US government, Texas city settle Muslim cemetery lawsuit

DALLAS – Federal authorities say they’ve reached an agreement with a Texas city that settles a lawsuit over the city’s initial refusal to allow an Islamic group to develop a Muslim cemetery.

The Justice Department announced the agreement with Farmersville on Tuesday, the same day the lawsuit was filed.

Federal officials say the city, which is about 40 miles (65 kilometres) northeast of Dallas, violated federal law protecting religious groups from discriminatory land-use regulations.

As part of the agreement, city workers must be trained to comply with federal law.

Plans the Islamic Association of Collin County submitted in 2015 were met with claims the cemetery was a precursor to a mosque or an extremist training centre.

Design plans for the cemetery ultimately were approved in September , after a city leadership change.