If there was any doubt before, the United States government on Monday wanted to make one thing clear. Islam is a religion.
The pronouncement, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in a Rutherford County court, was in response to a lawsuit filed by critics of a proposed mosque near Murfreesboro. Opponents of the mosque on Veals Road want to block its construction. A question at the heart of the suit is whether Islam is recognized as a legitimate religion in the United States.
U.S. Attorney Jerry E. Martin said his office and the Department of Justice had been watching the lawsuit unfold and couldn’t sit idly by as the opponents questioned whether Islam is a religion or a political movement bent on supplanting United States laws with Muslim laws.
“All three branches of government have repeatedly recognized Islam as a religion,” Martin said Monday during an afternoon press conference. “Presidents, as far back as Lincoln and Jefferson and as recent as President George W. Bush, have, indeed, publicly recognized Islam as one of the world’s largest religions.”
Full story: U.S. affirms Islam is a religion; Murfreesboro mosque can proceed | The Tennessean