Hi Friend,

It’s not every day we get to report good news but today we can announce a major religious liberty victory for American Muslims.

Last Friday, our clients, the All Muslim Association of America Inc. (AMAA), agreed to accept a $500,000 settlement payment from Stafford County, VA bringing to an end a three year legal battle over the construction of a Muslim cemetery. Hopefully, they can finally start construction on their much-needed second cemetery.

We are proud to represent AMAA alongside our legal partner Milbank LLP. We are also proud to work with the U.S. Department of Justice to bring attention and pressure to this clear example of anti-Muslim bigotry.

This is a story about religious bigotry following Muslims to their graves — and the eventual triumph of religious freedom. AMAA is a small non-profit based in Virginia that provides low-cost burials and funeral services for Muslims. Anticipating that its existing cemetery grounds were nearing capacity, they bought a parcel of land in Stafford County zoned for cemetery use by-right. In response, Stafford Country’s Board of Supervisors hastily changed their cemetery ordinance to block AMAA’s plans.

This is a playbook we have seen before where bureaucratic complaints are used to disguise bigoted opposition to the development of Muslim spaces like cemeteries and mosques. This anti-Muslim hysteria that reached its height during the 2010 Ground Zero Mosque controversy continues to simmer across the country and it still persists today.

In the spirit of wanting to be good neighbors, AMAA repeatedly tried to work with the county to work out an arrangement that would allow them to build their cemetery. After the board kept blocking construction, Muslim Advocates immediately went into high gear teaming up with Milbank LLP to represent AMAA in its legal battle. In addition to legal support, we also worked to bring attention to this local story. Thanks in part to our efforts, the Washington Post editorial board criticized the county and rallied behind AMAA.

In June 2020, we sued the county. The DOJ also filed a lawsuit against the county. In response, the Board of Supervisors repealed the discriminatory cemetery ordinances in October 2020. Although the repeal was a welcome development, AMAA continued its legal proceedings to ensure that the cemetery would be approved and to obtain compensation for the unnecessary legal costs incurred due to the county and board’s discriminatory actions.

The ordinance repeal and settlement are a happy ending for AMAA — but we remain vigilant. In case future legal hurdles arise, Muslim Advocates has promised to keep defending them.

This is a win for religious freedom but we know stories like this are all too common. Please let us know if you hear about any discriminatory conduct toward Muslim communities by filling out this simple form on our website.

I’d like to end this email with a quote from Mossadaq Chughtai, a board member of the All Muslim Association of America, that perfectly summarizes why this case matters so much:

“As with all religions, it is incredibly important for Muslims to be buried in accordance with our faith and AMAA’s mission is to help people without means accomplish that. It is also our spiritual duty as Muslims to serve our community. Without a new cemetery, we would be unable to fulfill that duty. Hopefully, we can put this whole ordeal behind us and begin construction knowing that religious liberty has prevailed. We hope that our fight allows all people, regardless of their faith, to be able to do the same in Stafford County.”

In solidarity,

Naomi Tsu,
Interim Legal Director
Muslim Advocates