Treasury Department to release impounded religious tiles

August 17, 2021   

(AP) The U.S. Treasury Department is releasing a shipment of tiles that were intended for a northern Virginia mosque but were confiscated at Dulles International Airport after they were determined to have violated sanctions on Iran.

Word of the release came through the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which released a letter dated Aug. 16 from the Treasury Department to attorneys representing the Manassas Mosque.

“We welcome this decision as a reaffirmation of our nation’s respect for religious freedom and diversity. Americans of all religious backgrounds should have access to the symbols of their faith, whatever the origin of those symbols,” said CAIR national deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell in a news release.

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