In January of this year, the Broken Arrow City Council denied the construction of a new mosque—the location of which would’ve been convenient for Jenks High School students trying to make Friday prayers—based purely on the required land-use standards. Emails uncovered in an investigation after the vote revealed Islamophobic rhetoric shared between council members before the case was ever heard. Accusations of religious bias in the vote snowballed into a lawsuit headed by the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) partnered with the Islamic Society of Tulsa (IST), against the Broken Arrow City council.
For years, the IST mosque has been the leading mosque in the Tulsa area, hosting community events and religious celebrations. The expanding community prompted IST to buy 15 acres of land and create plans for a new mosque (masjid in Arabic) and commercial complex, but when seeking a rezoning application to be able to build a medical clinic, food pantry, and retail spaces on the area currently designated as agricultural land, their application was denied by a 4-1 vote based on land use requirements.
The Islamophobic emails uncovered between council members and residents later revealed the possibility of ulterior motives for the vote. When CAIR, which had already been keeping an eye on BA after the controversial vote, heard of the Tulsa Flyer’s discovery, it sent its lawyers to partner with IST and file a lawsuit in August 2026 over violations of religious land-use rights.
“I’ve been going to the IST masjid for several years,” claims Saad Khan, a Jenks varsity basketball player and Muslim Students Association officer. “It’s where I attend Friday prayers, religious programs, community events, and it’s a really big part of my life.”…