DETROIT, Michigan – On November 28th, Federal Judge Stephen J. Murphy III, sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, issued an order, granting the American Freedom Law Center’s (AFLC) request to file a second amended complaint in its civil rights lawsuit brought on behalf of four Christian missionaries who were unlawfully arrested for preaching the Gospel to Muslims at the 2010 Arab International Festival in Dearborn, Michigan.
Federal Judge: American Arab Chamber of Commerce Can Be Named as a Defendant in Civil Rights Lawsuit Involving Arrest of Christian Missionaries at Arab Festival
The order permits AFLC, a nonprofit Judeo-Christian law firm representing the Christians, to amend its lawsuit to name as an additional defendant the American Arab Chamber of Commerce (AACC), which is the organization responsible for the conduct of the Dearborn Arab Festival, an event where the police and festival workers have historically discriminated against Christians.
David Yerushalmi, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel, commented: “The detailed allegations of our 100-page civil rights complaint sets out a pattern of misconduct that had the purpose and effect of depriving our clients of their fundamental constitutional rights.” The federal judge agreed with Yerushalmi’s assessment. In his order granting AFLC’s request to add the AACC as a defendant, the court stated, “[T]he Court finds that Plaintiffs do properly allege a civil conspiracy among Defendants, including the AACC, to deprive Plaintiffs of their constitutional rights sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss.”
A group of young people gather around Dr. Nabeel Qureshi at the Arab Festival.
On June 18, 2010, four Christian missionaries, Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Paul Rezkalla, and Negeen Mayel, were thrown in jail by Dearborn police officers for peacefully preaching to Muslims at that year’s annual Arab festival. The City charged the Christians with “breach of the peace” and ordered them to stand trial. In September 2010, Robert Muise, AFLC 2 Co-Founder and Senior Counsel, represented the Christians during a five-day criminal trial. At the end of the trial, the Christians were acquitted by a unanimous jury verdict.
Following the acquittals, Yerushalmi and Muise drafted and filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Dearborn, its mayor, John B. O’Reilly, its chief of police, Ronald Haddad, 17 City police officers, and two executives from the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, which is now a defendant. The lawsuit alleges that the Christians’ constitutional rights were egregiously violated during the Arab festival. The case is in the discovery stage, and a jury trial is currently scheduled for next August.
The American Freedom Law Center is a Judeo-Christian law firm that fights for faith and freedom. It accomplishes its mission through litigation, public policy initiatives, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization.
Thank God for the American Freedom Law Center! I hope they are able to help McDonald’s in today’s news as well about non Halal Mc Nuggets!
While I believe the Judge was wrong in her decision, if she was going to make this mistake she was correct in awarding the funds to charities; however, I believe she was incorrect in awarding Islamic charities the funds because this event offended more than just Muslims. As a Christian I would be offended to eat food that had been prayed for to the god of a Moon and the Dog Star. As a American I would be offended and as an intelligent person I would be offended just the same. Halal food is ridiculous and anyone who wants to eat it should travel to the Middle East or prepare it in the privacy of their own homes. This country does not need Halal Mc Nuggets. Christians say our own prayers to bless our food and we certainly do not demand that a restaurant say them for us. This McDonald’s had every right to also prepare non-Halal food for people who are intellectually sickened by the idea of eating Halal food like myself. In fact, for this McDonalds to do otherwise would have been discrimination against all other forms of beliefs.