Is it illegal to pray on public property?

Is it illegal to pray on public property?


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

Sarah Dallof reporting When can you pray on public property? When is it inappropriate, or even illegal? That's just one question being raised after the Salt Lake International Airport closed a break room due to religious debate that has sparked at least one fight.

Last night, Eyewitness News spoke to Jeff Brueningsen, the man who has filed a complaint with the FAA against the Salt Lake International Airport. He's charged with assault after getting into a scuffle with Muslim taxi drivers. He wants to know why they can't get to a nearby mosque to pray.

Right now, the Islamic Center of Utah is empty. People are at work, but they will still stop to pray five times throughout the day. "Prophet Mohammed has said, ‘The whole earth has been made a place of prayer for me.' In other words, a Muslim can pray wherever he finds a clean place to pray," Imam Shuaib Dim explained.

Is it illegal to pray on public property?

For Muslim cab drivers, that place is often at the airport. If they leave the line to go to a mosque, they lose their place. So, since their break room closed, they pray outside.

"There's snow, there's slush, there's rain; but the more cumbersome it becomes, the more troublesome it becomes, the more rewarding it becomes at the same time," Imam Shuaib said.

Imam Shuaib has met with representatives from the mayor's office about why this building closed. The "quiet room" inside was used for prayers. It's since been closed due to increased violence, a fact Imam Shuaib understands. "It was a privilege. We never considered it a right or something we deserved," he said.

Is it illegal to pray on public property?

Since all drivers were welcomed in the building, civil rights attorney Brian Barnard says there was no violation of the First Amendment. "As long as government is not involved in it, the person can exercise their religion on government property," he said.

The problem comes when the government supports one religion over another, allegations that are being investigated by the FAA.

The airport is continuing to meet with city and religious leaders to decide what to do next with the building.

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast