Mosque project ongoing

NASHVILLE — Construction is continuing on a new mosque outside of Murfreesboro as attorneys debate the implications of a judge’s ruling that voided approval of the site plan.

Joe Brandon Jr., one of the attorneys for the mosque opponents, said he believes the ruling means construction on the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro must halt. On Wednesday, Brandon filed an order with the court that included an injunction to that effect. The order does not become final until signed by the judge.

On Thursday, County Attorney Jim Cope said he will contest the order because he does not believe it accurately reflects the judge’s ruling.

“The judge didn’t mention an injunction,” Cope said. “If (Brandon) wants an injunction, he needs to bring a lawsuit against the mosque.”

The lawsuit named county boards and officials as defendants, but not the Islamic center.

Cope said he plans to file his objection to Brandon’s order, along with a competing order, before the weekend. The judge can then choose to sign one of the orders, write his own order or hold a hearing to resolve the issue.

Cope said the county has not yet decided whether it will appeal the judge’s ruling that officials provided insufficient public notice for the May 2010 Planning Commission meeting where the mosque was approved.

No public hearing was required to approve the site plan for the 52,000 squarefoot mosque and auxiliary buildings, which was presented and voted on at a single commission meeting. The same would not have been true of plans for a large commercial building,