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| Oregon Islam class on again elsewhere | ||
| 2010-12-19 | ||
| A controversial class about Islam was on, then it was off, and now it's back on with a change of location. The instructor has become known for his criticism of Islamic doctrine, yet Barry Sommer still wants to teach a class about it. A Lane County facility, Harris Hall, can be reserved free of charge by anyone. "From a legal standpoint, government buildings are to be given to the general public. And when I discovered that, I was quite pleased," Sommer said. This will help Sommer open up a forum on Islam after Lane Community College dropped the class over a difference in philosophy. Sommer insists he can be objective and says he'll demonstrate that during a series of sessions in January. "For me to be able to do this outside of LCC and still present the same information to the people who wanted to come to the class is very heartening to me," Sommer said. Meanwhile, the American Center for Law and Justice is investigating why LCC abandoned Sommer's program. In caving to a Muslim civil rights organization, the ACLJ says LCC violated Sommer's rights in two ways. "Obviously it's important that there's a contractual violation, but also it's never appropriate for a state agency to pulp the first amendment rights that we have," said CeCe Heil, ACLJ Senior Counsel.
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| Posted by:ryuge |