As of right now The Michigan Islamic Academy will not be allowed to build a new school at Golfside and Ellsworth in Pittsfield Township.
The Pittsfield Township Planning Commission voted down a request to rezone the residential area for the school.
“It is an old trick,” said Dawud Walid of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR.
Walid says the township is using the zoning issue as an excuse to cover up prejudice against an Islamic School.
“The majority of the schools in the Ann Arbor region are in residential areas,” said Walid.
Residents who live in the neighboring Silverleaf Subdivision say the voiced opposition to the plan. They insist the issue is not about religion. They say they are concerned about traffic and aesthetics. They say they moved into a residential area and want it to stay a residential area.
“How I saw and envisioned my home and my neighborhood would be completely interrupted,” said Silverleaf resident Shawn Martin.
CAIR says the decision not to rezone is a violation of the school’s federal rights. He says the decision will be appealed.