A Pigs Head: Just Because You Can Does Not Mean You Should

Dearborn, Michigan is approximately one-third Arab Muslim. Tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees and other Arabs live in this city. The Washington Post identified Dearborn as “The Arab Capitol of America.” The legal ruling linked below emerges from events in 2012. As described by the Detroit Free Press, Christian Evangelicals marched through the crowds at an Arab-American festival chanting anti-Islamic slogans while carrying the head of a pig mounted on a pole. Pigs, as you know, represent the height of uncleanness to Muslims. The Christians were removed by legal authorities. The Christians then sued. Read the story and you will learn that the courts ruled in favor of the Christians, indicating that even though their actions and words had the potential to incite violence and compromise the safety of the public, they were protected by free speech rights couched in the First Amendment.

Well, civility calls for higher sensibilities. Protections granted by the rule of law are essential to the functions of society. But just because you can do and say something that is legal in the eyes of the law, does not mean you should. This is so often the case in interreligious encounters in society. Read this story and consider what it may mean to you.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2015/10/28/court-evangelists-pigs-head-slurs-deserved-protection/74755074/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=d26578e628-Religion_Weekly_Oct_29_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-d26578e628-399913949