NFL Rightfully Regrets Penalty on Player Prayer

An NFL player who recalled shades of Tim Tebow was penalized during a football game for praying in the end zone:

Referees in Monday night’s game took exception to Kansas City’s Husain Abdullah actions after he slid in the end zone and prostrated himself…

Abdullah, a devout Muslim, placed himself in the traditional position for Islamic prayer, not too much unlike Tebowing.  Also not unlike Tebow, Abdullah did not complain about the penalty and even put a somewhat lighthearted spin on the issue: 

After the game, Abdullah said his understanding was that the penalty was for the slide, not the prayer.

“Stop before you drop,” he told The Associated Press.

Contrary to frequent anti-Christian machinations — ones that often end with “just imagine if a Muslim tried to do the same thing…” — Christians came to the defense of Abdullah, including pariah of secularists, FoxNews’ Todd Starnes:

When he dropped to his knees in the end zone, he was not celebrating. He was practicing the Sajdah.

As a Southern Baptist, I’m not all that familiar with the Islamic faith – but I am familiar with religious liberty, freedom of religion.

The founding documents of our great nation are flavored with Judeo-Christian values. Under our system of government people of all faiths are able to practice their religion in the public marketplace. And it’s because of those Judeo-Christian concepts that a Muslim and a Buddhist and a Hindu can worship whatever God they choose to worship…

It didn’t take the NFL long to figure out they made a mistake…

I’m glad the NFL made the right call.

As has been said here many times, as well as many times by leaders in the Christian faith, religious liberty is a good thing, especially for the Christian faith.

Truth, when left to itself, will prevail.

On a related note, how long do you think it will be before Abdullah feels the mockery that Tebow did for his expressions of faith?

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