The Islamic Society of Tulsa filed a lawsuit Aug. 3 against the City of Broken Arrow, Okla., for its refusal to grant a rezoning application for the construction of a mosque.
The faith group explained the project is necessary to accommodate the area’s growing Muslim population and that the city’s professional staff and planning commission recommended the project on a 15-acre site.
“However, after a wave of bigoted opposition from members of the community and local politicians, the City Council voted to deny IST’s applications,” the society claims in the action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
“After a wave of bigoted opposition from members of the community and local politicians, the City Council voted to deny IST’s applications.”
With the 4-1 vote against the project Jan. 12, the municipality violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the First and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution and Oklahoma’s Religious Freedom Act, the lawsuit contends. “The City of Broken Arrow violated IST’s constitutional and statutory rights to use their land for worship and to not be treated differently simply because of their faith.”
Broken Arrow is Tulsa’s largest suburb, and its Muslim population has been served by the IST mosque since its construction nearly 30 years ago. But Broken Arrow’s Muslim community has grown too large for the one facility, according to the litigation.
“Realizing this problem, IST purchased land in Broken Arrow with the hope of expanding. The land they purchased was right next to another church, located in the vicinity of several more, and suitable in every way for the construction and operation of a house of worship.”
A review of emails by the Tulsa Flyer found some council members expressed concerns about potential traffic congestion or incompatibility with the city’s master plan.
But with an ongoing “social media frenzy fueled by conservative influencers across Oklahoma,” some members also agreed with the anti-Muslim sentiments communicated by some citizens.
One writer urged a no vote on the IST rezoning request to prevent the city from being overrun by Muslims, the Flyer reported.
“Every country in Europe, once Muslims reached over 2% of the population, they started acting violent. We are not discriminating against them as people; we just do not want them setting up shop in our neighborhood,” the writer said.
Debra Wimpee
Mayor Debra Wimpee responded in agreement. “Praying the planning commission finds a way to deny. Our Constitution clearly states they legally can apply for a rezoning of that land that they own. I’m also hoping Thursday’s planning commission meeting is flooded with residents asking the commission to deny.”
The action was clearly a “stark departure” from the council’s usual handling of similar zoning requests, according to Islamic Society of Tulsa v. City of Broken Arrow.
“The city regularly approves nearly identical applications for churches, such as Harvest Church and Church on the Move, two of the dozens of churches in Broken Arrow. The city also grants similar requests for non-religious entities, even those with massive commercial footprints, such as the recent 37-acre Aequitas Tucson Development or the 350-resident development, Aspen Creek Villas.”
The lawsuit claims the vote was dictated by “animosity toward Muslims and an irrational fear of Islam.”
The U.S. Department of Justice recently informed Broken Arrow it is looking to its handling of the mosque rezoning application, the city said.
“Our investigation will focus on how the city’s zoning laws treat religious land uses. As part of our investigation, we will review the city’s zoning requirements for houses of worship, as well as the city’s denial of a rezoning request by the Islamic Society of Tulsa,” DOJ said in its July 17 letter.
Gentner Drummond
Republican Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond responded with a July 30 letter to President Donald Trump and Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche calling the investigation “federal overreach of the first order.” Drummond is a Republican candidate for governor in Oklahoma.
Sayed Newaz
IST Chairman Syed Newaz described the entire situation as regrettable, adding the organization’s aim is not to change Broken Arrow but to provide worship and educational space for its members and to contribute to the local community and economy.
“While we are disappointed that the city’s decision makes it necessary for us to take this action, we remain hopeful that a resolution can be found quickly which will allow us to construct our facility and serve the Broken Arrow community just as we have served our Tulsa neighbors for years,” he said.
The City Council erred with its vote but it is not too late for it to reverse course, said Gadeir Abbas, deputy litigation director at the Council on American-Islamic Relation’s legal defense fund. “Rather than embroil Broken Arrow in litigation it is sure to lose, we urge city officials to come to the table and settle this through dialogue and good-faith negotiations.”
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