Indiana county to pay $300k for discrimination against Islamic school
Hendricks County, Indiana, has agreed to pay $300,000 to an Islamic educational organization following a lawsuit for violating the Fair Housing Act.
The county unlawfully denied zoning approval twice for a project aimed at establishing an Islamic seminary, school, and residential area.
Attorney Zachary Myers emphasized that discrimination based on religion is unacceptable in Indiana.
As part of the settlement, the county will train its officials on the Fair Housing Act and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke highlighted that local governments cannot make zoning decisions influenced by the religion of developers.
The lawsuit was filed by Al Hussnain Seminary.
It accused the county of unfairly burdening the applicant compared to others.
While the terms are agreed upon, they still require court approval. Hendricks County has not yet commented on the settlement.