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Linklaters’ U.S. Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations team has filed an Article 78 petition on behalf of the United American Muslim Association (UAMA), defending its right to religious freedom and challenging the Town of Islip Zoning Board of Appeals’ decision barring student boarding at a proposed Islamic school on a property that housed a Catholic seminary and boarding school for nearly fifty years.
The property, located in Bay Shore, New York, has served a religious community for a century. The Montfort Missionaries established a seminary and boarding school there in 1926, where generations of students lived, learned and prayed until the school closed in 1972. The property subsequently served as the congregation’s headquarters and a home for aging priests. Its boarding facilities remain in place.
UAMA seeks to renew that tradition through Bay Shore Academy, a parochial boarding school combining academic instruction with an Islamic education and worship. UAMA has served Long Island since 1993 and operates three locations across the region.
Before purchasing the property, UAMA obtained written confirmation from the Town that the proposed school was permitted and that student boarding was an allowable accessory use. UAMA relied on that determination when it acquired the property in June 2026.
The determination drew an appeal from two Town residents and amid a deluge of anti-Muslim opposition, the Zoning Board reversed the Town’s prior determination regarding student boarding, while acknowledging that the school itself was a permitted use. UAMA’s challenge argues that the reversal disregarded relevant precedent, ignored the property’s history and evidence of another boarding school within the Town, and relied on speculation about activities UAMA had expressly excluded from its proposal.
UAMA’s petition asks the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Suffolk County, to annul the Zoning Board’s decision and reinstate the Town’s original determination.
Muhammad Faridi, Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations partner at Linklaters, said:
“For nearly fifty years, students lived, learned and prayed on this property. UAMA seeks to open those doors again. The faith of the students may change; the law’s protection must remain constant. The anti-Muslim sentiment expressed at the hearing has no place in zoning matters. We are asking the court to restore the Town’s original determination and ensure that this Muslim community receives the fair treatment the law requires.”
Mahmut Salihoglu, president of UAMA’s Dix Hills branch, said:
“Bay Shore Academy would give students a supportive place to pursue their education, deepen their faith and grow together in community. We chose this property because of its long history of religious boarding education and moved forward in reliance on the Town’s written approval. We remain committed to opening the school and creating that opportunity for our students and families, in harmony with the broader Bay Shore community.”
In addition to Mr. Faridi, the Linklaters pro bono team includes partners Erik Haas and Adeel Mangi, associates Katherine Brisson, Saniya Suri, Samantha Mitchell, and Marie Talarico, and legal assistant Sophie Balmagiya.
This matter continues Linklaters’ work protecting communities of all faiths when local opposition and shifting land-use decisions threaten their religious freedom. Its landmark cases on Long Island include securing resolutions allowing construction of a long-awaited mosque in Bethpage, expansion of a mosque in New Hyde Park, and reconstruction of a synagogue in Great Neck.