ERLC’s Land supports building of Tennessee Islamic center

After opposing the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, Richard Land has come out in support of Muslims seeking to build a new Islamic center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Land, president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, recently signed on as a charter member of the Interfaith Coalition on Mosques, an initiative sponsored by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League.

The coalition of religious leaders from Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith traditions filed a friend-of-the-court brief opposing a lawsuit filed by citizens seeking to halt construction of the new center. The suit alleges that local officials acted improperly in granting building permits to an existing Muslim congregation that has outgrown its facilities, but the brief says that argument amounts to “unlawful viewpoint discrimination” against a “disfavored” religion.

Land, who has said publicly that he believes a proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near the former World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan should be moved out of respect for survivors of those who lost lives in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said in general Muslims have the same right as Christians and everyone else to worship as they please. (ABP)