The Justice Department is finally defending religious liberty! I know what you're thinking: an administration who routinely orders people to violate their beliefs is hardly qualified to protect yours. But not so fast, Christians. This program is for Muslims who the DOJ thinks have been unfairly targeted for their faith. The Obama administration thinks it's time to rally around the Islamists whose image took a hit after the terrorists attacks on San Bernardino, World Trade Center, and Pentagon.
"Too many Muslim Americans and those perceived as Muslim suffer a backlash of violence and discrimination," said Civil Rights Division chief Vanita Gupta, who launched the effort this week. "We see criminal threats against mosques; harassment in schools; and even reports of violence [directed at] Muslim Americans..." Under the new initiative, schools will be a special focus, as will DOJ's expanded power to "investigate and prosecute complaints, lead community outreach, and develop guidance for federal prosecutors."
CNSNews.com broke the story this morning, which is bound to be as controversial as the agency itself. This is, after all, the same DOJ that said it doesn't have the resources to vet Syrian refugees. Now, suddenly, it has countless dollars to spend on the religious liberty of Muslims (while systematically denying it to American Christians)? Well, the Justice Department is right about one thing. There is a religious freedom crisis in our country. But it has more to do with the persecution of Bible-believing Christians than a population whose radical factions have waged jihad on U.S. soil. Recognizing the Department's abysmal record protecting non-Muslims, Gupta claimed the program would "benefit [everyone] of every background and every religion."
That's hard to believe, considering that the same agency hasn't lifted a finger to defend the civil rights of people who aren't just being insulted -- but fired, bankrupted, harassed, and threatened for their conservative Christian beliefs. The president can't even bring himself to criticize the mass murder of Middle East Christians as "genocide," but he'll give favored status to a group whose factions do more to oppress people's civil rights than any other? Even for this administration, that's a new low.
