# Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act *Federal statute codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc–2000cc-5.* The **Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act** (**RLUIPA**) is a federal statute codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc–2000cc-5.[^1] In *Cutter v. Wilkinson*, 544 U.S. 709 (2005), the Supreme Court of the United States held RLUIPA constitutional.[^2] In [[Minnesota]], the record documents one federal enforcement action under the statute. The United States Department of Justice sued the city of [[St. Anthony Village]] under RLUIPA over its denial of a permit for an Islamic center. The suit was later resolved by settlement.[^3][^4] The project's at-issue record dates the denial to 2012 and the suit to 2014. It names the center as the [[Abu Huraira Islamic Center]] and states that the center opened under the federal settlement.[^5] ## What The statute occupies chapter 21C of Title 42 of the United States Code, §§ 2000cc through 2000cc-5.[^1] The Supreme Court's 2005 decision in *Cutter v. Wilkinson* held it constitutional.[^2] The record does not carry the statute's enactment date, sponsors, votes or amendment history. It therefore does not establish which party or administration enacted, amended or maintained it.[^1] ## In the at-issue record At-issue item AI-Anoka-031 comes from a council vote brief dated 2026-09-01 in the Anoka package. It sets out the St. Anthony Village sequence: - the 2012 rejection of the Abu Huraira Islamic Center; - the 2014 Justice Department suit under RLUIPA; and - the center's opening under a federal settlement. The item then applies that sequence to a council vote in [[Coon Rapids]].[^3][^4][^5] It states that a religion-based denial in Coon Rapids would be "a pre-litigated loss with a Minnesota docket number." That statement is the item's projection, not a finding of any court.[^5] The item's anchor is the White House presidential action *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (January 2025). The item pairs that action with the proposition that "government decisions conditioned on identity lose in federal court, both directions." The pairing is the item's own framing.[^6] ## In the Minnesota record ### What - The Department of Justice filed suit against the City of St. Anthony Village under RLUIPA over the denial of a permit for an Islamic center.[^3] - The Department and the city resolved the lawsuit.[^4] The at-issue record describes the outcome as a federal settlement under which the center opened.[^5] ### When - The at-issue record dates the St. Anthony Village permit denial to 2012 and the Department of Justice suit to 2014.[^5] ### Where - The suit was brought against St. Anthony Village, a Minnesota city.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Cornell Legal Information Institute, *42 U.S. Code Chapter 21C — Protection of Religious Exercise in Land Use and by Institutionalized Persons* (codification page) — codifies RLUIPA at 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc–2000cc-5. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/chapter-21C [^2]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Cutter v. Wilkinson*, 544 U.S. 709 (2005) — holds RLUIPA constitutional. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/544/709/ [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Justice Department Files Suit Against City of St. Anthony Village Over Denial of Permit for Mosque* (press release; date not carried in record) — establishes the federal RLUIPA suit against a Minnesota city over the denial of a permit for an Islamic center. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-suit-against-city-st-anthony-village-over-denial-permit-mosque [^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Justice Department and City of St. Anthony Village Resolve Lawsuit Over Denial of Permit for Islamic Center* (press release; date not carried in record) — establishes the resolution of the lawsuit. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-city-st-anthony-village-resolve-lawsuit-over-denial-permit-islamic [^5]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *AI-Anoka-031*, from *Council Vote Brief Fact Check* (2026-09-01) — states the 2012 denial of the Abu Huraira Islamic Center, the 2014 Department of Justice suit under RLUIPA, and the center's opening under a federal settlement; the Coon Rapids sentence is the item's projection. Source file: Council_Vote_Brief_FactCheck_2026-09-01.md. [^6]: The White House, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (presidential action, January 2025) — the at-issue item's anchor document. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/