Seventh Circuit Nominee David Hamilton: “Allah” Yes, “Jesus” No

National Review Online ^ | March 26, 2009 | Ed Whelan

[Zakeet]

In 2005, in Hinrichs v. Bosma, federal district judge (and now Seventh Circuit nominee) David Hamilton enjoined the Speaker of Indiana’s House of Representatives from permitting “sectarian” prayers to be offered as part of that body’s official proceedings. In so doing, Hamilton adopted one reasonable construction—though not the only one available—of the Supreme Court’s messy Establishment Clause rulings. (In denying a stay of Hamilton’s order pending appeal, the majority on a divided Seventh Circuit panel indicated that its “initial reading of the case law” strongly inclined it to Hamilton’s reading, but the Seventh Circuit ultimately reversed Hamilton on standing grounds.)

One peculiar aspect of Hamilton’s ruling is how he drew the line between “sectarian” and “non-sectarian” prayers. On the one hand, Hamilton made clear that prayers that “use Christ’s name or title” are sectarian. On the other hand, he ruled (on a post-judgment motion) that it is presumptively not sectarian for a Muslim imam to offer a prayer to “Allah”:

The Speaker has also asked whether, for example, a Muslim imam may offer a prayer addressed to "Allah." The Arabic word "Allah" is used for "God" in Arabic translations of Jewish and Christian scriptures. If those offering prayers in the Indiana House of Representatives choose to use the Arabic Allah, the Spanish Dios, the German Gott, the French Dieu, the Swedish Gud, the Greek Theos, the Hebrew Elohim, the Italian Dio, or any other language's terms in addressing the God who is the focus of the non-sectarian prayers contemplated in Marsh v. Chambers, the court sees little risk that the choice of language would advance a particular religion or disparage others. If and when the prayer practices in the Indiana House of Representatives ever seem to be advancing Islam, an appropriate party can bring the problem to the attention of this or another court.

I find it difficult to make sense of Hamilton’s explanation. The fact that “Allah” is Arabic for “God” would seem to have little or no bearing on what a Muslim imam praying in English means when he invokes “Allah” or what his audience would reasonably understand him to mean.

More generally, it may only be Hamilton’s naivete, or a politically correct favoritism of Islam over Christianity in the public square, that causes him to “see[] little risk that the choice of [“Allah”] would advance a particular religion or disparage others.” By e-mail, Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch has called to my attention two notable examples in recent years (here and here) of “Islamic clerics offering highly sectarian prayers before unwitting infidel audiences.” According to Spencer, “Muslim imams have made canny use of the apparent non-sectarianism of their prayers, aided by the universality or generic character of the word ‘Allah’ or ‘God,’ in order to engage in what were actually some rather aggressive statements of Islamic supremacism.”

[Zakeet]

I have only just begun to screw up out courts

[WVNan]

Doesn’t that nitwit know that saying Jesus is equivolent to saying God? To Christians Jesus and God are one and the same.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

Stop trying to make sense of it. The objective is our destruction. When we cannot find one man in a thousand who would criticize any group for the way they look or talk; one man in five hundred who would criticize them for the way they treat their own people; one in ten who would criticize them for the way they think...
we cannot fight them. It isn’t “proper.”
And they need fighting, because they want us destroyed.

[Evil Slayer]

Scripture that proves God is Jesus

Here are a few:

The Word was God (John 1:1)

But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever (Hebrews 1:8)

For unto us a child is born ... his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God (Isaiah 9:6)

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)

God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God (John 20:28)

The glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13)

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9)

Said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:18)

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God (Philemon 2:6)

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8)

[SpenceCedar]

But there are people who say “God” and don’t mean “Jesus.” If a Muslim cleric prayed to Muhammed, that would be sectarian.

[Markos33]

“Doesn't that nitwit know that that saying Jesus is equivalent to saying God?”

Perhaps the problem is that he does know. All others, except for the Jewish Elohim, are only incantations to demons.

[kromike]

Well, since Islam is a secular, pagan quasi-religion, it sort of makes sense in a twisted way...

[NTHockey]

>>Well, since Islam is a secular, pagan quasi-religion, it sort of makes sense in a twisted way...<<

Mohammedism is NOT a religion, it is a cult of hate. No other religion emnjoins its adherents to kill, enslave, butcher or disrespect others.

I REFUSE to bow down to Political Correctness.