted for death under the Shari`ah law after finding out that she is not even a resident of the area.

“Ms. (Lisa) Moore is not a resident of this county, which initially casts doubts upon her standing,” Corlew said.

Corlew also determined that 14 new plaintiffs who live close to the proposed mosque failed to prove harm.

“While we certainly respect the rights of all property owners, we are required to remember that the issues before us surround the validity of a county ordinance that affects all citizens,” Corlew said in his ruling.

The ruling would end months of disputes that erupted after declaring plans to build a mosque in Murfreesboro.

The Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission approved plans in May to build a community center and mosque in southeast of Murfreesboro.

However, the plans have met a fierce opposition from locals.

Muslims’ right to building mosques has been the center of one controversy following the other in the US in recent years.

In Tennessee alone, plans for two other mosques are facing residents’ opposition.

Bridges of Understanding

Sbenaty said he hopes the ruling will put an end to the controversy surrounding the project and heal the ensuing rift in the community.

“We would like to thank the judge for his ruling, and we wish the community will put this behind us and be united again,” he told the Daily News Journal.

“We will work together for building bridges of understanding.”

The mosque’s spiritual leader, Imam Ossama Bahloul, said that members of the Muslim community in the city are the ones who took the brunt of the dispute.

“We are the ones who had vandalism,” said Bahloul, citing the spray-painting attack on the building that will be the future home of the center with the words “Not Welcome”.

The earth-moving equipment on the site was also set alight by vandals last year, promoting federal authorities to open a probe.

“We are the ones who had arson,” Bahloul said. “We are the ones who have been through a lot. We did not call anyone names.”

“We want to be a friend of everyone, even the opposition.”

Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess, in an interview with WSMV-TV, also lauded the ruling, saying that it shows how his community is open to all cultures.

“It’s a substantial victory,” the mayor said, lamenting that the controversy undermined the reputation of the county.

“Other people misconstrue what’s happening, and they take offense to those things,” said Burgess.

“Maybe they think we are not an open, friendly, receptive community here to all religions all communities and all cultures, which we are.”

But, plaintiffs’ lead attorney Brandon said his clients would review their options as the ruling did not dismiss whether the county violated the open meeting law when the planning commission approved the site plan for the proposed project.

On the other side, Bahloul said he wishes all sides would join forces to focus on making Murfreesboro a better place.

“I hope our city will be the best city in the USA,” Bahloul said.

“We want people to work together for the common good.”