Community Corner

Fundraising Banquet Planned For Basking Ridge Mosque

The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge will be hosting a fundraising banquet on Dec. 9 to help raise $1 million to build the proposed mosque.

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge will be hosting a fundraising banquet on Dec. 9 to help raise $1 million to build the proposed 4,250-square-foot mosque on Church Street.

The construction of the mosque in a historic section of Bernards was allowed to go forward following a four-year legal battle with the township.

The fundraiser will be held at the Hilton Parsippany, 1 Hilton Court, Parsippany from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $200.

Find out what's happening in Basking Ridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"Invest in your mosque to strengthen the community and build a better future for your children," according to the ISBR's event page.

A total of $30,475 out of the $1 million sought has already been raised according to ISBR's fundraising page.

Find out what's happening in Basking Ridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, the organizer of the ISBR 2017 Fundraising Banquet, is a Section 501 C (3) tax exempt religious organization (Tax ID: 27-4808552 ) and receipts for donations will be sent to donors for tax records.

Donations can be made on the fundraising page HERE or by mailing a check to ISBR, P.O. Box 173, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920. For more information on the banquet CLICK HERE.

Bernards Township settled lawsuits with the ISBR and and United States Department of Justice on May 23. The agreement allows the ISBR to build their mosque and also must pay $3.25 million as part of the settlement agreements.

The lawsuit by the The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge was filed in March 2016 after the Bernards Township Planning Board voted down the application to build an Islamic mosque on Church Street.

Since the ISBR's suit, the United States Justice Department also filed a lawsuit in November 2016 against Bernards Township alleging discrimination after the township's Planning Board decision.

The settlement agreement also resolves allegations that at the time the ISBR's application was pending, the township revised its zoning code to unreasonably limit any house of worship from building in the township.

For more information on the project visit the ISBR Facebook page or contact Chaudry at machaudry@gmail.com or 908-672-1798.

(Image via ISBR Mosque Fund Website: Rendering of the proposed mosque.)

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