CAIR-MN ASKS DOJ TO PROBE BIAS IN REJECTION OF ISLAMIC CENTRE

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) on June 13 called on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate allegations of anti-Muslim bias in the rejection of a proposed Islamic centre in St. Anthony, Minn. The St. Anthony City Council voted 4-1 to deny a conditional use permit for the Abu-Huraira Islamic Centre, despite a recommendation by the St. Anthony Planning Commission to approve the project. The project had been on hold since a March moratorium by the council. The proposed Islamic centre faced opposition from intolerant speakers who – Islamic centre proponents assert – clearly exposed the real reason for the approval delay and rejection.

In a response to the city council’s rejection of the Islamic centre, CAIR-MN sent a letter to the DOJ seeking a federal investigation. CAIR-MN is asking federal authorities to determine whether the denial of land usage for the Islamic centre constitutes a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).