In a prosperous New Jersey suburb about an hour west of Manhattan, a retired AT&T executive decided with some friends to open a mosque in the town where he has lived for nearly 40 years, been on the board of education, led a task force to create the town’s community center and even served as mayor.
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About 65 people attended the congregation’s Friday prayer services, which were held in rented halls or sometimes in parks.
On the surface, the process seemed straightforward: In November 2011, the group, the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, led by the former mayor, Mohammad Ali Chaudry, bought a four-acre plot in an area of Basking Ridge where zoning permitted houses of worship. The group’s architects and engineers argued that the plan complied by a wide margin with every conceivable building requirement.
Interesting story. I wonder if it was an ACNA parish being opposed, if it would have appeared in the NYT at all. Of course, you all know the answer; which is why you really can’t trust the Times.
The article doesn’t cover the ground of why this building permit was denied very thoroughly. It assumes that the objections were anti-Islamic. There were those, but it’s not clear they were expressed in the zoning meetings.