Muslim Group Sues New Jersey Township Over Zoning Law Excluding Mosque

The Wall Street Journal reports on the filing Tuesday in federal district court of a complaint by a Muslim group in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey alleging that the township amended its zoning ordinance in order to prevent the Al Falah Center from converting a former banquet hall into a mosque. The complaint (full text) in Al Falah Center v.  Township of Bridgewater, (D NJ, filed 4/26/2011), alleges that after local residents objected to the mosque, the township amended its zoning ordinance to bar houses of worship as conditional uses in residential areas, except for specified roads. The effect of the ordinance is to permit all existing houses of worship to remain, but to exclude the site selected for the new mosque. The suit claims that the township's action violates RLUIPA, various state and federal constitutional provisions and state statutory requirements.