After years of opposition, local Muslims permitted to use mosque for worship
Washington D.C. – Today, in a great victory for religious freedom, the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, will be able to use its newly built mosque for prayer for the first time. The mosque has faced opposition from a small group of local residents, who filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the mosque from being used. But on July 18th, after lawsuits filed by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and the United States Department of Justice, a federal court ruled in the mosque's favor, concluding that the mosque was entitled to a certificate of occupancy on the same terms as any other house of worship.
“Today marks a triumph not just for the Muslims of Murfreesboro, but for people of all faiths. No house of worship should be kept from meeting just because the neighbors dislike their religious beliefs,” said Luke Goodrich, Deputy General Counsel at the Becket Fund.
“Today marks a triumph not just for the Muslims of Murfreesboro, but for people of all faiths. No house of worship should be kept from meeting just because the neighbors dislike their religious beliefs,” said Luke Goodrich, Deputy General Counsel at the Becket Fund.
The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro has been part of the Murfreesboro community for over thirty years. In 2010, the Islamic Center began building a new mosque to accommodate its growing congregation. Its efforts were met with hostile protests from a small group of local residents who claimed that the congregation was threatening solely because of its Musrtant religious liberty cases in a half century.”
For more information, or to arrange an interview with one of the attorneys, please contact Jeff Gasser, Communications Associate, at jgasser@becketfund.org or call 202.349.7201.