Bullitt County residents applaud rejection of cemetery planRarely has a simple 10-acre tract of land so united a community.

But the staunch opposition to a proposed Islamic cemetery near the eastern edge of Mount Washington wasn't as uncomplicated as it appeared.

Strongly voiced objections on religious grounds were numerous at a recent meeting of the county board of adjustments, but they were hardly the only reasons residents on and around Hubbard Lane wanted to stop the plan.

Residents said they were concerned about:

• Increased traffic on Hubbard Lane.

• Possible vandalism of the cemetery from those who oppose Islam's presence in Bullitt.

• Kids having to ride their bikes past a cemetery when there are no other cemeteries in the immediate area.

• Groundwater safety and other environmental issues.

The board by a 5-1 vote rejected the conditional-use change from "agricultural" in the unincorporated area of Bullitt County. The sale to the St. Matthews-based Louisville Islamic Center was contingent upon the change.

The Islamic center last week decided not to appeal and will look for cemetery land elsewhere.

"The overwhelming sentiment of the crowd was a little bit disheartening," said Ozair Sharif, a Louisville attorney and board member of the Islamic center.

Romona Stout recalled moving onto Hubbard Lane 42 years ago when it was just a gravel road. "You cannot hardly pass with two cars, it is a lane. To have a cemetery in a residential neighborhood, it bothers me. I don't have nothing against the Islamic religion, it's not that. It's not."

But for others, it clearly was.

"Why would you want to go where you're not wanted?" asked Len Hardy Sr., who was admonished at the podium for turning around and talking to Islamic center representatives and not zoning board members. "Seems to be, you're looking for a dumping ground, and I don't like it."

Sharon Foley of Oak Creek Drive told the board, "Our country was founded on Christian principles. Thousands and thousands of American men and women for their freedom of religion."

She lives with her 90-year-old father, who served in the Marines. She called the proposed Islamic cemetery a slap in his face, "given the incidents of the past 11 years," she said, referring to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Courier-Journal, 27 February 2013

View the Original article

Far-right extremists will descend on Shotton Colliery next month to protest over plans to turn a former pub into a Muslim education centre.

Members of the English Defence League (EDL) will hold what they say will be the "first of many" regional demonstrations in the village. It comes after, the EDL says, residents contacted the organisation after Durham County Council passed plans to turn the former Melrose Arms pub into a Muslim educational centre in May.

The EDL says it will be supported by other Defence Leagues and North East Infidels during the demonstration, on December 1.

EDL regional organiser Alan Spence told the Star: "We can confirm that this demo will be the first of many in Shotton Colliery until the council listen to the local residents and refuse planning permission for this Muslim education centre that the local community does not want, or need.

"We have contacted Durham Constabulary and are working with them to ensure that this protest remains peaceful with minimal disruption to the local community."

But Easington MP Grahame Morris said: "It's outrageous that people are stirring up feelings in this way. These are just ordinary Muslims in the community, it's ludicrous to try and stir up feelings in this fashion."

Peterlee Star, 21 November 2012

Via ENGAGE

Alan Spence is a former British National Party parliamentary candidate. Last December he was given a 7-month prison sentence for his part in an EDL attack on a left-wing meeting at Tyneside Irish Centre. Two months earlier, two EDL members were each sentenced to a year in prison after smashing the window of an Asian-owned chop in Shotton Colliery and daubing racist graffiti on the wall.

View the Original article

Rutherford County officials are appealing a judge's ruling that voided the construction approval for a local mosque.

Chancellor Robert Corlew last month ruled that the county violated Tennessee's Sunshine Law by not providing sufficient notice for the May 2010 meeting where the mosque was approved.

County attorneys argued that officials followed their standard procedure for informing the public of that meeting. In his ruling, Corlew implied that they should have taken additional steps because of the intense public interest in the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

On Thursday, county attorneys filed a notice of appeal. In the notice, they question whether requiring a different standard of public notice for the mosque is a violation of the U.S. Constitution and Tennessee Constitution.

News Channel 5, 22 June 2012

View the Original article

The Rutherford County Commission voted 15-6 Thursday night to appeal a court ruling that voided approval of a mosque. "I just can't imagine an appellate court would agree we should discriminate," Commissioner Trey Gooch said before the vote.

County Attorney Jim Cope estimates that the legal fee cost to appeal will be in the $15,000 to $25,000 range. While waiting for the appeal to work its way through the courts, Chancellor Robert Corlew's Wednesday ruling banning the county from issuing a certificate of occupancy to the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro will stand unless it's overturned or he dissolves it, Cope added.

Commissioners took action in response to the recent court order from Corlew that made approval of the mosque void because the county government failed to provide adequate public notice before approving the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro's construction plans to build a mosque on Veals Road off Bradyville Pike.

The county's Regional Planning Commission, which voted to accept the ICM's long-term site plans for a 52,960-square-foot center, also voted 6-1 Monday to appeal Corlew's ruling.

Daily News Journal, 15 June 2012

View the Original article