A US city finally gave approval for the construction of a mosque in the state of New Jersey, ending a saga that started last year when the local government rejected the effort and a group of Muslims sued in response.<\/p>\n
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A US city finally gave approval for the construction of a mosque in the state of New Jersey, ending a saga that started last year when the local government rejected the effort and a group of Muslims sued in response.<\/p>\n
The approval late on Monday came after the two-year effort to convert an abandoned warehouse into a mosque and Islamic community center in Bayonne, a working-class city across the harbor from New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, the effort for the mosque was met by virulent attacks against the Islamic religion and was then voted down by the city’s zoning board.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We are very pleased to have received a unanimous approval from the zoning board and look forward to welcoming Bayonne residents of all faiths to the city’s first mosque,” said Adeel Mangi, a lawyer for the Muslim group, told The Jersey Journal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Attacks against the mosque effort included flyers calling for boycotts of Muslim-owned businesses with references to the September 11 attacks, and anti-Muslim graffiti on the walls of the church the Muslim community rented for prayer services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Signs saying “Save Bayonne” and “Stop the mosque” were displayed around the town.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At one zoning board hearing, a person argued the mosque should be denied because people would become “radicalized” and kill others, the lawsuit said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before the zoning board unanimously approved the mosque on Monday, opponents called again for its rejection. “I do not believe our city should bend to the threat of a lawsuit,” said Joseph Basile, a local pastor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
City officials noted a lengthy legal battle could have cost Bayonne millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
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A US city finally gave approval for the construction of a mosque in the state of New Jersey, ending a saga that started last year when the local government rejected the effort and a group of Muslims sued in response. \u00a0 \u00a0 A US city finally gave approval for the construction of a mosque in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[39,214,205,666,1118],"class_list":["post-5588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-america","tag-mosque","tag-muslim","tag-new-jersey","tag-us"],"yoast_head":"\n