Both sides drop legal challenges in mosque suit

Byline

Two sides in a legal dispute about the construction of a Boston mosque agreed to drop legal actions against each other, a move that supporters of the mosque say will allow construction to move forward.

The decision comes three months after a Suffolk Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit by Boston resident James Policastro claiming it was unconstitutional for the city of Boston to sell land at a discount price to developers of an Islamic center. The judge ruled Policastro had no standing to bring the suit.

Policastro agreed to drop future appeals after the Islamic Society of Boston agreed to drop a defamation lawsuit against opponents and journalists including the Boston Herald and FOX-TV, which reported on the sale. The defendants in the Islamic Society lawsuit also agreed not to pursue legal fees from the society.

Bilal Kaleem, executive director of the Boston chapter of the Muslim American Society, said the settlement will allow the Islamic Society to finish the mosque, which he said is 70 percent complete. He said the settlement will also help repair relations with other religious groups.

“This was never about obtaining monetary damages, but defending the basic constitutional and civic right of building a place of worship,” he said.

Critics of the mosque also claimed victory, and said they will continue to seek information about the project.

The David Project, a nonprofit group, said it will pursue a lawsuit against the Boston Redevelopment Authority seeking documents about the sale.

“We were determined from the beginning to act the way citizens should, by asking questions about this matter and by refusing to be intimidated into staying silent,” said Charles Jacobs, president and founder of the David Project. “We intend to continue as we have before.”

The Islamic Society of Boston is building the 70,000-square-foot mosque — the largest in New England — on a Roxbury parcel it bought from the city in May 2003.

The Islamic Society paid $175,000 for the 45,000-square-foot parcel that was assessed at $401,000. The group agreed to easily achievable public benefits — including maintaining a park, and giving lectures at Roxbury Community College — as part of the sale.

The city took the parcel by eminent domain in the 1970s. The BRA selected the Muslim Council of Boston as the developer in 1992, and switched the developer to the Islamic Society of Boston in 1998.

(Associated Press)