MTRF Protesters at Rutherford County Commission Hearing It was a full house at last night’s Rutherford County Commission monthly meeting. This was the final meeting before the new Commission convenes on September 1^st. While the Commission had its customary agenda, the fireworks occurred during the half hour of scheduled question time. The main event was the roiling debate over Islamic Center of Murfreesboro (ICM) zoning approvals, health & traffic studies and the Sherriff’s Office investigations into ICM board member, Mosaad Rawash.

Earlier this week, The Daily News Journal (DNJ) had essentially given Rawash a ‘pass’ based on the statements of the ICM board.  The DNJ article was largely based on a news release issued by the ICM board, without checking with the Rutherford Sheriff’s Office. According to the ICM news release Rawash had no connections to Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. This despite contradictory allegations by former GOP Congressional candidate Lou Ann Zelenik based on investigations of Rawash’s My Space page by Steven Emerson. Rawash’s My Space Page has since been cleansed of all incriminating evidence.  A lapse in journalistic standards by the DNJ was implied in testimony by citizen activists who spoke before yesterday’s Commission Hearing about continuing Sheriff’s Office investigations.  

The proceeding was not without its drama. A self styled group calling itself Middle Tennesseans for Religious Freedom (MTRF) were decked out in yellow tee shirts carrying large posters with slogans like “Co-Exist” and “I love Muslims in Murfreesboro”.    Eric Allen Bell, a so-called documentarian and ally of MTRF, which has members affiliated with the radical socialist group Solidarity, pushed a microphone in the face of one of the speakers, Laurie Cardozo Moore of Praise Justice Tennessee (PJTN). Bell demanded to know “whether she was a paid agent of the Israelis”.  Cardozo Moore replied at his suggestion, “Eric, you are a fool”.  Bell subsequently approached Cardozo-Moore as she was about to speak later and was promptly advised by a Sheriff’s deputy to “move along”.  

Of the nine citizens who had previously signed up, all spoke in opposition to the zoning approvals for the ICM expansion plan granted by the County Planning Commission and the conditional use permit for a Muslim burial on the Veals Road Bradeyville Pike site by Planning Commission Director Doug Demosi. 

The ‘star’ among those who spoke was Sally Wall, a member of a prominent real estate brokerage and development family in Murfreesboro with considerable experience in clearing projects with the Planning Commission.  Wall was quoted in the DNJ account:

“The of this community is what matters.” [. . .] “It almost looks like a conspiracy. It happened too quick.” 

She got resounding applause from the ICM expansion plan protesters at the hearing. After she spoke, she was accosted by ‘documentarian’ Eric Bell, according to Cardozo-Moore.

Cardozo–Moore in her statement noted that in contradiction to the DNJ’s earlier article on ICM board clearance of member Rawash that the Sheriff’s Office investigator had confirmed that Rawash was still under investigation.  The Sheriff’s Office is cooperating with FBI and Homeland Security.  Sources at the Commission Hearing noted the presence of an FBI agent at last night’s proceedings.

Further, Cardozo-Moore noted that three citizens were prepared to offer testimony under oath about death threats made against them by members of the Muslim community. One of those threatened was a former Imam and Christian convert. That appeared to have raised a red flag and prompted some Commissioners to suggest a meeting with the PJTN legal counsel to discuss these issues.

Another citizen activist, Elizabeth Coker, noted in her testimony about the issuance of the conditional use permit for the Muslim burial by Planning Director Demosi:  

We have a situation created by our County Planning Office whereby we now have one of the most unfortunate errors in our County history and that is the approval by the leadership of that department of a conditional use permit allowing a burial on the grounds of the proposed ICM site.

I first want to apologize to the family of the deceased for any hurt this may cause them considering that they are not at fault here, but our County Planner has made a serious mistake.

According to Section 6 of our county regulations Conditional Use Permits are only issued under the authority of the Board of Zoning and the Board of Commissioners.

Section 6.11 says nothing about the Planning Director having this authority to grant any such permit.

This includes Type 1, 2 and 3 permits.

It astounds me to know that the permit was issued the same day the person died on May, 18, 2010.

The Planning Director did not even sign the order himself, allowing his assistant to do so and I might add without requiring a copy of the death certificate when the application was presented.

7.01 Commissioners have the authority to revoke such permits.

If this Board does not want to take the proper action to follow their own guidelines when the citizens have taken the time to point out to you the incredible mistake in malfeasance of office here, then before taking it any further, know tonight that you have an opportunity to make right this improper procedure, by revoking the permit.

Coker’s comments about alleged improper issuance of the conditional use permit for the Muslim burial apparently also caught the attention of several of the Commissioners.

Mayor Burgess did not extend the usual 30 minute public comment time which angered the MTRF protesters who signed up too late. The DNJ Article on the commission hearings quoted an MTRF member Thomas Moss, who signed up to speak, but did not get the chance. 

“It’s disappointing that both sides were not heard, “Moss said. “I believe Muslims are in the right.” Moss, though, said, “planning officials do have a responsibility to examine site plan.”

The Commissioners following the testimony of those who spoke in opposition to the ICM expansion zoning approvals passed a resolution ordering a study to address questions relating to whether religious institutions should undergo reviews akin to those of commercial developments. They further requested that a Steering Committee report back findings at the next regular meeting of the County Commission in September.

Just today, taping began for grading the ICM Veals Road site for construction.

Given the Public Works Committee’s earlier unanimous vote requesting County agencies to investigate the health, traffic and other issues surrounding the Mega-mosque zoning approvals, it would appear that the ICM expansion project may have been effectively put on hold. Doubtless, more will follow in the next month before the results of several investigations by County agencies, the Rutherford Sheriff’s Office and, possibly, the District Attorney are completed and findings presented.

The credit goes to the loose network of concerned citizens in Rutherford County, an example for similar Mega-mosque protests elsewhere in the US.