The Oklahoma Attorney General is launching an investigation into a proposed Islamic center in Broken Arrow.
In a statement, Gentner Drummond said his office’s review was “prompted by substantial public concern surrounding the proposal, as well as questions raised about the ownership structure, governance and financing of the project.”
The Islamic Society of Tulsa (IST) purchased the land in question in 2014 as part of an expansion project. In a statement Thursday, the organization said the new mosque is needed to address overcrowding at the current Midtown location.
Last month, the Broken Arrow Planning Commission voted to approve the rezoning request that would allow the mosque to be built on Olive Street, just south of the Creek Turnpike. The rezoning requires final approval from Broken Arrow City Council, which is set to vote on the matter Monday.
Since the initial approval, the project has attracted critics. A group of at least 200 people gathered Tuesday in opposition to the mosque, with flyers reportedly handed out to attendees linking Islam as a whole to terrorism. At the event, speakers like former State Sen. Nathan Dahm told the crowd there are “plenty of concerns with Islam.”
Drummond said one focus of his investigation will be the proposed mosque’s funding sources. According to the Tulsa County Assessor's database, the land slated for the development is listed as owned by the North American Islamic Trust. Drummond said the group has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, but did not offer evidence.
IST said “[n]o foreign funding was sought or received for either the acquisition of the property or the planning of this project.”
The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called Drummond's investigation a “witch hunt” in a statement.
“What, unfortunately, I fear is happening is that Islamophobia has hijacked this conversation and made it out to be about whether or not Muslims are welcome in the state of Oklahoma,” said Veronica Laizure, executive director of CAIR Oklahoma.
Laizure said people with legitimate concerns about the planning of the mosque, like traffic or property taxes, should stay “focused on those concerns.”
David Oldham, the head of a local conservative activist group, which organized Tuesday's opposition meeting, made his motivations clear.
“We don't want a particular world view in our community that is diametrically opposed to us,” he said.
CAIR has reported a growing number of Islamophobic hate crimes across the country in the last several years.
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Editing by Erica Peterson.
