CAIR gloating.

Via ABC 6 News:

The U.S. Justice Department and St. Anthony Village are meeting with a federal judge for a scheduling and settlement conference. They are discussing whether they can reach a settlement in a lawsuit filed against the city or if the case will go to trial.

The Justice Department filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the small metro city claiming “religious discrimination” this summer. It came after the city council denied an Islamic group’s request to put a mosque in a certain area of town.

On Thursday, the two sides met for the first time since the lawsuit was filed in August. The closed-door meeting lasted for at least six hours.

The controversy all started during a packed St. Anthony Village city council meeting in 2012.

Many voiced personal concerns after members of the Abu Huraira Islamic Center requested a permit to turn the basement of the old Medtronic headquarters, a building owned by the Islamic center, into a mosque.

The city’s Zoning and Planning Commission had recommended the council approve the center’s request, however the city council voted the permit down. They cited zoning laws that do not allow for a place of worship in that area of the city.

For the next two years, the federal government investigated the issue and, in August, filed suit against St. Anthony Village claiming “religious discrimination” and a violation of he Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.