Feds Warn County About Limits on Mosque

The U.S. Department of Justice has warned Sarasota County officials that they may have acted unfairly against a Muslim group by limiting the height of their proposed mosque.

The County Commission ruled in February that the mosque could be no taller than 40 feet — a restriction not placed on 14 other houses of worship approved by the county since 2002.

The Islamic Society of Sarasota and Bradenton, which for 10 years has met in a private home, has a growing congregation and wants to build a 13,500-square-foot mosque it says is based on Islamic traditions that include two 80-foot-high minarets.

In a July 6 letter, the Justice Department said its investigation is "preliminary in nature," but that it has received information that the county may have imposed "a substantial burden on the religious exercise" of the Islamic Society.

Islamic Society members say they had not complained to the federal government, but are celebrating the Justice Department's involvement.

"We are very pleased," society spokesman Hytham Bakr, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "We believe in God and believe God was watching over us."

County officials said their decision had nothing to do with religion. The county is preparing its response to the government, assistant county attorney Gary Oldehoff said.

The Justice Department has requested county records to determine if any other house of worship since 1994 has had the 40-foot restriction placed on it.