The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000 to enhance religious liberty. But it has increasingly become a tool for Islam and other religions to build houses of worship in the United States.
This federal law strictly prohibits any state or local government from taking action in opposition to approval of a new house of worship unless proven that its action is the least restrictive way to advance a compelling governmental interest. It is very difficult and expensive for a local government to satisfy this strict requirement in rejecting an application for construction of a new mosque or temple.
This federal religious land use law applies directly against zoning decisions made by local planning boards. Congress justifies its federal intervention into these local issues based on the Commerce Clause, by asserting that zoning decisions have an effect on interstate commerce. Moreover, where state or local governments receive federal funding of some sort, as many do, then that supports federal interference as well.
In New Jersey, the Bernards Township Planning Board denied a zoning application by a proposed mosque because the Board felt there would be insufficient parking, and that could result in disruption to traffic flow in the community. The president of the local Islamic Society then sued, alleging religious discrimination.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, the Obama Administration then slapped the small township with a federal lawsuit backed by the full force and resources of the United States government. This new complaint came after an eight-month investigation, which had caused the township to devote 350 hours of staff time in providing 215,000 pages of documents to the Department of Justice.
On the eve of the New Year a federal court then ruled in favor of the Islamic Society on its lawsuit, handing down a 57-page decision against the township.
Residents of the small town had objected to the negative traffic impact the mosque would have on the traditionally residential neighborhood. The federal court, however, rejected and overruled the practical and reasonable objections of this small town.
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