Loading ...New York Transit Authority Sued For Banning Ads Of Muslim Themed Film
The New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been slapped with a law suit for its policy that bans political advertisements. The law suit chalenges the agency’s decision to refuse six subway advertisements for promoting the film “The Muslims are Coming!”
The Authority says the film contains disputed, pro-Muslim content and it wants to block the ads. The lawsuit by Vaguely Qualified Productions LLC refuting any religious bigotry said, its mission is to create “smart, insightful and comedic social justice media” and MTA’s policy is a challenge as it is banning ads of a political nature in its buses and subways. The complaint was filed at Manhattan federal court. The studio is into the production of viral videos, TV and online shows. In the law suit it accused the MTA of violating First Amendment free speech rights because the ads for the film were commercial in nature.
Ads are Satirical
The studio calls ads as “satirical and tongue-in-cheek” statements such as “The Ugly Truth About Muslims: Muslims have great frittata recipes” and “Those Terrorists Are All Nutjobs,” with “nutjobs” substituting the crossed off “Muslim” word as it was “more accurate.” Another Ad notes that Muslims “invented coffee, the toothbrush and algebra,” with an apology for troubling students with a year of math class.
It said, the film carries a message that “American Muslims are ordinary people,” and MTA has no compelling reason to ban it. The studio said the MTA approved the ads in March but later backtracked and disapproved the ads in May in light of April 29 ad ban. The studio sought an injunction requiring the ads to be displayed for at least 28 days and appropriate damages.
MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg refused to comment, saying the agency is yet to be served with the complaint. Interestingly, the lawsuit came six days after U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan ruled that MTA can refuse an ad from the anti-Muslim group ‘American Freedom Defense Initiative’ that had ads flaying Hamas and referred to killing of Jews.
Koeltl said the political ad ban has converted MTA buses and subways into a “limited public forum”and “no law requires public transit agencies to accept political advertisements as a matter of course.” The American Freedom Defense Initiative has appealed Koeltl’s decision.
Response to Hate Campaign
Vaguely Qualified Productions says its ads are a response to “campaign of hateful, anti-Muslim ads in the New York City bus and subway system” by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. The film is co-directed by Palestinian-American comedian Dean Obeidallah and satirises Islamophobic sentiment on the lines of the 1930s cult classic “Reefer Madness.”
Source: www.ibtimes.com.au