The Muslim writer Jason van Boom weighs in on the combox thread from my earlier post about the Banzhaf lawsuit at Georgetown. I thought what he had to say was so good I wanted to make sure the rest of you saw it:

Rod, you’re absolutely right. Banzhaf, the super-litigating troll, is hurting American Muslims.

He doesn’t represent us. He didn’t consult with us. Does he know anything about us? I doubt he knows the difference between a prayer rug and a falafel.

American Muslims don’t have a problem with public expressions of religion by Christians. If you believe in a religion, it’s natural to express it publicly. And the Catholic Church, in particular, has been a great ally of American Muslims. American Catholic officials often have a native sympathy because of the many similarities between anti-Catholic and anti-Muslim prejudice.

With this lawsuit, Banzhaf inadvertently panders to the worst fears of “sharia law is taking over America” fanatics. “See? The Muslims are trying to take Christianity out of America!”

American Muslims did not take prayer out of public schools, ban Christmas trees from city parks, or remove Ten Commandments plaques from court houses. The aggressive secularization of American public spaces began long before the increase in Muslim immigration after 1965. And American Muslims have not pushed this afterward, either.

A public square that is empty of the remembrance of God hurts Muslims just as much as it hurts Jews and Christians.

Well said, Jason, and thank you.