Is "Freedom Of Religion" Conditional?

Asks Duane Brayboy, a black conservative blogger, about the efforts of church leaders in Pompano Beach, Florida to demand that political leaders keep a mosque from opening in the community. They argue that the land should instead be used for affordable housing, and that Islam has no place in the city's northwest side - which is predominantly black and Christian - where the new mosque would be located: "These Muslims should be free to build their Mosque wherever they own land and it meets all local building codes. This is a very bad move by these churches and they need to just sit down and focus on more important things. I wonder if these same 'opponents' felt that the land where these churches reside would also be better suited for affordable homes? Naaaah!"My response: I agree, and regular readers know that I am no fan of Islam. However, the issue of whether Islam has a place (or not) in this mostly black community will be determined by market forces. If folks are not interested, then the mosque will not acquire members. Period.

However, Independent Conservative disagrees with us. The black blogger writes about one of the preachers leading the protest against the mosque, who recently had to resign from a local government advisory post when he declared that Islam is a cult: "It is still socially convenient for a minister to protest the opening of a strip club and I thank God for all ministers that do. But it is socially inconvenient for a minister to protest the opening of a temple of false doctrine, that is entering a neighborhood full of people who worship Jesus Christ and God the Father. Once upon a time in America, a Christian minister embraced by politicians could speak against such, but not today.....But today, for a minister to even speak about another faith in anything but the nicest terms results in that minister being ostracized. Rev. O’Neal Dozier is pastor of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, Florida. He is a Conservative Republican and had a long history of favor with the GOP and the Bush family. That is, until the day he said Islam is a cult and he had a problem with a Muslim mosque being built in his community. Then he was asked to step down from the Broward Judicial Nominating Committee. It is said that he was 'controversial' because he, a minister of a Gospel of Jesus Christ would ask judicial candidates if they were 'God-fearing'. Oh my, to think a minister would actually ask someone going into a post of authority if they fear God. What’s 'controversial' to me is not his question, but that anyone would think it’s somehow out of line for a minister to ask."