WESTMINSTER, Md. — A citizens group aims to limit new construction at a former Catholic school complex in rural Howard County that an Islamic community is considering buying.
The Carroll County Times reports that residents of the Cooksville area met Thursday night with a representative from the Dar-us-Salaam community of College Park. The Islamic group is considering moving its mosque and school to the former Woodmont Academy, which closed two years ago.
The citizens group says it will fight a proposed zoning change that would expand the property’s development options to include “institutional and cultural facilities.”
The group’s lawyer says his clients aren’t anti-Muslim. He says they just want to preserve the area’s rural character.
The Islamic community says it hopes to overcome any opposition through its actions.
