The Islamic Center of Boca Raton has been removed as a polling place. President of the Florida mosque, Bassem Alhalabi, was very sad. He said:
“We were very happy to serve the community.”
When the voter registration cards were sent out, people in the community complained.
A local rabbi, Barry Silver, said:
“There’s a lot of violent Muslims around, and we need to be aware of that and we need to be on guard about that. But to suggest that every mosque is pure evil and every other religious institution is pure good is just not accurate and it’s prejudice and it’s wrong.”
Religious institutions should not be used as polling places anyway. We are a secular nation, and this violates the separation of church and state.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation says:
“It is a basic principle of Establishment Clause jurisprudence that the government is prohibited from promoting a specific religious belief. Furthermore, the government cannot compel a citizen to enter a house of worship or profess a particular religious view. Unfortunately, during election seasons many Americans of varying faiths or no faith at all are required to enter a house of worship in order to fulfill the most basic civic duties of all-to vote.”
“In many places, one-third to one-half of all polling places are churches. If you have to vote in a church, complain! Usually your city or county representative has the authority to suggest changes to polling places.”
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director for Americans United For Separation of Church and State, said this about the issue:
“I’ve talked with people who describe their unease voting on an abortion-related referendum in a Catholic church, where they may be surrounded by posters depicting abortion as a grisly holocaust. Others say they don’t want to back an abortion-rights candidate in a church that is known for anti-abortion activism.”
I agree, we should not be forced to go against our religious beliefs (or lack thereof) to vote. It is my constitutional right to vote, and I don’t want to go into a church for it.
Here is a news clip of the story:
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
