Wednesday, 23 November 2005A grand mosque and an Islamic center project in Boston, Massachusetts, is at stake after a state judge has allowed a lawsuit to proceed, which calls for annulling an agreement between the government and a Muslim society, entitling the latter a big land sale discount, a US newspaper reported Tuesday, November 22.
The lawsuit, which was filed by Massachusetts citizen James Policastro in October of last year, is aimed at invalidating the sale of Roxbury land at big discount by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), the Boston Globe reported.
The BRA sold the land -- valued at $401,187 -- to the ISB at $175,000 in return for community services provided by the Muslim body.
The benefits would include lectures on Islam and development of an Islamic law library at Roxbury Community College , adjacent to the mosque site.
In his lawsuit, Policastro argued that the sale violated provisions of the US and Massachusetts constitutions, which prohibit government from establishing or unfairly assisting religious institutions.
Malicious Campaign
The ISB has complained that the lawsuit was driven by the David Project, a local Israel advocacy group, to undermine its $22 million project, which is now under construction and, when completed, will be the largest mosque and Islamic cultural center in the Northeast, according to the local Jewish Advocate newspaper.
The BRA and the ISB have asked the court to dismiss Policastro's suit.
But Suffolk Superior Court Judge Nancy Staffier Holtz found that the case had raised the issue of separation of religion and the state and should be allowed to proceed, the paper said.
The society was to use the land for a $22 million mosque and cultural center, but decided to build only the mosque for now, at a cost of $14 million.
If a court ruled in favor of Policastro's suit, the society could be forced to pay hundreds of thousands more for the land, further slowing the pace of construction work.
Muslims in the area had hoped to hold prayers in the mosque during the recent holy month of Ramadan, but were not allowed to do so by city officials who decided the building, which has no doors, windows, or internal finished walls, was not suitable for temporary use.
BRA spokeswoman Meredith Baumann told the paper that the BRA would not further challenge Policastro's standing to sue and that "'we look forward to defending the BRA's action firmly, on its merits."
In interviews with IslamOnline.net in November 2004, many Americans said they saw Muslims as having "excellent values, are very caring people, family oriented and very sincere in their religious belief."
Experts say policies of the Bush administration, coupled with some media campaigns, are widely to blame for increasing hate feelings against the Muslim minority in the United States, following the 9/11 attacks.
IslamOnline.net News
November 22, 2005 |
Wednesday, 23 November 2005
Islam Online.net
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