Pamela Geller Gets Murfreesboro Mosque Story Wrong - updated 6/23/12
Posted Jun 7, 2012

Pamela Geller Gets Murfreesboro Mosque Story Wrong

by Sheila Musaji


Pamela Geller has published two stories which get the facts of what is happening in Murfreesboro, Tennessee wrong.  Her partner, Robert Spencer simply expresses his annoyance.


What was the judge’s decision?

According to Commercial Appeal

Opponents of a mosque being built in Tennessee got the government decision that approved it overturned Friday, but they lost their bid to stop construction immediately.

Rutherford County Chancellor Robert Corlew states in a written order that the approval is void because it violated Tennessee’s Open Meetings Act.  He ruled that the county didn’t give the public adequate notice of what has become a contentious issue.

The order prohibits further planning meetings on the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro without proper notice.  But the decision also says that if the mosque opponents want to halt construction, they must begin a new court action.  The construction has been ongoing during the year-and-a-half court case.

The fact that the same judge filed another order on Friday making clear that opponents of the mosque will need to file a separate motion to get the construction to stop was also noted by the Columbus Telegram, and many other news sources.

The Nashville Business Journal reports that Mosque officials said Tuesday they will continue construction unless and until county officials order work to stop.

It’s unclear whether a procedural victory will delay or permanently enjoin completion of the mosque.  The decision is confusing

Construction is continuing while the lawyers for both sides debate the ramifications of the judges ruling.  According to the Times News

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.

I agree with Paul Erland’s comment that The judge, Chancellor Robert Corlew, ruled last September that The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, in existence for a decade, had the right to expand, under Rutherford County’s current land-use laws. But he added that some of those laws were “in dire need of revision.”    In other words, the law