Yesterday, Negeen Mayel appeared on Freedom Watch her arrest last year at the Dearborn Arab Festival. Those of you who have been paying attention to this event should already know the background behind this story (and for those who don’t, kindly go here for a recap of the events). It is good to see that this news story isn’t being ignored, and that something is being done to let people know that this kind of injustice is going on in Dearborn and other areas that are being affected by Islamisation.

Watch the five minute video clip here:

• Freedom Watch – Since When is Filming Cops a Crime?

Mary Jo Sharp just updated via Facebook that all four—Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Paul Rezkalla, and Negeen Mayel—have been found not guilty of disturbing the peace. Mayel’s separate charge of failure to obey stuck, though. Their lawyer will appeal.

Update:

State Representative Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) had the following statement regarding the verdicts given in the trial of the four Christian missionaries arrested at the Dearborn Arab American Festival:

Today in Dearborn, the jury got it mostly right in finding Paul, David and Nabeel innocent of disturbing the peace. The city of Dearborn, the Dearborn Police and especially the Dearborn Mayor owe them a huge apology immediately.

However the guilty decision for Negeen Mayel’s charge of failure to obey a police officer is extremely disturbing to me. I met with the ACLU here in Michigan recently to make sure we had good laws protecting citizens’ right to video police officers and their activity and they said we have the model for other states.

But based on today’s decision, it seems that police in Michigan can get cameras turned off before doing questionable things (like making an arrest that was just found to be bogus by the jury). And how did the police have the right to tell Negeen Mayel to turn off her video camera and how can he touch her… for what reason? The video she took made it clear the police stepped way out of bounds.

Now, for all this charade, the city of Dearborn needs to be dealt with firmly—unless they plan to try to secede from the union and have their own laws. This is the United States of America and we here in the USA have something called Freedom of Speech. Dearborn—get used to it!

(HT: Gene Clyatt)

Update:

Marie Wood said, “The judge gave [Mayel] time served for the night she spent in jail after the initial arrest. We will fight this on appeal and all these lying police officers and officials will have to answer for their despicable deceit.”

Update:

Niraj Warikoo for the Detroit Free Press reports (in part):

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly Jr. said Friday night that he respects the decision but that the missionaries were anti-Muslim bigots pulling a publicity stunt to gain attention on YouTube in order to raise money. … “It’s really about a hatred of Muslims,” O’Reilly said. “That is what the whole heart of this is. … Their idea is that there is no place for Muslims in America. They fail to understand the Constitution.”

You, sir, are a disgrace to public office.

Update:

Nabeel Qureshi posted his thoughts on the trial and verdict. Although the entire post is really quite excellent, the last paragraph is my favourite and very teachable, wherein he not only praises the Lord for their acquittals but also praises the Lord for Mayel’s guilty verdict! “Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen.”

“Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

(Job 2:10).

I recently ran into this video by a fellow named Farhan who attempts a response to David Wood’s video entitled How Can God Die? I have decided to post a video response of my own, so here it is:

Please excuse the less than perfect video editing. I used a different editing program than I usually use for making this video.

Read the rest of this entry

For those of us who have been following the unfolding saga about the arrest of the four Acts 17 Apologetics members at the 2010 Arab International Festival in Dearborn, MI, but who are not directly involved with the case, the whole issue should be practically resolved now. (Even in the courtroom, if justice retains any real meaning in the state of Michigan, the matter should be practically resolved.) Acts 17 Apologetics not only did nothing wrong, violating neither the rules of the festival not the laws of the City, but even the incident for which they were arrested and are facing trial, “the Williams incident” that they have released the video footage of, demonstrates no wrongdoing of any kind. As I had indicated to Yahya Snow, they have argued from one video release to the next that they never violated any rules or laws, from the moment they entered the Arab Festival until the moment they were arrested.

When Officer Brian Kapanowski took Negeen Mayel into custody for questioning vis-à-vis the criminal complaint, for no lawful reason the Officer In Charge Sgt. Jeff Mrowka ordered that all four should be arrested immediately for Breach of Peace. He claimed that it was “due to their behavior” and for preventing “a possible riot or some other type of violence from erupting.” For this and other reasons, Acts 17 Apologetics have released numerous videos proving that during their visit and up to their arrest they did nothing wrong and neither riot nor violence was impending (and to refute further accusations against them by others, e.g., Mayor John O’Reilly who alleged that they were blocking a key exit, that they refused to disperse on police orders, and so forth). Sgt. Mrowka took a gamble that the complaint from Williams and the eye-witness testimony of Amal Alslami were factually correct, ordering the arrest of Acts 17 Apologetics. He went ‘all in’, as they say, and his gamble lost. Alslami gave self-contradicting statements to the police and Williams’ version of the events were factually incorrect—as the video evidence shows. The Williams incident was the last card left for their critics to play and, just like every other accusation, it got trumped by the facts.

For a breakdown of the accusations contrasted against what actually happened, please watch the video for yourself. Any commentary from me would only be a repeat of what Nabeel Qureshi has already said.

• POLICE REPORT: “Acts 17 was harassing people, screaming at Muslims, and starting a riot!”
• MAYOR: “Acts 17 just wants to make Muslims look bad!”
• JUDGE: “Give them their cameras back.”
• DAVID AND NABEEL: “Here’s the footage, everyone. We told you they were lying.”
• MUSLIM: “Acts 17 is harassing Muslims? Let’s kill those guys.”
• CITY OF DEARBORN: “Here is David’s home address.”

Thanks, Dearborn. You just keep adding to your lawful conduct. It seems David Wood has discovered that the City of Dearborn has been releasing copies of the arrest reports with personal identifying information removed for everyone—except David Wood.

“Not long ago, someone forwarded me the report being released by the Dearborn Police Department. Nabeel’s address, Negeen’s address, and Paul’s address had all been taken out. My full name and home address, however, were prominently displayed on page six of the report!” Just when you think the City of Dearborn could not make themselves look any worse. They are piling up their legal miscarriages. Click here to read more from David Wood at the Acts 17 Apologetics blog.

Please keep David Wood and his family in your prayers. And remember that the God we serve is almighty and sovereign.

John 19:8-11,

When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

UPDATED: 10 August 2010, 5:07 AM (Pacific)

Jason Smathers, from the Witness Unto Me blog, has been continuing his research into the arrest of Acts 17 Apologetics and the charges against them. For just over a week he has been digging into “the Williams incident”—that is, the circumstances from which came the criminal complaint and for which Acts 17 Apologetics were arrested.

“The Williams incident,” of course, refers to festival volunteer Roger Williams, whose complaint to the Dearborn police serving at the Arab International Festival resulted in the arrest of the Acts 17 Apologetics team—Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Paul Rezkalla, and Negeen Mayel—on charges of disturbing the peace. What we know for sure is that there are two versions of the events surrounding the complaint: there is the version that Williams reported to the police, and the version that Acts 17 Apologetics says the video camera recorded. The question of interest to all those following this story, and to Judge Mark Somers and the 19th District Court, is which version corresponds with the truth? Perhaps another way to put it: Did Roger Williams and Amal Alslami report to the police what actually happened?

Read the rest of this entry

A couple of thoughts occurred to me, as I have been contemplating the documentation that Witness Unto Me requested and received. One is critical of Amal Alslami, the other is critical of Acts 17 Apologetics. Let me share them.

Amal Alslami was one of the volunteers this year at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn, Michigan. The question I find myself chewing on is whether or not she is reliable as a witness, and this question occurs to me because I notice that she had given contradicting testimony to the Dearborn police.

The arrest report entered by Officer Brian Kapanowski contains the description of the original harassment complaint reported by Roger Williams. According to the report, Williams said that the four Acts 17 Apologetics members had surrounded him with all three cameras and badgered him with questions until he finally had to radio security, at which time he was finally left alone. Now notice what it says on Page 2 of the report: Alslami claimed that she had “observed the above incident as Williams had recalled” and “took photographs of the subjects.” And Williams himself likewise claimed that she had witnessed the incident.

But then there is the follow-up report entered by Officer Michael Sabo, who states that on June 23 he spoke with Alslami about the events of the June 18 arrest. Now observe something interesting here. On Page 2 of Officer Sabo’s follow-up report, Alslami states that she was patrolling the festival grounds in her golf cart when Williams “came up to and told her about the individuals who just harassed him,” and that she accompanied him to the police Command Center to help identify the people he was accusing. But this time Alslami states that she “didn’t see any of the confrontation between Williams and the four subjects arrested.”

Now that’s interesting. On Friday night, June 18, Alslami claims that she observed the incident. Then on Wednesday morning, June 23, she claims that she didn’t see any of the confrontation. Two completely different testimonies. Not only is her reliability as a witness called into question, but her statement to Officer Sabo might explain why she did not have the photographs in her possession that she allegedly took (i.e., because she actually did not observe the incident).

But I have another thought, one that arose during a conversation I had last night with Jason Smathers. (In fact, it may have been his thought originally.) In all the videos being released by Acts 17 Apologetics about their experiences and arrest at the Arab Festival, why is it that not a single one of the videos has anything to do with the original complaint lodged against them? While being transported to the police station by Officers Smith and Kapanowski, both David Wood and Nabeel Qureshi admitted that they had video recorded the incident with Roger Williams; even when they stopped filming, the camera was still recording the audio, according to Wood. So then the relevant footage admittedly exists. Why, then, has Acts 17 Apologetics been releasing almost any video but that particular one?

The footage released of Negeen Mayel being taken into custody had nothing to do with the complaint for which they were being arrested. The footage of Qureshi interacting with the potty-mouthed Muslim male, that was unrelated to the complaint for which they were being arrested. The footage of Qureshi talking to the Muslim youth, and the footage of Wood and Qureshi as they entered the festival; none of these had anything to do with the complaint for which they were being arrested. I think everyone can agree that in the footage released so far there is nothing wrong with what they were doing. They were conducting themselves respectfully and admirably in a Christ-like spirit, abiding by local laws and festival policies.

But what about the incident with Roger Williams, the very thing for which they were accused of and arrested for disturbing the peace? All of the video footage released thus far notwithstanding, what about the footage of that incident? I am rather curious to know why that footage has not be released yet. And I am not the only one.

David Wood. Nabeel Qureshi. Gentlemen, please do explain.

Jason Smathers, who runs the Witness Unto Me blog, has finally received copies of the arrest records and other documentation he requested at the end of June relating to the Dearborn Arab International Festival and the arrest of the Acts 17 Apologetics team. While very little of the information is new, the documentary evidence is appreciated for proving which side of the story is more reliable and trustworthy (when compared against what the camera recorded). What is essentially ‘new’ to the ongoing story are the unedited statements from the Dearborn police regarding (a) the circumstances surrounding the arrest, (b) the original “criminal complaint” from Roger Williams, and (c) the testimony of Amal Alslami, who supported Williams and his complaint. The other documents included, e.g., Food Booth Rules & Regulations, are interesting for the insanely curious but otherwise contain little of probative value to the case. Smathers requested all such documents primarily because he wanted to know what the rules and policies for the festival were (that Acts 17 Apologetics was supposed to know).

Click here to see Smathers’ blog entry, and here for the PDF document collection. Below is a breakdown of what information the various pages contain.

• pp. 1-5: Open letter from Mayor John B. O’Reilly Jr. This is a copy of the letter that O’Reilly had published previously, “Please consider the following before condemning us,” which Qureshi had responded to (and so did Mary Jo Sharp from Confident Christianity).
• pp. 6-9: Police mugshots of Nabeel Qureshi and David Wood. When it comes to the facts of the case, these are of no value; and the quality is so bad the images are barely discernible.
• pp. 10-25: Arrest report entered by Officer Brian Kapanowski (19 June 2010, 2:39 AM) detailing the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the arrest of Acts 17 Apologetics from the perspective of the police involved, plus a list of the video equipment seized.
• pp. 26-28: A follow-up report entered by Officer Michael Sabo (22 June 2010, 2:16 PM), describing further details of the events leading up to and surrounding the arrest of Acts 17 Apologetics from the perspective of the police involved.
• pp. 29-32: Food Booth Rules & Regulations for the Arab International Festival.
• pp. 33-36: A description of the businesses, ministries, and sponsors participating at the festival and the tents and booths they occupied.
• pp. 37-39: Emergency (Evacuation) Plan for the Arab International Festival.
• pp. 40-41: American Arab Chamber of Commerce letter written to the Dearborn City Council for approval of the Arab International Festival; includes the dates of the festival and the public streets it would occupy.
• pp. 42-43: Special Events Application and Request Form.
• pp. 44-46: Proposal for the Arab International Festival, from the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, detailing the dates, times, locations, and responsibilities required for the festival.

(via)
(HT: Luis Dizon)

There was apparently a rally in Dearborn, MI, yesterday (Monday) protesting the arrests of the Acts 17 Apologetics team, organized by Dearborn attorney and Republican candidate for Congress Majed Moughni, who is not only concerned that their constitutional rights were violated but also that it might hurt the image of Dearborn. “Their arrests should never have happened,” he told the Detroit Free Press. “We respect the Constitution. No one should be afraid to come here and speak.” He said the rights of the missionaries ought to be respected even if the people being addressed don’t agree with the message. “It’s like the KKK walking into an African-American festival,” he said. “You can’t arrest them just because you disagree with their views.”

Behind him was a large sign that he had designed which read, “USA: Free Speech For Everyone!” Moughni is also a Muslim well-known for organizing a silent protest along with 150 other Muslims following the Christmas Day terrorist attack on Detroit-bound Northwest Flight 253 (for which he received a death threat).

Supporters for the protest rally at Dearborn City Hall had come from Monroe County, Taylor, Dearborn, Canton, Westland, Brownstown, Woodhaven, and even the state of Arizona, Moughni said. “Our biggest battle today is fighting for the freedoms of others in order to protect our freedoms. If we succeed, we all win!”

• “Rally in Dearborn backs arrested missionaries.” Niraj Warikoo. Detroit Free Press. 27 July 2010.
• “Muslim candidate leads rally in Dearborn for Christian evangelists arrested at Arab Fest.” Jonathan Oosting. Michigan Live. 27 July 2010.
• “Muslim attorney leads rally for Christian missionaries in Dearborn.” Edward Brayton. Michigan Messenger. 27 July 2010.
• Dearborn Area Community Members (Facebook.com).