Kennesaw City Council Makes About Face, Approves Mosque

A group of Muslims in Cobb County will have a new place to worship in Kennesaw, after all.

The Kennesaw City Council reversed its Dec. 1 decision to deny the Suffa Dawat Center’s application to establish a mosque in a strip mall off of Jiles Road during their meeting Monday night.

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 against the city with the U.S. Justice Department, WSB-TV said.

Additionally, WSB-TV reports that council members who changed their minds said that the city’s new, more inclusive vision statement was a large part of their decision.

After the city council voted 4-1 against the mosque’s application on Dec. 1, the attorney representing the mosque supporters threatened to sue the city for alleged violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Kennesaw residents interviewed by WSB-TV believed that the outcry against the earlier decision caused the city council to backtrack to avoid appearing anti-Muslim.

Further Reading:

• Mosque Back on the Table? Supporters Claim Federal Law Violation in Kennesaw
• Kennesaw Will Revisit Mosque Issue Monday