Thursday, July 8, 2010

July 12 Arraignment of Four Christian Missionaries Arrested at the Dearborn, Michigan Arab Festival

ANN ARBOR, MI – The arraignment of four Christian missionaries on criminal charges will take place on Monday, July 12, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. in the 19th Judicial District Court located at 16077 Michigan Avenue in Dearborn, Michigan. This is the next step in what has been described as police enforcement of Sharia law in a city dominated by a large Muslim population.

To the jeers and shouts of “Allah Akbar” by the Muslim crowd, the four Christian missionaries were arrested and thrown in jail on June 18, 2010 by Dearborn Police officers at the Annual Arab International Festival held in Dearborn. One of the arrested missionaries was Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, MD, who was engaged in peaceful dialogue with several Muslim youths. The other three missionaries, who were merely videotaping the conversation, had their cameras and other equipment illegally seized before police arrested them as well.

Police refused requests by the missionaries to view the video at the scene of their arrest, which the missionaries claimed would completely exonerate them of any wrongdoing.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan is representing all of the Christian missionaries. Because District Judge Mark W. Somers required that all four defendants personally appear before him for the arraignment, the Law Center assisted with the costs of their travel from different parts of the country.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “It’s evident that the Dearborn Police department was more interested in placating Muslims than obeying our Constitution. These Christians were exercising their Constitutional rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion, but apparently in a city where the Muslim population seems to dominate the political apparatus, Sharia law trumps our Constitution.”

Thus far, police and prosecutors have refused to return the illegally seized cameras and video tapes. They have also refused to provide the Law Center with the police reports of the incident despite repeated requests.

Arrested on charges of Breach of the Peace are Negeen Mayel, Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, Paul Rezkalla and David Wood. Mayel, an eighteen-year old female whose parents emigrated from Afghanistan and a recent convert from Islam to Christianity, was also charged with failure to obey a police officer’s orders. She was at least 100 feet away and videotaping Qureshi’s discussion with the Muslim youths when police seized her camera.

Thompson added, “Not all police officers approve of the way their department treated these Christians.”

Robert Muise, Senior Trial Counsel with the Law Center, will represent the Christian missionaries at the arraignment on Monday. Source.

10 comments:

Hazak said...

David,

Have you guys looked into a petition? Is it good for people to call the Dearborne PD to let them know just how we feel? What can we do?

MaMiKiKeYu said...

OOT,

Good Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ym3Vz9ikDE

Linda said...

I've been following your blog and am most interested in seeing how our government is going to handle itself. Comments galore are raging within me, but I'll will wait to make them public when I am not quite so angry. Angry statements only make matters worse most times. But in the meantime, you do not have a "share" button on your site and I want very much to share this on my facebook page an my own blog. How can I share this information so that more people will be aware of what's happening to our civil and religious rights?

Radical Moderate said...

I called the DPD a few weeks ago. Said I had a crime to report. A bunch of Christians handing out the Gospel of John.

Yeah they weren't happy with that. :)

minoria said...

PART 1:

Hello:

I understand the anger one feels when one sees deception and absurdity,to the point of stupidity.

This is off topic but it is an example.I have said I am reading the John Loftus' collection of essays "The Christian Delusion".I do NOT know everything but there are things I do know.

EXAMPLE:HECTOR AVALOS,PhD

He was a Pentecostal Christian,like DAN BAKER,but like him many of his statements,as an atheist,regarding the existence of God and Christianity are really deceptive.I can't say it is IGNORANCE,he has a PhD.

On page 223,chapter"Yahweh is a Moral Monster"in an essay by AVALOS,he says:

"In JOHN 8:44 Jesus says that the Jews are not sons of God but rather of the Devil:"You are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father's desire.He was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth,because there is no truth in him.
When he lies,he speaks according to his own nature,for he is a liar and the father of lies."

THEN AVALOS SAYS:

"In my book "The End of Biblical Studies"I have xplained how the effort to DENY this ANTI-JUDAISM in the NT often relies on SPECIAL PLEADING and ARBITRARY EXEGESIS."

minoria said...

PART 2:

ERRORS(?) BY AVALOS:

He knows better,he has a Phd,is a scholar.

ERROR 1:
He says:"in John 8:44 Jesus says that JEWS are NOT the sons of God,but rather of the devil."

He really knows the text means SOME JEWS are NOT...

We know because JOHN 8:30-31(a few sentences before)says:"When Jesus spoke like that SEVERAL believed in him.And he (Jesus)said to the JEWS who had believed in him..."

MY POINT:an ordinary reader,who won't verify and read what came before,will say:"Yes,here Jesus condemns ALL the Jews."He thinks:"Avalos is a scholar,has a PhD,is impartial,I can trust him."

The JEWS Jesus condemns were other Jews,those who in JOHN 8:40(before the citation given by AVALOS):"Now you seek to KILL ME,I,who have told you the truth..."

What great scholarship by Avalos.

ANALYSIS
Remember Avalos said "to deny this anti-Judaism in the NT often relies on SPECIAL PLEADING and ARBITRARY EXEGESIS."

So he would consider what I have written SPECIAL PLEADING and ARBITRARY.It is not,it's TAKING the CONTEXT into consideration.He knows it.He has a very great hatred of the idea of God existing and towards Christianity.One notices it in his lectures and debates,like BARKER.

ERROR 2:
He said:"An effort to deny this ANTI-JUDAISM in the NT",and had just given the case of JOHN 8:44.

It doesn't look good coming from a scholar,since in JOHN 8:44 Jesus does NOT CONDEMN the JEWISH RELIGION("anti-Judaism").He condemns certain Jews(anti-bad Jewish folk).In fact I think nowhere in the NT does Jewish condemn the Jewish religion as false at all.So goes the world.

otto said...

Thanks for that analysis miniora.
I read some about Hector Avelos, and the Gospel of John. It is shameful that a PhD in the Hebrew Bible can read something like that into the NT. He must do it knowingly since he is an expert on context.

And what these Muslims are doing praising this debased terrorist is outright fiendish.

otto said...

By terrorist i mean Hussein Fadlallah, not Avelos. Sorry shoulda posted that part on the other thread.

Betsy_Ross said...

I received a disgusting generic letter from Dearborn's mayor. I don't think I even wrote him; I wrote Dearborn's chief of police protesting the treatment of the Christians of Acts 17.

John 9:4 "We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

Is it starting in Dearborn to spread to other Muslim strongholds?

I'm grateful for the boldness of Acts 17, and I'm ashamed of the spineless Josh McDowell, whose videos were attached to the mayor's response letter. If Josh is committed to playing the moron for Islamic propaganda, while his Christian siblings are hauled away in handcuffs, he'll answer to Christ for his cowardly alliance.

Go, Acts 17! Woe to Dearborn's cowardly leadership.

Christie said...

Praying for you guys. This is an injustice at a high level. As the saying goes "Truth will Out." When it does some officials are going to look pretty foolish and even seriously corrupt. I do find it sad that Josh McDowell is on the other side of the fence. We are not called to preach the gospel only when it is easy or convenient.