Suit against Joe Kaufman Dismissed
June 29, 2009
http://www.meforum.org/2170/suit-against-joe-kaufman-dismissed
PHILADELPHIA – The Texas Court of
Appeals for the Second District on June 25, 2009, dismissed a defamation
lawsuit brought by several Dallas-area Muslim organizations against Joe
Kaufman, an investigative journalist for Front Page Magazine, the
founder of Americans Against Hate, and a client of the Middle East Forum's
Legal Project.
The case concerns an article by
Kaufman published on September 28, 2007, at FrontPageMag.com, "Fanatic
Muslim Family Day" in which he alerted readers to a forthcoming event,
"Muslim Family Day," at the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park hosted by
the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the Islamic Association of
North Texas (IANT). Kaufman called ICNA "a radical Muslim organization
that has physical ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and financial ties to
Hamas" and stated that, "ICNA has also been involved in the financing of
Al-Qaeda." On October 14, 2007 Kaufman led a lawful and peaceful protest
against ICNA outside the amusement park.
Seven Dallas-area Muslim groups
responded by filing a lawsuit and restraining order against Mr. Kaufman –
despite his article not even mentioning them and his telling the court he
had "no knowledge that the majority of the entities even existed."
In dismissing the lawsuit on appeal,
the Court agreed
with Kaufman that:
There is simply no indication to a
reasonable reader of Kaufman's article that "those involved" meant the
sponsors of the event other than ICNA or IANT, because the article did
not inform the reader that there were any such other
sponsors.
In his press
release, Kaufman, who received financial assistance from the Middle
East Forum's Legal Project, said that the case against him was "entirely
frivolous" from the start, and that the dismissal represents a victory for
freedom of speech. Indeed, the Court noted "the inherent public concern in
the terrorism issues he reports and opines on."
Reacting to the dismissal, Middle
East Forum director Daniel Pipes said, "It is reassuring to see so obvious
an instance of a predatory lawsuit rejected by the court. But it is
equally dismaying to note that an appellate court had to reverse the trial
judge's mishandling of the case, at considerable cost to Joe Kaufman and
to freedom of expression about Islamism and terrorism."
Legal Project director Brooke
Goldstein, a practicing attorney, stated that "The case against Kaufman
exemplifies how, despite First Amendment protections, American citizens
are targeted with lawsuits designed to punish public dialogue about
radical Islam and terrorist financing. I am thrilled that the appellate
judge recognized the absurdity of the plaintiffs' claims and that Kaufman
can continue writing without legal distractions. True justice, however,
requires the plaintiffs to cover Kaufman's legal fees."
The Legal Project, an activity of
the Middle East Forum, is dedicated to legally and financially assisting
parties wrongfully sued for speaking out against radical Islam, terrorism
and its sources of financing.
Immediate release
For more information, contact Brooke Goldstein
Goldstein@MEForum.org | 
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