https://usmc.oxomeka.org/files/original/f231b64280ee5e3dac77c28a3090c314.png bde96bedb45b1a3a040c90ddc701e22d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Description An account of the resource This collection documents 29 cases of public opposition towards American Muslim cemetery building projects from 2002 to 2023. Each case contains a narrative that describes its events, which was compiled through analyzing newspaper archives via NewsBank and NexisUni. The primary challenge American Muslim communities face when establishing cemeteries is obtaining administrative approval from an entity such as a city council or board of commissioners. Residents' concerns related to groundwater contamination, lowered property values, and aesthetics often pressure authorities to deny cemetery projects. These reasons for opposition differ from those involving mosques, which tend to focus on increased traffic, violations of noise ordinances, and the potential for terrorism. This collection is more comprehensive than other compilations of cemetery cases, which cover a limited timeframe, are no longer current, or need to be updated (e.g., Pew Research Center 2012, Younes 2017, ACLU 2017, New America 2018, HuffPost 2024). However, it does not fully represent all controversies surrounding American Muslim cemeteries, as it focuses on post-2000 cases and does not include cases of vandalism against established cemeteries. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ryan Wang Title A name given to the resource Cemeteries Language A language of the resource English Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Oxford College of Emory University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Current and former Oxford College of Emory University students: Sofia Fonti, Ben Damon, Geneva Cunningham, Ameer Alnasser, Nadira Hassan, Chloe Peyrebrune, Lauren Yee, Ammarah Ahmed, Alexander Cleveland, Ehren Fernandez, Andres Lebed Wright, Bryce Bentinck, Rahim Khan Alidina, Ayman Badawy, George Drakos, Shahmeer Khan, and Snehitha Vardhineni. Project supervisor: Dr. Florian Pohl Case Use this Item Type to create the case Item Pages for the U.S. Mosque Controversies site. Case Number Enter the case number in this field using the format: Case No. XX_00 (e.g. Case No. Ga_01) Case No. Ms_03 Location The location of the interview Horn Lake, MS Year Year the case began. 2021 Address Enter the full address, if it is available. 4600 Church Rd, Horn Lake, MS 38637 Plus Code Enter the plus code for the location, if it is available. WWMH+9R Horn Lake, Mississippi Type of Opposition Public Campaign, Vandalism, Legal Action, Local Ordinance Public Campaign, Administrative Denial Outcome Rejected, Approved, Approved with Modifications In February 2021, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny the permit for the proposed mosque. The Board of Aldermen voted 5-1 in April to uphold this decision, citing insufficient water mains for fire sprinklers, potential violations of noise ordinances, and increased traffic. Following a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Muslim community, a consent decree from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi ordered the approval of construction of the mosque. In September 2022, the Planning Commission voted 4-3 to allow the construction of the cemetery on the same property as the mosque. Despite concerns about soil contamination and discrimination against women, the Board of Aldermen unanimously voted in October to approve the conditional use permit for the cemetery with restrictions. Proposed Project The Muslim community proposed subdividing the 80-acre property for residential development (Turkey Creek Subdivision) and for a cemetery/mosque project. The mosque's site plan envisioned a 10,000-square-foot building with 44 parking spaces for 156 worshipers. The 1.2-acre cemetery would accommodate up to 520 burials. Proposed By List the entity (legal entity or community name) that proposed the project. <a href="https://www.abrahamhouseofgod.com/">Abraham House of God</a> Narrative Enter the narrative about the case here. In 2019, DeSoto County resident Ray Elk met with the mayor of Horn Lake, MS, and the Board of Aldermen to propose the construction of the Abraham House of God, a 10,000-square-foot mosque on 80 acres of land with a 156-person worship room and 44 parking spaces. Northern Mississippi did not have a mosque, which meant the approximately 15 Muslim families living in DeSoto County needed to travel more than 30 minutes to the nearest mosque, located in Tennessee. (Weaver, 2021, Nov 3). In August 2020, local residents expressed anti-Muslim sentiments at a meeting of the city’s Planning Commission (Randall, 2022, Jan 4). Their opposition towards the proposed mosque continued at another Planning Commission meeting in February 2021, where they voiced their concerns about increased traffic and potential violations of noise ordinances, despite repeated assertions that the mosque would not contain loudspeakers issuing calls to prayer (Burgess, 2021, Apr 22). The Planning Commission unanimously denied Elk’s application for permits to construct the mosque. Though houses of worship are permitted by right on land zoned Agricultural Residential (AR) in Horn Lake, they still require site plan approval from the Planning Commission. In April 2021, the Board of Aldermen voted 5-1 to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to deny approval of the site plan, citing concerns over insufficient water mains for fire sprinklers, potential violations of noise ordinances, and increased traffic (Burgess, 2021, Apr 22). Elk announced that he planned to sue the city over its decision, stating that “this is what my country was built on, freedom of religion. I am just practicing my right. This is my right to have any faith I want” (ibid.). The next month, Horn Lake Mayor Allen Latimer held an executive session behind closed doors with the Board of Aldermen to discuss the proposed mosque and impending lawsuit (Masse, 2021, May 5). Alderman Charlie Roberts changed his mind, expressing support for the mosque. “If we can have Baptist churches, Methodist churches, Pentecostal churches on every corner and have the freedom to religion, we also should be able to allow our Islamic Muslim friends to have the same worship,” Roberts said at the meeting. “I support the freedom of religion, and I will stand behind the freedom of religion for everybody” (Marion, 2021, May 19). In November 2021, the ACLU of Mississippi and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Horn Lake, claiming that their denial of the proposed mosque violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the First Amendment (Weaver, 2021, Nov 3). On November 18, it was reported that the city and Elk were working to settle the lawsuit (Dees, 2021, Nov 18). On January 3, 2022, Judge Michael P. Mills of the Northern District of Mississippi issued a consent decree ordering Horn Lake officials to approve the mosque (Chaney, 2022, Jan 4). Mills found that the denial of the proposed mosque violated RLUIPA and the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause, stating that the case “presents very serious, and if proven factually accurate, strong allegations of religious discrimination” (Randall, 2022, Jan 4). It was reported that both parties agreed to the consent decree “in the interest of avoiding costly and protracted litigation” (ibid.). The city was ordered to approve a plan for the mosque’s construction within 14 days, act quickly in the future to address building-related matters like permitting, and pay $25,000 for expenses related to appealing the denial. City officials, employees, and insurers were released from any further monetary claims for damages, and the federal district court maintained jurisdiction over the case for five years to ensure the consent decree was enforced (ibid.). In April 2022, Elk met with the city’s Planning Commission to propose the construction of a 1.2-acre Muslim cemetery on the same property as the mosque. The plan was tabled until September 26, when the Planning Commission voted 4-3 to grant a conditional use permit (CUP) with restrictions (Randall, 2022, Oct 14). Members of the Planning Commission stated that Horn Lake had never approved a cemetery in its history and shared their concerns regarding soil contamination and discrimination against women, as comparisons were made to the Dar ar-Rahma Cemetery in Tennessee, which does not allow women to attend burial services (ibid.). In response, Elk stated that he was unfamiliar with that rule. One of the conditions attached to the permit was that no discrimination would be allowed against women, in addition to other restrictions regarding the cemetery’s rules and guidelines, timeline of its construction, and future expansion process (ibid.). Addressing a query from Planning Commissioner Little regarding the cemetery's public or private nature, Elk offered to dedicate an area for non-Muslims to be buried, similar to how Christian cemeteries have sections for Muslim burials, highlighting inclusivity and accommodation within the community cemetery project (ibid.). In October 2022, the Board of Aldermen met to discuss the cemetery’s conditional use request (Bakken, 2022, Oct 18). They voted unanimously, 7-0, to approve the CUP with five conditions: planting a mix of trees and plants along the perimeter to absorb any microorganisms, constructing the cemetery in the approved soil types identified in the state soil report, following the city’s subdivision regulations if the property is subdivided at a later date, ensuring there is at least one yard of subsoil at the bottom of all burial sites to protect against groundwater contamination, and going through the approval process if the site is expanded (ibid.). Additional Planning Commission conditions were not included, as they related to the cemetery's operation and not its actual zoning. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Abraham House of God on October 23, 2022. The mosque was expected to take about a year to build (Bakken, 2022, Oct 18). Construction does not appear to have finished, as the mosque’s website states it is coming soon. References <ul> <li style="font-weight:400;">Bakken, B. (2022, October 18). Mosque cemetery plan gets Horn Lake board approval. DeSoto County News. <a href="https://desotocountynews.com/desoto-county-news/mosque-cemetery-plan-gets-horn-lake-board-approval/">Web</a>.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Burgess, K. (2021, April 22). Horn Lake rejects application for mosque; applicant may take city to court. The Commercial Appeal. <a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/04/22/horn-lake-rejects-mosque-applicant/7335507002/">Web</a>.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Chaney, K. (2022, January 4). Horn Lake ordered to approve plans for first-ever mosque in Desoto County, Mississippi. Localmemphis.com. <a href="https://www.localmemphis.com/article/life/faith/horn-lake-ordered-approval-mosque-desoto-county-mississippi-federal-judge/522-69bc4455-fefa-4d03-97a8-a55c3ee80e66">Web</a>.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Dees, T. (2021, November 18). City of Horn Lake working to settle lawsuit over proposed mosque. FOX13 Memphis. <a href="https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/city-of-horn-lake-working-to-settle-lawsuit-over-proposed-mosque/article_0ca776a2-a713-5ed3-b941-b8931f0747c4.html">Web</a>.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Marion, G. (2021, May 19). “Stop It Before They Get Here”: Horn Lake Repeatedly Denies Mosque Permit. Mississippi Free Press. <a href="https://www.mississippifreepress.org/stop-it-before-they-get-here-horn-lake-repeatedly-denies-mosque-permit/">Web</a>.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Masse, J. (2021, May 5). Horn Lake officials discuss proposed mosque as lawsuit looms. FOX13 Memphis. <a href="https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/horn-lake-officials-discuss-proposed-mosque-as-lawsuit-looms/article_44e235ce-eb9c-53fc-825a-79a2e1d013cf.html">Web</a>.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Randall, M. (2022, January 4). Federal court orders Horn Lake to approve mosque. DeSoto Times-Tribune. <a href="https://www.desototimes.com/news/federal-court-orders-horn-lake-to-approve-mosque/article_3bc5cf16-6d81-11ec-ac43-77bd6d34a3da.html">Web</a>.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Randall, M. (2022, October 14). Horn Lake to consider Muslim cemetery request. DeSoto Times-Tribune. <a href="https://www.desototimes.com/news/horn-lake-to-consider-muslim-cemetery-request/article_653ef044-4be2-11ed-8889-ab6423a9da63.html">Web</a>.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Weaver, H. (2021, November 3). A Mississippi City Blocked a Proposed Mosque Due to Anti-Muslim Prejudice. We’re Suing. American Civil Liberties Union. <a href="https://www.aclu.org/news/religious-liberty/a-mississippi-city-blocked-a-proposed-mosque-due-to-anti-muslim-prejudice-were-suing">Web</a>.</li> </ul> Last Updated Date revised. June 20, 2024 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Oxford College of Emory University Title A name given to the resource Horn Lake, MS Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Concept art for planned Abraham House of God in Horn Lake. (2021). [Online image]. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/04/22/horn-lake-rejects-mosque-applicant/7335507002. Description An account of the resource In April 2021, Horn Lake city officials rejected a proposed mosque on property zoned for houses of worship. The ACLU of Mississippi and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP filed an RLUIPA lawsuit on behalf of the Muslim community in November 2021. In January 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi issued a consent decree to approve the construction of the Abraham House of God, DeSoto County’s first mosque. Later that year, the Board of Aldermen unanimously voted to allow the construction of a Muslim cemetery on the same property, despite opposition by local residents. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ryan Wang ACLU Approved (initial denial) Cemetery DOJ Lawsuit (RLUIPA) Mosque Planning and Zoning Public Campaign