MOD!!! OH MOD!!! Can you move this thread over to politics???
On another forum a thread was created about the following articles. There were 206 posts at last count. What was very interesting is:
The lawyer, who is not a Muslim and is a known activist, is not representing any student in this matter. This is something he has taken upon himself. He has a history of bringing controversial lawsuits and making millons from them. He "speaks on behalf of Muslim students" but no students were interviewed or named in the articles.
Now, many of the posters from the other forum had a knee jerk reaction. All they could see was that Muslims were making demands on a Catholic university when, in fact, there was no mention of a student complaining, other than what the lawyer had to say. It appears that the Muslim students are quite content going to the university and don't have any issues. It is also obvious that attending the university was a personal decision due to recognizing the values that are held at the university as well as getting a good education. Several posters, including myself, repeatedly mentioned that this was a case brought before the Human Rights Commission by one individual who made the cause a personal one. He made a comment about students having to look at a "cross of Jesus". Little does he know that Jesus is recognized as a prophet in the Islam religion.
What I found upsetting was that this individual, who went on a personal crusade, can upset the harmony that exists in the school, as well as putting a target on the students currently attending that school, in addition to spreading hate. The school and the students become a target for negative press when in reality, there appears that there is no issue, but that isn't going to stop the investigation that the lawyer has initiated nor will it stop the "outrage" non-Muslims will express.
I have posted excerpts from the articles as they both contain similar content.
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/to ... osses.html
The Washington, D.C. Office of Human Rights confirmed that it is investigating allegations that Catholic University violated the human rights of Muslim students by not allowing them to form a Muslim student group and by not providing them rooms without Christian symbols for their daily prayers.
The investigation alleges that Muslim students “must perform their prayers surrounded by symbols of Catholicism – e.g., a wooden crucifix, paintings of Jesus, pictures of priests and theologians which many Muslim students find inappropriate.”
A spokesperson for the Office of Human Rights told Fox News they had received a 60-page complaint against the private university. The investigation, they said, could take as long a six months.
The complaint was filed by John Banzhaf, an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School. Banzhaf has been involved in previous litigation against the school involving the same-sex residence halls. He also alleged in his complaint involving Muslim students that women at the university were being discriminated against. You can read more on those allegations by clicking here.
Banzhaf said some Muslim students were particularly offended because they had to meditate in the school’s chapels “and at the cathedral that looms over the entire campus – the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.”
“It shouldn’t be too difficult somewhere on the campus for the university to set aside a small room where Muslims can pray without having to stare up and be looked down upon by a cross of Jesus,” he told Fox News.
A spokesman for Catholic University released a statement to Fox News indicating they had not seen any legal filings — but would respond once they do.
“Our faithfulness to our Catholic tradition has also made us a welcome home to students of other religions,” said Victor Nakas, associate vice president for public affairs. “No students have registered complaints about the exercise of their religions on our campus.”
In a 2010 interview with National Public Radio, university president John Garvey acknowledged that they don’t set aside prayer rooms for Muslim students.
“We make classrooms available, or our chapels are places where they can pray,” he told NPR. “We don’t offer Halal meat, although there are always meals that conform to Halal regulations, that allow students to do what they want.”
Banzhaf said that it is technically not illegal for Catholic University to refuse to provide rooms devoid of religious icons.
http://www.cuatower.com/news/2011/10/20 ... t-muslims/
John F. Banzhaf III, the George Washington University Professor of Public Interest Law who initiated the legal controversy surrounding same-sex residence halls, is also the one behind these new charges.
