The non-jury trial over the mosque on Veals Road opened on Wednesday and now looks to be dead in the water. Closing arguments were heard this week in court. Plaintiffs stated that Rutherford County government failed to provide adequate public notice about the proposed mosque before the Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission met on May 24, 2010 to approve the construction. At that meeting it was revealed that the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro would build a 52,000 square foot mosque and community center. Construction began on September of 2011. During the court case on Thursday, Office of Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge said that the government did give proper public notice. The county government gave public notice in the Murfreesboro Post, a local newspaper. It will now be up to Chancellor Robert Corlew to decide on the case. Corlew will provide the courts with a written ruling in the near future. 

In the meantime, the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro is nearly finished with phase one of the construction process and will soon begin phase two. Phase one is the 12,000 square foot mosque. Phase two includes a gymnasium and indoor pool.

The Islamic Center is in the midst of a fundraising effort to raise enough money to cover the costs of all construction of the mosque. So far, they have raised $1.7-million. Their goal is to raise just over $2-million.