Appeals court sides with bus system in fight over anti-Islam ad

A federal appeals court has upheld a suburban Detroit bus system's refusal to put anti-Muslim ads on its buses.

The ads read in part, "Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam?" And publicized a website called refugefromislam.com.

SMART rejected the ads as too political.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative sued on free speech and equal protection grounds, and a lower court ruled against SMART.

But the U.S. Sixth Circuit reversed that ruling. It said the ad suggests that Muslim-Americans who decide to leave Islam will be threatened or killed. The court said SMART's restrictions on advertisements are reasonable, and don't violate the First Amendment.