(IPT) A Scottsdale Community College professor did not violate his Muslim student’s rights when he taught about religious justification in Islamic terrorism, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge’s 2020 ruling dismissing the lawsuit filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on behalf of student Mohamed Sabra. In her 2020 order, District Judge Susan M. Brnovich found that Nicholas Damask’s world politics coursework and quizzes did not violate Sabra’s First Amendment rights or require him to abandon his faith as a Muslim.
“Curriculum that merely conflicts with a student’s religious beliefs does not violate the Free Exercise Clause,” she wrote, citing precedent.
“Dr. Damask’s course did not inhibit Mr. Sabra’s personal worship in any way,” Brnovich wrote.
