A Muslim school withdrew after a 7-0 vote against it
The Islamic Academy of Alabama dropped its bid to move into a vacant Hoover office building after a zoning board voted 7-0 to recommend denial and a U.S. senator’s comments drew national attention.
Where it stands
Settled
Hits residents
8/10
Years covered
2025–2025
Sources
4 linked
- 7-0
- Planning and Zoning Commission vote recommending denial
- 1,700+
- Petition signatures opposing the relocation
- ~$88,000
- City’s estimate of annual property taxes a for-profit user would pay that the school would not
As of 2025-12
As of 2025-12
As of 2025-12
What happened
The Islamic Academy of Alabama, a Homewood-based K-12 school with 265 students, spent about seven months seeking to relocate into a vacant 100,000-square-foot office building in Hoover’s Meadow Brook Corporate Park. After two postponements at the school’s own request, the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 in December 2025 to recommend denial, following a meeting attended by roughly 175 to 200 residents. City planner Mac Martin said staff could not recommend approval, citing the comprehensive plan’s employment-center goal for the site, an estimated $88,000 a year in property taxes a for-profit user would pay that a nonprofit school would not, and unresolved questions about the school’s traffic study. Some residents who spoke said their objection was traffic, not religion; other speakers made explicitly anti-Muslim arguments, and one was cut off by the chair. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said publicly of the area, “I’m a senator right now, and I’m going to fight it.” The school withdrew its application on or before December 7, 2025. Why it withdrew is contested: the school and Alabama Political Reporter linked the decision to the senator’s remarks, while the city’s on-the-record position rested on zoning grounds.
Timeline
First Planning and Zoning notice sent to residents for a June hearing.
1819 News (1819news.com) ↗Zoning commission votes 7-0 to recommend denial after nearly 200 residents attend.
Hoover Sun (hooversun.com) ↗The academy withdraws its application, confirmed by Councilwoman Khristi Driver the next day.
1819 News (1819news.com) ↗Alabama Political Reporter ties the withdrawal to comments by Sen. Tuberville and a state representative, which the academy condemned.
Alabama Political Reporter (alreporter.com) ↗
Who's involved
Islamic Academy of Alabama
Applicant; K-12 school with 265 students
Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission
Voted 7-0 to recommend denial
Mac Martin
City planner; presented the staff recommendation
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville
Publicly opposed the relocation
Jeff Wilson
Resident petition organizer
The other side
The commission and city staff stated on the record that the recommendation rested on comprehensive-plan misalignment, an unclear project scope, and lost tax revenue, not on the school’s religion. Residents including the petition organizer said their objection was traffic.
Open questions
- The full wording of Sen. Tuberville’s remarks beyond the quotation confirmed above is not established across every outlet that covered them.
- Whether the academy has considered a federal RLUIPA claim, and whether the building has since been leased, is not established.
Sources (4)
- 1Hoover zoning board votes against Islamic Academy in Meadow BrookHoover Sun · Dec 1, 2025 · hooversun.com
- 2Denied: Hoover Planning and Zoning to recommend City Council deny Islamic Academy zoning request1819 News · Dec 2, 2025 · 1819news.com
- 3Islamic Academy of Alabama withdraws application for new Hoover location1819 News · Dec 8, 2025 · 1819news.com
- 4Islamic Academy of Alabama drops relocation plans after Islamophobic pushbackAlabama Political Reporter · Dec 9, 2025 · alreporter.com
Last checked July 29, 2026