Sterling Heights City Planner Don Mende recommended denying a special land use for a mosque in Sterling Heights, Michigan at a recent meeting.
The crowd started chanting, “God Bless America,” after mosque was voted down by the city officials.
Hundreds stood outside during the city council meeting.
The Sterling Heights panel voted 9-0 to reject the mosque.
Detroit Free Press reported:
After weeks of contentious debate, the planning commission of Sterling Heights voted 9-0 Thursday night to reject building a mosque on 15 Mile between Ryan and Mound roads.
City Planner Donald Mende said the mosque was too tall for the location and not suited for the residential area. Many residents agreed with him, speaking out before the vote.
But Jaafar Chehab, a board member of the proposed American Islamic Community Center, said before the vote: “Not allowing this mosque to be built is a violation of my Constitutional rights…Denying me a house of worship in the place I live is unacceptable..We have the right to build a mosque.”
Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor has said he opposes building the mosque on that location on 15 Mile, but added that he wants to allow the Muslim community to build a mosque in another location in the city. The debate saw tensions emerge between some Iraqi-American Christians and some Arab-American Muslims, with both accusing each other of being extremists.
About 12 percent of Sterling Heights is Iraqi-American, most of them Christian.