Arizona Pastor Arrested, Jailed for Holding Bible Study in Home; His Wife Says It ‘Defies Logic’

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Bible study leader Michael Salman is sitting in jail today after his home was raided earlier this week by more than a dozen Phoenix, Ariz. police officers and city officials. His offense? The city says people aren’t allowed to hold private Bible studies on their own property.

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Salman was sentenced to 60 days in jail, three years probation and received a $12,180 fine for “the crime.” His wife Suzanne spoke with Fox and Friends this morning to express her shock and disbelief at the entire situation. According to Suzanne, the city told her that her husband was essentially arrested because the Bible study was at a private house .. and that essentially, it’s a church. Since they weren’t zoned for church, they were told they were breaking the rules.

“It defies logic, honestly. I don’t understand … that something so small got so large like this,” Suzanne said. “People do it all over the United States all the time.”

John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute believes the family is being discriminated against because of their faith. “The key is — the Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion … the right to assemble and talk to each other wherever you want to be – in public or in your home,” he said. “The thing that I think is so shocking is that you might expect this in Iran or [some place] around the world … but happening in the United States, this is so shocking it’s beyond belief.”

Phoenix City Prosecutor Vicki Hill said in a statement: “It came down to zoning and proper permitting. Anytime you are holding a gathering of people continuously as he does, we ave concerns about people being able to exit the facility properly in case there is a fire, and that’s really allt his comes down to.”

What do you make of this case? As Suzanne says in the below interview, is this different than a regularly meeting Tupperware group or the like? And if so, how and why?  Click the url for interview.

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/07/11/arizona-pastor-arrested-jailed-for-holding-bible-study-in-home-his-wife-says-it-defies-logic/

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  • Another example of constitutional violation of freedom of religion.  To study the Bible in ones home is now a crime in Phoenix, Arizona.  It's absolutely beyond belief that the Attorney General of Arizona is not on site in Phoenix initiating legal action against the city of Phoenix.  Another "Harbinger" reflection.......

    Get out of our spiritual life government........read the Constitution.

  • I have muslim neighbors who always having something going on at their house. They block driveways, fire hydrants, cause it to be very chaotic and HOA will not say a word to them.  I have always wondered what they are doing with cars coming in and out.  

    I wonder if I were to have a Bible study here and cause a traffic jam, what would happen to me.

  •   I forgot to thank you Harry for posting.

  • That is probably a good enough excuse to get the war going.

    • Steven are you commenting to me?  LOL  If I were to start a Bible study at my house it probably would start a war as I have mostly liberal neighbors and two muslim families.

  • This is an example of government at any level using regulations to eliminate the first ammendment.

  • They should go to the city council meeting and have this front and center.  We will not comply!

  • It would appear that in Phoenix a man's home is no longer his castle.  Is the city going to go around and bust everyone who has a private party in their home because they have concerns about people being able to exit in an emergency.  I hope one of the religious advocacy legal groups gets a hold of this.  This man's freedom of religion is being attacked as well as the group's right to freedom of assembly.  The city and their idiot prosecutor could be made to look very bad if an advocacy group takes up his cause.  Let's hope that happens.

    • Marvin, maybe we should take this up as a cause as a group and blast the city council and mayor's office with phone calls and emails. We have a large enough group and could expand it via our social connections to flood them with our rejection of this action. What do you think? Lets find those email addresses and phone numbers and get busy. I looked up the council's web page, it links to their email addresses and gives phone numbers.  http://phoenix.gov/citycouncil/councilstaff.html

      • All we need is the contact numbers/addresses..........

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