WASHINGTON (WISH) — The Hendricks County, Indiana, government has agreed to pay $295,000 to an Islamic educational organization for violating the federal Fair Housing Act and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

The agreement between Hendricks County and the U.S. Department of Justice was filed Wednesday. The U.S. District Court in Indianapolis has yet to sign off on the agreement.

Hendricks County also must pay $5,000 to the United States.

The agreement also says the county also has to implement new policies and training after illegally denying zoning approval twice.

The Islamic educational organization, Al Hussnain Inc., wanted to develop a religious seminary, a school, and homes in Hendricks County on the old Clermont golf course. Al Hussnain applied Dec. 4, 2020, to rezone the property from agricultural residential to planned unit development.

Local residents signed petitions and encouraged people who were “anti-Islamic” to express their opinions, the Department of Justice’s complaint says.

A Hendricks County zoning board on Jan. 12, 2021, with a 4-3 vote, recommended the county commissioners approve the rezoning for a planned unit development.

At its Feb. 9, 2021, meeting, the Hendricks County Board of Commissioners unanimously denied the planned unit development called Clermont Village due to drainage issues.

On July 8, 2022, Al Hussnain sought to rezone the 178 acres on what was called the James Phillip Village Property. The development was to include homes, sports facilities, a private sewage treatment facility, and a community center that would include a gym, running track, classrooms, prayer rooms, and dormitories.

The complaint says, “Similar to Clermont Village, there was substantial public opposition to James Phillip Village. Neighbors opposing James Phillip Village were highly organized and active.”

For an Aug. 8, 2022, plan commission meeting, comments received from remonstrators included this one: “The Muslim religion says anyone who is not a Muslim is an infidel and should be put to death. I’m not sure how comfortable I am with hundreds of people who think I should be put to death living around the corner from me and sepecially (sic) right across the street from a Christian Church …”

The county commissioners on Aug 23, 2022, denied the zoning application for the James Phillip Village.

The DOJ says Hendricks County denied the rezoning applications because of religion.

The complaint also outlined other similar projects that had gained approvals during the same time.

A news release from the Department of Justice said that the complaint “alleges that Hendricks County repeatedly departed from its own zoning ordinances as well as the county’s processes and procedures for reviewing zoning applications and treated Al Hussnain’s application worse than similar applications brought by non-Muslim developers. The complaint alleges that the County engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawful discrimination and denied rights to a group of persons because of religion in violation of the FHA and imposed a substantial burden on the Islamic organization’s religious exercise, treated the organization on less than equal terms with nonreligious assemblies or institutions and discriminated against the organization on the basis of religion in violation of RLUIPA.”

Previous coverage

• Mosque development plan gets pushback in Brownsburg
• Hendricks County board recommends rezoning for Islamic campus

Statements

“Animus directed towards the Muslim community masked under the guise of an ordinary zoning restrictions violates the law and runs contrary to the principles of fairness and tolerance that are core in our democracy. Federal law prohibits local governments from making zoning decisions about housing or religious land use on the basis of the religion of the developer or those whom they perceive might live at or worship at the development. The Justice Department will use its authority to stop discriminatory anti-Islamic conduct and hold local governments accountable.”

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights division

“Discrimination on the basis of religion has no place in the Crossroads of America. This office will steadfastly defend the right of all persons to enjoy housing free from discrimination. This complaint and consent decree demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to ensuring that people of all faiths are not discriminated against by unlawful local government actions.”

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana in Indianapolis