The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating an Oklahoma city’s denial of a rezoning request that would have allowed construction of a mosque.
In January, the Broken Arrow City Council rejected a proposed 15-acre retail center and mosque following hours of public comments from residents in the largest suburb in Tulsa.
But in a letter sent to the city on July 17, addressed to Mayor Debra Wimpee and City Attorney Trevor Dennis, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announced plans to determine whether Broken Arrow’s zoning regulations comply with federal law, which prohibits land-use rules that substantially burden religious exercise without compelling justification, treat religious institutions less favorably than non-religious ones, discriminate on the basis of religion, or unreasonably limit religious assemblies.
The investigation will focus on the city of Broken Arrow’s zoning and land use practices to determine whether they comply with the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), according to a city statement saying officials are “fully engaged” with the DOJ in its investigation.
While the letter described the investigation as “preliminary in nature,” the DOJ plans to “review the city’s zoning requirements for houses of worship, as well as the City’s denial of a rezoning request by the Islamic Society of Tulsa …”
“Our investigation is preliminary in nature, and we have not made any determination as to whether there has been a violation of RLUIPA by the City,” the letter added.
The DOJ has requested extensive documents and information from the city — including, according to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, up to five years of records — within 30 days, and has invited city officials to submit any additional relevant materials. Officials may also be interviewed as the probe continues. The letter instructs the city to preserve all potentially relevant records.
City officials said the Broken Arrow City Council will meet in executive session on Aug. 3 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the investigation and declined further comment.
On Thursday, Drummond sent a letter calling on the Trump administration to “immediately halt” the investigation, calling it an example of “federal overreach of the first order.”
Notably, Drummond himself opened a separate, state-level review of the same mosque proposal in January, before the city council’s vote, citing “substantial public concern” and questions about the project’s “ownership structure, governance and financing.” It’s unclear whether that earlier state inquiry was completed or led to any findings.
In his statement, Drummond added: “Land-use decisions such as this belong to state and locally elected officials who are accountable to the people they serve, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington. Oklahoma cities should not be subjected to sweeping federal investigations based on a single zoning decision when the DOJ itself acknowledges it has made no determination that federal law was violated.”
He called on the DOJ to “withdraw or suspend” its planned investigation “pending review by Senate-confirmed leadership,” along with other actions, and argued the records request threatens the First Amendment rights of private citizens who participated in the zoning process.
Drummond, who faces Trump-endorsed candidate Mike Mazzei in an Aug. 25 Republican primary runoff for governor, has drawn pushback from the mosque’s backers over his position.
Syed Newaz, chairman of the Islamic Society of Tulsa, told the Tulsa Flyer his organization is disappointed in Drummond’s stance. “RLUIPA is a federal law, and it is the federal government’s job to enforce it when they have a reasonable suspicion that a local government might have ignored it.”
He added, “We welcome the DOJ’s investigation and urge AG Drummond to let the investigation proceed and let the results of the investigation speak for themselves.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim group that has also faced past scrutiny over alleged ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood — allegations it has denied — separately said it welcomed the DOJ’s involvement.
“We welcome the Department of Justice investigation as recognition that religious freedom protections apply equally to all faith communities,” the group said in a statement. “Local governments cannot be allowed to deny equal treatment based on prejudice or political pressure.”
The federal investigation comes more than six months after city planning officials gave preliminary approval for the proposed development on land that was purchased in 2014 by the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), according to city records.
Founded in 1973 by the Muslim Students’ Association of the United States and Canada (MSA) and affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), NAIT holds title deeds to properties in more than 40 states, according to the NAIT website.
The Islamic Society of Tulsa said it hasn’t ruled out filing its own lawsuit against the city under RLUIPA.
Separately, the DOJ opened a similar RLUIPA investigation last September into an Alabama city’s denial of a Christian organization’s application to operate an addiction recovery center. That investigation remains ongoing.
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected].
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