Posted on 02/02/2005 5:54:38 PM PST by 4.1O dana super trac pak
A U.S Department of Justice investigation has turned up no evidence that Sarasota County violated the law in restricting the height of a local mosque.
The ruling came in a letter to the Sarasota County Attorneys office.
"The Department of Justice has now completed its investigation," wrote Steven H. Rosenbaum, Chief of the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in the Civil Rights Division. "We will be taking no further action on this matter."
The investigation came after Sarasota County turned down the request of the Islamic Society of Sarasota and Bradenton for a 64-foot dome on its proposed new mosque, said Gary K. Oldehoff, Sarasota assistant county attorney.
The mosque would be located at 4350 Lockwood Ridge Road, site of the present, smaller worship center.
The county did approve a 40-foot dome, five feet above the county's height restriction of 35 feet, but not 64 feet, Oldehoff said.
"We are certainly pleased with the result," Oldehoff said. "I think what we demonstrated to the Justice Department was that the Islamic Center was considered like any other house of worship in the county."
The Justice Department ruling is disappointing, said Ahmed Bedier, communications director for the Florida Office of the Council of American-Islamic relations.
"This would have been a non-issue had it been a church or synagogue," Bedier said. "No one would have objected to it."
The Islamic Society now must decide to accept the county's approval to build a roughly 14,000-square foot facility with a 40-foot dome or consider another site, Bedier said.
"I think they will go ahead and build at the smaller height," Bedier said. "their current structure cannot accomodate their growing community."
Damn infidels, "heads should roll" over this!!
Why don't we just get some bulldozers and finish it off for them and then send them back to where they came from?
That's the scary part. Is the growing community Christians who have denounced their faith and changed to Muslim?...hahahaha!...It's influx of Muslims through the Statue of Liberty (legal)?...hahahaha!....we all know what it is, and we better halt it real soon, or we'll all be speaking a form of Arabic with a french accent.
FMCDH(BITS)
I know where that is! My parents live not too far away. Interesting -- they haven't mentioned anything about it. I'm thinking I'll ask them after the State of the Union speech. They live across the street from one of Katherine Harris's staffers -- maybe that person will know something.
Did they want it gold leafed too?
Mosques are ugly and they bring down property values. The neighbors should sue the Muslims for reduction of value and sue the city to reduce their property taxes.
Does that include the Alhambra?
These cultists need to stay up in Temple Terrace and Tampa. We don't want them down here.
Good point and a beautiful edifice. What about the Haga Sophia, which was a former mosque?
The only answer to these junk-joints is to knock them down before they put the loudspeakers on top..............FRegards
Dang - I hate it when I forget to spur the poster...........FRegards
Dang - I hate it when I forget to spur the poster...........FRegards
Well yeah. Nothing like putting up a building which represents terrorism. Of course its going to diminish property values.
I think they shouldn't be allowed to build it at all, it'll just be another viper's pit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.