Broken Arrow City Council is set to decide at a special meeting Monday night whether to approve plans for a new mosque that have sparked heated debate in recent months.
The Islamic Society of Tulsa, which has congregated in the city for nearly 50 years, says it’s outgrown its midtown Tulsa location and now wants to build a 42,000-square-foot building on land it’s owned in Broken Arrow for more than a decade. The property would include a retail space, a public clinic and a house of worship on 15 acres along South Olive Avenue, just south of the Creek Turnpike.
Hundreds have shown up to meetings to oppose the project, which has provoked outspoken remarks from state officials and community members alike.
In anticipation of large crowds, the city council moved the 6 p.m. meeting to Northeastern State University – Broken Arrow’s Building A, 3100 New Orleans St. The agenda has one item: Islamic Society of Tulsa’s proposal.
Here are four things you should know before you go.
1. Half-century of history in Tulsa — and more than a decade in Broken Arrow
The Islamic Society of Tulsa was founded in 1977, and the mosque at 4630 S. Irvington Ave. was built in 1997. The IST purchased the 15-acre tract of land along South Olive Avenue in Broken Arrow back in 2014.
The project is personal for Tulsa Asian Affairs Commissioner Masood Kasim, who initiated the project when he was chairman for the Islamic Society of Tulsa. He served as chairman for four years.
When Broken Arrow’s Planning Commission approved the mosque project for rezoning Dec. 18, Kasim said many people who showed up in opposition were protesting Islam, rather than infrastructure concerns.
“I don’t think that they realized that the zoning department has certain criteria to meet,” Kasim said. “It has nothing to do with religion.”
In a statement, he said the Islamic Society of Tulsa is confident the project has followed and will continue to follow local, state and federal laws. He added IST is committed to being good neighbors, addressing practical concerns such as traffic and infrastructure and contributing positively to the Broken Arrow community.
“Our intent is simple: to create a place of worship and community service for local families — much like churches, synagogues, and other faith institutions that already exist throughout our city,” Kasim said.
2. Mosque opposition to focus on traffic, stormwater detention
Tulsa County Commissioner Kelly Dunkerley, who represents District 3 including part of Broken Arrow, released a statement Monday morning saying he is “strongly opposed” to the zoning change that would accommodate the mosque because the site lacks adequate infrastructure, such as sewer capacity, stormwater management and parking.
Dunkerley also said the development would interfere with future plans for the frontage road south of the turnpike, which he said would be necessary as Broken Arrow continues to grow.
David Oldham, who organized a meeting last week for those opposing the project that attracted hundreds of attendees, said he wants the city to address the roads and stormwater detention in that area of town before any further development takes place.
“We want to make our arguments based on the deal breakers,” Oldham said. “We’re not going to get a road that is really passable and able to take more traffic for at least 10 years.”
The property is currently zoned agricultural, but the city’s 2019 comprehensive plan designates the land for commercial use. Oldham called the project an “economic blackhole” despite its inclusion of retail plans.
“We’ve got a major area in this section of town, rife for upper development,” Oldham said. “This is the wrong direction.”
Asked whether his group would solely address concerns with the property’s land use before the Broken Arrow City Council on Monday night, Oldham said he is “herding cats.” Social media comments have been flooded with opposition to Muslims practicing their faith in Broken Arrow.
Oldham said religious or cultural issues with the project are legally irrelevant.
“I have no idea what anybody’s going to actually do,” Oldham said in reference to public comment. “Our expectation was to stick to the legitimate, legally accepted ways to argue this.”
Asked what he would say to those who believe there would be no public outcry regarding a proposed Baptist or Catholic church on that property, Oldham called that assertion a lie.
“If they said, ‘OK, no mosque, just businesses, we’re going to make money and we’re going to get rich on you guys in Broken Arrow,’ I would still say no, not until the other problems are fixed,” Oldham said.
3. Approved or denied, lawsuits could be filed
Cortelyou Kenney, an assistant professor of law at The University of Tulsa, said the City of Broken Arrow could get itself in “hot water” if the rezoning request is denied based on religious or cultural grounds, according to “content neutrality.” That legal principle is derived from a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision, she said.
“That decision basically says that if the content of the speech were taken into account and being regulated, that would be illegal. So, for example, people dislike the content of the mosque because it’s promoting Islam. That’s an impermissible consideration,” Kenney said. “And if there were a lawsuit, Broken Arrow could get in a lot of hot water.”
Additionally, Kenney said she believes the Islamic Society of Tulsa may have grounds to sue Oklahoma Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Gentner Drummond for defamation based on his claim that the project may have connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. Drummond announced Thursday his office would investigate whether the proposed mosque and commercial development complies with state and federal laws.
“Given the realities of global terrorism, there can be no compromise on public safety and security,” he said. “In our state, we have already seen a radical Islamist sentenced for plotting mass murder. Several 9/11 hijackers had attended an Oklahoma flight school. It is only appropriate to act with caution when the project in question might have connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The Islamic Society previously told the Flyer “no foreign funding was sought or received for either the acquisition of the property or the planning of this project.”
For Drummond to be held liable for defamation, there are numerous tests, Kenney said. The attorney general would have to engage in what is known as “actual malice,” or reckless disregard of the truth.
“So, the attorney general would have to have some reason to believe that these statements were false, and then the mosque would have to be impaired — meaning that the mosque would not be able to open its facilities due to what the attorney general has done,” Kenney said. “If that’s the case, the mosque could sue the attorney general for defamation.”
4. BA state representative revives efforts to ban sharia law
In the wake of the controversy over the proposed mosque, a Broken Arrow state representative has stepped into the fray by reviving efforts to ban sharia law in Oklahoma. Sharia is the divine guidance followed by Muslims to live a righteous life and serves as the basis of Islamic law.
About half of Muslim-majority countries have sharia-based laws, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The U.S. is not one of them, but several states — including Oklahoma — have attempted to ban sharia law and Islamic mediation groups that some officials call “sharia courts.”
Republican Gabe Woolley filed House Joint Resolution 1040 Thursday. If approved by the legislature, it would put a constitutional amendment before voters that would ban sharia law in Oklahoma courts.
“To the argument of religious liberty, the truth is Sharia Law is a political ideology painted as a religion,” Woolley stated in a press release. “This is a Trojan horse. One group does not have permission to trample on the rights of others. We cannot jeopardize our constitutional rights by allowing a political ideology to infiltrate our nation and our state.”
Oklahoma voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 with 70% support that would have prohibited sharia law in Oklahoma. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled the amendment likely violated the First Amendment by singling out Islam.
The legislature convenes Feb. 2.
Angelica Perez contributed to this article.
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
