Levay’s suit seeks relief for the threat of violence that Islamic extremism poses to him and his community. But he does not allege injury to him personally, or an imminent, particularized threat of future injury.... Even if Levay did allege an actionable injury, the Court does not have the authority to direct Congress to legislate on an issue, much less vanquish the specter of religiously-motivated violence.... And, more fundamentally, Levay’s requests for a state-issued Koran, a national registry of Muslims, and financial sanctions for rogue mosques offend basic constitutional principles..... Levay does not have standing to bring suit and requests remedies which violate the Constitution.UPDATE: In Levay v. United States, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130138 (ED MI, Aug. 16, 2017), the court denied a motion by the plaintiff to amend the judgment.
Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Suit Seeking U.S. Edit of Qur'an Dismissed As Frivolous
In Levay v. United States, (ED MI, July 11, 2017), a Michigan federal district court, adopting a magistrate's recommendation (LEXIS link), dismissed as frivolous a suit by a Jewish plaintiff seeking a formal declaration that "Koranic Sharia Law" is incompatible with U.S. constitutional law. The suit also asks for the court to direct Congress to outlaw certain passages from the Qur'an, to issues a federally approved and edited version of the Qur'an, to withdraw tax exempt status from mosques that do not adopt this new version, and to establish a National Islamic Registry Program. The court said in part: