Georgia City Approves Controversial Mosque

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that yesterday the Lilburn, Georgia city council voted 3-1 to approve the controversial rezoning request of a Muslim congregation to build a 20,000 square foot worship center to meet the needs of the city's growing Muslim population.  Council had twice before rejected the rezoning request that would have permitted the Dar-E-Abbas congregation to buy up land surrounding its current mosque and expand. Last December, council deadlocked 2-2 over the request, though zoning amendments last September permitted the congregation to create a cemetery less than a half mile away. (Atlanta Journal Constitution).  Dar-E-Abbas will now drop its federal discrimination lawsuit against Lilburn which it brought in 2009, but the Department of Justice is still investigating whether the city has violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.