The First Amendment guarantees that the government cannot suppress
free speech or favor a religion — but a court in New Jersey is violating
both of those promises.
According to a report from the Thomas More Law Center,
residents of Bernards Township, New Jersey, have been banned from
bringing up the topic of Muslims or Islam at an upcoming public hearing.
That public forum is intended to determine whether a mosque should be
built in the community. You read that right: Authorities have
essentially banned citizens from uttering the words “Muslim” or “Islam”
at a public debate that centers on that very religion. The controversy
is focused on a settlement order
from a district court, which appears to blatantly violate free speech
protections “ No commentary regarding Islam or Muslims will be
permitted,” states a legally binding court order about the mosque
hearing.
That public forum is intended to determine whether a mosque should be built in the community. You read that right: Authorities have essentially banned citizens from uttering the words “Muslim” or “Islam” at a public debate that centers on that very religion. The controversy is focused on a settlement order from a district court, which appears to blatantly violate free speech protections “ No commentary regarding Islam or Muslims will be permitted,” states a legally binding court order about the mosque hearing.
Violators, it seems clear, will be punished by being prohibited from speaking. It’s a tactic that smacks of the Shariah-controlled lands of the Middle East, or other totalitarian societies like communist nations under Soviet domination — not an American township in the state of New Jersey.
In response to the controversial order, the Thomas More Law Center has
filed a lawsuit on behalf of Christopher and Loretta Quick, who live
just 200 feet away from the proposed mosque site.
“TMLC’s lawsuit alleges that Bernards Township’s settlement agreement
constitutes a prior restraint on speech based on content, as well as, a
violation of the (First Amendment) Establishment Clause because it
prefers Islam over other religions,” the law center explained. The lawsuit claims that preventing local citizens from voicing their
concerns about the “Islamic” nature of the mosque is not only unfair,
but also unconstitutional.
“The Quicks reside within 200 feet of the proposed mosque construction
in a zoned residential area. Yet, the settlement agreement prohibits
them from describing the many unique features of Islamic worship,” the
Thomas More Law Center stated.
Additionally, the lawsuit argues that the Islamic Society of Basking
Ridge, or “ISBR,” is permitted to make any sort of comments about Jews
or Christians without restriction, but the government is actively
suppressing free speech in the other direction. “While claiming that the ownship had a religious animus against Muslims, ISBR hid from the public view its animus toward Christians and Jews,
by not only hiding anti-Christian and anti-Semitic verses published on
its website, but also hiding its significant ties to ISNA [Islamic
Society of North America],” attorney Richard Thompson explained in a
news release.
“Instead of standing up to defend its citizens against ISBR’s
hate-filled anti-Semitic and anti-Christian bias, the Township colluded
with ISBR’s ‘Civilization Jihad’ by capitulating to payment of millions
of dollars to ISBR, allowing the constructon of the new mosque and
Islamic center in violation of zoning codes, and now even suppressing
speech concerning Islam or Muslims at a public meeting,” Thompson
continued.
True enough, the court-ordered settlement which forbids citizens from
bringing up their concerns about Islam is clearly printed for anyone to
see. The free discussion of ideas, even if they are critical or
controversial, is one of the fundamentals of American liberty. After
all, the First Amendment wouldn’t
be necessary at all if everyone shared identical opinions. Protecting
the right to hold views with which some group — or the government —
disagrees is the very reason speech protections exist in the first
place.
It is hard to imagine the Founding Fathers forbidding the open debate of a specific topic.
Hopefully, freedom of speech will prevail… or our country may have
deeper problems than we realize.
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