Dearborn, USA - A federal judge has denied a Christian group's motion for an emergency order today in a dispute over the group's right to pass out religious materials at the 14th Dearborn Arab Festival, which begins Friday.
The California-based Arabic Christian Perspective alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the city and its police department that it had been unfairly restricted in its attempts to distribute material at the festival. The group said its rights were violated after organizers sought to confine them to a designated area.
Mayor John B. O'Reilly Jr. said the group, which seeks to convert Muslims to Christianity, will still be allowed at the event, which runs through Sunday, and will be treated like all other organizations given posts during the East Dearborn event.
"This group wanted to have unbridled access, but the event draws 250,000 to 300,000 people," O'Reilly said. "You cannot go to a large community event in Michigan that doesn't have regulations of some sort about how things are going to work out."
U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmonds' ruling puts the issue to rest for this year's event, but lawyers for the ACP say they will continue with the lawsuit.
"This case involves an important constitutional question regarding the government's ability to prohibit peaceful speech activities," attorney Robert Muise said in a statement. "This preliminary ruling, while disappointing, will not affect the remainder of the case. We intend to pursue this as far as necessary."
Fay Beydoun, executive director for the Dearborn-based American Arab Chamber of Commerce, one of the lead organizers of the event, said over 40 nonprofits and religious groups have been accommodated at the event, getting centralized booths for a nominal fee. She said ACP has never contacted organizers for a similar set up.
"We don't have a problem with them being here, but we do have to think about the safety of everyone this weekend," Beydoun said.