Why Qur’an burnings at mosques are not expressions of responsible free speech

DawudWalid 2 Comments

Some well meaning Freedom of Speech advocates to anti-Muslim loons such as Pamela Geller do not believe that the recent Qur’an burning at the Islamic Center of Greater Lansing in East Lansing, MI and yesterday’s Qur’an burning at a mosque in Knoxville, TN are actual hate crimes but protected under the 1st Amendment.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2003 relating to cross burnings that acts that are meant to intimidate persons (minorities in particular) on their private properties are not protected under the 1st Amendment.  Therefore, it is illegal to burn a cross in the yard of a Black man, for instance, or at a Black church because this is a clear act of intimidation.  Likewise, to paint a swastika in the parking lot of a Jewish Temple would not be protected speech besides it also being trespassing.

And to burn the foundation of the religion of Islam, the Qur’an, at the entrance of a mosque on mosque property is also an act of religious hatred and intimidation.

By the way, this is not a new occurrence of the Qur’an being burned; there is a history of the Qur’an being burned when Crusaders came into the Holy Land and massacred Muslims during the First Crusade for instance.  The Qur’an was also burned during the Spanish Inquisition.

In short, if persons burn a cross or the Qur’an on their own private properties, that’s their right to freely express themselves.  However, if persons go to others’ private properties or houses of worship and do such while trespassing, this goes outside the bounds of responsible free speech.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

More Posts

2 Comments

  2. So true, I am not a muslim yet I can certainly see your point there.

    Thanks for the commentations,
    Dan
    Australia

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *