Murfreesboro, Tennessee November 3, 2011. Attorneys for both sides in the lawsuit challenging the site approval for the Islamist Center of Murfreesboro appeared before Chancellor Corlew yesterday to hear the Plaintiffs Motion to Set a Final Hearing and a motion to intervene in the lawsuit filed by the Murfreesboro Post. A scheduling Order was agreed to calling for completion of written discovery by November 30, 2012, depositions noticed by December 31, 2010 and completed by February 15, 2012, dispositive motions to be filed by March 15, with a first day and a half of the final hearing set for April 25 and 26. Both sides consented to the intervention by the newspaper which carried in its May 2, 2010 issue the notice of the regular meeting of the Defendant Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission (“RCRPC”) on May 24, 2011 at which the site for the Islamist Center was approved.
Earlier testimony at the preliminary hearing established that there was no internet notice published for that May 24 meeting. Although required by their own policies, and a common practice for all other regular meetings, county staffers claimed the lack of internet notice was simply an oversight. Further testimony by Robert Peay, Commissioner for the county district where the Islamist site is located and other Commissioners normally notified of such meetings testified that they knew nothing about the meeting or its agenda. The video tape of the May 24 meeting itself entered as evidence showed that other Commissioners questioned why no neighbors or anyone else were in attendance. The evidence that no one knew about the meeting or its purpose calls directly into question whether the newspaper notice was effective and said there was “uncertainty” concerning whether the Murfreesboro Post was “newspaper of general circulation” under Tennessee law.
At the preliminary hearing, Chancellor Corlew spread the edition of the Murfreesboro Post on his desk and commented that he had difficulty finding the notice on the pages before him. In his November 2011 ruling, the Chancellor ruled that were it not for the 2007 letter ruling by the Tennessee Attorney General that the Murfreesboro Post was a newspaper of general circulation he would find there was a failure by the County to give the notice required by the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. After the hearing on February 24, 2011, John Bratcher, Clerk and Master of Rutherford County Chancery Court published a memorandum and sent an email to members of the legal community warned attorneys not to use the Murfreesboro Post because of the uncertainty of whether the Murfreesboro Post met Tennessee legal requirements as a newspaper of general circulation.
“Not a single notice indicated what the Agenda was for the May 24 meeting,” said Joe Brandon, attorney for Plaintiffs, “and we believe that the Islamist Center site approval was a matter of pervasive public importance.” The evidence already entered in the case established a link between the Islamic Center website and the website of its Board member to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The Muslim Brotherhood has been instrumental in “Arab Spring” revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and other nations that have paved the way for Al Queda ascendency in many. The readership lists posted by Imam Bahloul, himself a graduate of Al Azhar University the center for Muslim brotherhood activities, was led by Youseff Qaradawi. Qaradawi is the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, has a weekly television audience of millions of Muslims, and has issued fatwahs calling for the killing of U.S. troops in Iraq and any U.S. citizens supporting them. “Ties to terrorism and risks to the public safety already evidenced in this case argue strongly that public notice was not “adequate” to inform citizens and their elected officials. They had no idea when the vote was to take place or even what the vote was about.” Said Brandon, “and if the public notice was inadequate, all permits for the Islamist Center are void ab initio.”
In addition to the thirteen (13) immediate neighbors of the Islamist training center, the original Plaintiffs in the case are Henry Golczynski, “gold star” father of fallen Marine hero of the second Iraqi battle for Falujah, Marcus Golzynski,; Lisa Moore, who is Jewish targeted by Fatwahs from Jusuf Qaradawi and the Islamic training center calls to kill Jews in martyrdom for Palestine; and Kevin Fisher, an African American leader in the Murfreesboro Community who opposes Islamic treatment of blacks as subordinate citizens where Sharia law is practiced.
Joe M. Brandon, Jr. Esq.
119 North Maple Street
Murfreesboro, TN 37130
(615)890-3656
joebrandonlaw@gmail.com
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PJTN is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. PJTN was established to educate Christians about their Biblical responsibility to stand with their Jewish brethren and Israel, utilizing powerful film and video presentations, a variety of grassroots rallies, events and speaking engagements to facilitate dialogue between the Christian and Jewish communities in support of the State of Israel.
