Yerushalmi and Muise Respond to Dershowitz: Religious Liberty Does Not Legitimate Female Genital Mutilation

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The illustrious David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise of the American Freedom Law Center, who have won numerous AFDI free speech lawsuits in our fight against Leftist and Islamic authoritarianism, are tireless warriors in the fight against shariah in America. Here they pen a response to the Harvard Law Professor.

Open Letter to Alan Dershowitz

June 9, 2017
American Freedom Law Center
Dear Professor Dershowitz:
We write as attorneys who have, like you, litigated in support of fundamental constitutional freedoms, in particular one of the most foundational: religious liberty.  According to published reports, you will be offering a freedom of religion defense for three individuals in Michigan recently charged with violating federal law prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).  We respectfully disagree that this barbaric practice must be permitted under the First Amendment or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
To begin, the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that the right of free exercise does not relieve individuals of the obligation to comply with a valid or neutral law of general applicability on the ground that the law proscribes conduct that is required by his or her religious practice.  The laws banning FGM are such laws.
Nonetheless, even if laws banning FGM might not be considered neutral laws of general applicability, that does not necessarily mean that the government cannot proscribe this brutal practice.  Indeed, this is a situation where it is more likely than not that the government would satisfy the highest level of scrutiny.  That is, a law banning this barbaric practice would be in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest and the least restrictive means of furthering that interest.
With this as a background, there is, as you know, case law that bars in this country behavior that some religions consider sacred.  For example, laws barring polygamy and the religious use of peyote have been upheld in America.  We can find no basis for believing that a federal statute or a state law designed to protect young girls from having their genitalia involuntarily and permanently disfigured would be considered unconstitutional or in violation of RFRA or any state law counterpart to RFRA.  That is especially true when, in addition to the life-long denial of sexual pleasure such a procedure imposes, the short- and long-term medical problems frequently associated with it are factored in.
We also believe that it is simply physiologically inaccurate to portray the mutilation of female genitals as akin to male circumcision, and therefore permissible.  In fact, such mutilation is more akin to male castration than it is to the removal of a baby boy’s foreskin.
Finally, although various Islamic communities believe that Sharia law either permits female genital mutilation, condones it and/or makes it obligatory, author Nonie Darwish – a former Muslim whose mother was subjected to FGM in her native Egypt – notes that the justification is strategic, not religious.  Ms. Darwish observes that by mutilating a woman, and thus denying her the ability to experience sexual pleasure, the authorities of Islam render her less likely to feel an attachment to her husband and thus less likely to object when he is called to jihad.
For all these reasons, we expect that the federal judiciary will properly reject claims that there is a protected religious right to FGM.
Sincerely,
capture- rcapture - d
Robert J. Muise, Esq.                                      David Yerushalmi, Esq.
Co-Founder and Senior Counsel                 Co-Founder and Senior Counsel
***NEWS RELEASE***
For Immediate Release
June 9, 2017

Religious Liberty Does Not Legitimate Female Genital Mutilation 

Two Prominent Freedom of Religion Litigators Issue Open Letter to Alan Dershowitz, Challenge Idea that F.G.M. is Constitutionally Protected

Washington, D.C. – Two of the most effective advocates in American jurisprudence on behalf of constitutional religious liberty protections, David Yeruslami, Esq. and Robert Muise, Esq. of the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC), today weighed in on a momentous question:  Do those who believe they must, in the practice of their faith, mutilate the genitals of young girls, have a right to do so in the United States?
Messrs. Yerushalmi and Muise argued forcefully that religious freedom does not negate prohibitions on female genital mutilation (FGM) at the federal level and in twenty-four states in an open letter to another distinguished litigator, Professor Alan Dershowitz, released today.  Mr. Dershowitz has recently been enlisted to help in the defense of three individuals charged with violating such laws in Michigan.
In their letter, the AFLC leaders explained that the government has a “compelling interest” in protecting females in this country from FGM.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are approximately half-a-million women and girls in this country who have either already been subjected to such mutilation or are at risk of it in the future.  In their open letter, Messrs. Yerushalmi and Muise stated that:
“We can find no basis for believing that a federal statute or a state law designed to protect young girls from having their genitalia involuntarily and permanently disfigured would be considered unconstitutional or in violation of Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) or any state law counterpart to RFRA.  That is especially true when, in addition to the life-long denial of sexual pleasure such a procedure imposes, the short- and long-term medical problems frequently associated with it are factored in.”
The Truth Must be Told

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Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago

I completely understand that female genital mutilation is far worse than it’s male counterpart.

However it shouldn’t be done to men either.

Should I repeat the first sentence again?

harbidoll
harbidoll
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Love your logo-It helps explain why wives prefer circumcised to uncircumcised husbands. clean & no smell. lol & it hurts MUCH less to circumcise baby on the eighth day.

Tim Ireland
Tim Ireland
6 years ago
Reply to  harbidoll

There is no difference. None. at. all.
I’m uncut and I’ve never had trouble getting laid. None of my mates have had an issue with it either. Clearly British and European (native) lads have no trouble either.
Babies SCREAM through their circumcision and go into shock.
There is a reason why God/ evolution made the foreskin and there is a reason why babies scream too.

Robert Batchelor
Robert Batchelor
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim Ireland

Interesting that you mention God. Have you actually read the Bible?

Hoppla
Hoppla
6 years ago

Love the Bible , good reading , lot’s of blood, why can’t the wright books light that anymore. Liked the story about the guy hiding behind a burning bush pretending he is God. Abraham must have been drinking again.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  harbidoll

So you prefer to suck uncircumcised cxck?
That’s what I thought.
8th day?
Why not 7th or 9th?
Stupid stuperstition (sic).

harbidoll
harbidoll
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Father (G-d) knows best

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  harbidoll

Open your mouth and say ahhhh.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  harbidoll

Hairball!

harbidoll
harbidoll
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

meoww

Hoppla
Hoppla
6 years ago
Reply to  harbidoll

So what about men who prefer circumcised women. Clean & no smell. Straight guys like the smell of a woman we straight guys are still animals.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Would you like a cracker first.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

A cracker like you?

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Oh! right you’re just cracked.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

No you’re a dumb cracker.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

I got you figured out Mohammed Lover.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

There aren’t many muslims of Finnish descent.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

I’ll bet the Finns are happy about that.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

We arent prejudice like you.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

I’m not prejudiced at all, YOU ARE.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

You’re anti Muslim , Lipshitz!

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Wrong, I’ am against the things that Islam stands for. The Intolerance, Violence, Misogyny, Anti Freedom, Anti Gay, Anti Democracy, Against Freedom of Religion. Islam Hates the West, Hates the Jews, Hates each other. I have heard it said that Muslims have a low IQ probably because of all the inbreeding, as true as that may or may not be, I think the problem lies with the Hatred their religion demands that they demonstrate. In addition to the blind following of an individual, Mohammed that we know was a Pedophile among other things. I would not commit my life to any such person or to a supreme being that failed to make love the focal point of their religion. I have worshiped under a number of different religions in my life, they taught peace, love, respect for all forms of life, no hatred, no violence, but mercy, compassion and a willingness to reform to be better. I don’t see that with Islam. I see people who hate us come here to live and then attack people who have personally done them no harm. In some cases people who volunteered to help new comers were attacked. If you hate so much stay away from us and remain in your own countries that have everything that you want. And where we aren’t there to offend you with the things that violate your individual principles encased within your religion. Islam has represented itself as a problem on a global scale for hundreds of years. Whenever there are debates, you can see many on You Tube, those defending Islam come off as the loser, you cannot defend such a history that Islam has. They are, responsible for the slaughter of millions of people from different backgrounds that were non Muslim and millions of their own, other Muslims. Either you see the truth or you consciously decide not to, but there has to be little things you notice about the Islamic faith. We made slavery against the law a long time ago, Islam still practices it, we have done our best to make it that men and women are treated equal, that is far from the case in Islam. We allow all religions to worship in peace, as there are places of worship of every religion in our culture, not so in Islam. You can’t be Jewish or Christian and be living in a Muslim country or you are likely to be killed and Muslim countries don’t allow Synagogues or Churches. These are things that have nothing to do with world politics, they are not anyone’s opinion, they are the truth and the truth as you should know them to be. Islam has no intention of reforming like Christianity did a long time past, so as long as there are those that blindly want to support a movement like the fanaticism of Islam, there will be defiant people like me that will stand for freedom like our forefathers did, I have to honor their memory. Know this, America is the Land of the Free and the Brave, but it’s the Land of the Free because of the Brave. If Islam does not reform or return home, there will be a fight.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

You’re certainly not anti gay!!!

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

I’m not anti gay.
I’m not gay.
I’m a Patriot.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

You’re a phag!

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Muzzies are Phags.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

So are you.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Muzzies wear skirts and funny hats.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

Jews wear but plugs.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

After the Jews take them out, the Muzzies Lick them clean.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

FY J!

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

FY Muzzie A SS LICKER

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

Your repeating your self cxntlips!

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Just Like You SH IT Breath

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

Nope, Schmeckle breath.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

SH IT Breath

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

You’re a ‘mo, Lipshitz.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

You’re a Mo a Mohammedan Troll.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

You’re a Hewbano.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

You don’t know what you are?

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

F Y J

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

F Y Muzzie A SS Sucker.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

FY J

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

FY MUZZIE A SS LICKER

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

Eat my @$$ J!

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Oh are you finished FU CKING YOUR GOAT

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

SMD J

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

What’s that? You have an SMD J
So You Have A Small Muslim DI CK so yeah JEEPERS.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

Wrong, as usual.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Don’t be shy, tell the truth, you have a Mini Muzzie DI CK

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

You can’t blow what is the size of a ZIT.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

MY ZITS BIGGER THAN YOUR ZIT, MY ZITS BIGGER THAN YOURS.

Hardrock
Hardrock
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

Having another one of your dreams again.
You should stay off those cheap drugs.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  Hardrock

Now it’s your mom, just as hairy.

Robert Batchelor
Robert Batchelor
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

They’re not the same thing. One denies sexual pleasure, the other does not.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago

(Face Palm!)
Your stupidity amazes all.
What does the first sentence say?
The 3rd sentence was written for dolts like you.

God you’re dumb!

IzlamIsTyranny
IzlamIsTyranny
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

You need to be circumcised from the neck up.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  IzlamIsTyranny

You need to give me my fist back, Schmeckle breath.

Jackie
Jackie
6 years ago

Derschowitz is close friend and lawyer to convicted pedophile Jeffery Epstein. There is a lot of speculation as to the why.

Mark Steiner
Mark Steiner
6 years ago

Although Dershowitz has reportedly moved somewhat away from the liberal Left with recent writings, legal dealings and appearances in the media, this piece confirms he still has a long way to go. He cannot be regarded as a mouthpiece speaking for human rights when the egregious act of FGM receives his blessing.

IzlamIsTyranny
IzlamIsTyranny
6 years ago

I wonder how much the muslum lawfare lobby paid off Dershowitz? Every whore has his price.

Bradley Lexvold
Bradley Lexvold
6 years ago
Reply to  IzlamIsTyranny

Key word is whore. Integrity is no longer understood. If you’re willing to compromise your integrity, you never had it in the 1st place, you just thought you did.

AlgorithmicAnalystD
AlgorithmicAnalyst
6 years ago

If he’s getting paid for it, I suppose that was the best defense he could come up with.

Bradley Lexvold
Bradley Lexvold
6 years ago

The only way a decent person would be an attorney in support of FGM would be to purposefully lose the case.

harbidoll
harbidoll
6 years ago

wishful thinking

Joy Daniels Brower
Joy Daniels Brower
6 years ago

Personally, I’m shocked that Dershowitz would defend IN COURT this barbaric practice that is about as “religious” as a cockroach (with apologies to all cockroaches!). One poster observed that it’s just as wicked and harmful as circumcision is on or for a boy. Actually, although no antisthesia is administered, any negative effects on the male are usually and, indeed, virtually non-existent. And they certainly do NOT inhibit a man’s future sex life, either! Furthermore, although I’m not a doctor, I have heard that, indeed, removing the foreskin in the penis will be very healthy (no place for bacteria to fester) in the long run. Of course, aside from many young girls bleeding to death because the amateur “doctors” (often members of her own family!) cut too deeply, forcibly removing the one small part of a woman’s body that can convey sexual pleasure (particularly in a marriage!), is, above all, cruel and unusual punishment – for which, in turn, the ignorant practitioners should be severely punished!

Hoppla
Hoppla
6 years ago

Why are you guys so afraid of using soap? Wash yourself for Christ sake, keep it clean and you will not have to cut off what God designed for us.

Joy Daniels Brower
Joy Daniels Brower
6 years ago
Reply to  Hoppla

Well, Hopalong, back in the very old days (when the Old Testament was written), personal hygiene, although practiced to one degree or another by Jewish men & women, was not nearly as thorough – or often performed – as it’s done nowadays. Their was the ritual bath for women, but that was mainly (only?) for cleansing the woman after her period. I really don’t know all the ins & outs of this practice, and, of course, I’m not a doctor, but common sense tells me that “in the old days” – before the invention of toilet paper and daily soap & water washings – and, of course, before pencillin and all those miracle drugs, disease was often passed from one person to another with FAR more frequency – along with the attendant danger! – than is true today.

Well, to finalize my “abdication” of responsibility in this discussion, I’m not a boy and I never had children, so my knowledge in this department is really oniy informed by the general info I read in books, newspapers & newsletters, etc. etc.

BTW, God gave us a set of appendices (appendixes?) as well, which actually are vestigal and perform NO useful or necessary function – just there to get infected if one is unlucky. Now, THAT’S a body part that “God designed for us,” but there is absolutely NO reason to retain it if one has surgery on another part of the abdomen, etc., and it’s no sin to take it out under those circumstances. Do you really think God cares? He’s just pleased that His creation (Man/homo sapiens) is using his God-given brain to work out all these little things on our own!

Hoppla
Hoppla
6 years ago

Great writing Joy D. B. Appendices might come in handy if civilization collapses and we are forced to eat dirt again and hang out in caves. Evolution [ GOD ] will take care of us and our system will adapt. I am not cutting anything off if it is not infected, especially if it is a extremely purposeful part of me . Keep it clean boys and use your God-given brains.

Joy Daniels Brower
Joy Daniels Brower
6 years ago
Reply to  Hoppla

AMEN! Sorry it took so long to respond, but somehow I overlooked a bunch of email from Monday the 12th.

Lessiejorchard
Lessiejorchard
6 years ago

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AppraisHer
AppraisHer
6 years ago

If islam were an actual religion rather than a cultural cult based on conquest and control, Mr Dershowitz might have an argument.
But it isn’t, so he doesn’t.

harbidoll
harbidoll
6 years ago
Reply to  AppraisHer

conquest & control of slaves! which explains why they want neutered males & females.

harbidoll
harbidoll
6 years ago
Reply to  AppraisHer

conquest & control of slaves! which explains why they want neutered males & females.

Hoppla
Hoppla
6 years ago
Reply to  AppraisHer

All religions are man made cults without exception. God does not need an altar and priest dressed up like clowns. God never ask nobody build me the greatest church money can buy and God does not hide behind burning bushes talking to men. God does not need to hide only Satan does.

conan_drum
conan_drum
6 years ago

It is very strange that although they think ‘the word of allah’ is paramount they insist on chopping bits off his creation
and covering them up. Surely if the ‘omniscient one’ wanted them different ‘he’ would create them as ‘he’ required.
It also illustrates the whole nonsense of ‘creation’
BTW nobody has ever heard the words of ‘allah’ except of course Mohammad

soundclick.com/Globalfirm
soundclick.com/Globalfirm
6 years ago

I don’t regard people that don’t atone for Islam as serious.
#Ban Islam, save lives worldwide & free the African slaves from Saudi Arabia to Mauritania, the Biafra-leader, the Leavenworth 10, Israeli soldier Azaria, Salim Masih & so on.

Juan A. Garcia-Fuertes
Juan A. Garcia-Fuertes
6 years ago

Please tell me that Alan Dershowitz does not defend FMG, I would be extremely disappointed. I believe Mr. Dershowitz to be a decent human being as well as a great constitutional expert lawyer. The only reason I would think he would even consider it would be by comparing it with male circumcision. However the male circumcision does not impaire the ability of sexual satisfaction which in the case of FMG does. Outside the legal grounds exposed in the letter I would strongly point out the inhumanity of abusing the human right of females to be able to pursuit their happiness fully which FMG prevents. I believe it is very bad if he does not see it.

Tim Ireland
Tim Ireland
6 years ago

At least Dershowitz isn’t a hypocrite!
You can’t defend non consentual male circumcision while condemning female circumcision.
My foreskin is no less precious than my girlfriends clitoris.
Foreskin + clitoris = sexasnatureintendedit.com

Robert Batchelor
Robert Batchelor
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim Ireland

Sure you can. They’re not the same thing. One denies sexual pleasure, the other does not.

Hoppla
Hoppla
6 years ago

Have you had sex before you were circumcised ? If not how do you know it does not reduce sexual pleasure? Hope you know there are all kinds of female circumcision but only one for men. Main problem is hygiene, it’s just an excuse for lazy men not wash.

IzlamIsTyranny
IzlamIsTyranny
6 years ago
Reply to  Tim Ireland

I don’t know if you noticed but a penis is not a clitoris.

Ichabod Crain
Ichabod Crain
6 years ago

“Ms. Darwish observes that by mutilating a woman, and thus denying her the ability to experience sexual pleasure, the authorities of Islam render her less likely to feel an attachment to her husband and thus less likely to object when he is called to jihad.” Wow – that really hits hard! Great to see them quoting Nonie Darwish.

linda goudsmit
linda goudsmit
6 years ago

Freedom of religion defense for FGM?? I don’t think so! What could Dershowitz be thinking????

Religious freedom and its protections have gone wild!!!

The First Amendment guarantees Americans the freedom of religion in the “establishment” clause:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Words matter, so the first question that must be answered is a matter of definition. What is religion?
The dictionary defines religion as:
1. The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
2. A particular system of faith and worship.
3. A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes superhuman importance.

Dictionaries have been used for centuries to help codify the meaning of words in an attempt to make language useful. Without accepted specific meanings for words it is impossible to communicate through language effectively. Language is the common denominator of speech. Even biblical stories express the importance of the meaning of words as they are understood or misunderstood in any language. The most famous example is the biblical story of The Tower of Babel that begins with everyone on Earth speaking the same language and able to understand each other. Whether the scattering of people around the world was a punishment for hubris or not, the consequence was that people began speaking different languages and could no longer understand each other.

But what happens when people speaking the same language no longer understand each other because they interpret the meaning of the same words differently? That is the situation we are facing in contemporary American society today.

The second question that must be answered is a matter of interpretation. What does religion mean to you?

Thomas Jefferson wrote eloquently on the subject in an 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists who worried about their minority status in Connecticut. Jefferson was reassuring the Baptists that being a minority religion would not be a problem in a Protestant majority state as far as the federal government was concerned.

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof’, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.”(Wikipedia)

Jefferson’s letter clearly indicates that for Jefferson, religion was a matter of Man and God. Jefferson’s interpretation was the widely accepted and understood view of religion in the early 18th century. By the 20th century the U.S. Supreme Court “incorporated” the Establishment Clause and expanded its application from the federal government to the state governments as well.

The practical application of the freedom of religion also requires a uniform understanding of the meaning and interpretation of the word religion. The Exercise Clause clarifies the supremacy of Constitutional laws and freedoms over religious laws and freedoms. This is particularly important in contemporary America because we are facing “religious” practices of Islam that threaten our Constitutional freedoms.

The Free Exercise Clause distinguishes between religions beliefs and religious practices. It is the equivalence of distinguishing between thinking and doing. In America an individual is free to think murderous thoughts but he is not free to murder. Islam is a religion governed by religious Sharia Law that endorses honor killings, female genital mutilation, murder of apostates, murder of homosexuals, wife beatings, child marriage and pedophilia. American jurisaprudence does not have the will or authority to change people’s beliefs whether they are citizens of the United States, guests in this country, here illegally, or citizens of other countries, but we most certainly have the right and legal obligation to disallow any and all practices in conflict with the U.S. Constitution and our cultural norms. Free Exercise Clause (Wikipedia)

“Freedom of religion means freedom to hold an opinion or belief, but not to take action in violation of social duties or subversive to good order.”[28] In Reynolds v. United States (1878), the Supreme Court found that while laws cannot interfere with religious belief and opinions, laws can be made to regulate some religious practices (e.g., human sacrifices, and the Hindu practice of suttee). The Court stated that to rule otherwise, “would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect permit every citizen to become a law unto himself. Government would exist only in name under such circumstances.”[29] In Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940), the Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applied the Free Exercise Clause to the states. While the right to have religious beliefs is absolute, the freedom to act on such beliefs is not absolute. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/310/296/case.html

In Jefferson’s time as in Truman’s time the meaning of the word religion was understood as items 1 and 2:
1. The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
2. A particular system of faith and worship.

Seventy years later in 2017 we must reconsider the meaning of the word religion and ask the question What is Islam?

Islam is not a religion like Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, or Judaism. Islam is a unified supremacist socio-political system with a military wing and a religious wing. Islam is governed by religious sharia law. The goal of Islam since the 7th century is to make the world Islamic and impose sharia law worldwide.

Islam is tyrannical in its demand for conformity to its barbaric sharia laws. Islam is intolerant. Islam is a political force seeking world dominion and cannot be allowed religious protections like the Baptists in Connecticut during Jefferson’s times.

Islam is far more like the Nazis during Hitler’s time. Consider this question. What if Hitler declared Nazism to be a religion. It certainly qualifies as a religion according to Item 3. A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes superhuman importance.

If Adolph Hitler declared his Nazism a religion would the left-wing liberal apologists for Islam defend Nazism and its determination to rule the world and rid the Earth of every Jew? Would the lefty-wing liberals declare murder of Jews protected by religious freedom? How is this different from allowing Muslims to perpetrate honor killings, female genital mutilation, murder of apostates, murder of homosexuals, wife beatings, child marriage, and pedophilia.

There is no difference.

If, as apologists for Islamic barbarity claim, Islamists have perverted their religion – then it is also true that they have perverted our concept of religious freedom. Islam is not a religion like any other and its savage practices do not deserve protection under our religious freedom laws and the free exercise clause. Alan Dershowitz should know better. I do – and I am a retired retailer.

IzlamIsTyranny
IzlamIsTyranny
6 years ago
Reply to  linda goudsmit

That was an excellent essay. Your education certainly didn’t go to waste.

linda goudsmit
linda goudsmit
6 years ago
Reply to  IzlamIsTyranny

Ha! LOL! Thanks.

Loyal Phillips-Kuhn
Loyal Phillips-Kuhn
6 years ago
Reply to  IzlamIsTyranny

Also, Islam does meet the definition of “Cult”.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago

Please stop the holocaust in Palestine now!!

IzlamIsTyranny
IzlamIsTyranny
6 years ago
Reply to  Trump Blue Me

Please stop breathing now.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago
Reply to  IzlamIsTyranny

Please don’t stop licking my taint.

Trump Blue Me
Trump Blue Me
6 years ago

Please stop ALL genital mutilation now!

Loyal Phillips-Kuhn
Loyal Phillips-Kuhn
6 years ago

Mutilation of female genitalia is barbaric. It is used as a tactic to control female enjoyment of sex and prevent pleasurable bonding between a woman and her significant other.

Tatiana Covington
Tatiana Covington
6 years ago

Aha… let’s mutilate ISIS genitals in retaliation!

Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
6 years ago

Good g_d!

Even Alan Dershowitz is going to bow to Islam?

Women KNOW THIS.

YOU will be sold out to Islam by the left.

Only you can stop it.

You better arm up and be willing to kill to defend yourselves and your daughters.

The left is not going to defend you, and the right (the Republicans) aren’t either.

MerchantseamenD
Merchantseamen
6 years ago

WOW…somehow I missed Dershowitz is in favor of such mutilation. He should be “harassed’ wherever he goes. Just like the left does with whistles horns and drums and call him out as anti-woman. Everyday all day.

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Thanks for sharing!