A New Jersey federal judge has denied a motion by the city of Vineland and several local officials to dismiss a local Muslim group’s suit claiming its efforts to establish a mosque are being strangled in red tape.

A suit over sewage permitting is ripe for adjudication under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act because it makes a claim that the purported issue is a pretext for discrimination, U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez ruled Wednesday in Garden State Islamic Center v. City of Vineland.