Respect for (or at least understanding of) religious pluralism still has a long way to go in America. Religious News Service reports:
A high school graduation ceremony held last year in a Newark church has sparked a lawsuit over religious freedom.
A senior who was graduating from West Side High School says he could not attend the ceremony because his Muslim faith prohibited him from entering a building with religious icons, such a pictures of God or the cross, according to a lawsuit filed against the Newark Public Schools by the American Civil Liberties Union.
"Schools should not sponsor activities that exclude some students from participating on the basis of religious belief," said Edward Barocas, the group's legal director.
The suit, filed on behalf of Bilal Shareef, is asking the court to grant the 18-year-old damages because both the graduation and a religious baccalaureate service violated his right not to be discriminated against on the basis of his religion.
The lawsuit alleges West Side officials told students if they attended the separate religious baccalaureate ceremony at a Catholic church, they would receive two additional tickets for the graduation ceremony.
Bilal Shareef is only asking that the principles enshrined in the American Constitution be honored but it doesn’t take much to find anti-Muslim bigotry on the march in this case. From MaxRedline:
There they go again. The ACLU is filing suit against the Newark, N.J. school system because West Side High School held its graduation ceremonies inside (gasp!) a Baptist church! As a result, Bilal Shareef, a Muslim, could not attend. This violated the poor boy's religious freedom, according to the suit. Golly. Jews and Catholics didn't seem to have a problem, but the poor little Muslim boy did. Well certainly, we should all bend over backward to accommodate the poor little Muslim. How about this, instead: Tell the poor little Muslim boy to go pee up a rope, and hand the ACLU a hefty fine for bringing frivolous lawsuits.
As a Christian minister, I pray that we all learn to be reconciled to one another and to God. In advocating for his faith and freedom Bilal Shareef is advocating for the freedom of all people of faith – and even the freedom of those who do not believe. Hate filled blog posts dishonor God and poison the atmosphere of civil debate in our democratic society.
