{"id":532,"date":"2011-07-11T13:23:26","date_gmt":"2011-07-11T17:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=532"},"modified":"2011-07-11T13:36:21","modified_gmt":"2011-07-11T17:36:21","slug":"back-to-court-to-stop-ground-zero-mosque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/07\/back-to-court-to-stop-ground-zero-mosque.html","title":{"rendered":"Back to Court to Stop Ground Zero Mosque"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re going back to court in our legal challenge to stop the building of an Islamic mosque at Ground Zero in New York City.<\/p>\n

As you may recall, we provided arguments in March\u00a0in New York State Supreme Court in our case.<\/a> On Friday, the court issued its decision declaring that our client, 9-11 survivor and firefighter Tim Brown, lacked legal standing<\/a> to challenge the politically motivated decision not to landmark a building that suffered a direct hit by one of the hijacked planes on 9-11. This is a decision that just doesn’t square with the facts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Tim Brown is a first responder who lost nearly 100 friends on 9-11 and was saving lives on that tragic day nearly ten years ago. The question of standing asks whether a party has a distinct interest at stake that is different from the public at large. The question becomes, if a 9-11 hero and first responder does not have standing in a case like this, where developers want to tear down a standing monument to 9-11, and replace it with the largest mosque in the country, then who does?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even the City during our oral arguments acknowledged that Tim Brown might have standing if the building at issue was actually at Ground Zero. Here are the facts: The building was struck by the landing gear from one of the planes and the area was covered in human remains after 9-11. This site is Ground Zero.<\/p>\n

We intend to appeal this flawed decision and are confident that this project will never be built. We will file a notice of appeal in the weeks ahead in the First Department Appellate Division.<\/p>\n

Our lawsuit challenging the Ground Zero Mosque is posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most Americans understand that this is not the place to build an Islamic mosque. We have heard from nearly 300,000 Americans have have signed on to the ACLJ Committee to Stop the Ground Zero Mosque.<\/p>\n

Our legal challenge is far from over. We will keep you posted as further developments unfold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re going back to court in our legal challenge to stop the building of an Islamic mosque at Ground Zero in New York City. As you may recall, we provided arguments in March\u00a0in New York State Supreme Court in our case. On Friday, the court issued its decision declaring that our client, 9-11 survivor and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,40,181],"tags":[752,184,743,182,784,18,183,185,42],"class_list":["post-532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-11","category-ground-zero","category-islamic-mosque","tag-9-11","tag-9-11-responder-tim-brown","tag-aclj","tag-ground-zero-new-york-city","tag-islamic-mosque","tag-lawsuit","tag-ny-state-supreme-court","tag-park51","tag-terrorism"],"yoast_head":"\nBack to Court to Stop Ground Zero Mosque - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/07\/back-to-court-to-stop-ground-zero-mosque.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Back to Court to Stop Ground Zero Mosque - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We’re going back to court in our legal challenge to stop the building of an Islamic mosque at Ground Zero in New York City. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":545,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions\/545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}