Earlier this year, intercessors watched and prayed as officials in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, considered a controversial proposal to construct a new mosque and commercial center in the community. The Broken Arrow City Council ultimately voted 4–1 to deny the project—a decision we can thank God for as an answer to those prayers.

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Now that decision is being challenged in federal court, and the city is fighting to preserve it.

From the Broken Arrow Sentinel:

But the city’s dismissal motion argues the City Council is protected by the same legislative immunity that applies to state or federal lawmakers, as well as “quasi-judicial immunity.” Either protects them from the lawsuit and that includes zoning and land-use decisions, lawyers said.

“Under Oklahoma law, members of a city council or other municipal governing body are charged with responsibility for determining how the land within their jurisdiction may be used,” the city’s lawyers wrote.

“These decisions require the exercise of each individual member’s discretion and independent judgment. As such, it is essential that they be permitted to execute their duties without fear of litigation and potential personal liability.”

The Islamic Society of Tulsa and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sued Broken Arrow in August, alleging that the council’s denial violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The lawsuit argues that the city discriminated against the proposed development because it would contain a mosque. Broken Arrow denies that allegation.

The proposed development would have occupied 15 acres along Olive Avenue in south Broken Arrow. Although the Planning Commission approved the rezoning and conditional-use requests, the proposal drew extraordinary public attention when it reached the City Council. More than 1,000 people descended on Northeastern State University for a nearly five-hour public hearing before council members voted 4–1 against the project.

The city’s stated reasons focused on infrastructure and land use. According to the Broken Arrow Sentinel, the property has no sewer service, Olive Avenue is only a two-lane road, and the proposed development would have had only one entrance and exit. In its motion to dismiss the subsequent lawsuit, Broken Arrow maintains that its land-use policies are neutral toward religious and nonreligious organizations and argues that the plaintiffs have not provided sufficient facts to establish religious discrimination.

The federal government has also entered the dispute. In July, the Department of Justice notified Broken Arrow that it had opened an investigation into the city’s zoning and land-use practices under RLUIPA, specifically including the mosque proposal. The city says its council and administration are cooperating with the investigation, whose results have not yet been announced.

The battle over this development is therefore not finished. What began as a local zoning decision has become both a federal lawsuit and a Justice Department investigation. Broken Arrow has retained outside counsel to address the federal investigation and related litigation.

For those who prayed over this proposal before the City Council’s vote, this latest development is a reminder that an answered prayer can become the beginning of another prayer assignment. Broken Arrow officials made their decision after an extensive public process and cited concrete infrastructure and land-use concerns in rejecting the project. Now they are being asked to defend that decision in federal court. Let’s thank God for the answered prayers in Broken Arrow, and let’s continue praying that truth and justice prevail, that the city’s lawful authority is respected, and that its denial of this particular development is not overturned.

Share your prayers for Broken Arrow and its leaders in the comments.

(Excerpt from the Broken Arrow Sentinel. Photo Credit: Don Sniegowski/Flickr)