Limits of free speech tested as anti-Islam pastor is coming back to Dearborn

As Quran-burning pastor Terry Jones returns to Dearborn today for another rally against Islam, the issue of free speech is back under the spotlight in metro Detroit.

Jones, who sparked international protests from Muslims over the burning of Islam's holy book, intends to protest outside Edsel Ford High School, claiming that Muslim students are bullying non-Muslim students. David Mustonen, spokesman for the Dearborn Public Schools, characterized Joneses' assertions as "not accurate."

Even so, Dearborn's police chief and mayor say they will allow the Gainesville, Fla., preacher to speak on a sidewalk outside the school this afternoon and will guarantee his civil liberties while ensuring an orderly day for students.

"We ... know that free speech is so treasured" in America, said Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly Jr. "It can be offensive. It can hurt us emotionally, but until it causes physical harm or a true physical threat, it is a permissible activity. And so we respect that."

In the last year, free speech has become contentious in Dearborn, which has the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the nation. Several incidents led to legal cases.

Among them:

Christian missionaries trying to convert Muslims at the annual Arab International Festival in June sued the city over their right to preach to Muslims.

Last month, the Christian group Bible Believers sued the Wayne County Sheriff's Office in federal court for allegedly failing to protect its members after young Muslims threw water bottles at them because they were angry about a pig's head and anti-Islam signs the Christians brought to the festival.

Jones sued the city in April, saying officials wrongly barred him from protesting outside the Islamic Center of America mosque.

In June, Mike Mohamad Agemy, 47, of Dearborn was accused of trying to use his SUV to run over members of the Bible Believers outside the Islamic Center.

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Limits of free speech tested as anti-Islam pastor is coming back to Dearborn