South Jersey mosque reaches $550,000 settlement with City of Vineland in discrimination case
A Muslim group has reached a $550,000 settlement in its discrimination case against a South Jersey city accused of preventing the expansion of a mosque, according to their attorney.
The nonprofit Garden State Islamic Center and the City of Vineland, in Cumberland County, settled the 2017 case in August and recently finalized terms of the agreement, said Aymen A. Aboushi, the group’s attorney. There was no admission of wrongdoing by the city, he said.
Besides the financial settlement, the city agreed to issue a certificate of occupancy needed to open the second floor of the mosque, Aboushi said. The mosque, which has about 220 members, had been unable to operate fully without the use of the second floor, he said.
Aboushi said the mosque opened about three weeks ago after receiving the certificate of occupancy. That document enabled it to fully provide congregational and educational programs and child-care services, he said.
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