U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds denied Arabic Christian Perspective's request . . . for permission to hand out literature on sidewalks at an Arab festival in the heart of the Detroit area's Middle Eastern community . . . expected to draw hundreds of thousands . . .
UPDATE 11/1/15: Appeals Court Rules Against Police Favoring Muslims vs. Christians
UPDATE 5/14/13: Federal Judge Patrick J. Duggan rules against Christians who were bullied and assaulted by Muslims at Arab Fest
UPDATE 5/6/13: City of Dearborn, MI agrees to pay damages to Christians arrested at Arab Fest
UPDATE 6/17/10: 6th Circuit Court of Appeals grants motion allowing Christian tracts at Arab-fest
-- From "Judge: Christian group can't walk with literature at Arab festival in Michigan" by David N. Goodman, Associated Press 6/18/2009
The group describes itself in its court filing as "a national ministry established for the purpose of proclaiming the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ to Muslims ... (that) travels around the country attending and distributing Christian literature at Muslim festivals and mosques."
[The Thomas More Law Center and the Becker Law Firm] said it would seek a permanent injunction against the city of Dearborn [and] said the Dearborn officials action could be part of what [it] described as a broader Muslim legal attack on critics of Islam in our "Judeo-Christian nation."
The city said safely accommodating the 150,000 daily festival-goers requires limits on where people can leaflet.
City officials say anyone is free to have conversations — but not leaflet — on sidewalks within the festival's barricades.
"It appears to be a legitimate governmental interest for crowd control and safety," Edmunds said in denying the request. "The festival area is more akin to a fair than a normal city street."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
