This was a ridiculous suit to begin with, aimed at bringing Sharia blasphemy laws forbidding criticism of Islam into U.S. law, and so it’s good that Hamas-linked CAIR lost its appeal. However, the protracted suit likely accomplished at least one of its intended purposes: intimidating into silence any academics who might be considering saying something that departs from the establishment narrative about the Religion of Peace and its poor, victimized adherents.
“CAIR Loses Appeal on Suit Aimed at Muzzling Arizona Professor,” by Steven Emerson, IPT News, August 11, 2022:
A Scottsdale Community College professor did not violate his Muslim student’s rights when he taught about religious justification in Islamic terrorism, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge’s 2020 ruling dismissing the lawsuit filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on behalf of student Mohamed Sabra. In her 2020 order, District Judge Susan M. Brnovich found that Nicholas Damask’s World Politics coursework and quizzes did not violate Sabra’s First Amendment rights or require him to abandon his faith as a Muslim.
“Curriculum that merely conflicts with a student’s religious beliefs does not violate the Free Exercise Clause,” she wrote, citing precedent.
“Dr. Damask’s course did not inhibit Mr. Sabra’s personal worship in any way,” Brnovich wrote.
Instead, students merely were asked to “demonstrate an understanding of the material taught.”
The appellate court agreed. In a 2-1 ruling, it found that “Sabra suffered no First Amendment injury through his mere exposure to inflammatory course materials.”
“This is a win for civilization,” Damask told the Investigative Project on Terrorism Thursday morning. “Our values, our institutions are being eroded all around us. It’s an odd coalition of the left and multiculturalists and the psychotic, and they’re working to undermine everything that’s core, that’s central to America. And here’s one little bright spot that our core values, our institutions like higher education, have been saved.”
He remains on the Scottsdale faculty and just completed his latest World Politics course with no changes in its content. CAIR sued both the college district and Damask individually, but the courts agreed that, as a public employee, he had qualified immunity for issues related to his work.
An adverse ruling would reverberate far beyond his classroom. “It would affect every single school teacher, K-12, in any public institution with a teaching or education format. Who’d want to do that? Who’d want to be an educator of any sort? You personally could be sued by these creepy organizations like CAIR.”
CAIR’s lawsuit wanted to force the removal of course materials it claimed to “have the primary effect of disapproving of Islam.” It also took issue with a slide in Damask’s lessons that featured an image of Islam’s prophet Muhammad.
“Their arguments are gibberish and I think they know that,” Damask said. But CAIR sees it as “‘a legal jihad we’re waging here. We’re looking to intimidate.’ Which is an odd position for a civil rights group.”
Sabra’s complaint focused on quiz questions which asked whether Islamic terrorists try to emulate Muhammad, whether terrorism is “encouraged in Islamic doctrine,” and whether it is justified within Islam.
The questions, Sabra complained, forced him to “either disavow his religion or be punished by getting the answers wrong on the quiz.”
After the quiz, Sabra wrote to Damask to express his concern.
The course wasn’t “‘for’ or ‘against’ anything” Damask responded, “but aim[ed] to explain international politics.” The quiz questions did not aim to determine whether the interpretations were right or wrong, “but rather to convey what terrorists believe,” the Ninth Circuit court said.
But Sabra never tried to ask Damask to clarify the intent behind the questions. He never filed a complaint with the school. Instead, he took his grievance to social media, which stoked emotions and led to threats against Damask and the school.
“It went from zero to 100,” Damask said, “from having a class for 24 years to now you’re being dragged into federal court.”
“But in teaching about terrorism, understanding what is motivating tens of thousands of young men across the Muslim world, middle and upper class,” who are joining jihad is relevant and important, he said. “It’s same sources is motivating them. The point is not ‘are they correct or incorrect about that source,’ the point is that’s what’s motivating them.”
The section on Islamic terrorism, the ruling noted, represented “a fragment of a single module that was itself just one-sixth of the [World Politics] course.”
And Damask’s course did not trample on the First Amendment’s Establishment clause, as CAIR argued.
“Indeed, the most instructive authority we have identified goes the other way,” the Ninth Circuit ruling said. It cited a Fourth Circuit case from 2019 in which a Christian student objected to questions about Islam’s shahada, a declaration that there “is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” Correctly knowing its content, the ruling found, was not a requirement that the student “engage in any devotional practice related to Islam.” Instead, it was simply “an academic exercise to demonstrate her understanding of the world history curriculum.”
CAIR also claimed that Damask frustrated its work to fight “Islamophobia” because it had to work with a religious scholar to develop a program rebutting his coursework….
somehistory says
I enjoyed reading this in my inbox. Made my day. and the professor is right: it’s “gibberish “and a part of the **warfare** they hide by calling it “jihad” and then claiming that the word means “inner struggle” and can be as simple as exercise or eating right. In the case of c.a.i.rats getting involved, it means legal shenanigans, lies, misapplication of laws, etc. to get people to shut up and hand over money…and be fired, so others will be too afraid to speak up.
and they were trying to “develop a program” to combat his course…which was pointing out the Truth; pointing to the fact that the *motivation* for terror comes from islam, the book of evil filth, the barracks where mozlums are taught to wage war and kill infidels…and supported by the likes of c.a.i.rats, msa, and therefore, they were trying to develop a program to **lie** more. Lie to the court in order to squelch the truth.
Greek Empress says
Doing a happy dance in AZ—we followed this case from day one. It’s how I found out about FIRE, and became a supporter.
Political side note: the presiding judge
Susan Brnovich is married to Mark Brnovich, our outgoing attorney general and who recently lost the AZ Republican primary for US senate.
GreekEmpress says
PS
Bill Maher gets it:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjK5c-8pMf5AhVUEEQIHblxC0UQFnoECCwQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdecider.com%2F2022%2F08%2F13%2Fbill-maher-talks-free-speech-salman-rushdie-attack-on-real-time%2Famp%2F&usg=AOvVaw2TWM4RLBwbygPPsI2yzZ1t
somehistory says
I thought about you when I read this earlier. Guessed you’d know and be following this professor as he battled for his job, his livelihood and Truth, against a terror org.
Sometimes, the good guys do win.
mortimer says
THE SUPREMACISM OF SHARIA LAW IS THE ISSUE HERE, NOT ‘TRUTH’.
CAIR is simply trying to impose discriminatory Sharia law upon the university.
-“The (DHIMMI) agreement is also violated (A: with respect to the offender alone) if the state has stipulated that any of the following things break it, and one of the subjects does so anyway, though if the state has not stipulated that these break the agreement, then they do not; namely, if one of the subject people:
-5- mentions something IMPERMISSIBLE about Allah, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), or Islam.” – Reliance of the Traveller’ Chapter ‘O’ 11.10.05.
-“The dhimmi is obliged not to mention Allah or His Apostle…dhimmis must hold their tongue…. (From the Wagjiz, written in 1101 A.D. by al-Ghazali)
…………………………………………………………………………….
What Prof. Damask is teaching is called ‘POLITICAL SCIENCE’ in the Western world. Now, Islam calls itself a ‘DEEN’ … the most exact translation of ‘DEEN’ into English is ‘GOVERNANCE’. In other words Islam is strictly speaking a ‘system of governance’ … that is certainly a ‘political system’ that may reasonably be studied under the rubric of POLITICAL SCIENCE.
However, Islam doesn’t allow a non-Muslim kafir to speak about any Islamic topic, whether he teaches it truthfully and accurately or not. TRUTH IS NOT AN ISSUE in this discussion.
The issue for CAIR is that KAFIRS SHOULD NOT TEACH ABOUT ISLAM or even TEACH THE ARABIC LANGUAGE according to discriminatory Sharia law.
raja says
Somehistory,
He is not just a good guy, which is a relative term. He seems to be a man of character and strength, fighting for truth was his goal perhaps. He must he having iron grit and character in the face of onslaught of Islamists. I guess the terrorists might have strived to bribe him and given him blank stares intimidating him. God knows if he was threatened too. Terrorism works as it is a tool of Satan.
I can imagine when local thugs give you a cold look when you are resisting them. It happened when a local encroacher brought in a local politician and some thug and they gazed at me in front of the police station, where I was headed/going.
somehistory says
Perhaps that is your *issue*
For me, it’s Truth and only Truth. I don’t give a bean for what you are proclaiming as important. It is not important to me. don’t give a fig.
mozlums don’t have “law.” They are lawless, using the evil, disgusting *commands* of a piece of filth by which to live and hurt everyone else.
Truth is the issue!
somehistory says
Yes, raja. He has to have some iron will to stand up against so many wanting to bring him down.
I’m sorry thugs have endeavored to intimidate you. I’m glad you are standing your ground. it’s the only real way to live.
somehistory says
to “mortimer”
You might want to read what Jesus said to those who ***believed**** they were doing what was right. I’ll post part of it here;
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’’
Note the final word: ***”law…less…ness..” “lawlessness.”
mozlums don’t have law….they are just like the ones to whom Jesus said He will speak and tell them to “get away from me, you workers of Lawlessness.”
It matters not what word they use, and you constantly post here….it is lawlessness on steroids.
PRCS says
Yes, truth (lower case ‘t’) IS the issue.
Muslims DO have a set of laws to comply with. Islamic law. An ugly, barbaric law which has no legitimacy in the U.S. But law, nonetheless. Law which must be acknowledged in order to effectively counter it.
To paraphrase Biden, you obviously choose your so-called Truth over facts.
———
law noun
plural laws
Definition of law (Entry 1 of 2)
1a(1): a binding custom or practice of a community : a rule of conduct or action prescribed (see PRESCRIBE sense 1a) or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority
(2): the whole body of such customs, practices, or rules
The courts exist to uphold, interpret, and apply the law.
(3): COMMON LAW
b(1): the control brought about by the existence or enforcement of such law
The Indian government is believed to have detained thousands of other people last year … . The government said the move, decried by critics as draconian, was necessary to maintain law and public order in the region.
— BBC.com
— see also LAW AND ORDER
(2): the action of laws considered as a means of redressing wrongs
also : LITIGATION
developed the habit of going to law over the slightest provocation
— H. A. Overstreet
(3): the agency of or an agent of established law
When he saw that the fighting was escalating, he called in the law.
c: a rule or order that it is advisable or obligatory to observe
a law of self-preservation
d: something compatible with or enforceable by established law
The decrees were judged not to be law and were therefore rescinded.
e: CONTROL, AUTHORITY
The child submits to no law.
2aoften capitalized : the revelation of the will of God set forth in the Old Testament
bcapitalized : the first part of the Jewish scriptures : PENTATEUCH, TORAH
— see BIBLE TABLE
3: a rule of construction or procedure
the laws of poetry
4: the whole body of laws relating to one subject
criminal law
probate law
5a: the legal profession
studied for a career in law
b: law as a department of knowledge : JURISPRUDENCE
c: legal knowledge
a man with much history but little law
6a: a statement of an order or relation of phenomena that so far as is known is invariable under the given conditions
a law of thermodynamics
Boyle’s law
b: a general relation proved or assumed to hold between mathematical or logical expressions
at law
: under or within the provisions of the law
enforceable at law
law verb
lawed; lawing; laws
Definition of law (Entry 2 of 2)
intransitive verb
: LITIGATE
transitive verb
chiefly dialectal : to sue or prosecute at law
mortimer says
SH wrote: “mozlums don’t have law”
Thus, SH reveals her complete ignorance of Sharia law which is voluminous, and binding upon all Muslims. In fact, LAWFULNESS is extremely important to the jihadists, because they must observe the rules of jihad in order to qualify for Islamic paradise.
Muslims are VERY lawful, but they observe SHARIA law. Islamic law is superior to manmade law because Allah doesn’t need your approval.
Sharia law is more important in Islam than the hadiths and Koran, and the Sharia may not be abrogated. Sharia law is the only law that counts in the view of the mullahs.
SH thinks that speaking about Islam without studying it will add be beneficial. Well, pontificating about Islam without studying it does not help anyone.
Muslims believe that the entire New Testament and the words of Jesus are voided and abrogated by Mohammed’s revelations. Jesus is not a source of authority for Muslims.
mortimer says
correction: speaking about Islam without studying it will add to our knowledge and understanding … making unsupported claims is seldom helpful … Robert Spencer always supports his claims with Islamic quotes that are AI in weight and authority … that requires study of the topic of Islam … Robert Spencer had to study to write 20 books about Islam
somehistory says
“mortimer” shows his complete ignorance of Truth and Jesus Christ. those are not important to him, no matter what he claims.
“mortimer” disagrees with Jesus Christ. “mortimer” calls Jesus Christ wrong.
when “mortimer” quotes the Bible, he is being just like i. elmi, alias i omar when she quotes the Bible. Birds of a feather. “moritmer” shows that the only thing important to him is what the book of filthy evil from satan says and what mozlums believe.
somehistory says
molzum “law” is as much real “law” as what the James Gang, the Dalton Gang, Ma Barker and her gang, the Manson gang used to decide what they found acceptable. Demands and commands of a criminal, based on what he wants his gang to do, is not “law.”
It’s not “law” and nothing anyone can write will change that Fact of Truth Truth is Truth and mozlums are all full of lies about everything. Even the fact that they lie. Lies are not Truth and lawlessness is not law. No matter how it’s sliced or who might be doing the slicing.
PRCS says
Islamic law IS law–to Muslims.
If you object to that truth–tell Robert Spencer to stop using the term.
PRCS says
I saw this at CAIR’s website yesterday.
Oh, happy day!
Though CAIR wasn’t happy, of course..
No, course material did not prevent Sabra from practicing his “religion”. U.S. law does.
Keith O says
Anything that brings those bastards to heal is a good thing.
I still can’t understand why they are still operating in the US?
PRCS says
Until the break actual U.S. law, we’re stuck with them
But we can challenge them.
The CAIR on TV site is worth a visit.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkHzJNN6BpB-sSYYvA9mruw
The owner posts here as Livingimage.
DavidR says
“We don’t need no education” said the Muslim student in typical adolescent defiance. His supportive parents whined about the “dark sarcasm in the classroom”. Another parent was heard demanding “leave them kids alone” even using their own boy’s preferred pronouns, “them” and “them”. Still more parents lamented the absence of training in high explosives warning it might lead to injuries and death prior to martyrdom. This conclusion was contested by an Islamic scholar who stated “I am an imam wearing a modest, tan, knee length tunic with matching tan pants and my personal pronouns are doctor and sir. It is well documented that decapitation held a special place in the heart of Muhammad and blowing people up is a Western add on”.
Herbert says
That this decision took 91 pages shows what is wrong with the legaL system today.
GreekEmpress says
PS
Bill Maher gets it
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiAp_jpv8f5AhUnLkQIHQsMBLoQFnoECCkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fmedia%2Fbill-maher-reacts-salman-rushdie-attack.amp&usg=AOvVaw0XdN9Cx_LE2m_jMGSI9UXX
Infidel says
One of President Trump/Mitch McConnell’s biggest achievements – flipping the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – is now visible here through this watershed decision
GreekEmpress says
+1
Andrew Blackadder says
The islamic religion is living proof that the truth really does hurt and they cant handle that.
notnolib says
CAIR is a terrorist organization.
somehistory says
Yes and if not for ‘bo,’ they would have all been prosecuted for their crimes. They belong to the mozlum brotherhood.
Stewart says
CAIR didn’t and can’t lose this case (this attempt to destroy free speech) until it has to pay heavily for its actions. If CAIR is forced to pay the defendant’s legal fees and even an additional penalty (a large fine), then it might lose.