Muslim Student, ACLU Fight Graduation Prayer
Posted on May 20, 2006
Update: Students stand up to ACLU
We reported on this earlier about an “unidentified student” that was offended by the idea of a prayer at the Russel County Graduation, WND has more details.
A federal judge in Louisville, Kentucky, granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting a prayer from being said during graduation ceremonies at an area high school after a Muslim student on the planning committee objected and garnered the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Arshiya Saiyed, a senior at Russell County High School, said she was working on plans for the ceremony, scheduled for last night, with the senior panel when the issue came up, according to WHAS-TV in Louisville.
“Terms like Jesus Christ, heavenly father, I talked about the fact I was Muslim and the prayers in the past were offensive to me,” the 17-year-old said.
Saiyed claimed that almost immediately after objecting to the prayer, she was harassed by a group of students. One student told her he wanted her out of the country, she related to WHAS.
Principal Gary Kidwell, who noted a prayer of some sort has been offered at graduation for years, said he will not tolerate further harassment.
“I’m aware of one isolated incident there was inappropriate conduct I was aware of, and we dealt with those,” he said.
The ACLU won’t comment specifically on the case, WHAS reported, but a spokeswoman said schools must be careful with graduation speeches.
“The closer it looks like school sponsored, the more likely it’s found to be school sponsored,” said the ACLU’s Lili Lutgens.
Saiyed said she would favor a moment of silence but not a religious prayer.
What this comes down to is simple censorship. The first amendment of the constitution states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…
The ACLU has been successful in convincing judges that a school, being sponsored by the government, allowing students to exercise their first amendment actually violates the Constitution. Sadly, it is a precedent that has been set, and it is quite the opposite of the intent of the first amendment. If we are to assume, that under the deceitful liberal ideology of “separation of church and state” that a school is an arm of the government, then both clauses of the first amendment should apply. If a school is neutral then there should be no problem.
If a school were to dictate that students must pray, and that everyone attending the ceremony must participate then there would be a problem. If the school were to allow one religious group to express their religion and not allow the same opportunity to other religious groups then it would also be a problem. On the same line of reasoning, if this school caves in to the ACLU and prohibits their students to exercise their rights to religious expression, they have also violated the Constitution. They have participated in censoring the free exercise of their students.
This Muslim girl has the right to refuse in participation of what these students decide to do on their own. If she was forced to participate in the act, then I would be the first to cry foul on it. However, she does not have the right, nor does the ACLU in its legal intimidations and threats, to prohibit the religious expression of the other students just because she is offended.
Matt Staver of the Liberty Counsel explains it better than I can.
Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, said the U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that prayer or religious messages are banned during public graduation ceremonies. He encourages school officials to remain neutral — neither commanding that prayer or religious messages be given, nor prohibiting voluntary student-led prayer or religious messages.
“The simplest and safest way for them to proceed in graduation prayer is not to censor religious viewpoints,” he said. “Allow the private speaker to say what he or she wants to on matters relating to religion. If they are able to address the class regarding secular topics, then don’t censor their speech when it talks about religious viewpoints or prayer.”
Staver said censorship of a student’s religious expression crosses the line.
“Instead of protecting the Constitution,” he said, “they’re literally violating the Constitution.”
Such confusion is one reason Liberty Counsel, in partnership with Dr. Jerry Falwell, founder and chancellor of Liberty University, launched the “Friend or Foe” Graduation Prayer Campaign. It’s designed to educate students, parents and school officials and ensure that prayer and religious viewpoints are not shut out.
Liberty Counsel offers a detailed legal explanation of just what is allowed in the Legal Memorandum on Graduation Prayers in Public Schools. Essentially, as long as the student speaker is selected by the student body — such as a valedictorian or class officer — and voluntarily chooses to offer a prayer or religious remarks, it is perfectly covered by the Constitution. But, Staver added, the graduate who has been asked to speak should give deference to the diverse audience.
“Obviously be respectful, but, at the same time, don’t feel like when you enter the graduation podium you shed your constitutional rights to freedom of speech,” he said. “The First Amendment is there with you. You have the right — that was part of the founding of this country — to freedom of expression, which includes religious expression. If you want to thank your friends, your colleagues, your teachers, your parents — you can obviously thank God, and certainly you can thank Jesus Christ.”
The issue is not simply about a two-hour ceremony, he emphasized. If a graduate is asked to refrain from any mention of personal faith, it could signal an opportunity to make a difference.
“If you are censored, don’t simply just assume that you’re going to walk away and not address the issue,” Staver said. “When you do not address it, you solidify the erroneous idea that religious viewpoints and Christian messages are unconstitutional, that they’re dirty, that they’re off limits, and that you have to carry your faith around in a brown paper bag.
“The issue is bigger than you. It’s bigger than your speech. It goes toward the freedom of religious expression for all of us.”
Jay Sekulow of the ACLJ, and Gary McCaleb of the Alliance Defense Fund also agree.
I encourage these students to stand up for their rights. Don’t take this lying down. Ignore what the judge says. A judge has no ability to write laws that bar you from the rights that are endowed by your creator. Don’t let the ACLU intimidate you. If the school buckles under the fear of legal fines, defy their censorship. It is your right to do so. Contact the ADF, ACLJ, the Liberty Counsel, or the Thomas More Law Center. All of these groups will let you know your rights, and are truly out there to protect them.
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, Church And State, News
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17 Responses to “Muslim Student, ACLU Fight Graduation Prayer”
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I’ll be blogging about this soon. This is why public education is a farce.
Now, if a Muslim student wanted to say a prayer at commencement I believe the ACLU would defend that choice AND, more importantly, I will wager that not one Christian would say “I’m offended by your prayer.”
Muslims prayers don’t offend Christians……muslim actions, (such as denigrating women for being female and sawing off the heads of “infidels”) on the other hand offend the Holy Tomatoes out of Christians….and other right thinking people.
and why aint she wearing a burka????
Infidel wench…..the wrath and judgement of allah shall befall her before the day is through!!!!!
“and why aint she wearing a burka????
Infidel wench…..the wrath and judgement of allah shall befall her before the day is through!!!!!”
I often see churchgoing Christian males with long hair, which means they’re flaunting what Paul wrote about the “shame” of this in Corinthians. Of course, in Leviticus it says that a man must not cut the hair at the sides of his head and must not clip the edges of his beard, and I see zillions of Christians doing just this. Guess any given Christian man’s specific deviation from Biblical command depends on what he believes more — OT passages or NT passages.
And c’mon, kender, if you knew a Muslim was going to read from the Koran during her valedictorian speech and your teenager was in her graduating class, you’d raise holy hell. (If the ACLU condoned this I would too.) It comes down to a hazy definition of “establishment” — Jay agrees that forcing non-Christians to say Christian prayers out loud is wrong, but feels that forcing them to listen to them is not. Apparently the courts believe that forced exposure of any sort to sectarian prayers in government settings (and publ;ic schools fall under this aegis) is sufficient to bring legal action.
I’ll say this, too. That chick has balls (she may be getting heckled in Maryland, but if she lived where I do the billy-bobs would have lynched her), and one of these days she’s gonna be a nice piece of fine behind, a relative rarity among Middle Easterners.
I haven’t heard of any Christians being beaten or killed for not adhereing strictly to the precepts of the Bible for a long time, one with a brain….have you?
If a muslim girl was going to read from the koran at my kids commencement I would certainly not throw a fit, becasue the koran does not offend me.,…..hearing someone say “Allah” or “Buddha” or any other religious icons name does not offend me, and if my childs current abilities are any indicator, I don’t fear his being exposed to other religions, as he is logical about it.
As for your comment about the girl having a future of “hotness”, I fully agree….but I also know that it is not as rare as one might assume….why do you think they keep them lasses covered?
It aint to hide the ugly in most cases.
“Apparently the courts believe that forced exposure of any sort to sectarian prayers in government settings (and publ;ic schools fall under this aegis) is sufficient to bring legal action.”
Apparently you have forgotten about Eklund vs. Byron Union School District.
Are you saying that schools have room in the curriculum for the Five Pillars of Islam and Muslim prayer, but not the Ten Commandments and Christian prayer?
i am a Muslim and before everyone starts (well too late it seems) to bash Muslims you should know that most Muslims if they werent such hypcorites or narrow minded would actually not support most of ACLU’s action.
this girl is as much of a Muslim is Paris Hilton is a Christian.
Wow, muslim. That could be taken both ways.
On the surface, and in agreemnet with this site’s stance, not agreeing with the aclu is a good thing.
On the other hand we have quite an adorable dichotomy here.
If most muslims weren’t hypocrits they would not support the aclu, which purports to fight for our rights, so are you saying that the muslims wouldn’t support rights? Or do you recognize that the aclu’s stances don’t support what is best for this country, and most muslims would?
Thank you Muslim. I do appreciate your input.
“Muslim” most likely isn’t. Regardless, because he or she didn’t provide a valid link to a personal blog, his or her post should be deleted, or, at the vary least, you should issue a warning.
“Apparently you have forgotten about Eklund vs. Byron Union School District.”
No I haven’t. That was a dumb move on the school’s part and never should have occurred. Nothing based on imaginary beings, especially of the nasty, violent sort adhered to by Christians and Muslims, should be introduced into public-school classrooms.
The valid link rule is only on posts written by Gribbit.
Yes Brain, let’s keep discussion of a system that helps people form morals out of the classroom, but make sure to include the nobility of being gay, because AIDS isn’t scary at all.
(and in a rare departure: asshat)
I agree religious intolerance does not justify religious intolerance. That is a no brainer. The sad thing is that a federal judge was unable to figure out that simple fact and instead made it government back religious intolerance. The ACLU is connected to the UN which has the UU as its established religion so their biasness is suspected right away.
Jay–your obviously ignorant and uneducated.
Let reason, logic, and education have its place in
debate, for raging emotions are of miniscule value.
Arshiya is exercising a constitutional right granted
to every American (Establishment Clause–1st Amendment)
which dates back to the late 18th century. Thus this idea,
of Government and religion as separated entities is not a new,
radical, or even Muslim issue.
Furthermore, if Arshiya felt as though she was the victim of such
intrusions, a judge is to determine if a violation of the 1st amendment
has happened. The test the Judge uses is called the “Lemon Test” (Lemon
v Kurtzman 1971), which classifies a violation when the action violates
any of the three of the following prongs:
1. The government’s action must have a legitimate secular purpose;
2. The government’s action must not have the primary effect of either
advancing or inhibiting religion; and
3. The government’s action must not result in an “excessive
entanglement” of the government and religion.
It is obvious after observation of the entire proceeding at Shelby
County High school that there were indeed multiple violations–two for
sure, and possibly even three. Thus, it is ludicrous to continue with
illegitimate claims and allegations.
In closing, it is sad that in this day and age, emotions and feelings of
hate and anger are allowed to fill the void left by an absence of
intelligence and reason. Recommendation–educate yourself, and become
more tolerant of other communities and cultures; for they were the
foundation of our country.
I’m Jewish and always found Christian prayers in school hateful.
Of course if Christians want to be reviled they are doing an excellent job. I had a rabid distaste for Christians for decades afterwards. Now I merely dislike their public religiosity.
I thought Jesus’ idea of praying in private rather than making a public show of it was a good idea. Well no need to pay attention to that stupid crap. That Jesus was an idiot.
If you want Christian (or any other kind) of prayers at graduation go to a religious school.