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Hundreds of residents packed Thursday's Rutherford County Commission meeting where dozens voiced opposition to a planned Islamic center off Bradyville Pike in southeast Murfreesboro.
"We have a duty to investigate anyone under the banner of Islam," said Allen Jackson, pastor of World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro.
Many of the speakers questioned why the county's Regional Planning Commission approved the site plan for the 52,000-square-foot center south of Murfreesboro without including it in a public notice.
County Planning Director Doug Demosi explained that the site plan for the Islamic center did not require a public hearing because no change in zoning for the property was needed. He said the planning commission's meeting was advertised in advance in a local newspaper.