DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-MINNESOTA: STATE TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR ISLAMIC INDOCTRINATION IN STATE SCHOOLS

SEPARATION OF CHURCH/SYNAGOGUE & STATE ONLY APPLIES TO CHRISTIANS & JEWS...

MOSLEMS CAN DO WHATEVER THEY DAMNED WELL PLEASE ACCORDING TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT...

THE A.C.L.U. IS SILENT & LOOKING THE OTHER WAY OR THEY ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO DEFEND THE FORCES THAT ARE WORKING TOWARDS THE ISLAMIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...



Are taxpayers footing bill for Islamic school in Minnesota?
By KATHERINE KERSTEN, Star Tribune

Wall of silence broken at state's Muslim public school

Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA) -- named for the Muslim general who conquered medieval Spain -- is a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Its approximately 300 students are mostly the children of low-income Muslim immigrant families, many of them Somalis.

The school is in huge demand, with a waiting list of 1,500. Last fall, it opened a second campus in Blaine.

TIZA uses the language of culture rather than religion to describe its program in public documents. According to its mission statement, the school "recognizes and appreciates the traditions, histories, civilizations and accomplishments of the eastern world (Africa, Asia and Middle East)."

But the line between religion and culture is often blurry. There are strong indications that religion plays a central role at TIZA, which is a public school financed by Minnesota taxpayers. Under the U.S. and state constitutions, a public school can accommodate students' religious beliefs but cannot encourage or endorse religion.

TIZA raises troubling issues about taxpayer funding of schools that cross that line.

Asad Zaman, TIZA's principal, declined to allow me to visit the school or grant me an interview. He did not respond to e-mails seeking written replies.

TIZA's strong religious connections date from its founding in 2003. Its co-founders, Zaman and Hesham Hussein, were both imams, or Muslim religious leaders, as well as leaders of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS-MN).

Since then, they have played dual roles: Zaman as TIZA's principal and the current vice-president of MAS-MN, and Hussein as TIZA's school board chair and president of MAS-MN until his death in a car accident in Saudi Arabia in January.

TIZA shares MAS-MN's headquarters building, along with a mosque.

...


and

Wall of silence broken at state's Muslim public school
By KATHERINE KERSTEN


Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion.

Evidence suggests, however, that TIZA is an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers.

TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." The building also houses a mosque. TIZA's executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.

Students pray daily, the cafeteria serves halal food - permissible under Islamic law -- and "Islamic Studies" is offered at the end of the school day.

Zaman maintains that TIZA is not a religious school. He declined, however, to allow me to visit the school to see for myself, "due to the hectic schedule for statewide testing." But after I e-mailed him that the Minnesota Department of Education had told me that testing would not begin for several weeks, Zaman did not respond -- even to urgent calls and e-mails seeking comment before my first column on TIZA.

Now, however, an eyewitness has stepped forward. Amanda Getz of Bloomington is a substitute teacher. She worked as a substitute in two fifth-grade classrooms at TIZA on Friday, March 14. Her experience suggests that school-sponsored religious activity plays an integral role at TIZA.

Arriving on a Friday, the Muslim holy day, she says she was told that the day's schedule included a "school assembly" in the gym after lunch.

Before the assembly, she says she was told, her duties would include taking her fifth-grade students to the bathroom, four at a time, to perform "their ritual washing."

Afterward, Getz said, "teachers led the kids into the gym, where a man dressed in white with a white cap, who had been at the school all day," was preparing to lead prayer. Beside him, another man "was prostrating himself in prayer on a carpet as the students entered."

"The prayer I saw was not voluntary," Getz said. "The kids were corralled by adults and required to go to the assembly where prayer occurred."

Islamic Studies was also incorporated into the school day. "When I arrived, I was told 'after school we have Islamic Studies,' and I might have to stay for hall duty," Getz said. "The teachers had written assignments on the blackboard for classes like math and social studies. Islamic Studies was the last one -- the board said the kids were studying the Qu'ran. The students were told to copy it into their planner, along with everything else. That gave me the impression that Islamic Studies was a subject like any other."

After school, Getz's fifth-graders stayed in their classroom and the man in white who had led prayer in the gym came in to teach Islamic Studies. TIZA has in effect extended the school day -- buses leave only after Islamic Studies is over. Getz did not see evidence of other extra-curricular activity, except for a group of small children playing outside. Significantly, 77 percent of TIZA parents say that their "main reason for choosing TIZA ... was because of after-school programs conducted by various non-profit organizations at the end of the school period in the school building," according to a TIZA report. TIZA may be the only school in Minnesota with this distinction.

Why does the Minnesota Department of Education allow this sort of religious activity at a public school? According to Zaman, the department inspects TIZA regularly -- and has done so "numerous times" -- to ensure that it is not a religious school.

But the department's records document only three site visits to TIZA in five years -- two in 2003-04 and one in 2007, according to Assistant Commissioner Morgan Brown. None of the visits focused specifically on religious practices.

...



READ IT ALL ! ! !



Pertinent Links:

1) Are taxpayers footing bill for Islamic school in Minnesota?

2) Wall of silence broken at state's Muslim public school

DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.: THE A.C.L.U. TO PROVIDE TOP LEGAL TALENT TO JIHADISTS VACATION AT GITMO

ACLU taps top legal talent to defend accused 9-11 plotters
By Carol Rosenberg

The American Civil Liberties Union, which for years has scorned Pentagon military commissions as "kangaroo courts,'' announced Friday that it will try to provide top civilian defense attorneys for alleged terrorists facing trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — including the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Former Attorney General Janet Reno is among top lawyers who've endorsed the $8.5 million effort, which will help coordinate and defray the expenses of civilian defense attorneys working on the terrorism cases. Under the military commissions scheme, the Pentagon won't reimburse volunteer civilian attorneys for their expenses.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said a major thrust of the effort will be to defend Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who military officials say has confessed to masterminding the 9-11 attacks and several other terrorist acts, including the beheading in Pakistan of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl.

The ACLU chose to focus on Mohammed's defense, Romero said, because he appears to be "the government's top priority in the prosecution. And whether or not they are able to convict Khalid Sheik Mohammed under these rules may well determine the fate of the almost 300 other men who are detained at Guantanamo.''

Mohammed was held in secret CIA custody until September 2006, and the CIA has admitted subjecting him to waterboarding while he was being questioned. Waterboarding is simulated drowning and is considered torture by many rights advocates.

Mohammed's case "is likely to raise the most significant issues of torture, hearsay evidence and access to counsel,'' Romero said.

At the Pentagon, a war court spokesman said the Office of Military Commissions hadn't received details about the ACLU program.

...


Where is the A.C.L.U. getting the $$$$ to pay for this defense?!?!?!?!?


Pertinent Links:

1) ACLU taps top legal talent to defend accused 9-11 plotters

DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-WYOMING: THE A.C.L.U. SUING TO ISLAMIZE WYOMING PRISONS

Wyo. Lawsuit Alleges Prison Mealtime Violates Muslim Inmates' Freedom of Religion

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming that a Wyoming State Penitentiary policy restricting prisoners' mealtimes violates the constitutional rights of two Muslim inmates.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of Joseph Miller and Hurie Purdiman Jr., two inmates serving time at the penitentiary in Rawlins.

At issue is an alleged "20-minute rule" requiring inmates to eat their meals within 20 minutes after the food is delivered to a cell or common dining area, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit seeks for the inmates to be exempted from the rule because it forces them to choose between eating and practicing their religion.

Miller and Purdiman claim that meals have arrived at the same time of day that they're practicing prayers according to their Muslim faith. On other occasions, meals arrived during a period of religious fasting and then were confiscated before the fast ended at sunset.

"If someone has started their prayer, unless they're willing to interrupt their prayer and leave at that moment, they forgo their meal because (the guards) won't go back and open their cell doors," said Jennifer Horvath, staff attorney for Wyoming Chapter of the ACLU. "It's not unreasonable to ask for some extra time to finish their meals. They have a right to practice their religion, and the prison has been treating it as a privilege."

...



Pertinent Links:

1) Wyo. Lawsuit Alleges Prison Mealtime Violates Muslim Inmates' Freedom of Religion

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MICHIGAN: THE A.C.L.U. GIVES ITS OK TO THE ISLAMIZATION OF AMERICA

Is the ACLU Giving Muslims Special Treatment?

ACLU Changing Its Tune?

The University of Michigan at Dearborn is planning to spend $25,000 to install two footbaths for Muslim students to use before prayers.

Muslim leaders had considered trying to raise funds to pay for the baths privately — until the American Civil Liberties Union said it would not oppose having the university pay for the project. The director of the Detroit ACLU called the footbaths a "reasonable accommodation" to resolve "safety and cleanliness issues."

The ACLU has a long history of opposing other activities associated with prayer and religion on public property. It sued a Louisiana school board over allowing a preacher to give out pizza at school during lunch periods, and it sued a west Texas school district over an optional Bible class.




Pertinent Links:

1) Is the ACLU Giving Muslims Special Treatment?

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MICHIGAN: THE A.C.L.U. WILL NOT STAND IN THE WAY OF THE ISLAMIZATION OF AMERICA

Muslims won't fund footbaths
Leaders cite ACLU's decision not to oppose use of public money for UM-Dearborn project.
Karen Bouffard / The Detroit News

DEARBORN -- Muslim leaders in Metro Detroit have decided not to raise private money to pay for two footbaths at a local college campus now that the American Civil Liberties Union has said the plan doesn't pose constitutional problems.

The University of Michigan-Dearborn's plan to spend $25,000 on the footbaths was criticized on conservative blogs and radio shows this month. Critics said using public money for the project would violate the First Amendment, which says governments can't favor or subsidize religions.
Muslims are required to wash body parts, including feet, up to five times daily before prayers.
University officials say the floor-level wash basins are needed because some students at the 8,600-student campus wash their feet in the sinks.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said his group was concerned a public outcry would cause the university to back down from the project.

"If the ACLU had decided to take legal action against the UM-Dearborn, we probably would have called for the university to raise the funds privately, just so that the UM-Dearborn wouldn't have to go through the trouble of having to defend its position against the ACLU," Walid said.

Kary Moss, director of the Detroit branch of the ACLU, said its review concluded the plan is a "reasonable accommodation" to resolve "safety and cleanliness issues" that arose when Muslims used public sinks for foot cleaning before prayers, which often spilled water on bathroom floors.

"We view it as an attempt to deal with a problem, not an attempt to make it easier for Muslims to pray," said Moss, who likened the plan to paying for added police during religious events with huge turnouts.

"There's no intent to promote religion."


and the people respond:


Should college help Muslims with foot baths?

Bathe off campus
If ritual bathing is so important, Muslim students should drive or walk to the mosque that's less than a mile from campus ("College's foot bath plans spark backlash," June 5). They should schedule their classes around their prayer time. If all Christian groups are forced to find off-campus places to pray, then Muslims should, too.
L. Meyer
Dearborn

Wash feet at home
People wash their feet at home, not at school. That's just the way it is. In my years at school, I never washed my feet at school unless I had an accident in chemistry class. Give me a break.
Felicia Chase
Bellaire

Bathroom use not deterred
I attended the University of Michigan-Dearborn for my undergraduate studies, and Muslim students washed their feet in the bathrooms frequently. It is their right to exercise their religious beliefs in whatever way they must, but it shouldn't be at the expense of other students and taxpayers. Building these "foot baths" will not deter anyone from using the bathroom sinks in the library and other buildings for washing their feet in the future.
Daniel Spencer
Canton Township

Bottled water better?
If the foot-washing stations were placed by the restrooms where water and sewer pipes already exist, wouldn't the feet of Muslim students get dirty by the time they get to where they will be praying? Wouldn't it be better for them to take some bottled water and put it onto a paper towel?
Wally Piontakiewicz
Hamtramck

No special interest catering
If Muslims want public institutions to cater to their religious whims, they should move to the Middle East. America is degraded every time we cater to the special interest of a group, especially if that group has no respect for the rights of others.
Richard O'Keefe
Redford Township

Keep religion private
Religion is a private matter. All religious fetishes should be carried out in private and at the religionists' expense, not the state's.
Henry Morgan
Westland

Baths show understanding
Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion with 1.3 billion practitioners. This dynamic alone should encourage the building of bridges and understanding between the major faiths of Abraham. I commend Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn for having the vision to do something positive to enhance the synergy between these faiths in America.
Harun Ar-Rasheed
North Las Vegas, Nev.

Christian sensitivity too?
Wouldn't it be nice if the University of Michigan-Dearborn were as sensitive to the 90 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Christian? If that group asked for any sort of accommodation, they would be laughed off campus.
Don Schmittdiel
Clinton Township

Reduce tuition instead
Although I do not care how a person practices his or her religious beliefs, I believe that using public funds for a religious ritual is wrong. Instead of using the monies for baths, the university should bring tuition down by about $500, since they have all this money to spend on a nonessential.
Tom Danowski
New Boston

Take up a collection
We understand that Muslims must purify themselves before praying. However, they must not do so at the expense of the rest of the community. Do churches request that the general public underwrite the cost of baptismal fonts to purify themselves? Do Jewish people request that the public underwrite the cost of mikvahs used monthly by women and converts? Given the huge projected budget deficit, this is a misuse of taxpayer money as well as a violation of the separation of church and state. If Muslim students want foot-washing stations, why don't they take up a collection among the Islamic community to fund it?
Rose Crane
Oak Park

Equal opportunity prayers
If this is permitted in our universities, then I should be able to pray in public or assemble there. Everyone should.
Forrest Harris
St. Clair Shores


Pertinent Links:

1) Muslims won't fund footbaths

2) Should college help Muslims with foot baths?

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.: HERE IT IS LADIES & GENTLEMEN: USING THE 1ST AMENDMENT TO IMPLEMENT SHARI'AH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I am sure that the A.C.L.U. is working on lawsuits to make all kinds of shari'ah endorsed islamic practices legal in the United States via 1st Amendment fights...

Our very own laws being used against us in order to implement shari'ah/islam in the United States, how ironic...

Are there any legal Beagals that are working on countering this jihad via lawsuit?!?!?

Multiple wives often misunderstood, Muslims say
By CHLOE JOHNSON

While the practice is not legal in the United States, polygamy is accepted in some parts of the world and permitted under certain circumstances in some religions, including Islam.

Abu-Ibrahim Mohamed, a member of the Islamic Society of the Seacoast Area in Dover, said Muslims look to their faith for guidance in life, including a perspective on polygamy. "Islam presents a unique world view and a complete way of life," he said in an e-mail to the newspaper.

Muslims look upon marriage as a scared institution and a serious commitment, he said. Polygamy is a highly regulated contract that multiplies the vows of marriage. So it's an additional challenge for the faithful, he said.

"Many times, polygamy is looked at as man's right to legally marry more than one woman," he said. "This is a totally flawed way of looking at the matter."

He said people should consider looking at it as a woman's right to be cared for and provided for, and to have the full legal rights of a wife.

The Quran regulates polygamy, like other aspects of life, he said. There are conditions that make polygamy permitted at times and prohibited at others, and recommended for some and not others depending on the circumstances, he said. The issue is misunderstood by many, even some Muslims.

Stereotypes also cause misunderstanding. This has led many Muslims in the United States to take a defensive or sometimes apologetic approach resulting in more inaccurate representations, he said.

Mohamed said many Muslim Americans would agree that the outlawing of polygamy is denying certain citizens their full freedom of religion.

...


Pertinent Links:

1) Multiple wives often misunderstood, Muslims say

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - NEBRASKA: MEAT PACKING PLANT, UNION CONTRACTS & SOMALI MOSLEMS TRYING TO INFLICT THEIR SHARI'AH ON SWIFT & CO.

The original post & story had mentioned 94 workers walked off the job, according to Mr. Hoppes, the company had said 70 and now, this newspaper article says 120 walked off the job & 70 have returned...

Which to believe?!?

I would think that it should be the representative of Swift & Co. that should be believed, because:

1) Moslems themselves like to inflate their numbers, whether it is to make themselves feel better or to demonstrate "strength in numbers" to the infidels, I am not sure...

2) The MSM's are islamic handmaidens, obfuscating for the moslem jihad at every opportunity especially after the deal with the devil was struck and you can see the Islamo-Leftist Alliance working...

No surprise there, they have advocated for the worst humanity has had to offer, the Hussains, Stalin's, Lenin's, Chavez's, Castro's, Guevara's, insert the name of any other tin-pot dictator(s) of your choice here _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ...Plenty of them to go around...

Therefore, 70 walked off the job and 70 returned...

They have won nothing this go around, but they will not stop and their drip drip drip of demands will ultimately pay off. Because someone, somewhere at Swift & Co. and the Union will say: JUST GIVE IT TO THEM, because they are sick and tired of listening to the moslem whiners...

It will happen even faster, if there are threats to physical well being made...I wonder how soon that will come about...Ohh and what about accusations of racism, than the A.C.L.U. will get involved and C.A.I.R. with their proclomations of islam is peace, infidels are islamophobic and the moslem population in the U.S. is 7 million strong, except Pew Research has shown them to be liars because they couldn't find more than 2.35 million...

Yup, the jihad is strong in America...



70 who quit over prayer time return to work
Somali Muslims had wanted to be able to pray at sundown

OMAHA, Nebraska - Dozens of Somali meatpacking workers who quit their jobs because they were not given enough time off for Muslim prayers have returned to work, but the issue could resurface as sundown inches later through the summer, a union official said Friday.

About 70 of 120 Somali workers are back on the job at the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant after abruptly quitting last week. The workers complained that existing break time rules did not let them leave lines to pray at sundown.

Similar requests for workplace accommodations of Muslim religious obligations have become common around the country, says Muslim advocates.

“I don’t know how it’s going to work, and I feel bad about it,” said Dan Hoppes, president of Local 22 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Later summertime sunsets could run past allotted breaks that keep workers from long stretches on production lines.

“We do those things to prevent injuries and to give them a little rest,” Hoppes said.

The workers agreed to come back after company and union officials met with workers and the head of a Somali community group to discuss the conflicts between Muslim prayer and workplace rules. The company agreed to accommodate the workers as much as it could within the contract, company and union officials said.

...


Pertinent Links:

1) 70 who quit over prayer time return to work

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - NORTH CAROLINA: WHEN IN COURT, YOU CAN SWEAR ON THE QUR'AN & A PILE OF DUNG IF THAT IS WHAT YOU CONSIDER YOUR 'HOLY TEXT'

North Carolina Judge: Court Witnesses Can Take Oath With Koran

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Wake County judge ruled Thursday that any religious text can be used to swear in a witness or juror in the state's courtrooms, not just the Bible.

The American Civil Liberties Union argued a law that some judges said required the state's courts to use the Bible alone is unconstitutional because it favors Christianity over other religions.

The ACLU sought a court order clarifying that the law is broad enough to allow the use of multiple religious texts, or else declare the statute unconstitutional.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway ruled that a witness or juror can take a court oath using a text "most sacred and obligatory upon their conscience," citing common law and precedent of the state Supreme Court.

The judge didn't declare the law unconstitutional or rule on whether the term "Holy Scriptures" could be reasonably interpreted to mean any sacred text other than the Bible. But the ACLU still considered the ruling favorable.

"As of today all people can use the holy text of their choice," said Seth Cohen, an ACLU attorney who argued the case. "We think it's a great victory."

State law allows witnesses preparing to testify in court to take their oath in three ways: by laying a hand over "the Holy Scriptures," by saying "so help me God" without the use of a religious book, or by an affirmation using no religious symbols.

A trial court judge initially dismissed the ACLU's lawsuit in December 2005, ruling it was moot because there was no actual controversy at that time warranting litigation.

In January, the ruling was reversed by an unanimous three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals, after the ACLU had added Syidah Mateen as a plaintiff. In its decision, the appeals court cited Mateen's claim that her request to place her hand on the Koran as a witness in a domestic violence case in Guilford County was denied in 2003.

Before the ACLU filed its lawsuit, the group and the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations had asked the state's court system to allow use of the Koran and other religious texts in courtrooms. The director of the state court system refused, saying the General Assembly or the courts needed to settle the issue.

During a court hearing earlier this month, the state Attorney General's Office asked Ridgeway to dismiss the case because the complaint was political.

But the ACLU argued that an 1856 state Supreme Court decision set a clear precedent for oaths with religious texts and noted a change to the law made in 1985.

Before that time, the law was called "Administration of oath upon the Gospels" and stated that someone to be sworn was to lay a hand on "the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God." Legislators took out "the Gospels" in the title and changed the language to simply read "Holy Scriptures" in 1985.

...



Pertinent Links:

1) North Carolina Judge: Court Witnesses Can Take Oath With Koran

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - NEW JERSEY: THE ACLU SUES BECAUSE A MOSLEM STUDENT REFUSED TO STEP INTO A CHURCH

Muslim teen sues over graduation held at church
By The Associated Press 03.12.07

TRENTON, N.J. — The state American Civil Liberties Union chapter is suing the Newark public school district on behalf of a Muslim teen over a school's decision to hold its graduation ceremonies in a Baptist church.

The New Jersey ACLU said on March 7 that it was suing the district because the decision to hold graduation in the church prevented West Side High School senior Bilal Shareef from attending. Shareef's religious beliefs forbid him from entering a building with religious images, the civil liberties group said.

The 2006 ceremony violated several provisions in the state constitution prohibiting public institutions from showing a religious preference, the ACLU asserts.

The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages and a ban on further public school ceremonies in places of worship.

District lawyer Perry Lattiboudere said on March 8 that the district believes state law allows the use of religious facilities out of necessity. He added that the district makes efforts to cover up religious symbols in churches when it uses them for graduations.

The lawsuit in state Superior Court joins a long line of legal cases in the U.S. in recent decades that have challenged practices in which public schools have become intertwined with religion.

The ACLU said the district promised after the 2005 ceremony to avoid holding a graduation at a religious location again.

But in 2006, graduation was again held at New Hope. And the principal at the time told seniors they would get two additional graduation tickets for family and friends if they attended a separate Roman Catholic baccalaureate Mass, according to the ACLU.

Lattiboudere said there were no secular spaces available to handle the school's roughly 250 graduating seniors and guests.

"There was clearly a need to use the facility in '05 and 2006. And we've made an effort to use nonreligious facilities," Lattiboudere said.

With about 43,000 students, the urban district is the state's largest. It's also among 31 districts in the state's neediest areas that get special financial aid.


Pertinent Links:

1) Muslim teen sues over graduation held at church

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.: THE ACLU RESUMES ITS FIGHT ON BEHALF OF TARIQ RAMADAN

ACLU Renews Legal Challenge to Exclusion of Islamic Scholar From U.S. Soil

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a new legal complaint challenging the federal government’s continued exclusion of a prominent Swiss scholar, Tariq Ramadan, from the United States. The complaint also challenges a provision of the USA Patriot Act that, the ACLU says, authorizes the government to deny visas to foreign citizens on the basis of their political views.

The new complaint adds to a lawsuit filed in 2006 by the ACLU, which said that the government was preventing professors and others from meeting with Mr. Ramadan and from hearing constitutionally protected speech. Mr. Ramadan, a leading European expert on contemporary Islam who was profiled in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, had also been set to take up a teaching post at the University of Notre Dame in 2004, when his entry into the United States was barred. At the time, federal authorities invoked the Patriot Act’s “ideological exclusion” provision, which applies to those who have “endorsed or espoused” terrorism, although when challenged in court, the authorities never presented evidence backing up the accusations.

...


Pertinent Links:

1) ACLU Renews Legal Challenge to Exclusion of Islamic Scholar From U.S. Soil

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - NORTH CAROLINA: THE A.C.L.U. PUSHES THROUGH A LAWSUIT CONCERNING THE USE OF THE QUR'AN IN THE COURT ROOM

Appeals Court Moves Quran Lawsuit Ahead
By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press Writer


RALEIGH, N.C. -- A lawsuit filed by the ACLU and a Muslim woman seeking the use of the Quran or other non-Christian texts in addition to the Bible for courtroom oaths should be allowed to go forward, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

A trial court dismissed the lawsuit in December 2005, saying there was no controversy that warranted litigation. The three-judge appeals panel disagreed, but did not comment on the merits of the case.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2005, claims the state law that says witnesses must take an oath on the Bible is unconstitutional because it favors Christianity over other religions. State law allows witnesses preparing to testify in court to take their oath either by laying a hand over a "Holy Scripture," or by saying "so help me God" without the use of a religious book.

...

Pertinent Links:

1) Appeals Court Moves Quran Lawsuit Ahead

DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - NEW MEXICO: JIHAD BY LAWSUIT

Student joins suit against football coach
By Renée Ruelas-Venegas For the Sun-News

LAS CRUCES — Another former New Mexico State University football player is seeking to join a civil lawsuit that claims religious discrimination against Muslims by head coach Hal Mumme.
On Friday, Jacob Wallace, a former running back from the 2002 through 2005 seasons, asked to be added as a plaintiff.

In August, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against NMSU and Mumme, alleging three former football players were discriminated against because they are Muslim.

The original complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces on behalf of former players Mu'Ammar Ali, Anthony Thompson and Vincent Thompson.

Wallace is not listed in the NMSU football media guide, but he is listed on the NMSU Web site as being a transfer from Fresno State in 2003.

Like Ali and the Thompson twins, Wallace claims that during the 2005-2006 football season he was subjected to an environment that was actively hostile to his religion.

...

Pertinent Links:

1) Student joins suit against football coach