Muslims behind a proposed Kennesaw mosque have filed a lawsuit to stymie any opposition to them having a place to worship in the Cobb County city — a move they felt necessary despite their recent victory before the city council.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Atlanta. A lawyer for the group called it a protective legal action that he hoped would be procedural and short lived but needed to protect the rights of the Muslims because of legal deadlines.
The lawyer, Doug Dillard, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday the lawsuit ensured his client’s right to sue in court if the city reversed its decision to allow the mosque or some other legal action blocked it. He said he didn’t expect that to happen, and he expected the group would eventually dismiss the lawsuit.
“We had to file it in order to protect the client,” he said.
He noted the council first denied the mosque a special exception to the business zoning at 2750 Jiles Road — despite a recommendation of approval from the city planning and zoning administrator and commission.
Before that vote, a vocal minority protested granting the exception to the temporary house of worship despite it being similar to what had been done for Christian churches.
On Dec. 15, the council reversed itself when faced with the liklihood the lawsuit would be filed challenging the constitutionality of the denial and asking a federal judge to order the city to permit the worship center.
The Kennesaw vote was the latest in a series controversies involving proposed mosques in metro Atlanta and the most recent to come to the attention of federal authorities. Immediately after the vote to deny the mosque, representatives of the mosque say they spoke to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Justice Department has intervened in similar cases across the country, including decisions by Lilburn and Alpharetta to deny mosque expansions. Under federal pressure, those cities ultimately approved the expansions.
After the reversal, Nayyer Islam, one of the applicants for the mosque, said it will be a few months before the storefront is operational as a worship center.
Islam said he expects 50 or 60 worshipers on Fridays but expects a smaller number on other days. The storefront was attractive to them because its rent was cheap and the location is central to their worshipers, Islam said.
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