Mark Humphrey / AP
The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro is under construction in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
By WSMV's Larry Fowler and msnbc.com's Jim Gold
Construction work continued on a Murfreesboro, Tenn., mosque Wednesday despite a judge’s ruling a day earlier voiding building permits for the controversial project.
Chancellor Robert Corlew III of the 16th District Chancery Court ruled that construction must cease because not enough notice was given about a May 24, 2010, public meeting in which Rutherford County planning commissioners approved the site plan for the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.
Corlew ruled in favor of Kevin Fisher and other Rutherford County residents who sued the Planning Commission. The mosque is free to reapply for permits, he said.
"It's a good day for the plaintiffs; I'm very pleased with the outcome," plaintiff Henry Golcyznky said, adding he was somewhat surprised Corlew ruled in the plaintiffs' favor.
"There should have been public notice. People should have been allowed to come in and express or at least understand what was going on," Golcyznky said.
See the original story at NBC station WSMV of Nashville, Tenn.
A public notice about the 2010 Planning Commission meeting, in which no public hearing was required over the mosque’s site plan, was published in the twice-weekly Murfreesboro Post, which has a contract to handle Rutherford County’s legal advertising.
Islamic Center members said they hoped to complete the first phase of the mosque by Ramadan, a month-long Muslim holiday beginning this year on July 20, based on the Islamic lunar calendar.
"This decision comes at a crucial time, because we were at a point about to celebrate the opening of our center. which we were hoping to happen, probably within two to three months. It's a sad day in our community," said mosque member Saleh Sbenaty.
Construction of the $2 million, 52,000-square-foot mosque is well under way, with the first phase, a 12,000-square-foot building, nearly complete.
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The mosque was not a party in the lawsuit.
Mosque officials have not announced their plans about reapplying, but said work would go on. A construction crew was at the mosque site Wednesday.
"The county is reviewing its options going forward,” said county attorney Jim Cope. “There are a number of issues and items to consider, and those will be discussed with the appropriate county officials in the days ahead to make a determination."
The judge's ruling drew nationwide attention.
Council on American-Islamic Relations called for the Department of Justice to intervene in the case if the county doesn't issue new building permits to "protect the religious rights of Tennessee Muslims."
CAIR said the judge’s ruling “used phrases and reasoning which could be viewed as indicating that a higher degree of public notice is required for issues related to Tennessee Muslims.”
"American Muslim constitutional rights should not be diminished merely because anti-Muslim bigots are able to manufacture a controversy about what would otherwise be normal religious activities," said CAIR attorney Gadeir Abbas.
"If the Rutherford County Planning Commission does not immediately issue new permits for the mosque, we urge the Department of Justice to intervene in this case to support the religious rights of Tennessee Muslims."
Mosque opponents have fought construction for two years, arguing that Islam is not a real religion deserving of First Amendment protections and that the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro has terrorist ties.
“You have the issue that this is not a religious organization," plaintiffs' attorney Joe Brandon said. "This is a Sharia-compliant training organization, nothing more and nothing less."
The judge dismissed those allegations but held the trial on the narrower claim that the public meeting law was violated.
Larry Fowler is a reporter at NBC station WSMV of Nashville, Tenn.
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