Muslim Family Sues the Empire State Building for Interfering with Islamic Prayers

If this were a matter of civil rights (the rights that protect us from government interference), I would have to side with the Muslim family. Apart from relevant circumstances (safety issues, etc.), the government cannot stop people from praying. But this isn’t a civil rights issue at all. The Empire State Building is a privately owned property, so if the managers don’t want people on the floor praying, people aren’t allowed to be on the floor praying. (Similarly, if you decide to take up aisle space to pray in Wal-Mart, the manager can ask you to leave, because it’s private property.)

The family is suing the Empire State Building management company (and the guards) for $5 million. Seems like more Sharia “lawfare” to me. Any thoughts?

New York (CNN) — A New York family’s hope for an enjoyable outing high atop Manhattan ended abruptly when the group was escorted out of the Empire State Building for saying Muslim prayers, according to a lawsuit.

Fahad Tirmizi, his wife, Amina, and their two young children were at the skyscraper’s observation deck last July 2 shortly after 11 p.m., a time when the family’s “religious beliefs require them to recite the evening prayers wherever they may be at the time,” according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan District Court on Tuesday.

The couple silently knelt in an isolated area of the observation deck, with little foot traffic, the court document said.

While she managed to pray without incident, one guard interrupted and “menacingly poked” Fahad Tirmizi “with his hands and feet several times in various parts of his body,” the court document said.

The guard informed Tirmizi he was not allowed to pray while at the observatory, and then “forcibly” escorted his family to the ground floor exit of the building, according to the court document.

The suit names the publicly owned Empire State Building management company, the security firm, and two unnamed security guards as defendants, alleging that they violated the first and 14 Amendments as well as multiple state and city civil rights laws.

The family is seeking unspecified monetary damages.

In response, an Empire State Realty Trust spokeswoman, Brandy Bergman, told CNN Wednesday, “The claims are totally without merit and we will respond to them in court.” (Continue Reading.)