Fallout over Koran burning continues in Afghanistan

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1481571168001/fallout-over-koran-burning-continues-in-afghanistan/?playlist_id=87937

Feb 29, 2012. Bret Baier talks to Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. John Allen. 

First, Karzai is demanding U.S. military personnel be tried based on Afghan law.  That will not happen.  Second, why isn't Karzai prosecuting the murderers of four U.S. troops--a COL, MAJ and two enlisted men?  Karzai's "apology" does not cut it.  Third, the General does not say much.  "Morale is good..." he assures us.  As they generally say. 

Rev. Youcef Nadarkhani: A Christian Martyr? If so, One Amongst 1000s

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1474541504001/a-martyr-for-christianity/?playlist_id=87937&intcmp=obinsite


Tertullian famously noted that "the blood of the martyrs' was the seedplot of the Church."  He spoke of the persecutions of Imperial Rome.  One must read Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History or John Foxe's Book of Martyrs.  Queen Mary 1 solidified the Reformation amongst the laity by her burnings of 300 English Reformers.  We hope the current pressures on this totalitarian regime will prevent this Martyrdom of Rev. Yousef Nadarkhani.

Uncle Cephas Speaks: The Obama Administration, Islam, and Other Things

Why the head cocked back?
Praying?  Looking at an aircraft?
A moment of self-exportation to
another realm? 

Uncle Cephas offers important and thoughtful points on Obama, Afghanistan, the Koran burning, the riots and (homocides) in Kabul last week, Obama's theology, theological liberalism, and political expedients.  It is well-written.  Although Uncle Cephas doesn't write much, it's always thoughtful and worthy of reflection. Uncle Cephas offers his views at:  http://unclecephas.blogspot.com/2012/02/obama-administration-and-islam.html

The Obama Administration, Islam, and Other Things

Earlier, Uncle Cephas went on record against deliberate Qur'an burnings (http://unclecephas.blogspot.com/2010/09/lost-teaching-opportunity.html) as well as against Islamic triumphalism. He has not changed his opinion. But now that there have been riots in Afghanistan over inadvertent burnings of defaced Qur'ans by American military personnel and that the perpetrators of the burning may be put on trial, it's time to re-examine the question of Obama's relationship to the Islamic faith, his commitment to American valaues, and general qualifications to be president.

No, Barak Obama is not a Muslim, save in the eyes of Sharia, which holds any child of a Muslim father is a born Muslim. Nor is Obama a non-citizen by birth. Even if, as his senile grandmother affirmed, he was born in Mombassa Kenya, there is no evidence that his mother, Stanley Anne Dunham, was anything other than an American citizen with the legal qualifications to transmit citizenship to offspring born abroad. This is one reason why Obama's Indonesian-born half-sister entered the USA on an American passport rather than on an immigrant visa. But, for the record, Uncle Cephas accepst that our current President was born in Hawaii rather than Kenya.

The big problem is that Barack Obama and the administration he leads are sacrificing the protection of their own country and its values to gain the good opinion of people who will never have a good opinion of the USA.

No administration spokesman seems to have made a point of observing that the burnt Qur'ans originally had been used by incarcerated terrorists to pass messages concerning escape plots, and probably the killings of Afghans as well as NATO forces. In Sunni Islam, the marking or writing in the Qur'an is an act of blasphemy. Yet none of the ire of the Afghan street seems to fall on the original defacers. Nor has anyone bothered to note that the Afghan riots have killed far more Afghans than foreigners. Rather, all is focused on retraining and possibly disciplining Americans who were going about their legally mandated military duties.

This is similar to the administration's failure to take a teaching moment to explain the First Amendment in the wake of Terry Jones' ill-advised public burning of the Qur'an. The uppermost concern is to placate the volatile opinion of enemies rather than speak up for the values and Constitution which administration members are sworn to uphold.

As for religious affiliation, Obama's religion seems to be political expediency. He was a devout member of the United Church of Christ for as long as it could help him in the world of South Chicago politics. But, before the Organization of Islamic Countries in Cairo, he repeats the "Peace Be Upon Him" mantra at the mention of Jesus, as if Jesus is just a dead man, rather than the Risen One of whom we must ask peace.

Obama does not "get" the importance of theological doctrine in either Christian or Muslim discourse. It is among the large lacunae in his and his administration's intellectual furniture, and matched only by the firmness of his and his minions' belief in their belonging to the true cognoscenti.

So far, the Obama administration's attempt to win the goodwill of the Islamic world has borne no fruit. Iraq is in the process of sliding towards either sectarian civil war or becoming a new satrapy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The USA has made no headway in winning Afghan hearts and minds, and in that conflict, remains heavily dependent on that miasma of Islamic bigotry, injustice, corruption, and treachery called Pakistan. The "Arab Spring" towards which the Obama showed so much goodwill is showing itself a fountain of greater Islamic bigotry, the brunt of which is being borne by the Coptic Christians of Egypt and the small, dwindling Jewish community of Tunisia. Even the OIC's chair Isahnoglu (who as a Turk should know a lot better) has gone on record as saying that the Qur'an burning is an act of deliberate malice by the American government. Perhaps a moment of lucidity in this administration is appearing in Secretary Clinton's cautioning against arming the Syrian opposition. But this is a late awakening after interventions in Libya and connivance in Mubarak's fall.

Finally, the Obama administration has probed the cultural and legal fence around the First Amendment by first floating the idea that all physicians should be trained in abortion procedures regardless of conscience, and more recently that religious employers must purchase contraceptive coverage for their employees. Here, the president shows himself part of an anti-Christian secular liberal culture gone to seed. Seeing traditional Christianity of any sort as "the" theocratic danger, it will subvert the First Amendment to weaken it.

For more, see:

http://unclecephas.blogspot.com/2012/02/obama-administration-and-islam.html

Obama's Half-Witted Apology, an Embarrassment, Does Not Mollify Karzai, Islamo-Fascists in Kabul

http://nation.foxnews.com/charles-krauthammer/2012/02/27/krauthammer-obamas-response-violence-afghanistan?intcmp=fly

Where's the inquest on four homocides of a COL, MAJ or two enlisted men?

Obama-Skunksterama-in-Chief: Apology Letter to Karzai Withheld

Where's the letter?  Where's the insistence from Karzai over four homocides of U.S. Soldiers?  Where's CNN?  Where's Andrew Mitchell, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, "Shouting Ed" and O'Donnell of MSNBC?  Jay Carney?  We have four homocides on report.

http://nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2012/02/27/pj-media-white-house-won-t-release-obama-s-3-page-apology-letter-hamid-karzai

PJ Media
The White House press secretary told members of the press pool aboard Air Force One today that President Obama’s “sincere” apology to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for a Koran-burning incident “is not appropriate to show” to reporters.

Jay Carney spoke with reporters for about 20 minutes as the presidential entourage flew to Florida for a speech on energy at the University of Miami.

Obama’s letter to Karzai that included the apology was “a lengthy, three-page letter on a host of issues, several sentences of which relate to this matter,” according to the travel pool report.


Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2012/02/27/pj-media-white-house-won-t-release-obama-s-3-page-apology-letter-hamid-karzai#ixzz1neYwH7CG

Islamo-Fascism, Iranian Style: No First Amendment

Iran's view of "religious freedom." 

http://global.christianpost.com/news/churches-forced-to-stop-farsi-worship-in-tehran-iran-69827/

By Compass Direct News

February 19, 2012|7:13 pm

Iran's Ministry of Intelligence has ordered the last two officially registered churches holding Friday Farsi-language services in Tehran to discontinue them.

Emmanuel Protestant Church and St. Peter's Evangelical Church were the last two official churches offering Farsi-language services on Fridays in Tehran, according to Middle East Concern (MEC). Officials issued the order on Feb. 10

Authorities had ordered the Central Church of Tehran to close its Friday Farsi services in December 2009. The Central Church, an Assemblies of God (AOG) congregation, had conducted multiple services on Fridays.

Friday services in Tehran attracted the city's converts to Christianity as well as Muslims interested in Christianity, as Friday is most Iranians' day off during the week. Authorities told the churches they can hold the services on Sunday, a working day when most Iranians are not able to attend.

"This decision means that there are now no Farsi-language services on Fridays in any officially registered church in Tehran," an MEC report issued this week stated.

Emmanuel and St. Peter's are Presbyterian churches, and, along with the Central Church, are among Tehran's few registered churches. They exist mainly to serve the Armenian and Assyrian communities. The three churches' Armenian- and Assyrian- language services are typically held on Sundays.

Because these churches belong to minority groups, government officials cannot stop them from operating but are doing what they can to limit them and the spread of Christianity to Farsi speakers, an Iranian Christian who requested anonymity told Compass.

"Authorities want church operations to stop, but because these churches are established by Armenians and Assyrians and their leaders are Armenian and Assyrian, they can't stop them," the source said, "but they can stop the Farsi-speaking services."

The source said that the newest restrictions have cut the two churches' attendance by half.
The MEC report stated that "the order to stop Farsi services is consistent with the authorities' policy of restricting Christian activities to these traditional communities," indicating that Tehran is determined to eradicate access to Christian worship for the country's growing number of Christian converts.

Authorities have prohibited musical worship and Bible distribution at the Central Church of Tehran, the largest and most visible AOG church in the country. Last December officials enforced a policy under which only invited guests could attend a Christmas service at the church.

The Iranian Christian said authorities recently have pressured leaders of Emmanuel and St. Peter's churches to turn over to officials the national identity numbers of Christians. As a result, many Christians from these churches, as well as the Central Church of Tehran, have lost their jobs.
"We have some people who were fired from their jobs," the Christian said. "The authorities pushed the bosses to fire their Christian employees."

The source explained that this is a new tactic by the government to discourage Iranians from becoming Christians and to deter Christians from being involved in church.

"If I have too many difficulties in my life, I won't have time to be involved in church, and people will see how difficult it is to be a Christian," the source said. "This is not a good face for the Christians. The others see and say, 'Oh, they became Christians and God stopped His blessing to them.'"

Most Iranian Christian converts attend underground house churches that belong to various networks. For their own protection, these Christians often do not know about other house church networks.
Authorities often detain, question and apply pressure on converts from Islam, viewing them as elements of Western propaganda set against the Iranian regime; as a result, the converts are forced to worship in secret.

This week news surfaced of the arrest in Tehran of an AOG leader, Masis Moussian of the Narmak AOG church. Mohabat News reported that his arrest was a result of "waves of anti-Christian pressures and distribution of unsubstantiated reports by regime-supported media regarding the AOG churches of Iran." According to these reports, members of the AOG church in Tehran are "extreme Christians" trying to recruit new members and particularly youth across the country.
Moussian is held at the Rajaei-Shahr prison and is not allowed visitors. His family has not been able to obtain information on his condition in prison.

On Feb. 8 authorities also arrested about 10 Christians who had gathered for worship at a house in the southern city of Shiraz. A new report by Mohabat News revealed that authorities mistreated the Christians in attendance and searched the house, confiscating Bibles. The Christians still remain in an unknown location.

The new report identified two women, three men and a teenager by their first names. Another was identified as Mojtaba Hosseini. Authorities had also arrested Hosseini in 2008, along with eight other Christian converts, on charges of being Christians, according to Mohabat.

Among those arrested last week was a 17-year-old boy named Nima, along with his mother, Fariba, and father, Homayoun. Another woman was identified as Sharifeh, and two men were identified as Kourosh and Masoud. Authorities searched the homes of those arrested and seized CDs, Bibles, Christian materials, computers, fax machines and satellite receivers, according to Mohabat.

Iran applies sharia (Islamic law), which dictates that converts from Islam to other religions are "apostates" and thus punishable by death. Although judges rarely sentence Christians to death for leaving Islam, one Christian, Yousef (also spelled Youcef) Nadarkhani, is appealing such a decision in the northeastern city of Rasht.

Nadarkhani has been in prison since October 2009. A Rasht court found him guilty of leaving Islam and handed him the death sentence in September 2010. Remaining in prison also are Farshid Fathi in Tehran; Farhad Sabokroh, Naser Zamen-Defzuli, Davoud Alijani and Noorollah Qabitizade in Ahwaz; and Fariborz Arazm and Behnam Irani in Karaj.

There are an estimated 350,000 Christian converts from Islam in Iran.

"I believe 100 percent the whole movement in Iran is in God's hand," the source said. "This pushing [of the government] can stop the church buildings, but they cannot stop the Kingdom of God."

Christians Stoned by Muslim Mob at Temple Mount

http://global.christianpost.com/news/christians-stoned-by-muslim-mob-at-temple-mount-70036/

By Setrige Crawford , Christian Post Reporter

February 22, 2012|10:47 am

Christian tourists have been stoned by a mob of Palestinian Muslims during a visit to Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

A mob of 50 Muslims reportedly attacked a group of Christian tourist's atop Jerusalem's Temple Mount, according to Israel Today Magazine. Israeli police intervened to protect the Christian group and three officers were wounded.


Many of the attackers were minors and 11 of them were caught and arrested.


Investigators believe the attack was sparked by the former Muslim mufti (scholar) of Jerusalem, Ekrama Sabri, who urged local Muslims to protect mosques from and Israeli conspiracy. Sabri recently told Palestinian media that Jewish groups were planning to break into mosques and desecrate their holy compound.


Muslim religious figures claim that Israel is plotting to destroy the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque to rebuild a new Jewish Temple. Muslims claim that a Jewish Temple never existed.
The al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock were constructed at Temple Mount after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, according to The Muslim Conquest of Syria.


Temple Mount is the most holy place on earth for Jews and many Christians, according to Israel Today. However, Israel must comply with strict Muslim demands for restrictions of non-Muslims who visit the site. Christians and Jews are forbidden from carrying Bibles at Temple Mount and even uttering silent prayers. Many Christians and Jews are arrested for not complying with the restrictions.
Temple Mount is one of the most contested religious sites in the world and is holy to Christians, Jews and Muslims. It is regarded as the place where God chose the Divine Presence to rest and where God created Adam. It is supposed to function as the center of all national life.


Sunni Muslims consider Temple Mount as the third holiest site in Islam. It symbolizes Muhammad's journey to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven. Both Jews and Muslims claim the sovereignty over the site.

Fierce struggle underway to save life of Iranian Christian

The religion of peace, huh? Where's Obama? State Dept.? Where's mainstream media? At least Fox covered the story. Spread the word. 

Ditto on the murderers of four servicemen in Kabul last week? Where's the demand for homocide trials of those killing our soldiers? 

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1476884757001/fierce-struggle-underway-to-save-life-of-iranian-christian/?playlist_id=87937

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/27/irans-christian-pastor-alive-execution-looming/?test=latestnews  is reporting the following:

The Christian pastor sentenced to death in Iran last week for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity was confirmed alive as of early Sunday, sources close to his attorneys told Fox News.

Iran’s government backtracked over the weekend, stating that no execution order had been announced for Youcef Nadarkhani, and that he was being held not for apostasy, but for rape and “other crimes,” according to the Islamic Republic’s state-controlled Press TV.

Nadarkhani’s attorneys believe the government toned down its rhetoric in response to an international outcry. The execution order, however, remained in effect, they said.

Supporters fear Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested more than two years ago on charges of apostasy, fear he may be executed at any time, as death sentences in Iran can be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.

Others fear Nadarkhani will be used in broader political negotiations as Iran endures crippling sanctions and international pressure in response to its nuclear agenda and rogue discourse. The number of executions in Iran has increased significantly in the last month.

“If a human being becomes a bargaining chip for the ayatollah, that’s not a situation that will lead to anything positive,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a human rights advocacy group that has led international campaigns to free Nadarkhani.

“When it’s a high-profile case, they test the international community’s reaction to these stories and how they change as geopolitical priorities shift.”

Iran’s judiciary, fearing its ultimate decision will have far-reaching political implications, has been caught in a bind in determining Nadarkhani’s fate.

Should the court release the pastor, it will appear disrespectful of the tenets of Shariah, or Islamic law, which call for an apostate to be put to death. If it executes him, it will face increasing criticism from the international community that continues to petition for the Nadarkhani’s release.

Dozens of human rights groups along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 89 members of Congress, and leaders from the European Union, France, Great Britain, Mexico and Germany have condemned Iran for arresting Nadarkhani and have called for his quick release.

Last week, the State Department and White House put out statements condemning Tuesday’s execution verdict.

Congress has scheduled a vote as early as Wednesday on House Resolution 556, which condemns the Iranian government and calls for the pastor’s quick release.

Nadarkhani converted to Christianity at 19 and came under the Islamic regime’s radar in 2006 when he applied for his church to be registered with the state. He was arrested and soon released, according to sources.

In 2009 he went to local officials to complain about Islamic indoctrination in his school district, arguing that his children should not be forced to learn about Islam.

He was subsequently arrested and found guilty of apostasy by a lower court in Gilan, a province in Rasht, where he and his family live.

The court gave Nadarkhani a chance to recant and return to Islam, but he refused.

Death sentences for apostates in Shariah Law are prescribed both by fatwas, or legal decrees, and reinforced by Iran’s penal code. Article 225 of the Iranian penal code states, "Punishment for an Innate Apostate is death," and "Punishment for a Parental Apostate is death.”

While all religious minorities in Iran, including Bahais, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians, have faced various forms of persecution and political and social marginalization, the government saves its harshest retribution for those who have abandoned Islam.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/27/irans-christian-pastor-alive-execution-looming/?test=latestnews#ixzz1ndV5Kp4Y

Pennsylvania Judge Throws Out Charge For Harrassing Atheist While Calling The Victim A Doofus

Five factors are on view, to my mind.  (1)  First Amendment issues. (2) Brandenburg Test. (3) Sharia-creep, using Sharia in adjudicating US state and federal cases.  OK legislation barring Sharia-creep may have been invalidated by an appellate court.  (??)  This is a PA state court.  (4) Judicial distemperment? And, (5) Judicial misconduct?  As much as one may abhor indecent, disorderly, dysfunctional, disrespectful and disagreeable religious speech and views, and we assuredly do, the First Amendment allows it.  An interesting record is the 36-minute tape at the end.

http://jonathanturley.org/2012/02/24/pennsylvania-judge-throws-out-charge-for-harassing-atheist-while-calling-the-victim-a-doofus/


There is a surprising story out of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania that seems the perfect storm of religious tensions. You begin with Ernie Perce, an atheist who marched as a zombie Mohammad in the Mechanicsburg Halloween parade. Then you add Talaag Elbayomy, a Muslim who stepped off a curb and reportedly attacked Perce for insulting the Prophet. Then you have a judge (Judge Mark Martin) who threw out the criminal charges against Elbayomy and ridiculed the victim, Perce. The Judge identifies himself as a Muslim and says that Perce conduct is not what the First Amendment is supposed to protect.

Perce is the American Atheists’ Pennsylvania State Director and marched with other atheists, including one dressed as a creepy Pope. Here is the tape of the incident:



Perce says that Elbayomy grabbed him and tried to take his sign. Elbayomy was at the parade with his wife and children and said that he felt he had to act in the face of the insult. The officer at the scene, Sgt. Brian Curtis, correctly concluded that Perce was engaged in a lawful, first amendment activity. He therefore charged Elbayomy. While it looks like an assault, he was only charged with harassment.


The case, however, then went to District Judge Mark Martin who not only threw out the charge of harassment but ridiculed Perce as a “doofus.” He also proceeds to not only give an account of his own Muslim faith (and say that he was offended personally by Perce’s action) but suggests that Elbayomy was just protecting his “culture.” The judge not only points to his own Koran but his time in Muslim countries as relevant to his deliberations. Putting aside the problem of ruling in a case where you admit you have strong personal feelings, the lecture given on the first amendment is perfectly grotesque from a civil liberties perspective.


Here is part of the hearing transcript:

Well, having had the benefit of having spent over two-and-a-half years in predominantly Muslim countries, I think I know a little bit about the faith of Islam. In fact, I have a copy of the Quran here, and I would challenge you, Sir, to show me where it says in the Quran that Muhammad arose and walked among the dead. I think you misinterpreted a couple of things. So before you start mocking somebody else’s religion, you might want to find out a little more about it. It kind of makes you look like a doofus. …
In many other Muslim-speaking countries, err, excuse me, many Arabic-speaking countries, predominantly Muslim, something like this is definitely against the law there, in their society. In fact, it could be punished by death, and frequently is, in their society.

Here in our society, we have a Constitution that gives us many rights, specifically First Amendment rights. It’s unfortunate that some people use the First Amendment to deliberately provoke others. I don’t think that’s what our forefathers intended. I think our forefathers intended to use the First Amendment so we can speak with our mind, not to piss off other people and cultures – which is what you did.

I don’t think you’re aware, Sir, there’s a big difference between how Americans practice Christianity – I understand you’re an atheist – but see Islam is not just a religion. It’s their culture, their culture, their very essence, their very being. They pray five times a day toward Mecca. To be a good Muslim before you die, you have to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, unless you’re otherwise told you cannot because you’re too ill, too elderly, whatever, but you must make the attempt. Their greeting is ‘Salam alaikum, wa-laikum as-Salam,’ uh, ‘May God be with you.’

Whenever it is very common, their language, when they’re speaking to each other, it’s very common for them to say, uh, Allah willing, this will happen. It’s, they’re so immersed in it. And what you’ve done is, you’ve completely trashed their essence, their being. They find it very, very, very offensive. I’m a Muslim. I find it offensive. I find what’s on the other side of this [sign] very offensive. But you have that right, but you are way outside your bounds of First Amendment rights. …

I’ve spent about seven years living in other countries. When we go to other countries, it’s not uncommon for people to refer to us as ‘ugly Americans.’ This is why we hear it referred to as ‘ugly Americans,’ because we’re so concerned about our own rights, we don’t care about other people’s rights. As long as we get our say, but we don’t care about the other people’s say.

The judge’s distorted view of the first amendment was magnified by Elbayomy’s counsel, R. Mark Thomas who called this lecture “a good dressing down by the judge. The so-called victim was the antagonist and we introduced evidence that clearly showed his attitude toward Muslims. The judge didn’t do anything I wouldn’t have done if I was in that position.”


I fail to see the relevance of the victim’s attitude toward Muslims or religion generally. He had a protected right to walk in the parade and not be assaulted for his views. While the judge laments that “[i]t’s unfortunate that some people use the First Amendment to deliberately provoke others,” that is precisely what the Framers had in mind if Thomas Paine is any measure.


Notably, reports indicate that Elbayomy called police because he thought it was a crime to be disrespectful to Muhammed. The judge appears to reference this by noting that in some countries you can be put to death for such an offense. Those countries are called oppressive countries. This is a free country where it is not a crime to insult someone’s religion — despite a counter-trend in some Western countries.


I also do not see how the judge believes that he has the authority to tell a religious critic that “before you start mocking somebody else’s religion, you might want to find out a little more about it.” Let alone call a person a “doofus” because he opposes religion.


To make matters worse, the judge is reportedly threatening Perce with contempt for posting the audio of the hearing.
The reference to the cultural motivations for assaulting Perce seems to raise a type of cultural defense. I have spent years discussing this issue with state and federal judges on the proper role of culture in criminal and civil cases. This is not a case where I would view that defense as properly raised.


There are certainly constitutional (and yes cultural) norms that must be accepted when joining this Republic. One is a commitment to free speech. If culture could trump free speech, the country would become the amalgamation of all extrinsic cultures — protecting no one by protecting everyone’s impulses. Those countries referenced by the court took a different path — a path away from civil liberties and toward religious orthodoxy. It is a poor example to raise except as an example of what we are not. The fact that this man may have formed his views in such an oppressive environment does not excuse his forcing others to adhere to his religious sentiments.


Martin’s comments also heighten concerns over the growing trend toward criminalizing anti-religious speech in the use of such standards as the Brandenburg test, a position supported by the Obama Administration.


There are legitimate uses of the culture defense. However, when it comes to free speech, that is not just our controlling constitutional right but the touchstone of our culture.


I can understand the judge’s claims of conflicting testimony on the crime –though it seems to be that the officer’s testimony and the tape would resolve those doubts. However, I view this as an extremely troubling case that raises serious questions of judicial temperament, if not misconduct.



Source: ABC

Penn Judge: Muslim Assaults American, Assault Justified on Sharia-Grounds and Case Dismissed

Assault, a felony

http://news.yahoo.com/penn-judge-muslims-allowed-attack-people-insulting-mohammad-210000330.html


Penn Judge: Muslims Allowed to Attack People for Insulting Mohammad


COMMENTARY | Jonathon Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, reports on a disturbing case in which a state judge in Pennsylvania threw out an assault case involving a Muslim attacking an atheist for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

Judge Mark Martin, an Iraq war veteran and a convert to Islam, threw the case out in what appears to be an invocation of Sharia law.

The incident occurred at the Mechanicsburg, Pa., Halloween parade where Ernie Perce, an atheist activist, marched as a zombie Muhammad. Talaag Elbayomy, a Muslim, attacked Perce, and he was arrested by police.

Judge Martin threw the case out on the grounds that Elbayomy was obligated to attack Perce because of his culture and religion. Judge Martin stated that the First Amendment of the Constitution does not permit people to provoke other people. He also called Perce, the plaintiff in the case, a "doofus." In effect, Perce was the perpetrator of the assault, in Judge Martin's view, and Elbayomy the innocent. The Sharia law that the Muslim attacker followed trumped the First Amendment.

Words almost fail.

The Washington Post recently reported on an appeals court decision to maintain an injunction to stop the implementation of an amendment to the Oklahoma state constitution that bans the use of Sharia law in state courts.


The excuse the court gave was that there was no documented case of Sharia law being invoked in an American court. Judge Martin would seem to have provided that example, which should provide fodder for the argument as the case goes through the federal courts.

The text of the First Amendment could not be clearer. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof-" It does not say "unless somebody, especially a Muslim, is angered." Indeed Judge Martin specifically decided to respect the establishment of a religion, in this case Islam.

That Judge Martin should be removed from the bench and severely sanctioned goes almost without saying. He clearly had no business hearing the case in the first place, since he seems to carry an emotional bias. He also needs to retake a constitutional law course. Otherwise, a real can of worms has been opened up, permitting violence against people exercising free speech.

It should be noted that another atheist, dressed as a Zombie Pope, was marching beside the Zombie Muhammad. No outraged Catholics attacked him.

Why Are We Apologizing to Karzai and Afghanistan?

http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/291925