Friday, four Christian missionaries were acquitted of breach of peace while proselytizing Muslims at the Dearborn Arab International Festival in June. Nabeel Qureshi of Virginia, Negeen Mayel of California and Paul Rezkalla and David Wood, both of New York, were acquitted by 19th District Court in Dearborn.
At issue has been the right to freedom of speech and religion. The four missionaries who are members of a group called, Acts 17 Apologetics, were arrested in June on charges of disorderly conduct. They have claimed the First Amendment guarantees their right to speak freely in public.
Opponents of the group contend that speech is not protected if it is likely to incite violence. This position compares what Acts 17 Apologetics did in June to yelling “Fire!” in a crowded movie theater.
Muslim and Christian Michiganders had been expecting the case to be dropped. Area residents refer to court rulings allowing, for example, gay parades in Catholic communities as evidence that offending the sensibilities of fellow Americans is part of free speech. If one group has an unalienable right to enrage the sensibilities of another group, how could the court not allow the four missionaries to do so?
Ann Arbor based Thomas More Law Center defended the four missionaries. On August 30, the Thomas More Law Center asked Judge Mark Somers to dismiss the charges on grounds the actions of the Dearborn police violated the group’s first amendment rights. The ACLU of Michigan agreed the police appeared to violate the group’s constitutional rights.
The unusual agreement between the Thomas More Law Center and the ACLU comes from a candid consideration of facts which quickly came to light. Significantly, the missionaries made sure they only talked to people who came up to them and engaged them in conversation. That undermined the case for incitement.
Another fact has raised some eyebrows and some calls for an investigation of the Dearborn Police Department. The Dearborn Police arrested four missionaries. Only one missionary, however, was proselytizing. The other three members of Acts 17 Apologetics were videotaping the event and documenting the conversations.
Critics of the Dearborn police recall last year’s security personnel action. Detroit area residents watched videos of security guards roughing up missionaries. The video footage embarrassed Dearborn officials. This year the police made their arrests on the first day of the Dearborn Arab International Festival – after first taking away the missionaries’ video cameras.
Comments
The missionaries should sue the Dearborn police department and the city of Dearborn for vioation of the civil rights.
They are suing the city.
God didn't call us to sue
Perhaps not - but He didn't call us to sit idly by while wrong is done to our fellow citizens, either. This falls under rendering to Caesar what is Caesar's. Using the power of the court to protect the next victim, and to prevent the next victimization.
I agree with with Witness. Not standing up for what's right and being a doormat isn't exactly our call either. A law-suite is still the confines of the country's laws that as Christians we are asked to uphold.
It is true, not all are called to "defend and establish the gospel" in the courts. Others have been so moved, however, after considering accounts such as Acts 25 where Paul (trained as a lawyer) cleverly took the gospel through several courts. He adroitly selected the jurisdiction with the best chance of a favorable verdict. He avoided the court of Festus who was biased. He ultimately took his case to the Supreme Court when he said, "I appeal to Caesar!" That is how he ended up in Rome.
Sue them big. Use some of the proceeds to un-elect the idiot mayor and the chief of police.
Fellow Christians are not to sue one another. The Islamic government does not qualify as Christians and should be sued for violation of rights.
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