An ordinance proposed by Knox County Commissioner Andy Fox to ban public Islamic calls to prayer is "mind-bogglingly" unconstitutional, the director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University told Knox News.
Fox, a Republican who represents Fort Sanders, South Knoxville and South Knox County, wants to punish any person or organization that sounds an Islamic call to prayer "in public by means of any amplification whether electronic or otherwise" with a fine of $1,000 per violation.
"It is, on its face, absolutely a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution," Ken Paulson told Knox News. "I'm not sure I've seen anything that says anything like this, or does it in the hateful tone this encompasses. It's not a close call."
Fox did not return calls or texts from Knox News.
The First Amendment prevents the government from establishing an official religion, favoring one religion over another or favoring religion over nonreligion.
"This manages to do all of that," Paulson said. "It endorses Christianity and uses random quotes to justify the discrimination. Then, it goes on to attack Muslims in multiple ways.
"Sometimes bills are so mean-spirited and invalid that it's hard to explore the legal niceties because there are none. I'm surprised that anyone in a position as a Knox County commissioner would (think this passes) muster."
Fox is an attorney who focuses on family law and "pursues justice and reinforcement of citizens' civil liberties through litigation in special types of civil rights matters," according to his website.
The commission will discuss Fox's ordinance at its Aug. 31 meeting. Fox has previously attempted to make presentations and lead discussions about how he believes Islam is not compatible with American law, but they've all been indefinitely postponed by Fox or withdrawn from the commission's agenda.
Since Fox was elected in 2024 and began using the commission as a platform to discuss hot-button topics outside the commission's purview, a bipartisan group of his colleagues have tried to stop him by tightening up the commission's rules. Commissioners added requirements that agenda presentations can be made only by county staff or invited presenters and narrowed the parameters for the "discussion items" spot on the commission agenda.
Sammi Lawrence, an attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, agreed with Paulson's assessment, calling Fox's ordinance "blatantly hostile toward Muslims." The Freedom From Religion Foundation advocates for the separation of state and church, frequently suing to enforce constitutional rights, especially those protected by the First Amendment.
The Islamic call to prayer, called an adhan, signals the times for followers to participate in prayers five times a day. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, the core tenets of Islam that also include the profession of faith, giving to charity, fasting during Ramadan and making a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the faith's holiest city.
The adhan can be played from within a mosque or outside a building. In the United States, the adhan is typically recited from inside a mosque instead of played outside of it.
There are five Islamic prayer spaces in greater Knoxville and more than 5,000 Muslims living here, according to the Muslim Community of Knoxville.
Fox's ordinance does not prohibit other public calls to prayer, such as Christian church bells or blowing the shofar, a Jewish call to worship.
Fox's ordinance does not prohibit prayers in public meetings, including the devotional given by Knox County commissioners before each meeting. Some commissioners regularly reference Christian doctrine, Jesus Christ or Christian themes. Commissioners have invited pastors to lead the devotional and recently, as Fox unsuccessfully attempted to lead a discussion against Islam, Commissioner Courtney Durrett invited an iman to pray.
Some Republicans, nationally and in Tennessee, are increasingly using anti-Muslim tropes as talking points. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee held a hearing Aug. 5 focusing on the supposed threat to America posed by Muslims. The meeting was boycotted by Democratic committee members, who said it was designed to energize conservative Republican voters by demonizing Muslims.
Fox is an outspoken member of the Knox County Republican Party and regularly injects national issues into deliberations of the county commission, often exasperating his fellow commissioners from both parties.
Fox is up for reelection in 2028 and has not said whether he'll run.
TheMuslim Community of Knoxvilledid not respond to phone calls and emails from knoxnews.
Allie Feinberg is the politics reporter for Knox News. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com; Reddit: u/KnoxNewsAllie
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Commissioner's plan targeting Muslims is 'mind-bogglingly' illegal, expert says
