Detroit-area mosque draws more resistance.

Detroit-area mosque draws more resistance.(JG)(TZ).WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – On a prime piece of real estate in suburban Detroit stands a large, vacant elementary school with no vestiges of life – save for a tiny sign that identifies the building as the “future home” of the Islamic Cultural Association. But the proposal to establish a new mosque and community center has thrust this quiet site into the center of a battle between a prosperous Muslim community and a Christian legal advocacy group that wants to derail the project as part of its goal to confront the “threat of Islam” in the United States. The Islamic association bought the school in West Bloomfield Township last year. Then some residents made a legal bid to have the $1.1 million purchase thrown out over allegations that the deal was somehow corrupt and hidden from the public. In the process, they gained the support of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor.
Among other things, the center and residents accuse the school district of negotiating with the association behind closed doors and accepting illegal campaign contributions from an association official. A judge dismissed the residents’ case, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to file a complaint. They are appealing that decision, and the law center in June called for a grand jury to investigate.
But outside court, the center’s allegations go beyond the purchase of the building. It accuses Islamic organizations in the United States of taking advantage of the American legal system to wage a “stealth jihad” that aims to transform the U.S. into an Islamic nation. The center also alleges that the Islamic association has ties to terrorism because of its links to other Muslim groups.
Michigan Attorney Bill Schuette has yet to decide on the request for a grand jury investigation, but the law center says it's confident because he made corruption a priority of his administration. Jim Manna, who sits on the West Bloomfield Planning Commission, will consider the mosque proposal in October. The Catholic from Iraq, who is part of Detroit's large Chaldean community, said he will base his decision solely on whether features of the project, such as a 45-foot minaret, conform to the township's rules and regulations. But that hasn't stopped him from asking questions about whether the Islamic association has received money from outside groups, whether it would accept money from an Islamic government or what kind of message the imam will preach. "We have every right to be cautious," he said.Read the full story here.