• Atheist assaulted by Muslim, case dropped, victim criticized by judge for offending religious belief
    337 replies, posted
[quote](CNN) – A protester who ridiculed the Muslim prophet Mohammed claims he was assaulted by a Muslim who was offended by the stunt, but a judge has sympathized with the alleged perpetrator, in a case that has drawn national attention. Self-proclaimed atheist Ernie Perce marched in a Halloween parade in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania last October, dressed in a costume mocking Mohammed. In a YouTube video he posted, Perce can be seen wearing a long fake beard, a white turban and green face paint, calling out provocative phrases like: "I am the prophet Mohammed! Zombie from the dead!" Perce and someone else in a zombie-themed pope costume are carrying a banner that reads "The Parading Atheists of Central Pennsylvania / Ghoulish – Godless – God-Awful." CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories Then a man who is not seen on the video can be heard saying, "Take it down." Amid sounds of a scuffle, Perce can be heard saying "Hey, he's attacking me!" Perce told CNN affiliate WHTM that the man “grabbed me, choked me from the back, and spun me around, to try to get my sign off that was wrapped around my neck." Based on Perce's complaint, a Muslim named Talaag Elbayomy was charged with harassment. But on December 6, District Judge Mark Martin dismissed the case, saying it was one person's word against another's, and that there was no other evidence or eyewitness testimony to prove that Elbayomy had harassed or touched the alleged victim. The judge also scolded Perce, saying he’d been needlessly provocative on an issue sensitive with Muslims. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter "You have that right, but you're way outside your bounds of First Amendment rights," Martin said, according to a recording Perce made of the court hearing. "I think our forefathers intended that we use the First Amendment so that we can speak our mind, not to piss off other people and other cultures, which is what you did." The judge went on to point out that in many Muslim countries, ridiculing Mohammed could warrant the death penalty under Islamic law. Critics say Martin's lecture shows he used Muslim cultural grounds to excuse a deplorable assault, and failed to defend an atheist's First Amendment rights. "That's greatly disturbing to people that believe in free speech," said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley. "You can say things that are hurtful to others. We hope that you don't, but you most certainly can be protected. People like Thomas Paine spent his entire life ticking off people across the colonies." Former terrorism prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy, writing on the blog of National Review, accused the judge of allowing the Muslim suspect to invoke a "Sharia defense – what he claimed was his obligation to strike out against any insult against the prophet Mohammed." And Perce said of Judge Martin, "He let a man who is Muslim, because of his preference of his culture and his way of life, walk free, from an attack." The judge, in a phone interview with CNN, defended his ruling. "The commonwealth didn't present enough evidence to show me that this person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," Martin said. "That's why I dismissed the case. Nothing as nefarious as what everyone's thinking, that I'm a Muslim or I'm biased. I'm actually a Lutheran." Martin added that he has served three tours of duty, totaling more than two years, in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he learned more about Muslim culture. "It just amazes me that people think that I'm biased towards Islam," he added. "I got sniped at once, I got ambushed once, I got attacked by a mob once... I've served close to 27 years in the military - and have gone overseas - exactly to preserve that right [freedom of speech.]” But Martin also repeated his criticism of the atheist protester. "With rights come responsibilities. The more people abuse our rights, the more likely that we're going to lose them," he said. " We need to start policing up our own actions, using common sense, in how we deal with others." Attorney R. Mark Thomas, who represented the Muslim suspect, blamed Perce for the Halloween altercation. "The so-called victim was the antagonist," he told WHTM. "I think this was a good dressing down by the judge." A blog post by the group American Atheists disagrees. "That a Muslim immigrant can assault a United States citizen,” it says, “in defense of his religious beliefs and walk away a free man, while the victim is chastised and insulted... is a horrible abrogation."[/quote] [url]http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/28/judges-dismissal-of-atheists-harassment-claim-against-muslim-makes-waves/?hpt=hp_t3[/url] While I don't necessarily agree with the stunt that the guy pulled, there was absolutely no justification for him to strike the man. I would argue that the atheist was fully within his first amendment rights, even if it was offensive. I think it's ridiculous that the judge would side with the perpetrator of a criminal act of assault & battery just because his religious beliefs were offended. The judge claims that there was a lack of evidence, though the perpetrator actually admitted to it and sought out a police officer because he thought it was a criminal offense to insult Islam. It was also captured on video. [quote]Watch the first clip below; it’s hard to tell what’s going on but something happened, resulting in both the victim and the attacker supposedly tracking down a cop to complain. Why would the suspect want to talk to a cop? Because, silly: He thought it was a criminal offense to insult Islam. And as it turns out, it almost is. The cop testified at the trial but despite his testimony and the video, [b]the judge — a Muslim convert[/b] — dismissed the charge for lack of evidence. As Eugene Volokh notes, that’s arguably defensible: If he thought the cop wasn’t credible for whatever reason then he wouldn’t have much left to get him to “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Don’t get hung up on the dismissal, though.[/quote] [url]http://74.84.198.234/archives/2012/02/24/judge-tosses-charge-against-muslim-who-allegedly-attacked-atheist-for-mocking-mohammed/[/url] Despite evidence that a criminal assault took place (you know, like the confession of the assault), the judge decided to instead harshly criticize the victim of the assault for offending people's religious beliefs. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP-X3hpCfR8[/media]
I know some Atheists are so haughty and annoying that I want to punch their teeth in, but I would never do this. The ruling should be contested.
Wait one fucking moment how the hell did this happen. I thought judges were systematically picked in order to reduce bias?
That judge needs to get fired immediately. He is not doing his job.
omg that guy was such a [I]~militant atheist~[/I], no wonder he got assaulted :l
However, walking around in a costume specifically designed to piss people off? The atheist deserved what he got, regardless of the ruling being fair or not.
atheists like this is why people do not like atheism
I want to hear the Fox New's stance on this. On one hand, it's one of those pesky atheists but on the other it was a muslim that attacked him.
Don't let Michele Bachmann hear about this, she might jump in the race again
[QUOTE=Exuberance;34912349]atheists like this is why people do not like atheism[/QUOTE] They shouldn't judge/hate a group of people because of a few clowns like that person though.
I like the way people are rating me dumb because they know I'm right. I'm going to dress up in a Charles Darwin costume and wear a big banner that says "CHARLES DARWIN: THE ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC CON ARTIST" and parade around in it. Hey, it's FREEDOM of EXPRESSION! [editline]28th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Panda X;34912404]People who aren't nice is why I hate everybody in the world. You shouldn't judge/hate a group of people because of a few clowns like that person.[/QUOTE] Oh, you mean the way any Christians appearing in a negative context in Sensationalist Headlines are basis to judge Christianity as a whole? [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Shitposting/Why Reply?" - Megafan))[/highlight]
Lawfully the muslim should be convicted for assault. Morally I do believe these athiests should go die in a ditch, they make other athiests look bad and make others stereotype them of being cocky, arrogant fucks.
everyone involved in this is stupid
[QUOTE=Strongbad;34912339]However, walking around in a costume specifically designed to piss people off? The atheist deserved what he got, regardless of the ruling being fair or not.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Exuberance;34912349]atheists like this is why people do not like atheism[/QUOTE] religious apologists, bang on time.
[QUOTE=Strongbad;34912407]I like the way people are rating me dumb because they know I'm right. I'm going to dress up in a Charles Darwin costume and wear a big banner that says "CHARLES DARWIN: THE ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC CON ARTIST" and parade around in it. Hey, it's FREEDOM of EXPRESSION! [/QUOTE] So if I hit you because I get offended, perhaps breaking your nose. You wouldn't care?
[QUOTE=Strongbad;34912407]I like the way people are rating me dumb because they know I'm right. I'm going to dress up in a Charles Darwin costume and wear a big banner that says "CHARLES DARWIN: THE ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC CON ARTIST" and parade around in it. Hey, it's FREEDOM of EXPRESSION! [editline]28th February 2012[/editline] Oh, you mean the way any Christians appearing in a negative context in Sensationalist Headlines are basis to judge Christianity as a whole?[/QUOTE] you got rated dumb because youre a dumbass go ahead and walk around in a costume of richard dawkins nobody sensible will attack you
[QUOTE=Strongbad;34912407]Oh, you mean the way any Christians appearing in a negative context in Sensationalist Headlines are basis to judge Christianity as a whole?[/QUOTE] It'd be nice if people wouldn't go around just hating a group of people, atheist or religious people, just because of what some people do who happen to be one or the other.
[QUOTE=Panda X;34912404]They shouldn't judge/hate a group of people because of a few clowns like that person though.[/QUOTE] If people didn't judge others based on the few bad cases, then the world would be a better place wouldn't it?
It's pretty obvious that both are in the wrong here; the atheist for wearing a costume specifically designed to aggravate, and the muslim for assaulting said atheist.
"walking around in a slutty outfit specifically designed to make people horny? that woman deserved what she got, regardless of the ruling being fair or not".
[QUOTE=Turnips5;34912487]"walking around in a slutty outfit specifically designed to make people horny? that woman deserved what she got, regardless of the ruling being fair or not".[/QUOTE] because rape and assault are the virtually the same thing, sure what he said was dumb but seriously, what a shitty comparison.
[QUOTE=Strongbad;34912407]I like the way people are rating me dumb because they know I'm right. I'm going to dress up in a Charles Darwin costume and wear a big banner that says "CHARLES DARWIN: THE ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC CON ARTIST" and parade around in it. Hey, it's FREEDOM of EXPRESSION![/QUOTE] it is freedom of fucking expression you know what isn't a freedom? choking people who disagree with you
[QUOTE=Exuberance;34912470]If people didn't judge others based on the few bad cases, then the world would be a better place wouldn't it?[/QUOTE] The world would be a better place if everyone could have different opinions without someone else feeling the need to involve themselves in other people's lives.
[QUOTE=Kopimi;34912457]you got rated dumb because youre a dumbass go ahead and walk around in a costume of richard dawkins nobody sensible will attack you[/QUOTE] "U r a dummass i will not say y u r a dummass but u r a dummass :downs:"
[QUOTE=Kopimi;34912438]everyone involved in this is stupid[/QUOTE] Quoted for truth.
[QUOTE=Panda X;34912522]The world would be a better place if everyone could have different opinions without someone else feeling the need to involve themselves in other people's lives.[/QUOTE] This, really.
Why can't Allah just stick up for himself?
[QUOTE=Exuberance;34912503]because rape and assault are the virtually the same thing[/QUOTE] it's the same fucking logic. you are not morally justified in assaulting someone because "they made me do it"
All I have to say about this is that the Judge shouldn't have dropped the case. However, to put it nicely, Perce is being a big fucking pussy about the whole thing. He was barely touched and no physical harm came to him. He just went on with the same stupid stuff after the 2.5 seconds of minor contact.
[QUOTE=Strongbad;34912526]This, really.[/QUOTE] yeah man life would be better if the KKK and black people just GOT ALONG WHILE RESPECTING EACH OTHER'S BELIEFS
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