In February we covered a story about a mosque in West Philadelphia that was up in arms over plans to move a liquor store closer to UPenn (putting it a block or two away from the mosque), because Islamic law forbids Muslims to consume alcohol.

Today comes word that despite overwhelming community support for the store, the Philadelphia Zoning Board has decided to side with the mosque.

The controversial application for a new liquor store at 4237 Walnut St. has been denied by the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment, site owner Daniel DeRitis said yesterday.

DeRitis said he will immediately appeal the decision. “We’re not going to give up on it,” he said.

The proposal to move the liquor store from 41st and Market streets to the Walnut Street site had come under fierce criticism from members of the Masjid Al-Jamia mosque, located directly opposite from the proposed location.

But DeRitis said he was surprised by the decision since he believed there had been far more support from the community than opposition. “We had an incredible amount of support from tax payers, voters, and I’ve never seen such an outreach of support for a commercial project,” he said.

Zoning officials have not yet told DeRitis the reasoning behind their decision. They declined to comment publicly on the matter. Representatives from the mosque also declined to comment.

As we pointed out with help from a reader in the area, there are already two places where liquor can be purchased, right across the street from the mosque: Pennsylvania Shari’a Watch (Update). At the time, I wrote:

It seems clear that this isn’t really about a liquor store at all; it’s about the mosque leaders flexing their political muscle.

Apparently, their political muscle is in good shape.