Doc's Talk: Plaintiffs challenge federal ruling on illegal Tennessee mosque

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Plaintiffs challenge federal ruling on illegal Tennessee mosque

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The good fight is not over yet. We will not submit. via Mosque plaintiffs challenge federal ruling | The Daily News Journal | dnj.com.

MURFREESBORO — Plaintiffs opposed to the government’s approval of a Rutherford County mosque seek to challenge federal rulings that overturned their local court victory.

A motion from the plaintiffs seeking to intervene in the federal court case claims they are “victims” of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, the county’s zoning resolution and local government’s “violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act.” The motion further contends their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection as citizens were violated.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Joe Brandon Jr. of Murfreesboro and Tom Smith of Franklin, filed a motion Thursday to intercede in the recent federal court rulings. The federal court had ruled that the mosque could apply for a final inspection leading to occupying the building.

That ruling trumped Rutherford County Chancellor Robert Corlew III’s early decision based on what he called lack of adequate public notice the county gave before issuing mosque developers a building permit.

Smith said he and Brandon had requested a hearing on their motion Monday, but federal Judge Kevin Sharp instead asked U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin to file a response.

“Technically they get 14 days if the judge doesn’t give us an emergency hearing,” said Smith, noting the plaintiffs have not been granted a chance to respond to a previous emergency hearing for the ICM. “It’s a big question mark in our mind. The federal district court can’t be an appellate court for a state court ruling, and that’s what they’ve done.”

Prior to Judge Sharp taking over the case, Chief Judge Todd Campbell of the Nashville federal district court overruled Corlew during an emergency hearing July 18 on the same day the ICM filed the case with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee, Nashville attorney George E. Barrett and lawyers with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C.

Campbell determined that Corlew’s decision to void approval of the ICM’s new mosque on Veals Road off Bradyville Pike discriminated against the congregation. The federal judge granted the emergency hearing and a 14-day restraining order on Corlew’s ruling because the ICM wanted to be able to move in its new building for the holy month of Ramadan, which started July 20.

Although ICM leaders had said they wanted to get in their building by the start of Ramadan, the contractor building the mosque told County Building Codes Director David Jones on July 19 the project would not be done for about two weeks.

Jones said Monday that mosque construction crews could be finished this week.

“They are getting real close,” Jones said during an interview at the County Courthouse in Murfreesboro after he stopped by the mayor’s office. “They’ve come a long way in a short time. There’s been some inspections performed. At this time, we have not set a formal inspection for the certificate of occupancy but inspections do continue daily. We are continually talking to them every day toward that final (certificate of occupancy). We’ve been out there three days straight (not counting weekend).”

The state fire marshal stopped by the new mosque and informed the contractor of some electrical work that needed to be done to pass inspection, Jones said.

The building codes director said he has not received a report from the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation yet to verify that the septic tank meets state requirements.

“It may happen (today),” Jones said.

The water lines coming from Consolidated Utility District appear to be ready, Jones added.

Because the ICM needed more time, the county and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville filed a motion last week seeking more time than the original 14-day restraining order, and Judge Sharp extended the deadline to Aug. 15.

The ICM has long-term plans to build 52,960 square feet and will open the first 12,000 square feet soon. The congregation has been meeting in a cramped space of about 2,250 square feet on the back side of a small office complex at 862 Middle Tennessee Blvd. near South Church Street.

ICM board member Saleh Sbenaty said his congregation is looking forward to soon obtaining its certificate of occupancy.

“We the residents of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County are going to be united against Islamophobes who are trying adamantly to misinform the public about the true face of Islam and the Muslim community in Murfreesboro in particular,” said Sbenaty, a 19-year professor at MTSU. “The Muslim community has been an essential and productive part of our community for many decades and is going to continue to play an essential part of this peaceful and welcoming community, regardless of the efforts that the opponents are trying to do.”

National Islamophones have helped the plaintiffs damage the reputation of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, Sbenaty said.

“Enough money has been wasted on lawsuit after lawsuit,” Sbenaty said. “Our community would have been served much better if the money spent on the lawsuit is spent on education, law enforcement agencies or improving our community.”

Reaction to feds

In response to being overruled, Corlew suspended his previous rulings that banned the county from issuing a certificate of occupancy on July 19. He was about to rule that the county issue a stop-work order on the new mosque when the first federal court ruling came down.

The plaintiffs’ motion to intercede in the federal case contends that Corlew’s conclusions about the testimony and evidence presented were ignored.

They point out that Judge Corlew ruled that the county’s legal notice in The Murfreesboro Post to announce the Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission meeting in question failed to be adequate prior to approval of the mosque construction plans May 24, 2010. The free paper at the time didn’t reach driveways in the unincorporated areas, including where the new mosque will open near southeast city limits of Murfreesboro.

“Only 196 papers were placed in racks in the unincorporated-areas of the county, despite the fact that approximately one-third of the county’s citizens — over 81,000 people — live in that area,” the plaintiffs’ federal motion to intercede states.

Corlew’s decision also noted that the county didn’t meet its usual goal of posting an agenda for the meeting in question on the county’s website. The county also didn’t mention the meeting time, date and location on the local government’s cable TV channel.

Ah, so who are the real Islamophobes? The one’s who conveniently and intentionally withheld information from the people to illegally get the mosque approved against the wishes of citizens in the neighborhood?
Much more on Murfreesboro in the archives or search.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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