Lilburn Allows Mosque to be Built After Two Years Of Resisting

LILBURN, Ga. - After two years of resisting, the Lilbu City Council has approved a Muslim congregation's request to build a 20,000-square-foot worship center.

The Atlanta Joual-Constitution reports the council OK'd the plan by 3-1 vote Tuesday.

The four-member council was deadlocked on a December vote of the zoning request. It prolonged a yearlong conflict among the Shiite Dar-E-Abbas congregation, city leaders and residents who oppose the group's expansion.

The congregation owns and worships on 1.4 acres. It originally sought to rezone more property but later said it would build only a mosque and parking lot.

Wasi Zaidi helped found Dar-E-Abbas in 1998 and says "our neighbors might be mad now, but we love them."

The congregation's lawyer says a federal discrimination lawsuit against the city would now be dropped.