Posted on 01/29/2006 1:18:38 PM PST by WKUHilltopper
PJI Supports California Pastor's Claim That County Violated His Rights
By Allie Martin January 27, 2006
(AgapePress) - A former Muslim who is now a Christian pastor claims his rights were violated when he was arrested for playing Christian music in a park.
Azim Shariat, an Iranian who came to the U.S. 30 years ago and became a citizen, converted from Islam to Christianity in 1981 and is now a pastor. Several years ago, he attended a Persian New Year's festival at a public park in Orange County, California, where tens of thousands of other celebrants were gathered.
While there, Shariat took out a portable radio/audiocassette player he had brought along and began playing Christian songs. Someone in the predominately Muslim crowd complained to police, who arrested the Christian festival attendee for allegedly violating a noise ordinance.
Shariat was shocked when the police accosted him, especially since many other people in the park were playing other types of music. But after what the minister describes as his humiliating, public arrest and physical mistreatment while in custody, the County decided not to prosecute and the charges against him were eventually dropped.
Pastor Shariat filed suit against Orange County, challenging the way the ordinance he had been charged with violating was applied. However, the initial trial court ruling did not go in the minister's favor. Although several law enforcement officers testified with widely differing views of what the law required and to whom it should be applied, the trial court nevertheless ruled in the County’s favor that the law was not vague.
Outrage bump
What's the point? This happened several years ago and all charges were dropped.
There are noise ordinances. Was he violating them or not?
And why wasn't anyone else arrested? Perhaps it was because he was playing Christian music?
....yes, the religious music was probably turning off the gays in the bathrooms!
Dunno...the article ran on the 27th of Jan, 2006. Gotta fiqure it's still a pending case.
Personally, I find it annoying when I hear a passing vehicle playing loud music in the middle of the night. Every community does have the right to decide whether or not there is a noise ordinance.
Link to article...sheesh...
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/272006a.asp
"Personally, I find it annoying when I hear a passing vehicle playing loud music in the middle of the night. Every community does have the right to decide whether or not there is a noise ordinance."
I agree completely. I hate that "bass" crap drilling thru my head at stop lights. Apparently the article imples everyone else was playing music as well, but yet only he was "manhandled".
....I agree.
Then its up to him to prove it in Court.
I mean how would we like it, if we had a Christian celebration and some guy shows up playing the Islamic call to prayer?
Sounds to me like this guy went there looking for trouble.
Should have been obvious to him, as it is to everyone else, that if he wanted to play loud religious music in a public park in California, or anywhere else in the nation, he should have remained a Muslim. He would then have been able to claim a multi-culti free pass.
Actually, it's the state's job to prove his guilt; he's not supposed to have to prove his innocence.
"Someone in the predominately Muslim crowd complained to police,"
Complained to the police? Why not ask him to turn the music down first?
"I mean how would we like it, if we had a Christian celebration and some guy shows up playing the Islamic call to prayer?
Sounds to me like this guy went there looking for trouble."
Personally, it wouldn't bother me at all. But you could be right, the guy could have been looking for trouble. The article doesn't really address the "volume" of the music. Maybe it was just as loud as all the others. Basically, that's a public park and it's immaterial for "one group to claim it", even for a day. He had right of access irrespective of what they were doing.
The article is written as if the police were responding more from the compliants of the muslims there in the park. But it's hard to say on the info they gave us.
I meant that the state was discriminating and singling him out.
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