Broken Arrow Denies Rezoning for Islamic Center

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — After a four-hour debate, the Broken Arrow City Council denied a rezoning request that would have allowed a mosque and Islamic center to be constructed.
Last month, the city’s planning commission voted to recommend the project be approved. The group that applied for the rezoning and condition use permit, the North American Islamic Trust, had purchased the land in 2014 and has spent a decade planning the project.
However, several local residents protested the construction – many focused on the applicants’ Muslim faith, not on the merits of the application. Several comments posted online and voiced at the planning commission meeting claimed the site would lead to “the next terrorist attack.”
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced he would investigate the matter, claiming that the North American Islamic Trust has ties to terrorism. The project quickly became a focus for candidates running for governor this year. Drummond is running for governor against former Oklahoma state House Speaker Charles McCall, whose campaign issued an ad claiming another gubernatorial candidate, Chip Keating, who formerly served as Secretary of Public Safety, had allowed “Radical Muslims to infiltrate the OK State Capitol.”
In the end, the Broken Arrow City Council voted to deny the application on the grounds that the local infrastructure is insufficient to support a project of this size. Several residents claimed the proposed Islamic center would overwhelm traffic on the two-lane road and cause stormwater and floodplain issues.
City councilor Justin Green – the one Black member of the council – said the decision was truly based on zoning requirements, not religious discrimination.
“Some say last night was a victory for freedom of religion, some say a failure of freedom of religion,” Green said in a statement. “I say it was not based on religion. Others say that the decision was racist. I say as a black male living in America, I am familiar with racism, and last night’s decision wasn’t that.
“I personally chose to start and raise my family here in Broken Arrow for many reasons,” Green continued. “It’s a safe, welcoming, friendly community, a place where everyone can belong, with many opportunities to be successful. I don’t regret that decision one bit. There was a time not too long ago in our history that a person who looks like me wouldn’t be afforded the same opportunities as I have today. It is truly a pleasure to be able to serve all our citizens every day.”
The Islamic Society of Tulsa announced on Thursday the organization intends to pursue a legal challenge to the ruling.
“What makes the denial incomprehensible is that the Council ignored the scaled down version of the scope that was presented on the day of the hearing,” the organization stated in a press release. “Both the earlier ‘aspirational’ and the scaled-down versions were developed through substantive meetings with the staff of the City of Broken Arrow…We are also considering complaints against the City of Broken Arrow with other relevant state and federal regulatory bodies which govern anti-discrimination in city zoning decisions.”