"Legal terrorist" files third complaint to enforce "rights" of Muslim students at Catholic University

Meet John F. Banzhaf. Not just plain ole John F. Banzhaf, but Professor John F. Banzhaf, the Third (no less). Wikipedia describes him as a law professor at George Washington University and a "legal activist", which is like calling Ted Cruz "somewhat conservative". Prof. Banzhaf's own website says he's been called a "legal terrorist", "the Osama bin Laden of Torts", and a "legal bomb-thrower". And that's still putting it mildly.

I say that because the good professor is well known in liberal, secular humanist circles -- and notorious in legal circles -- for filing dozens of human rights complaints, including those alleging discrimination against non-smokers, women, and just about every poor, down-trodden minority you can name. They're all being put down, you know, by the racist, sexist, homophobic, yada yada yada white upper class.

So Prof. Banzhaf has form, as they say. Even so, his jihad against Catholic University is, IMHO, over the top. It began back in 2011, when he filed two complaints with the DC Office of Human Rights against Catholic University (which, honestly, is a Catholic university), on behalf of CU's Muslim Students Association. No Genevieve, I am not making this up. Nor do I have any idea why Muslims would want to go to a Catholic university, but they do, and they are organized. Here's a picture of some of the members of the student group.

Sadly, the Muslim Students Association is not officially recognized by the university. Prof. Banzhaf's complaint to the DC Office of Human Rights was not based on any communication with the Muslim students, but on an article he read in the Washington Post in which one Muslim undergrad said he was told that he could not create an Islamic worship group. But CU does have an official group for Jewish law students [Jewish law students? Really?! Ed.], ergo the Muslims were being discriminated against. So said Prof. Banzhaf.

That complaint, filed in October, was actually the second made by the "legal flamethrower". A couple of months earlier he said the Muslim kids' rights were being violated when CU eliminated coed dorm floors. One would think that dorms segregated by sex ["gender"? Ed.] would be more in keeping with the commandments of the Prophet, but there you are.

Both complaints are still "pending". However, Robert Tuttle, a law professor at GWU -- the same GWU at which Prof. Banzhaf teaches -- said Washington’s anti-discrimination law has a broad exemption for political and religious groups. He told the Post in October 2011 that the complaints are "not likely to be successful if [the exemption] is read the way other courts have read other human rights exemptions."

That seemed to shut Prof. Banzhaf up for a while, at least as far as CU was concerned. But perhaps he was just thinking of something else to complain about. And he came up with a doozy. He filed yet another complaint -- or maybe it was another part of one of the two complaints already mentioned* -- saying that the presence of crosses and crucifixes in the rooms of Catholic University were offensive to Muslim students and prevented them from praying.

According to an article in beliefnet news, Prof. Banzhaf alleged that CU "does not provide space – as other universities do – for the many daily prayers Muslim students must make, forcing them instead to find temporarily empty classrooms where they are often surrounded by Catholic symbols which are incongruous to their religion."

Even worse (the complaint goes on), Muslims must pray at the school’s chapels "and at the cathedral that looms over the entire campus – the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception." Oh those terrible, racist, Islamophobic Catholics!

beliefnet news quotes Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society as saying "This attorney is really turning civil rights on its head. He’s using the law for his own discrimination against the Catholic institution and essentially saying Catholic University cannot operate according to Catholic principles."

Another commentator, Thomas Peters, asks "Can you imagine a law professor helping Catholic students to sue a Jewish or Muslim school to demand that the schools install crosses, remove their religious symbols, and allow the Catholics to construct a chapel on their property? Can you imagine the argument being that Jewish and Muslims schools using their religious symbols and following their faith traditions would be described in the legal brief as 'offensive'?! Normally I would have confidence that this lawsuit will be deemed without merit, but the way things are going these days, I just can’t be sure anymore. Simply incredible."

* FOOTNOTE AND CAVEAT:  This story has been all over the Internet this month, especially on conservative and religious websites, but no-one except yr obdt servant seems to have noticed that the original stories in the Washington Post and beliefnet news were posted in October of 2011. 

 

beliefnet news quoted a spokesthingy for the DC human rights commission as saying they were investigating Prof. Banzhaf's complaints, and that the inquiry would take at least six months. But there has been no news since. Walt [and Ed.! Ed.] has [have! Ed.] searched in vain for updates or follow-ups, but have found nothing. I'm beginning to wonder if the whole issue, including the good professor, was a figment of someone's imagination. Anyone who can shine some light into this dark corner of abusive "human rights" complaints is requested to e-mail us.

Gay students seek to oust Catholic chaplain for being, errr, Catholic

Unlike Gonzaga University -- see previous post -- George Washington University doesn't hold itself out to be a Catholic institution. (It is, however, within spitting distance of Georgetown University, which is about as "Catholic" as Gonzaga.) Although a private, non-denominational school, GWU has a Newman Center, complete with chapel in which Catholic students are free to worship. Non-Catholics are welcome to join in devotions if they wish, so there's no discrimination there, right?

Errr, well, not according to at least a dozen GWU students, including seniors Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen, who say they have left the Newman Center because its chaplain, Rev. Fr. Greg Shaffer, is "anti-gay" and "anti-abortion". Imagine that! Next thing you know, they'll be saying he's actually Catholic!

According to a report in The GW Hatchet, the students lambasted Father Shaffer’s counseling sessions, in which he is said to have advised students who are attracted to members of the same sex to remain celibate for the rest of their lives. They also criticized the priest for a blog post he wrote last May, calling gay relationships "unnatural and immoral" (in response to the Prez's support of same-sex marriage).

Here's what Father Shaffer actually said: "As Vatican II states, God is the author of marriage. He has defined marriage as between a man and a woman. So, marriage is between a man and a woman. Period. This is not just divine law, it is natural law (the law imprinted on each of our hearts about good and evil). Every single rational person knows that sexual relationships between persons of the same sex are unnatural and immoral. They know it in their hearts."

Hey, this is Obama's America! The gay gang doesn't have to take those insults bending over! ["Lying down", surely. Ed.] And the offended LGBT types are doing a lot more than just throwing a hissy!  They've started a campaign to have Father Shaffer removed from not the Newman Center and any connection whatsoever with GWU.

They're also going to complain to Cardinal Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, in hopes of getting Father Shaffer run right out of the Archdiocese, if not burned at the stake. Will they be successful? Is the Pope a Jesuit? Oh... wait...