Civil Rights Activist Mark Perry Criticizes UMich Spending on Muslim Iftar Events

UMich School of Information Sponsored Ramadan Iftar Events

Civil rights activist Mark Perry has filed complaints challenging the University of Michigan's sponsorship of Muslim Iftar events, arguing that the school violated separation of church and state laws.

UM illegally violated the separation of church and state outlined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution by the involvement of university administrative offices and academic schools and colleges in promoting and funding religion

Perry, a retired University of Michigan professor, told The College Fix via emails that the Ann Arbor campus spent $1,040.50 on food for an Iftar event organized by the School of Information's Organizational Culture and Community team.

Double Standard for Religious Events

Perry said Americans United for the Separation of Church and State agreed with his concerns and wrote to the University of Michigan asking for the school to fully disassociate from future religious events such as Ramadan Iftars.

I found this to be a troubling double standard since university-sponsored Christian and Jewish religious events/parties/meals/celebrations are generally strictly prohibited at UM and most other public universities and public schools

The former UMich-Flint professor noted that he has filed hundreds of federal civil rights complaints to stop race and sex-based discrimination.

University Legal Team Responds

The University of Michigan's legal team did respond to Americans United for Separation of Church and State and said it planned to look into the situation, according to an email shared with The College Fix.

Associate General Counsel Kelly Cruz wrote:

As a public institution, we agree that we must uphold our duties under the Establishment Clause and it is our every intent to do so.

Perry Criticizes University Response

Perry criticized the comment about vibrant cultures. He said the legal issue is not about celebrating cultures but about celebrating religion at university-sponsored and funded religious events.

I am fairly certain that none of the sponsoring academic or administrative units ever thought about getting legal clearance for Iftar meals from UM General Counsel, and it would have likely continued indefinitely until challenged

The Flint and Ann Arbor campuses did not respond to requests for comment via email or phone call about pushback for the sponsorship and whether the school had ever sponsored other religious events such as Christian or Jewish groups.

Organizational Club and Community also did not respond to The College Fix request for comment via email. The College Fix asked whether OCC had ever had sponsorship from UM for past events and whether they knew of what issues could arise from this.

Source

The College Fix