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BY DANIEL WOIKE
dwoike@nwitimes.com | Monday, July 04, 2005 | (No comments posted.)
With their hands over their hearts, people pledging allegiance to the American flag say it's "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Sharing those sentiments is the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..."
While the founding fathers made it clear the government shouldn't endorse one particular religion for the masses, the influence spirituality played is clear.
The connection between our nation's past and the belief in a higher being cannot be disputed, said Don Wruck, an attorney in Crown Point and adjunct professor of media law at Valparaiso University. In fact, the concept of church and state being completely separate never was intended, he said.
"Unfortunately, what's happened is the Supreme Court has expanded and developed its own reading of the freedom of religion clause, saying that not only is the federal government prohibited from establishing a religion, it also needs to maintain the separation of church and state," Wruck said.
The Rev. Jack Schaap of First Baptist Church in Hammond said court decisions keeping the Ten Commandments out of courtrooms and the Bible out of public schools have divided residents from their past.
And, he said Christians believe their religious freedoms are on the decline.
"Christianity is such a part of our foundation, that when we see it slipping a bit, there are those of us who feel like it's being attacked," Schaap said. "Americans should not be separated from their historical roots."
But does that view offend American immigrants such as Imam Mongy Elquesny of the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center in Merrillville? Wouldn't they feel left out?
"As Muslims, we believe in the Bible, the Torah and the Ten Commandments," Elquesny said. "I have no problem if they are taught in the schools or hung in the courts, because I practice that.
"They (different religions) have a lot of common teaching that can be taught to children in schools in ways like ethics, in valuable ways that people can use in their lives," he said. "I don't think any group would disrespect that or stand against it.
"But to bring my own view and impose it on others, that is a danger."
Schaap said though Islam hasn't shared the pivotal role in America's history that Christianity filled, the group's right to worship is closely tied to his own.
"I'll defend his right to do that, because if he doesn't have the right to practice as his Muslim religion, then I could forfeit my right to practice my Christian religion," he said. "Freedom has to be for everybody."
Freedom is a word Americans have been hearing a lot since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York. And while discussing who the "freedom-haters" are, American Muslims have come under more scrutiny.
"I'd imagine they're feeling a little bit of heat right now," Schaap said.
But, Elquesny said his religious beliefs prepared him for accusing eyes and extra attention.
"In Islam, we say the good believer is like gold. The more you put the gold in the heat, the more pure and precious the price would be," he said. "Fourteen karat is the cheapest gold; it has not been touched by the fire much. But, 18, 24 karats, this gold has been exposed to the fire a longer time.
"And, so when there is more heat on a person, it should make him more pure in practice."
And in America, he said, his experience practicing his religion hasn't been too far from perfect.
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