Angry Muslims Sue NJ Town, Obama Sends in the Muscle

The site

NEWARK — The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the decision by Bernards Township authorities to deny a Muslim community's application to build a mosque in the township, a spokesman for the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's office in Newark has confirmed.

The investigation will look into whether the township violated the rights of members of the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge over its prolonged, and ultimately failed, application to build a mosque on Church Street, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

The department's Civil Rights Division is tasked with enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.

The Islamic society and its president, Mohammad Ali Chaudry, last week filed a federal lawsuit against the township and 15 members of the Township Committee and the Planning Board, charging that they manufactured reasons to deny the application — even changing the zoning ordinance to make building new houses of worship difficult, if not impossible.  Read it all here......................

HT : RoP