[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 184 (Monday, November 18, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                HONORING THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF CULPEPER

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                           HON. RASHIDA TLAIB

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 18, 2019

  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today in tribute to the Islamic 
Center of Culpeper on the occasion of the ground breaking of their new 
mosque.
  Culpeper, Virginia is home to a growing, close-knit Muslim community 
known as the Islamic Center of Culpeper, (ICC). For many years the ICC 
community has been worshiping in a very small space lacking proper 
heating in the brutal winters and air conditioning in the scorching 
summers. The facility even lacked an adequate washing facility to 
perform ablution before prayers. The ICC searched for nearly five years 
before finding and purchasing a parcel of land in January of 2016. 
Immediately, they made plans to begin constructing a brand-new mosque 
to serve as a place of worship and a place for community.
  The ICC had no idea of the challenges they would face.
  Since 1995, every pump and hall permit application submitted to the 
Culpeper County Government by a house of worship had been approved, but 
in April of 2016, the County denied ICC's permit application.
  The County also ordered a moratorium on any new pump and haul 
applications, which barred ICC from any attempts to re-apply, and in 
advance of one of the local zoning hearings, protesters hung a banner 
stating, ``NO ISLAMIC CENTER!'' in big black letters.
  The ICC fought back.
  Muslim Advocates and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer filed a lawsuit 
against the County on behalf of ICC, following a lawsuit by the 
Department of Justice and one month later, the ICC and the County 
reached a settlement. The ICC could move forward with their plans to 
build a mosque, and the County issued a statement welcoming the ICC and 
compensated the community for their expenses.
  Please join me in honoring the ICC and their resilience as they 
celebrate this milestone project.

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