Groundbreaking — and a National Spotlight
As legal challenges continue, ICM finally breaks ground on its new building, while a CNN documentary brings the Murfreesboro story to a national audience.
A Traffic Study
At the request of state Senator Jim Tracy, and on behalf of residents concerned about traffic near the new site, TDOT crews conduct a study of the intersection of Bradyville Pike and Veals Road. The results find that ICM's project will not have enough impact to require a new traffic light or wider lanes.
Protests Continue, and CNN Comes to Town
Opponents of ICM's expansion re-emerge in March as a small group of sign-wielding protesters downtown, as a related lawsuit returns to court.
That same month, the proposed expansion of ICM becomes the focus of a one-hour CNN documentary, “Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door,” featuring anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien. The segment examines the local controversy alongside the country's broader post-9/11 anxieties about Islam.
The Lawsuit Expands
The lawsuit seeking to stop ICM's construction adds fourteen new plaintiffs to the case.
Training, a Ruling, and a Permit
On May 3, sensitivity training is held for local law enforcement, school district leaders, and sheriff's department staff. The training, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, is conducted by Lubna Ismail of Connecting Cultures.
On May 9, Chancellor Corlew dismisses all but one claim in the lawsuit — leaving only the question of whether the county violated the state's Open Meetings law by failing to give “proper notice” of its development-plan hearings. Days later, ICM is issued a building permit to begin construction on the building itself, after finishing site work and the parking area.
A New Legal Motion
Attorney Joe Brandon Jr., representing seventeen plaintiffs against the county's site-plan approval, files a motion asking Chancellor Corlew to “revise and clarify” his ruling, arguing that opponents of the mosque had not been given the chance to show the worship center would cause them harm.
ICM Wins
Chancellor Corlew upholds his May ruling, affirming ICM's legal right to build a new and expanded place of worship — though he leaves a path open for opponents to continue pursuing the case in court.
Groundbreaking — and a Bomb Threat
On September 20, 2011, after nearly twenty years of meeting in homes and rented offices, ICM celebrates breaking ground at its future home on Veals Road — a proud moment despite the community opposition, legal battles, and attacks on Islam that had led to this point. Four protesters gather next door at Grace Baptist Church during the ceremony.
Days later, on September 11, local police and federal Homeland Security agents investigate a threat to bomb ICM.
Challenged Again
ICM's construction is challenged once more: plaintiffs argue the county's Planning Commission failed to give the public adequate notice before the May 2009 meeting at which the worship center was approved. A trial date is set for the following April. Separately, a lawsuit against Rutherford County and Mayor Ernest Burgess alleging a violation of the state's sunshine laws is dismissed by a local judge.