Horn Lake to be site of newest mosque in Mississippi

By William Perkins
Editor

A federal court has approved a consent decree that will allow developers to construct the first Islamic mosque in the City of Horn Lake in DeSoto County over the initial objections of local officials.

Michael P. Mills, a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi in Oxford, approved the consent decree Jan. 3 between the city and mosque developers, who allege anti-Muslim discrimination played a prominent role in the city’s initial denial of the permits necessary to proceed with construction.

Property has already been acquired at the corner of Horn Lake Road and Church Road for Abraham House of God and Cemetery, Inc., according to a complaint filed Nov. 3 of last year by the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi in association with the New York City law firm of Simpson, Thatcher and Bartlett on behalf of mosque developers Riyadh Elkhayyat and Maher Abuirshaid.

The ACLU issued a Jan. 4 press release that stated, “Under the consent decree, entered last night by the court, Horn Lake officials must approve the mosque’s site plan, which they previously rejected, and act quickly in the future to address any other permitting and building-related matters.

“The order also provides that the defendants will pay plaintiffs $25,000 for expenses incurred in appealing the denial of the mosque-site application and pay for plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and costs associated with the federal lawsuit. The federal district court will have continuing jurisdiction over the action for a period of five years to facilitate the enforcement of the consent decree.”

An Internet search indicates there are presently 20 mosques or centers in Mississippi, stretching from Oxford in the north to Gulfport and Biloxi on the Gulf Coast. The Horn Lake mosque will be the northernmost in the state.