Politics & Government

Al Falah Center: We Want Freedom to Practice Religion

Complaint alleges religious discrimination, among other allegations.

Citing a violation of the rights to exercise their religion, the members of the , planning board and its individual members April 26, following the approval of an ordinance that blocks an application for a mosque on Mountain Top Road.

“We believe the township violated our rights to free exercise of our religion because, as is explained in the complaint, [the ordinance] was rushed into law specifically to block the property from being used as a mosque,” the Al Falah Center said.

The plan for the mosque was brought before the planning board in February, but was sent to the zoning board after the township approved a zoning ordinance that requires houses of worship and other buildings to have entrance on major roads, of which Mountain Top Road is not one.

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Representatives from the Al Falah Center had already submitted an application to built a mosque on the former Redwood Inn property on Mountain Top Road, and a first hearing had been held before the planning board.

According to a statement from the center, the mosque is supposed to serve religious, social and educational needs of Muslims in the community.

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“It provides a place for people curious about the religion and for all believers, children and adults, to learn about Islam from a knowledgeable and reputable source,” the statement read.

But with the , the mosque was no longer a permitted use on the property and required a variance from the zoning board.

Residents had expressed concern at previous meetings about the proposed mosque, saying that it would increase traffic in the area, and that they would prefer to see it built on a more major road like Route 22.

Supporters of the Al Falah Center have presented suspicions about why the ordinance was approved so quickly after the application for the mosque had already been filed.

And according to the complaint filed by the center, traffic problems had been analyzed by professionals with both the center and the township, and no issue was found as engineers concluded the mosque would only generate a modest amount of traffic.

“Throughout this process, Al Falah Center has continued to make every effort, in the interest of good will and cooperation to accommodate valid concerns and to seek mutually agreeable solutions, which also protect our freedom of worship,” the center said in a statement. “As American Muslims who make their homes in and around Bridgewater, we are disappointed that the township has instead chosen to impose such a burden on our ability to freely practice our faith as protected by the constitution of our great land.”

But, according to the center, they believe that the passage of the ordinance violates their freedom of religion.

“We brought out claims in this litigation because we believe the township’s passage of [the ordinance] violated our federal and state constitutional rights to freely exercise our religion, as well as violating other federal and state statutes as described in our complaint,” the center said.

“Furthermore, this ordinance holds our proposed mosque to different standards than every other existing house of worship in Bridgewater,” they added.

The complaint has 10 counts of alleged religious discrimination and other charges concerning the approval of the ordinance prior to the continued hearings for the proposal, as well as the fact that there are currently several houses of worship built on non-major roads.

And additional charges, according to the complaint, include one of arbitrary and unreasonable zoning regulations, as there was no indication from traffic engineers that the mosque would adversely affect traffic prior to the first hearing set for January.

That hearing had to be postponed after the number of residents in attendance exceeded the capacity of the municipal complex, and was rescheduled for February, which turned out to be after the discussion began concerning the new ordinance.

And now, with the lawsuit, the center is seeking only to have the application reviewed as though the ordinance had not been passed.

“We are not seeking any special accommodations,” representatives from the center said. “Our main goal is for the township planning board to review and grant the Al Falah Center mosque application under the laws in effect when we filed it, without regard to this unconstitutional ordinance.”

Bridgewater Township attorney William Savo recused himself from handling the lawsuit at Monday's township council meeting, citing possible conflict of interest because of past legal dealings.

Instead, the council appointed Howard Cohen, of Parker McCay, to represent the township in this and other litigation, and approved an emergency resolution to appropriate $100,000 in the budget for calendar year 2011.

"Cohen is eminently qualified in all land use and litigation matters, including the issue at hand," Savo said.

Cohen declined to comment on the Al Falah Center lawsuit.


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