Wall Street Journal - Mosque Fight Goes to Court

By Michael Howard Saul, Wall Street Journal

The controversy surrounding the planned mosque and Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero moved to the courthouse Wednesday, when a conservative group filed a lawsuit challenging New York City's decision to deny landmark status to a building currently on the proposed site.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing a city firefighter who survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court against the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission. On Tuesday, the panel declined to grant landmark status to the 152-year-old building currently on the site of the proposed mosque.

"This legal challenge clearly points out the fact that the city did not follow its own rules and procedures in this case," said Jay Sekulow, the group's chief counsel.