Policeman Punished For Refusing To Muslin Prayers

In the context of other stories that have surfaced about Muslim attempts at proselytizing, this story is not unique--but the attempt to punish someone who wanted no part of it is:

Policeman sues over orders to attend Islamic prayer

A Tulsa, Okla., police captain is suing his chief and the city after he was demoted and targeted by an internal investigation for refusing orders to attend an event featuring lessons in Islam, a tour and a prayer service at a mosque linked to an unindicted co-conspirator in a terror financing trial.

The lawsuit is being brought by the Thomas More Law Center on behalf of Paul Fields:

At issue is a solicitation by officials in the Tulsa Police Department for officers to attend a "Law Enforcement Appreciation Day" organized by the Islamic Society of Tulsa. The invitation said the officers would be given tours of the mosque, meet the mosque's leadership, be given presentations of "beliefs, human rights, women" and "watch the 2-2:45 weekly congregational prayer service

There was a huge discrepancy between the way the event was presented to the police officers and what it actually was. Though the event was called "Law Enforcement Appreciation Day" and was presented as community outreach by police department officials. It was not:

"Rather, it included a mosque tour, meetings with local Muslims and Muslim leadership, observing a 'weekly prayer service,' and lectures on Islamic 'beliefs,'" the Thomas More Law Center explained. "The event was scheduled for Friday, March 4, 20011 – Friday being the 'holy day' or 'Sabbath' for Islam. In fact, the event was originally voluntary, but when not enough officers were willing to attend, it became mandatory."

The lawsuit alleges, "The event held by the Islamic Society involved Islamic proselytizing. The Islamic Society event was advertised as including Islamic proselytizing, and it in fact resulted in the proselytizing of city police officers who attended the event."

The day "had nothing to do with any official police function. It clearly fell outside of the police department's policy on community policing, and based on comments made by police department officials in a closed door meeting, it was not 'community outreach' as it has been previously portrayed," the law firm explained.

After the event, the mosque used a picture of the police attendance, but the way they presented it had nothing at all to do with "Law Enforcement Appreciation Day":

The suit also notes that the Tulsa Islamic Society is affiliated with CAIR and the Islamic Society of North America, both of which were unindicted, co-conspirators in the 2008 Holy Land Foundation trial involving terror financing.

The case is not about to draw a lot of media attention, but it will be interesting to see how it progresses.

Hat tip: Doc's Talk

Technorati Tag: Islam and .