(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - "Of the 11 investigations opened since 2000, two resulted in the filing of DOJ lawsuits that were resolved by consent decrees, three resulted in the local government voluntarily permitting the mosque, one led to a settlement of a privately filed lawsuit, four are currently pending, and in one case we determined that further action by the department was not warranted," a DOJ official told The Hour on Saturday, June 9, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Along with the 11 investigations, other four cases are open to review by the department.
According to the DOJ official, these investigations followed complaints from Muslims to the Civil Rights Division or a US Attorney's Office.
Some investigations were also brought to the department’s attention through media coverage or referrals by attorneys, civil rights organizations or similar sources.
Requests by Muslim residents to build mosques have repeatedly been denied on different grounds ranging from local opposition to zoning problems.
But Muslims see the repeated denials of their worship places as a reflection of the growing animosity against their minority since the 9/11 attacks.
In the last five years, there has been "anti-mosque activity" in more than half of the US states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
The US has enacted the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act in 2000 that meant to prevent zoning laws from discriminating against religious institutions.
Under RLUIPA, no government shall impose or implement a land use regulation that discriminates against any assembly or institution on the basis of religion or religious denomination.
In its first 10 years of existence, RLUIPA has "had a dramatic impact in its first ten years on protecting the religious freedom of and preventing religious discrimination against individuals and institutions seeking to exercise their religions through construction, expansion, and use of property," according to the DOJ anniversary report.
Since enactment of the law, the DOJ has opened 51 RLUIPA investigations.
Of the 51 investigations, 31 involved Christian, six involved Jewish, seven involved Muslim, three involved Buddhist, one involved Unitarian, one involved the Hindu faith and two involved multiple faiths, according to the DOJ anniversary report.
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