Federal judge: New Tennessee Mosque To Open For Ramadan

The Justice Department asked a federal court to clear the way for a Tennessee mosque to open in time for Ramadan.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell orders Rutherford County to conduct a final inspection
• Campbell ordered the county to conduct an inspection by Thursday
• Campbell's ruling came the same day the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit
• A fierce debate over the opening of the mosque began in 2010

(CNN) -- A federal judge ordered a Tennessee county to conduct a final inspection of a new mosque, clearing the way for worshippers to possibly begin using the building in time for the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Thursday.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell is the latest development in a two-year battle over the opening of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, near Nashville, that has been marked by legal challenges and anti-Muslim sentiment.

"If the building complies with applicable codes and regulations, the County shall issue, on or before July 19, 2012, the certificate of occupancy," Campbell wrote Wednesday in his order granting a temporary restraining order against the county.

Campbell's ruling effectively set aside a ruling by a county judge in June that reversed a planning commission's approval of the Islamic Center's expansion because of what he said was insufficient public notice.

Embattled mosque moves forward with construction

Attorneys for the county have said it followed the normal practice of publishing notice of the hearing in the local newspaper, but the judge said more should have been done because the mosque was "an issue of major importance to citizens."

The U.S. Justice Department and the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro filed separate lawsuits this week, arguing that Rutherford County officials violated federal laws when they denied requests for a final inspection and certificate of occupancy for the mosque.

The Justice Department is accusing Rutherford County of violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 by holding the mosque to a different standard than other religious institutions built in the county. The Islamic Center argued that it was being unconstitutionally blocked "merely because local anti-Islamic protests have made the mosque controversial."

The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro has existed for more than a decade, but the fight erupted in 2010 when planning commissioners approved an expansion project.

The construction site had been vandalized multiple times, including by an arson attack in 2010, and federal authorities have charged a Texas man with calling in a bomb threat to the center before last year's anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

"Not welcome" was spray-painted by vandals on a sign announcing the construction of the project.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/19/justice/tennesee-mosque-lawsuit/index.html

Natural disasters : Tropical Storm Debby

The purpose behind natural disasters such as floods (Tropical Storm Debby), earthquakes and storms, cannot only be viewed as forms of divine punishments, they are also designed to remind us of God's blessings. They help us to avoid being negligent, they allow our natural talents to blossom, they help revive life on earth, and ultimately they punish people who are oppressors.. All of these can be considered as the reasons behind why natural disasters occur. In addition, a phenomenon can have a material source and simultaneously be a divine punishment, since God's punishments come down on us based on His law and causal based system.

In other words, everything in the world happens based upon God's will, and God enforces His will on the basis of the law of causation. In fact material causes are a part of God's will and decree. Natural disasters happen through natural means and are also based on God's will, hence preventing them or reducing their destructive consequences does not necessarily contradict with the fact that the goal is to punish a person or a group of people.

Calamities which human beings face are of two types: Natural catastrophes and Moral catastrophes (external and internal). It has been proven that morally wicked acts can cause divine punishments to come down for humans and these can come down in the form of natural disasters. In general, both types can have punishing effects. However, one can categorize divine calamities to sometimes include things such as wealth and welfare and not just natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, etc.

From the Holy Quran’s point of view, one of God's methods is to test human beings by putting them through difficulties at various stages in their lives in order to draw out and manifest their hidden talents.  One of the most important consequences of calamities is that they awaken human beings from the ignorance caused by the material blessings of this world. These calamities remind humans of their important responsibilities before God and replace arrogance with humbleness. Regarding this issue, the Holy Quran says that various Prophets have had their people tested with different types of hardships in order to dissolve any feeling of resistance in them and to help them to submit to the truth.

“ And We sent not any Prophet to a town, but We took its people with tribulation and desolation so that perhaps they will lower themselves.”  - Surah Al-A'raf 7:94