A community debate over religious freedom surfaced in Western Pennsylvania last week when Dutch feminist author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee who has lived under the threat of death for denouncing her Muslim upbringing, made an appearance at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.That, simply put, is a thinly-veiled death threat, and for that, this imam should be charged. This is exactly why she sadly needs bodyguards and other security.
Imam Fouad ElBayly, president of the Johnstown Islamic Center, was among those who objected to Hirsi Ali’s appearance.
“She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death,” said ElBayly, who came to the U.S. from Egypt in 1976.
See also this conversation a Hot Air reader had with the imam by phone, where El-Bayly all but denied what he said.
Actually he said his religion demanded death for her.
ReplyDeleteWith what do you want to charge him? Hate speech? I don't think it is against the law to threaten.
ReplyDelete