Pittsfield Twp. Being Sued after Rejecting Islamic School Plan

PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJBK) -- A vacant property in Pittfield Township was envisioned to be the home a Muslim community center and the Michigan Islamic Academy. The location was picked to help serve the growing Muslim population in Washtenaw County, but the Pittsfield planning commission and later the township board rejected the plan.

Leaders of the Council on American-Islamic Relations say the rejection of the site is part of a growing national trend.

"To block zoning for Islamic schools and Islamic centers for no bona fide reason except to block our community from practicing our constitutional rights that we have been afforded," said Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR Michigan.

CAIR has filed a suit in federal court claiming the township violated a federal law protecting religious land use. The Michigan Islamic Academy tried to negotiate with the township.

"MIA has been trying to communicate with Pittsfield Township to reach a common ground. However, they refuse to talk to us or discuss anything related to this matter," said Tarek Nahlawi with the academy.

The township supervisor did not return calls asking for comment.

The commissioners that rejected the proposed zoning change argued that a school would bring more traffic to an already busy road right near a residential neighborhood.

CAIR argues it has evidence the township's stated position was subterfuge.

"Statements by a planning commissioner concerning decline in neighboring property values if an Islamic school were to be built in the area, as well as a statement by a member of the board of trustees to a MIA representative that the reasons why MIA was experiencing hostility and opposition was because of the Islamic character of the school," said CAIR attorney Lena Masri.

The political pressure on township officials to reject the school was quiet but effective.

"I believe what happened is that they got a lot of resistance from the neighbors and I think that's where the issues were," Nahlawi explained.