A clash of freedoms during Phoenix mosque protest

It started as a protest against Islam outside a Phoenix mosque Friday. But by the time it was over, it had turned into a collision of First Amendment ideals.

Freedom of speech met freedom of religion on a north-central Phoenix street.

Some yelled. Some carried signs. Some carried guns. Some carried flags. Some were angry, but some tried to soothe.

Several businesses in the area shut down in anticipation of trouble. In the end, it was a contentious but ultimately peaceful confrontation with several hundred people on each side, separated by a line of dozens of police officers and witnessed by dozens of journalists.

The number of counterprotesters closely matched those who came in response to a Facebook event that encouraged people to bring weapons and American flags to the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix during its Friday prayer time. The event also advertised a contest to "draw Mohammed," an act offensive to many Muslims, but the contest was quickly forgotten amid the rally.

At the height of the demonstration, police estimate about 500 people were outside the mosque. The two sides used megaphones to yell at each other and were, at times, nose to nose.

That was until a line of police standing shoulder to shoulder separated protesters and counter protesters. Police eventually put up barricades lined with police tape, forcing each group to opposite sides of the street.

Police officers and Islamic-community leaders developed precautions this week in preparation for the event near Interstate 17 and Glendale Avenue. Both emphasized the right of protesters to organize peacefully, though leaders decried the demonstration as promotion of anti-Muslim sentiment and divisive rhetoric.

Prayer services continued as scheduled on Friday, though worshipers were encouraged earlier in the day to avoid the area. Few attended the service, while others joined the counterprotest.

Usama Shami, president of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix, said the protesters tried to use their First Amendment right to free speech to deny his First Amendment right to pray. Before the protest, he advised worshipers not to engage with demonstrators.

"Ignore people who try to provoke you," Shami said. "Say 'peace' and walk away."

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Organizers cast the protest as a response to two Phoenix residents who drove to Texas earlier this month in an attempt to engage in violence with attendees at an event designed to be offensive to Muslims. Jon Ritzheimer, leader of the Phoenix event, said Friday that he was "hoping to inspire more freedom-of-speech rallies."

"This is not about me," Ritzheimer said. "This is about freedom of speech across America."

Those who said they supported Ritzheimer arrived at a nearby park Friday afternoon before taking bikes and cars to the mosque around 6 p.m. Some waved American flags and showed drawings of Mohammed to media. One man ripped the Quran in half.

There, they were met by a crowd of people, many of whom do not belong to the mosque, holding signs reading phrases such as "Love not Hate." One group from Redemption Church in Tempe arrived dressed in blue and lined up in front of the mosque. They said they wore the color to be a peaceful presence.

Some protesters described a change of heart as they spoke to people near the mosque.

In a pocket of calm, Paul Griffin, wearing a T-shirt with an expletive aimed at Islam, spoke across a fence with a Muslim man.

"These are fellow Americans over here, and they're practicing their religion as they should be allowed, as we're all allowed," Griffin said after the conversation. "We are protesting for the same right. We're here for their right to protest, too. And if we don't talk to each other, this never gets any better."

The Muslim man, who would identify himself only as Mateo, explained their conversation. "At the end of the day, everybody wants to be heard, but nobody wants to listen," he said. "We were just dialoguing back and forth about perspective. He's entitled to his perspective."

The crowd began dispersing several hours after the protest began, though some stayed into the night.

National response to the event was swift before and during the protest. Thousands of people tweeted using the hashtags #NotMyAmerica and #PhxMosque to show solidarity with the Muslim community.

Muslim Advocates, a California-based civil-rights organization, sent a request to the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday asking for the department to open a civil-rights investigation into the protest.

Intimidation of or interference with people practicing their right to worship is a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, staff attorney Madihha Ahussain said.

The letter requested the presence of a civil-rights investigator, though video footage and other details from the protest could be used for investigation afterward, she said.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said before the protest Friday that the Department of Homeland Security was in touch with state and local law-enforcement authorities and monitoring the situation in Phoenix.

"Even expressions that are offensive, that are distasteful, and intended to sow divisions in an otherwise tight-knit, diverse community like Phoenix cannot be used as a justification to carry out an act of violence, and certainly can't be used as a justification to carry out an act of terrorism," he told reporters.

And Muslim leaders in Arizona questioned the motive of the protest at a press conference Friday morning.

"If you do these acts in the name of America, you shame America just as those who do violent acts in the name of Islam shame Islam," said Dr. Yasir Shareef, a Phoenix neurologist who attends a mosque in Scottsdale. "We have to counter hate with love or the haters will win."

Shareef repeated the statement for emphasis.

Imraan Siddiqi, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Arizona chapter, said the organization was encouraging Phoenix Muslims to stay away from the mosque to avoid conflict, though they could go to the mosque and pray during the protest if they felt compelled to do so.

"I would not go and talk to these people," Siddiqi said. "This is not a forum for dialogue."

He said this is the second time the group has showed up at the mosque, and leaders didn't want to give them the satisfaction of thinking they had shut down the facility or curtailed its operation.

After the demonstration, Siddiqi said the event went the way he expected but that he was encouraged that members of many different communities joined the counterprotest.

"That's a really powerful image for us to see," he said.

Further discussion

Events to counter the protest are scheduled throughout the next several days, including a forum today held by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, which leads an initiative to fight terrorism. A forum hosted by a coalition of religious and community organizations will be held at the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix on Monday to promote a message of unity.

Republic reporters Jerod MacDonald-Evoy and Ben Margiott contributed to this article.