Lawsuit claims anti-Muslim bias from Lino Lakes, two councilors over mosque opposition

The City of Lino Lakes and two of its council members are facing a federal lawsuit claiming a development moratorium placed in July is discriminatory against the Muslim community.

Jameel Ahmed and Faraaz Mohammed filed the suit on Tuesday with their development company, Zikar Holdings LLC, against the City of Lino Lakes and its council members Michael Ruhland and Christopher Lyden. They claim the Madinah Lakes project was discriminated against because Lino Lakes "does not want Muslims in their city."

This comes in a week in which the council censured Lyden by a 3-1 vote for his favorable response to an anti-Muslim email he received – with Ruhland the sole councilor who voted against the censure.

In 2023, Ahmed and Mohammed were looking for a property on which to develop a mosque and housing where worshipers and others could live because the Blaine mosque, which they frequented, did not have enough space.

The two applied to build a mixed-use residential and commercial development in Lino Lakes on land that is currently a sod farm and, in March, met with city developers to discuss the plans, and said they were given no indication of any issues.

The two released a video advertising the proposed project on March 17, but the suit says that within a week, a city planner called Mohammed to tell him the video had gotten backlash from community members and that he should attend the next council meeting.

Council member Ruhland proposed a one-year moratorium on March 25 for the April 1 work session, citing concerns about the area's "water infrastructure," a motion that was seconded by Mayor Rob Rafferty.

It was eventually passed on July 8, halting any development on the land.

The suit claims that after word of the development spread, an "organized opposition" worked against its approval, and argues that the moratorium would never have been introduced if it were not for the backlash.

"If you are choosing to live near your religious building, it goes to say that you’re probably on the more fervent side of religious," one of the opponents, Luke Walters said, during the March 25 City Council meeting. "You’re probably a bit more conservative."

Multiple council members echoed the same sentiment, with Rafferty saying: "Lino Lakes is about establishing neighborhoods, not communities. Communities separate themselves. We are about neighborhoods.”

But it is Ruhland and Lyden who are named in the lawsuit, which allges that Ruhland "repeatedly insulted" the developers and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Minnesota (CAIR-MN), accusing them of raising “unfounded and shameful” concerns about the moratorium.

Before voting started, the lawsuit alleges Lyden suggested his vote for the moratorium was because he "disliked the accents" of the people who supported the project and because CAIR lacked “character.”

A few weeks later, Lyden replied from his official city account to an email filled with anti-Muslim sentiment, saying it was “Maybe the best email I have ever received!”

Anoka County Commissioner Jeff Reinert is also named in the suit after allegedly sending a series of text messages to a Lino Lakes resident on March 18 and 19, saying it would be better if the land were sold to developers other than those behind the mosque project.

Bring Me The News has contacted the City of Lino Lakes, Lyden, Ruhland, and Mayor Rafferty for comments but has not yet received a response.

Related: Lino Lakes approves building moratorium, halting development proposal