A Muslim organization agreed on Sept. 28 to a $550,000 settlement in its federal suit claiming that Vineland opposed an expansion of its mosque in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), Garden State Islamic Center v. City of Vineland.
The Garden State Islamic Center sued Vineland in 2017, claiming its efforts to open a newly constructed addition to its mosque were strangled in red tape. The group claimed the city withheld a sewer permit and a certificate of occupancy for the addition, and that its actions were motivated by anti-Muslim bias.
