Muslim Group Wins $500K In Lawsuit Over Stafford's Attempt To Block Muslim Cemetery

STAFFORD COUNTY, VA — A Muslim nonprofit group has agreed to accept a $500,000 settlement payment from Stafford County after the county quickly changed its rules to block construction of a Muslim cemetery in the county.

The Stafford County supervisors voted 4-2 in September to settle a lawsuit filed by the All Muslim Association of America arguing supervisors engaged in discrimination by denying a proposed cemetery on Garrisonville Road.

Stafford County agreed to pay the AMAA $500,000 and approve the cemetery. The county had spent more than $390,000 in legal fees defending the county’s actions after the lawsuit was filed.

Stafford County Supervisors Meg Bohmke and Crystal Vanuch voted no on the settlement, and Supervisor Tinesha Allen was absent.

AMAA, which was represented by Muslim Advocates and Milbank LLP in the legal action, agreed to accept the settlement last Friday. AMAA is a nonprofit organization that provides low-cost burial and funeral services to local Muslim families.

“This settlement should serve as a warning that hate does not pay," Muslim Advocates Interim Legal Director Naomi Tsu said in a statement Wednesday. "Instead of respecting AMAA’s rights from the start, members of the board wasted more years and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars defending anti-Muslim bigotry.”

Anticipating that its existing cemetery was nearing capacity, AMAA bought a parcel of land in Stafford County zoned for cemetery use by-right. In response, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors hastily amended the county’s cemetery ordinance to block construction on the cemetery.

In June 2020, AMAA sued the county. The U.S. Department of Justice also filed a lawsuit against the county. In response, the Board of Supervisors voted to repeal the new ordinances in October 2020.

AMAA said it welcomed the repeal of the new ordinances but continued its legal proceedings to ensure the cemetery would be approved and obtain compensation for the unnecessary legal costs incurred due to the county and board’s discriminatory actions.

“As with all religions, it is incredibly important for Muslims to be buried in accordance with our faith, and AMAA’s mission is to help people without means accomplish that,” Mossadaq Chughtai, board member of the All Muslim Association of America, said in a statement Wednesday.

“It is also our sacred duty as Muslims to serve our community. Without a new cemetery, we would be unable to fulfill that duty,” Chughtai said. “Hopefully, we can put this whole ordeal behind us and begin construction knowing that religious liberty has prevailed. We hope that our fight allows all people, regardless of their faith, to be able to do the same in Stafford County.”

Tsu of Muslim Advocates thanked her legal partners at Milbank LLP and the U.S. Department of Justice for their efforts in this case.

“We look forward to AMAA starting construction on a new cemetery that allows people with limited means to be buried in accordance with their faith," she said. "Muslim Advocates stands ready to defend AMAA once again if bigotry presents roadblocks to their plans.”

RELATED: Justice Department Sues Stafford For Blocking Islamic Cemetery