New Jersey Man Taken Aback by ISIS Flag Flap, Says He Was 'Expressing My Religion'
A photo of a New Jersey home flying a flag that resembled the flag of ISIS, the militant group being bombed by U.S. planes in Iraq, sparked alarm and a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security -- but the home's occupant said he meant no offense and was just expressing his religion.
A photo of a New Jersey home flying a flag that resembled the flag of ISIS, the militant group being bombed by U.S. planes in Iraq, sparked alarm and a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security -- but the home's occupant said he meant no offense and was just expressing his religion.
Mark Dunaway told ABC News that he's flown that black flag for the 10 years he’s lived in Garwood, New Jersey.
“I’m Muslim, and I fly a flag in front of my home that says I’m a Muslim,” he said.
Dunaway has flown the black flag -- which bears the Arabic inscription familiar to Muslims, “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God” -- every year during Ramadan, and every single Friday, he said. Having already had the flag up during Ramadan, he originally planned to keep it up until Friday.
However, after the Garwood Police Department received a complaint about the flag, officers visited Dunaway's home on Tuesday.
"The Garwood Police follow up with any complaint received," Police Chief Bruce Underhill said in a statement to ABC News.
“Police came by that day on a matter of safety,” Dunaway said, “I had no idea until they pointed it out to me. My reaction was, ‘Are you serious?’”
"Mr. Dunaway was very receptive when we approached him with our concerns and he voluntarily took the flag down," said Chief Underhill.
ISIS flag pops up during Baltimore riots
We found this picture of savage looting and violence online in Baltimore, and saw that the ISIS flag was flying during the riots. What goes better with a riot than the flag that represents the ultimate in violence?
Don't forget that the same flag was flying in Ferguson during those riots and looting. It's not a coincidence, because the same mentality that governs ISIS -- the mentality that says "we want what we want NOW and we're going to take it by force," is also in play in Baltimore, and it was in play in Ferguson. This is the same mentality that was also in play years ago during the L.A. riots, that disenfranchised minorities somehow have the right to take other people's stuff because they're angry.
Meanwhile, President Obama spoke today and appeared to blame the police for the riots. The police in Baltimore are under investigation for the death of a young black man, Freddie Gray, while in police custody.
But the myth that installing black leaders and police officers to govern predominantly black areas has been exploded by the riots in Baltimore. The mayor is black (yes, that mayor, the one who said she was giving the rioters space to "destroy" property). The police chief and city council president are also black. Meanwhile, cameras caught a surreal scene as police, who were ordered to back off, stood in riot gear and watched as thugs looted a CVS pharmacy and hurled chunks of cement at them.
Berkeley students' surprising reaction to ISIS and Israel flags on campus
They have always thought that there was no connection between intellect and wisdom. To put this theory to the test, I headed out to the University of California, Berkeley.
Students at Berkeley clearly have a lot of intellect; it is one of the most prestigious and selective universities in the country. But do they have wisdom? I went to the bucolic campus armed with a flag that represents the greatest evil known today, ISIS. If these are our best and brightest then we should all be afraid, very afraid.
The shocking video above unfortunately proves once and for all that there is in fact no connection between intellect and wisdom.
WATCH: Ami asks Berkeley students if the USA is more violent than ISIS:
Don't forget that the same flag was flying in Ferguson during those riots and looting. It's not a coincidence, because the same mentality that governs ISIS -- the mentality that says "we want what we want NOW and we're going to take it by force," is also in play in Baltimore, and it was in play in Ferguson. This is the same mentality that was also in play years ago during the L.A. riots, that disenfranchised minorities somehow have the right to take other people's stuff because they're angry.
Meanwhile, President Obama spoke today and appeared to blame the police for the riots. The police in Baltimore are under investigation for the death of a young black man, Freddie Gray, while in police custody.
But the myth that installing black leaders and police officers to govern predominantly black areas has been exploded by the riots in Baltimore. The mayor is black (yes, that mayor, the one who said she was giving the rioters space to "destroy" property). The police chief and city council president are also black. Meanwhile, cameras caught a surreal scene as police, who were ordered to back off, stood in riot gear and watched as thugs looted a CVS pharmacy and hurled chunks of cement at them.
Berkeley students' surprising reaction to ISIS and Israel flags on campus
They have always thought that there was no connection between intellect and wisdom. To put this theory to the test, I headed out to the University of California, Berkeley.
Students at Berkeley clearly have a lot of intellect; it is one of the most prestigious and selective universities in the country. But do they have wisdom? I went to the bucolic campus armed with a flag that represents the greatest evil known today, ISIS. If these are our best and brightest then we should all be afraid, very afraid.
WATCH: Ami asks Berkeley students if the USA is more violent than ISIS: