American Muslims Stone Christians in Dearborn, MI (Original edit)

Obviously these guys entered a very hostile environment but they have a right to protest in a public place so long as they are not disturbing the peace. The only disturbance of the peace was by the people throwing water bottles. If throwing McDonald's french fries is considered assault with a deadly weapon then water bottles, concrete and milk crates definitely qualify, yet no one was arrested from the crowd. Some people might say its just a bunch of kids that got out of control but if it was a bunch of white kids that did the same thing to a group of Black ministers the main stream media would be calling for the police chiefs head and rightfully so. Right is Right and Wrong is Wrong. I may not agree with everyone's viewpoint and beliefs but everyone has a right to express them without fear of being assaulted by a mob.

University Accused of Discriminating Against Muslims

Amanda Pellegrino, Tower Staff
October 20, 2011
Filed under News

New charges have recently been filed against the University on counts of illegal discrimination against its Muslim and female students. The allegations are being reviewed by the District of Colombia Office of Human Rights (OHR), which has the strictest discrimination laws in the country. President John H. Garvey and the University is being urged to respond to the charges.

John F. Banzhaf III, the George Washington University Professor of Public Interest Law who initiated the legal controversy surrounding same-sex residence halls, is also the one behind these new charges.

The official allegations claim that CUA, “does not provide space – as other universities do – for the many daily prayers Muslim students must make, forcing them instead to find temporarily empty classrooms where they are often surrounded by Catholic symbols which are incongruous to their religion,” according to a press release on PRLOG.com.

This formal complaint also maintains that the new same-sex residence halls are particularly discriminating against female students, which is a new position on the same-sex lawsuit that began last month.

Banzhaf claims that the University is denying Muslim students the same benefits that students of other religions are able to enjoy since there is no formal Muslim association sponsored by Catholic University but the Columbus School of Law has an association for Jewish students

“Denying Muslim students the opportunity for form a student group on campus could hardly be based upon any fundamental Catholic doctrine since Georgetown University not only has such a Muslim student group, but also provides its Muslim students with a separate prayer room and even a Muslim chaplain,” said Banzhaf in that press release.

Wiaam Al Salmi, a Muslim student at CUA who recently started the Arab American Association, which had is first meeting this week,  said, “The community here is very respectful of other religions and I feel free to openly practice it.”

As the number of Arabs has drastically increased over the past year, Al Salmi began this organization as a way to encourage American and Arab students to comfortably interact with one another. She found that Arab and American students have a difficult time befriending each other because people naturally gravitate towards others with similar backgrounds and interests. Although not limited to Muslim students, the Arab American Association has many Muslim members.

“The ideal mission of this student organization shall be bridging two cultures by developing a community that understands the Arabic culture, discusses cultural issues, eliminates stereotypes, and establishes a student association that will carry on in the future within CUA,” said Al Salmi.

With the number of Arab students increasing at CUA, the number of Muslim students has also grown. According to the Planning, Institutional Research, Student Learning Outcomes Assessment of CUA, in the fall of 2007, there were a total of 56 Muslim undergraduate, graduate and law students on campus. That number has more than doubled as of fall 2011, as 122 Muslim students are currently members of the CUA community.

“An important reason [that Muslims are gravitating towards Catholic universities] is that the Muslim students, especially those who are observant, feel comfortable and safe at the institution,” said President Garvey in an interview with NPR in December of 2010.  “It’s a place where their own faith practices are mirrored by our own. And they feel both welcome and understood at the campus.”

“Even though it’s a Catholic school, a lot of its teachings are very similar to Islam,” said Al Salmi. “It teaches respect, community service, love, worship etc. which are things that Islam also teaches.”

The discrimination charge asserts that although OHR has been investigating alleged discrimination on campus since Banzhaf’s lawsuit began, “neither the President nor anyone else speaking for the University has sought to explain to the public, or even to CUA’s own students, why it believes that its discrimination does not violate the Human Rights Act.”

“As University spokesman, I have repeatedly explained to anyone who has asked me, including the media, that we reject the premise of Banzhaf’s argument, namely that single-sex residence halls are discriminatory,” said Victor Nakas, University Vice President of Public Affairs. “And we also reject his assumption that the Human Rights Act requires residence halls to be co-ed.”

As these charges are being considered by the Office of Human Rights, the University administration said they will continue to work towards the betterment of its students.

“Catholic University is committed to the religious freedom and dignity of all members of its community,” said Nakas. “This includes the dozens of Muslims who come to the University for its academic excellence as well as its demonstrated history of outreach and dialogue to people of all faiths.”

University Accused of Discriminating Against Muslims

Christian Movie ‘Courageous’ Resonates With Audiences Across America | Video | TheBlaze.com

It looks like a great movie for all fathers.

Have you heard about “Courageous,” the new, Christian-themed movie that opened with great success this past weekend? The film — produced by Sherwood Pictures, the media division of Sherwood Baptist Church – tackles the challenges surrounding fatherhood.

The movie delves into the stories of four law enforcement officers. The men, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller, are good at what they do, but they face a major challenge at home: Learning how to be good and active fathers. Here’s more of the synopsis from the movie’s official web site:

While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they’re quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark. When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God … and to their children?

Watch the trailer, below:

This is the fourth film to come from the Albany, Georgia-based Sherwood Baptist Church. In 2006, the house of worship spent $10,000 making “Facing the Giants,” which grossed $10 million in the end. Another popular movie Sherwood produced, “Fireproof,” was $500,000 to create, though it grossed a large sum — $33 million. It appears “Courageous” is destined for success as well.

Over the weekend, “Courageous,” which was produced with only $2 million, premiered in fifth place among all movies. Already, the movie has earned $8.8 million, which is $2 million above the opening income earned by “Fireproof.” Entertainment Weekly writes:

Shown in 1,161 theaters (yet, notably, just one theater in Manhattan), Courageous earned the best per theater average of any wide release with a robust $7,580.

Here’s the astounding part about all of this: The people making these films aren’t award-winning directors and producers. The church’s pastors, Alex Kendrick (who directs, co-writes and often stars) and Stephen Kendrick (who produces and co-writes) are the men behind the camera. And church members, too, perform and work in the crew. It’s fascinating that these individuals consistently churn out independent hits.

Christian Movie ‘Courageous’ Resonates With Audiences Across America | Video | TheBlaze.com

Thomas More Law Center Appeals Conviction of Christian Missionary Arrested at Dearborn Arab Festival

From the Thomas More Law Center:

Standing barely 5 feet tall, 18-year old Negeen Mayel, whose parents escaped from Afghanistan after the Russian invasion, couldn’t escape the clutches of the Dearborn, Michigan Police Department. Her crime: she was a Christian publicly filming her fellow Christian missionaries discussing the Gospel with Muslims at last year’s annual Dearborn Arab Festival, and she didn’t turn off her camera quick enough after a police officer ordered her to do so.

Negeen Mayel was convicted in the Dearborn District Court of failure to obey a police officer’s order. Astonishingly, at the trial, the officer admitted that the filming by Mayel was in fact not a crime.
Last week, the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) filed its opening brief with the Wayne County Circuit Court, seeking to overturn her conviction. Mayel was one of four Christian missionaries originally arrested for preaching the Gospel at the 2010 Arab Festival in Dearborn, Michigan.

All four Christians were charged with Breach of the Peace for discussing their faith with Muslims at the Festival. All four were acquitted by a jury. However, Negeen Mayel was also charged with “failure to obey” for not turning off her video camera when told to do so by a Dearborn police officer. The officer then forcefully grabbed Negeen’s arm and camera, placed her in handcuffs, and had her locked-up in the city jail.
Dearborn is considered home to the largest Muslim population in America. As a result, many City officials, including the Mayor, engage in official action solely to please this significant voting bloc. In this case, police effectively replaced our constitutional guarantees of Free Speech with Sharia law, which forbids Christians to proselytize Muslims.

The Law Center’s brief argues that the conviction must be overturned because the arresting police officer lacked any information that Mayel was involved in criminal activity when she was seized by the officer, in violation of the Constitution. According to the brief filed with the Circuit Court, the police officer’s order “to shut off her camera and remain with him for questioning directly violated [Mayel’s] constitutional rights. Consequently, [she] cannot be criminally charged nor convicted for disobeying an unconstitutional—and thus unlawful—police order.”

Read the Law Center’s brief here.

Robert Muise, TMLC’s Senior Trial Counsel who is handling the matter, stated, “The arresting officer’s actions and the actions of the Dearborn police department are textbook examples of civil rights violations of the highest order. Consequently, when a conviction is based on the actions of a police officer that violate fundamental constitutional rights, as in this case, that conviction must be reversed, lest our constitutional freedoms be rendered meaningless platitudes subject to the will of police officials.”