MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - A Rutherford County judge reaffirmed his ruling in May that allowed for the construction of a new mosque in Murfreesboro following a challenge by opponents who wanted to halt construction.
Chancellor Robert Corlew said in a response to plaintiffs who had asked him to reconsider his earlier ruling that the members of the mosque had a right by law to build a bigger place of worship, the Daily News Journal reported on Tuesday.
Plaintiffs' attorney Joe Brandon Jr. has argued that the mosque violated his clients' constitutional rights, claiming that Islamic Center of Murfreesboro's members were compelled by their religion to subdue non-Muslims and that Islam was a doctrine, not a religion.
Corlew has allowed the plaintiffs to move forward on claims the county violated an open meetings law.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
