wow…it’s hard to imagine this. I can vaguely understand not inside the festival (private event), but outside?

We’re entering some dark times in the U.S., I hope our country wakes up before it’s woken up by the evil that’s coming.

Indeed there could be more to the story.

Unfortunately it’s going to just keep getting worse until we Christians act against this nonsense. There should be hundreds if not thousands of Christians down there peacefully breaking that law. The real problem is there more committed Muslims than committed Christians in Dearborn.

This is a sad commentary. Unfortunately, this is true not only of Muslim events but if you were to stand outside of a PRIDE event, for example, the response would likely be the same but in that instance you might be charged with a hate crime.

Can we not sue to defend their free speech?

This is wrong.  But I think the police are being pragmatic; a lot of Muslims, a few Christians who may make Muslims angry, potential for violence, solution, remove Christians.  Disorderly conduct, or disturbing the peace, are traditionally whatever the police say they are, or this is my experience, having been arrested for these two charges once years ago for walking quietly on a public sidewalk with some people carrying (very silly, lets leave this in the category of misspent youth) signs.
I would say these people were basically arrested for what the police considered to be stupidity analogous to poking a rattlesnake. 
Susan Peterson

Susan, As likely as what you’re saying is, it’s still a free country where rattlesnake poking is still permitted. Or at least it used to be.

Susan, it is the police who are being stupid, as well as illegal.  They don’t have a clue what First Amendment free speech rights are in this country.  Let’s hope the Thomas More Law Society sues them individually and collectively and the City of Dearborn for a lot or money.  That might get their attention, but I doubt it.  The United States is becoming a totalitarian police state.  We worship any imbecile in a uniform.  It’s time to secede from this evil, baby-killing, war-mongering, pagan empire.

This is but another example of the fear that has been instilled into the minds of certain authorities.  The same situation, but with more painful results, occurs regularly in England. As has been observed in the case of the Texas massacre by a Muslim in the U.S. military, we have all become enablers of this horrific mischief.  If you bend over backwards too far, you will be an easy pushover.

This can’t be the whole thing: as depicted, the police are obviously guilty of unlawful detention. But they seem so cool and self assured! There must be more to this than what is on the video. If there isn’t—get this viral ASAP. Damages on the way.

And this was after a federal court order allowed the group to distribute literature there…I think the police didn’t want the video to get to the court…

I’m having rather mixed reactions to this, oddly enough.
I’m not fan of Islam precisely, but I must ask:  Would we be terribly pleased if four moderately nicely dressed Muslims were just outside a Christian festival, handing out a Koran?  I suspect not.

Then again, this video appears to me as though these men intentionally provoked a response.  Calmly and peacefully, yes, but they weren’t there to wish passersby a good day exactly, either, were they?

I understand the 1st Amendment implications here.

I’m simply not convinced that this is the best approach.

For years people all dressed up in their Sunday best have come to my door. Rang my door bell and tried to convert me to their religion.(Any time of day or evening)This is my private property they are on. Now the law is taking away our right to siliently hand out information on public property payed for with my money? I see a problem How about you? many generations of free loving people have given thier lives for our free speech.(and still are) God Bless america and keep her free!

Unless they are actively hectoring, harassing, interfering…they cannot be arrested for this on a public street at a public event. And here they don’t even go in through the entrance! A more clear-cut violation of free speech has never been seen. And it’s on video: an attorney’s dream! The damages can build them a new Church in Dearborn, unless Sharia law is already in effect as city ordinances (i.e., no new churches).

When it comes to “rights,” Muslims insist that they have them all but we “infidel dogs” have none—Saudi Arabia can build a huge mosque in Rome, and a 13 story one at New York City’s “9/11 Ground Zero,” but we can’t build any churches in Saudi Arabia.  And they can run recruiting fairs in our country, arresting anyone who tries to pass out copies of a Gospel, but anyone who converts to Christianity in their country is beheaded.

I remember to have read once an article by an ex New York Times staff on the dangerous effect of “foolish” secularism followed by America. Many of the ills are attributed to such a way of governmental activities. The accommodation and tolerance is such that even in Vatican a mosque is allowed. Why not a church in Saudi Arabia?  Is this not a result of “foolish” secularism of America and other European countries ?

Thanks for helping to get the word out on this. What’s horrifying about this is not just that they were arrested, but that they were arrested by 8-12 armed police officers (and all within 5 minutes of starting to distribute the gospel).

Someone also should point out that Arab <> Muslim, and that the area has a very large Chaldean Catholic population, too. So distributing the gospel shouldn’t be seen as de facto antagonistic to the spirit of the fun fair. Plus, I see plenty of Arab women taking their kids to the various funfairs at the Catholic Churches in the area—if wearing a burqa is considered proselytization (as it is in France) should we exclude them from participating in our funfairs now, too? Of course not.

This whole thing is scandalous and speaks volumes about the state of “tolerance” in America today. It is not, however, surprising.

Only going to post one time.  When you go to a festival run by a private group such as this, you have to follow the rules and guidelines they set in place.  I see this guy trying to make it a Christian VRS Muslim issue, but it is not.  No, if they tell you that you can not pass out brochurs, then you can not do it.  If they tell you that you can not video tape, then you can not do it.  I know they are trying to make it a big deal that they were told they could not pass out the pamphets outside the fesitival, but if everyone watches the video closely, you will see baricades.  Those baricades mark the line for the festival.  So when your within the baricade, you must follow the rules set forth by the group running the festival.  Notice once they were outside the baricade, nothing more happened with law enforcement.  Here is my advice to the guys trying to turn this into something its not.  If you want to cause trouble like your trying to do, get with the Westboro Baptist Church and learn from them the legal ways to do it.

Sorry, Michael, you failed the bar exam. You can’t suspend the Constitution for a public event on public streets. If it’s a private residence this would be different. Reasonable restrictions may be imposed but no more than that. These guys were arrested for disorderly conduct. Your interpretation would restrict all free speech according to the whim of the event organizer and/or the municipality. See you in court.

Michael: Are you kidding me? To compare these men to Westboro is stretching it to the breaking point. These men are not carrying hateful signs and such; they are simply and peacefully — and legally — trying to pass out a Gospel. People can choose to accept or reject. The barricade in question is to block off drivers, NOT walkers. It is clearly outside those barricades, by the way. That is a public street, not a private residence, so again, your “explanation” sinks. Again, the fact that they sent how many cops to deal with four peaceful people and then not only stopped filming but confiscated the camera — what for? We can’t take pictures of a public event anymore? — should be of major concern to you and everybody else.  And if Dave P. is correct, it is the police that are violating the law.

Just a reminder that this was an ARAB festival, not a Muslim festival. Many Arabs are Christians. Whether they are arrested or not, Christ commanded Christians to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. The police cannot bar people from speaking just because they don’t like the content. This is what freedom of speech and religion is all about. People who don’t want to listen don’t have to. These men had their basic rights violated. They were peacefully assembled on a public street. Consider supporting the St. Thomas More Law Center. They exist to help people maintain their rights, at no cost to the victim. This issue affects every single person in this country.

There is now a group RefugeFromIslam.com that provides safe houses for American Muslims who wish to covert but fear for their lives once their “friends” or family learn of it. It is sad such is needed to protect people in the USA who wish to change their faith.

I would hope that this goes to court.  It was a private event as I said above.  It would be the same as if they had signs that said no weapons allowed.  Would it still be ok for someone with a concelled weapons permit to carry their gun inside?  Also, all the details are not clear.  So I really do hope it does go to court, and the judge that presides over it is more concerned about the legal standpoint, and not the religious one.

I have to agree…If Muslims stood outside a Christian event and handed out information on their faith, what would your reaction be?  I think these people were doing nothing more than trying to bait and create.  Bait the police and create a sensation.  Why not just accept that there are other faiths in this nation who aren’t interested in being converted?  Freedom of religion also implies freedom FROM it and the freedom to chose.

I beg to differ on the last count, Jackie.
Freedom of religion does NOT imply freedom FROM religion.  It cannot.

Every person on earth has a “religion”, though their “faith” may not be presented in a typically recognized way.  Those who declare they don’t believe in God DO none-the-less believe in some form of rationalism or whatever philosophical or humanistic underpinning they may claim.  Whatever set of rules they choose to follow, that IS their religion, whether they wish to refer to it that way or not.

Upon further reflection, I think I’m rather pleased that these men did this.  I’m not ecstatic about people receiving potentially anti-Catholic materials at a World Youth Day, but I’m afraid that’s better than the alternative.  If we can’t allow our faith to be challenged by others who think us ignorant fools, how can we expect to be allowed to evangelize?

I think actions like this are regrettable, but necessary.
If the law won’t allow people to hand out something as innocent as a book, how can we expect to keep any semblance of the sacred in public life?

I suspect we can’t.

Jackie:
A private event, yes, but a public street. Or is there now, as the original blog wrote, Jesus-free buffer zones? That you have to be so many feet away from the event? Ask yourself this question: if this had been a Christian event (automatically labeled racist, sexist, etc.) and the shoe was on the other foot, think the Muslims would have been arrested? Hades no! Plus, there is always the option of simply ignoring them. How many did in this video? There was no obstruction of the sidewalks. Plus, you’re missing the point. Why would the police confiscate the film? I also agree with John: if nature abhors a vacuum, spiritual nature does even more so. Whether people want to agree or not, even no religion is a religion because they believe in something. Christians have every right — and duty — to be heard in the public square. That is not an imposition — you notice, no one ever tells secular humanists or atheists they must leave their beliefs at the door or it’s a private matter!