The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against a county in Virginia for blocking a nonprofit from building an affordable Islamic cemetery for Muslim residents.

The U.S. District Attorney for Eastern Virginia G. Zachary Terwilliger filed the lawsuit Friday, saying that by blocking the All Muslim Association of America (AMAA) from building an Islamic cemetery on its own land, Stafford County is impeding on the "free exercise of the religion of the All Muslim Association, in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000."

According to the DOJ complaint, since 1989, the AMAA has provided "low-cost burial services to members of the Islamic faith who live in the Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Maryland, District of Columbia, and other regions of the country."

"The County’s actions described in this Complaint have caused the All Muslim Association to suffer significant financial loss, including, but not limited to, engineering fees, expert fees, attorneys’ fees and professional fees," the complaint said.

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