Court Refuses To Stop Murfreesboro Mosque

According to NPR, a Tennessee Chancery Court judge yesterday refused to issue a temporary restraining order to stop construction of an Islamic Center in Murfreesboro (TN). The formal issue in the trial was whether Rutherford County planning officials violated the state's open meeting law when they approved the site plan for the Center. (See prior posting.) However the trial drew national attention as plaintiffs argued that Islam should be classified as a political movement, not a religion. (See prior posting.) After seven days of testimony since late September, Chancellor Robert Corlew heard closing arguments yesterday (WRCB TV) and then issued his ruling. While expressing some concern about the notice requirements, Corlew ruled that plaintiffs had not shown the county acted illegally, arbitrarily or capriciously in approving the site plan.