A federal judge has ordered a central New Jersey town to consider an application to build a mosque without applying restrictive new zoning rules passed two months after the project was proposed.
Lawyers for the Al Falah Center said Friday the decision is a cautionary tale for municipalities like Bridgewater that face public pressure to block mosques.
U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton noted in his ruling this week that the community response to the mosque application in January 2011 was “at a minimum, hostile.”
Attorneys for the Al Falah Center say the mosque application in Bridgewater met all house of worship requirements until new rules were adopted in March 2011.
The president of the Bridgewater Township Council tells the Courier News the judge’s decision will be reviewed in a closed session Monday.