Thursday, September 16, 2010

New Jersey Transit Fires Employee For Burning Pages From Qur'an

During a protest on Sept. 11 in New York City at the site of a proposed mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero, Derek Fenton who has worked for New Jersey Transit for 11 years burned pages from a Qur'an. Police took Fenton away from the protest, but did not arrest him. The New York Daily News reported Tuesday that Fenton has now been fired from his job for violating New Jersey Transit's Code of Ethics. An ACLU spokesman says that if Fenton was off duty, his 1st Amendment rights were likely violated by the firing. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead].