Muslim American lawsuits vs. New Jersey towns settled allowing mosques to be built

Proposed mosque in Bayonne, New Jersey

TWO NEW JERSEY communities of Basking Ridge and Bayonne will allow the construction of mosques after settling lawsuit with the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ).

The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today welcomed the settlement of two pending lawsuits that will allow the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge (ISBR) to move forward with plans to build a mosque. 

Late last year, the mosque’s application in Basking Ridge had been voted down in a decision that was challenged by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and ISBR on the grounds that ISBR was being treated unfairly under the Federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

After 39 public hearings in a process that lasted nearly four years the DOJ determined that there was sufficient evidence to sue for discriminatory practices.  The settlement agreement with ISBR requires that the township pay damages of $3.25 million. 

“Several New Jersey Muslim communities have been targeted by local anti-Muslim opponents to new mosque construction who attempted to hide their bigoted intentions behind zoning technicalities,” said CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Sues. 

“In the case of Basking Ridge, these intentions were plain to see once this case went to court. We hope this case sends a message to other communities that freedom of religion is a guaranteed constitutional right, and that the Muslim community is prepared to rigorously defend its rights.”

A $400,000 settlement has been reached Jan. 30 in a federal lawsuit filed by a Muslim congregation that accused a New Jersey zoning board of discrimination when it turned down their bid to open a mosque.

The agreement, filed Jan. 25 in District Court in New Jersey, said that the City of Bayonne will pay Bayonne Muslims $120,000 in damages and $280,000 in attorneys fees. It also allows their mosque application, voted down in March, to move forward.

Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis in a statement said the city settled the suit to protect its taxpayers, adding that money for the payment will come from a joint insurance fund to which it belongs.

“The Muslims have been part of our community for a long time, and we have always worked together,” Davis said.

“Everybody deserves a place of worship,” he continued. “Religious freedom is one of America’s founding principles.”

“We are so grateful for the support of so many of our fellow Bayonne residents through this long struggle and we commend the City of Bayonne for moving now to correct the wrong that was done to Bayonne’s Muslims,” Abdul Hamid Butt, president of the congregation, said in a statement.