The DuPage County Board voted 13-5 this week to grant a special use permit to the Muslim Education and Cultural Center of America (MECCA).

The distinctive minaret and golden dome will be absent, but MECCA — after months of controversy — won approval Tuesday to build a mosque near Willowbrook. After rejecting a call to send the matter back to the county's Zoning Board of Appeals for further study, the board signed off on the revised plan by approving a conditional-use permit 13-5.

The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) congratulates MECCA (the Muslm Educational and Cultural Center of America) for receiving approval today from the DuPage County Board for a special use permit to build a a new mosque.

“We think there is a bias against the Muslim institutions,” said Kevin Vodak, the lawyer for CAIR-Chicago. He noted that the board rejected the Irshad proposal without explanation, which is highly unusual, and that last fall the county took up an amendment to prohibit any new religious institutions in residential areas. “Most of the new proposals are from Muslims,” Mr. Vodak said.