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| 'Anti-Muslim' ad sparks suit in Detroit |
| 2010-05-29 |
| An ad aimed at Muslims who want to leave Islam that was rejected for display by a regional bus system has prompted a lawsuit alleging violation of constitutional rights. "Americans have a right to know the truth -- Islam is a religion of intolerance and violence," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, the Ann Arbor public interest law firm that filed the lawsuit with the Law Offices of David Yerushalmi P.C. Thursday in U.S. District Court in Detroit. "Christians, Jews and other non-Muslim minorities are persecuted in every country where Islam dominates," Thompson said in a news release. The suit was filed on behalf of the Freedom Defense Initiative, which sponsored the ad and had sought to display it on Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation buses. The Freedom Defense Initiative's website says its objective is "to go on the offensive when legal, academic, legislative, cultural, sociological and political actions are taken to dismantle our basic freedoms and values." According to the lawsuit, SMART this week refused to display the group's bus ad, which read: "Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got questions? Get Answers!" The lawsuit alleges the transportation authority violated First and 14th Amendment rights dealing with free speech and equal protection. Attorneys also said SMART previously displayed an ad from the Detroit Area Coalition of Reason, an atheist group, which read: "Don't Believe in God? You are not alone." "In Detroit, government officials grant atheists the right to express a view that God does not exist, not worrying about offending Christians," said Robert Muise, senior trial counsel with the Thomas More Law Center. "Yet, these same politically correct officials censor speech that might offend Muslims. Such blatant discrimination is offensive, and it violates our Constitution." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #6 Not sure where people get the idea that the first amendment guarantees a venue for your opinions. It simply states that you wont be imprisoned or killed for speaking against the govt. We've made it into soooooo much more than that over the years. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2010-05-29 13:56 |
| #5 There is power in being "offended". The west needs show it's offended more. |
| Posted by: Phiter Stalin5608 2010-05-29 12:45 |
| #4 From the Hadith: Any person (i.e., Muslim) who has changed his religion, kill him. |
| Posted by: Swanimote 2010-05-29 11:40 |
| #3 "CAIR loudly proclaimed that "Nobody is forced or threatened to stay in Islam." Not forced? Only if you don't mind suicide pacts and dying. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-29 09:06 |
| #2 They already won in NYC. But there, the city lawyers were smart enough to tell the city to bend, as it was a no-win in court. The zinger is that they are not telling people to leave Islam, just that if they *are* leaving Islam, they can help. Typically, a spokesman for CAIR loudly proclaimed that "Nobody is forced or threatened to stay in Islam." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-05-29 08:51 |
| #1 Interesting arguments. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-29 08:13 |