A group of Muslims in New Jersey, supported by Southern Baptists, civil rights organizations and other religious groups, have won the right to build a mosque in upscale Basking Ridge. U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp has ruled that Bernards Township violated anti-discrimination laws by requiring the proposed mosque to provide more parking spaces than area churches or synagogues.

The town had argued that the parking requirement was appropriate because of the mosque’s peak worship time on Friday afternoons. However, Shipp noted that the township did not conduct individual assessments of worship habits for other churches or synagogues applying to build. He wrote that the town used a different standard for the proposed mosque. FULL REPORT


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