U.S. disputes claim that Islam is invalid faith
Islam is a valid religion that is entitled to constitutional
protection, says a U.S. attorney who stepped into a debate about a
proposed mosque and Islamic center in Tennessee.
"To suggest that
Islam is not a religion is quite simply ridiculous," said U.S. Attorney
Jerry Martin of Nashville in a statement October 18. "Each branch of
the federal government has independently recognized Islam as one of the
major religions of the world."
Martin's statement comes after a
group of landowners in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, filed suit to stop
construction of a 52,000-square-foot mosque and Muslim community center
in Rutherford County.
