Kennesaw Mosque Expansion Underway

The Suffa Dawat Center is full to bursting during worship ceremonies, so it is tearing out a wall and occupying a neighboring unit.

By JUSTIN OVE (Patch Staff) June 17, 2015 

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A Kennesaw mosque which stirred up a storm of controversy for months before it was even opened is expanding its presence in its new home.

The Suffa Dawat Center opened in April after an original decision to deny the mosque a permit was reversed by the Kennesaw City Council. Now, the mosque is a crowded hub of activity on holy days and is expanding to an adjacent suite to give worshippers more breathing room, FOX 5 Atlanta says.

Mayor Mark Mathews told FOX 5 that the mosque had used all the proper channels and filed the proper permits before beginning the expansion and said that the city was not going to take any action on the expansion.

Residents who were opposed to the mosque remain opposed to its expansion; one anti-mosque resident said the expansion means more Muslims in the city, which could lead to Islamic laws being put on the books.

The Kennesaw City Council originally voted down the mosque proposal, but reversed their decision two weeks later. According to WSB-TV, Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews said that city council members had their minds changed by legal arguments from the city’s attorney. Matthews added that the reversal was not spurred by any outside pressure or a complaint filed with the Department of Justice.

An attorney representing Muslims involved in the project told the AJC in December that the city’s rejection of the mosque whilst accepting a Christian church inside the same shopping center last year could constitute a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Similar violations were alleged during mosque expansion controversies in Alpharetta and Lilburn; in those instances, the cities allowed the mosques to expand, the AJC reports.

7/20/15

Neighbors react to plans on moving mosque into their neighborhood

Posted: Jul 20, 2015 4:15 PM EDTUpdated: Jul 20, 2015 4:35 PM EDT

By Mike Dunston

CONNECT

Posted by Rodney Harris

CONNECT

 

KENNESAW, GA (CBS46) -

A battle might be brewing in Cobb County.

In December 2014, there was controversy over a mosque in Kennesaw moving to a temporary location in a strip mall on Jiles Road. Now there are plans to move it about a half-mile down the road to Pine Mountain Road, and it's not sitting well with some neighbors.

The mosque would go in a wooded area surrounded by houses and an office park. None of the neighbors knew about the plans and they seem to have varying views.

"They've been very friendly," said Teresa Barnes, who manages Candy Man Inc. She says that so far, her eight-month neighbors, Masjid Suffah, have been as sweet as a piece of chocolate she was packing up during our interview. 

"Yes, you have your radical Muslims, but these people seem very nice [and] don't cause any problems," Barnes said.

But some in the community haven't always been cordial. Last winter, the mosque was at the center of controversy when it wanted to move into a strip mall. After the city council's original vote of no, Muslim residents threatened to sue the city for violating their first amendment right to freedom of religion. Later, council members reconsidered their vote and decided to approve the temporary location.

Now, there are plans to build a permanent mosque at a new location on Pine Mountain Road and there's a fund raising page setup to raise thousands of dollars to build the mosque near a residential community.

"I just don't want any kind of hate crime coming in," said neighbor Rickey Cole. "I think property value could go down because of that, and traffic could be a big issue because we already have horrible traffic on 41."

Jacqueline Waldon's property would also be in the shadow of the planned mosque. She's lived in Kennesaw for six decades and says, like husband's tomato and watermelon garden, the mosque would be a part of good growth for the neighborhood.

"Our church is outgrowing itself and we need a new place and I wouldn't want my neighbors to be offended by us building a church there, so I have no problem with them building the mosque there," Waldon said.

After a request for comment, the president of the mosque said he's talking with the board of directors and would get back to CBS46, but has yet to call us back.

They mayor of Kennesaw told CBS46 that so far, the city hasn't gotten any applications or zoning requests.

Read more: http://www.cbs46.com/story/29589774/neighbors-react-to-plans-on-moving-mosque-into-their-neighborhood#ixzz3gTGSf5pE