June 09, 2008

NEWARK - In the midst of the 2008 graduation season, the ACLU-NJ has successfully settled a lawsuit on behalf of Bilal Shareef, a Muslim honor student who did not attend his 2006 West Side High School graduation because it was held in the sanctuary of a Baptist church.

"I was forced to choose between honoring my education and my faith, and no one should be put in that position," said Shareef. "I'm proud that I stood up for my beliefs, and I'm proud that my experience will keep other students from having to face the choices I did."

In 2005 and 2006, West Side High School held graduation in the sanctuary of a Baptist Church. Then-Principal Fernard Williams also told students they would receive two extra tickets to graduation if they attended a separate religious baccalaureate ceremony at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic church.

Shareef, whose religion forbids him from entering buildings with religious iconography, including pictures of Allah or an image of the cross, did not attend the ceremonies.

"There is a reason the Constitution forbids preference of one religion over the other: Government, especially school officials, should not be in the position of making certain people feel favored, while making others feel like outsiders," said ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas, who represented the Shareefs. "It is the right of parents, not school officials, to attempt to convey religious beliefs to our children."

As part of the settlement, Newark Public Schools has apologized to Bilal Shareef, his father Ahmad Shareef, and other students and members of the Newark community who felt forced to forego or uncomfortable attending the 2005 or 2006 graduations. Newark Public Schools also agreed to institute significant policy changes. It agreed not to sponsor or promote religious events, not to withhold or provide benefits to students based on whether they attend particular religious events, not to hold student events in places of worship and not to hold student events in other religious buildings unless religious images are covered.

The lawsuit on behalf of the Shareefs, filed in March 2007, claimed that Newark Public Schools had violated the New Jersey Constitution by showing a preference for one religion over others, and by compelling people to attend a place of worship contrary to their faith.

The ACLU-NJ initially contacted the Newark Public Schools in 2005 after receiving complaints about West Side High School's graduation being held at New Hope Baptist Church. Newark Public Schools wrote a letter to the ACLU-NJ assuring that the school's graduation would not be held in a religious location again and that the school district would conceal or remove religious images. The ACLU-NJ therefore agreed not to sue. However, in 2006, the ceremony was again in the same church and, after being contacted by the Shareefs, the ACLU-NJ took action.