Free speech is for everyone
Everyone stands up for their own rights. What’s impressive is when you stand up for someone else’s.
Mahmoud Khalil, Palestinian activist now threatened with deportation from the US.
Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! —Acts 5:38
Do you stick your neck out when you’re not the person suffering?
On March 8, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and legal resident of the United States, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The Trump administration wanted to deport him under an obscure legal provision that has not been invoked since 1997, but a judge has temporarily halted that action.
I have no interest in defending the views of Khalil, a Syrian native, or the student protests with which he was associated. However, all reports agree that he has committed no crime.
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said Khalil deserves to be deported because of his support for a terrorist organization (Hamas). The Jerusalem Post also sees a connection between Khalil and terrorism. However, his connection to violent activity seems less obvious than that of the protesters in the US Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, whom President Trump pardoned.
Khalil’s prosecution reminds me of another story. While on vacation a few years ago, I saw a poster advertising a speech by Nadine Strossen, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU is famous for defending the free speech rights of everyone—even people they don’t like. I differ from the ACLU on many policy issues, but I have appreciated their principled support of free expression.
I went to hear Strossen that night. I wanted to ask her how she felt about the tactics of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC played an admirable role in the movement for African-American civil rights in the 1960s, but more recently it has specialized in maintaining a list of “hate groups.” Just about any organization that supports a traditional view of sexuality is on the SPLC’s hate group list.
I didn’t have to ask the question. In her own remarks, Strossen addressed the SPLC in pretty much the same way as she did toward the end of this interview. Referring to Alliance Defending Freedom, which has defended conservative Christians in many high-profile legal cases, Strossen said, “We could not disagree more strongly on some key issues. But I oppose their being labeled as a hate group.”
As you might guess, the ACLU has spoken on the Khalil case, stating, “This arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American. The federal government is claiming the authority to deport people with deep ties to the US and revoke their green cards for advocating positions that the government opposes. The First Amendment protects everyone in the US. The government’s actions are obviously intended to intimidate and chill speech on one side of a public debate.”
Many readers of this blog live in countries with weaker traditions of protecting free speech. Some live in countries where expressing Christian faith can lead to arrest. I don’t want any country, including my own, to go that route. Without freedom of speech, Christian mission is impossible.
Gamaliel in Acts 5:38 (quoted above) is a better example. He could have stayed quiet, but he thought punishing innocent people could have bad consequences, so he spoke up.
The International Institute for Religious Freedom and other Christian groups equally protect the rights of all people, not just Christians.
Did you know that in Indonesia, a Muslim group protects Christian churches?
Look for ways to stand up for others. Some day, they might stand up for you.