DOJ files legal brief in support of Tenn. mosque

Ain’t no stopping them now, they’re on the move, and the terrorist-friendly DOJ – led by Eric Holder – has got their back. Picking and choosing local issues in the Obama administration.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Federal attorneys on Monday jumped into a court battle over the construction of a Tennessee mosque by offering legal proof that Islam is a recognized religion entitled to constitutional protection.

U.S. Attorney Jerry E. Martin of Nashville said his office would not sit by while mosque opponents raise questions in court about whether Islam is a recognized religion. Martin said in a statement that to suggest otherwise “is quite simply ridiculous.”

Martin’s office filed a brief saying as much in a state lawsuit brought by mosque opponents against Rutherford County for granting permission for construction of the building.

Mosque opponents are challenging whether the county acted properly in granting the construction permit. Their complaint claims that the county failed to determine whether the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro is entitled to protection under the First Amendment. They have also claimed that the county violated the state’s Open Meetings law in the approval process.

Martin said his office was not intervening in the lawsuit itself to take sides, but attorneys felt the need to weigh in on issues raised during three days of testimony in Rutherford County Chancery Court.

“Plaintiffs’ implication that Islam is not a recognized religion by the United States is wrong and is not supported by any authority whatsoever,” he said. “The right to assemble and worship as you please was literally the genesis of this country.”

Martin said during the testimony, a county official was questioned on whether Islam was a federally recognized religion.

“All three branches of the government have repeatedly recognized Islam as a religion,” he said.

Kathleen Bergin, a professor of law at South Texas College of Law in Houston, said the filing is “part of a larger effort by the Department of Justice to curb post 9/11 backlash against Islam.”

She said the government would be interested in this particular case because federal statutes prohibiting religious discrimination would come into play if the decision of the county to approve the construction at the mosque was overturned.

He also noted that Congress enacted the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act in 2000, which specifically forbids local governments from using land regulations to unfairly prevent people from building churches, synagogues, mosques or other places of worship.

Martin said his office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division have been monitoring the case and doing outreach with Muslims in the area.

The question isn’t really whether Islam is a ‘religion’ rather all the other things Islam also is – legal, military, political, a complete way of life. via The Associated Press: Feds file legal brief in support of Tenn. mosque.