Italian Court Overturns Convictions For Eid al-Adha Sacrifice

An Italian appeals court last week overturned the animal cruelty conviction of two Romanian travelers who had been fined by a lower court for the public slaughter of a young goat to mark the Muslim festival Eid  al-Adah (the Feast of the Sacrifice). The Local yesterday reported on the decision by the appellate court in Genoa:

In overturning the conviction, judge Mauro Amisano wrote that animal cruelty charges “presume the lack of any valid motive which renders the cruelty abject and futile.”

Amisano added that the sacrifice had a valid motive as it was part of a religious festival and had been carried out according to longstanding tradition.

“As part of a religious practice, one can assume the men did not expose the animal to any additional suffering,” he added.

“It cannot be considered illegal because it is a practice which is permitted by the freedom of religious expression.”

British Judge Rules In Muslim Parents' Dispute Over Sons' Circumcisions

In Exeter (county Devon) in England, a family court judge has ruled that a Muslim father cannot have his 4 and 6 year old sons circumcised over the objection of the boys' mother who is now separated from the father.  As reported yesterday by The Plymouth Herald, the father, a devout Muslim living in England but who was born in Algeria, argued that circumcision would be in accordance with his religious beliefs and in the boys' best interests. The judge said that she is deferring any decision on ordering the circumcision until the boys are old enough to make mature choices on their own, and are able to appreciate the consequences and longer-term effects of their decisions.  However this does not mean that they must reach adulthood before making their decisions. The judge said in part:

First and foremost, this is a once and for all, irreversible procedure.  There is no guarantee that these boys will wish to continue to observe the Muslim faith with the devotion demonstrated by their father, although that may very well be their choice.

British Employment Appeal Tribunal Upholds Warning To Proselytizing Supervisor

In Wasteney v. East London NHS Foundation Trust, (UK EAT, April 7, 2016), the British Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) rejected a religious discrimination claim brought by the Head of Forensic Occupational Therapy at a public sector mental health clinic who described herself as a born again Christian.  She was issued a written warning for proselytizing a young Pakistani Muslim occupational therapist whom she supervised.  She gave the Muslim woman a book about another Muslim Pakistani woman who had converted to Christianity; during a one-on-one meeting prayed for the Muslim woman by laying hands on her; and invited the Muslim woman to various Christian church events. In upholding the finding of the Employment Tribunal (ET), the EAT said in part:

The ET did not find that the Respondent had pursued disciplinary action against the Claimant and imposed a warning on her because of or for reasons related to her sharing of her faith with a consenting colleague.  It expressly found that the Respondent took the actions it did because the colleague in question had made serious complaints about acts which blurred professional boundaries and placed improper pressure on that colleague.

Christian Post reporting on the decision quotes this reaction from the supervisor who lost her appeal:

I believe the NHS singled me out for discipline because Christianity is so disrespected. Previously a Christian worship service that I set up for patients was closed down, but accommodation for Muslims to practice their faith wholly facilitated and encouraged.

CAIR Sues Challenging Procedures For Terrorist Watch List

Last week, CAIR-Michigan filed two federal lawsuits challenging the federal government's operation of the Terrorist Screening Database.  Inclusion on the list leads to placement on the no-fly list and on lists restricting access to licenses and firearms.  The suits allege that almost all Americans known to be on the watch list are Muslims or persons who could be mistaken for Muslims.  One of the suits, Baby Doe v. Piehota, (ED VA, filed 4/5/2016) (full text of complaint) is a class action seeking damages. The other, Elhady v. Piehota, (ED VA, filed 4/5/2016) (full text of complaint) seeks injunctive and declaratory relief. The suits contend that selection of individuals for the watch list is illegally motivated by religious status and denies those on the list substantive and procedural due process rights by stigmatizing them and burdening their right of movement. Among other things, the suits seek a change in the watch list so that individuals placed on the list are furnished notice of the reasons for their inclusion and an opportunity to contest their listing.  CAIR issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuits.

Jail Settles Suits Alleging Muslim Women Were Forced To Attend Christian Services

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported this week that Cuyahoga County (Ohio) has entered settlements in two separate lawsuits by Muslim women who said they were required by corrections officer Regina Watts to attend Christian religious services when they were serving time in the Cuyahoga County Jail. The women were housed in the "trustee pod" of the jail while serving time in 2014. Sakeena Majeed, who was in jail for misdemeanor assault received a settlement of $48,500.  Sonya Abderrazzaq was serving time for drunk driving settled for $32,500.  The jail has now moved religious services to other space instead of the pod where the two women were housed. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Muslim Technician Sues Charging Employment Discrimination

CAIR-Michigan this week announced the filing of a religious discrimination lawsuit in federal district court against an Indiana-based healthcare technology management organization (with an office in Troy, Michigan) on behalf of an American Muslim Egyptian biomedical technician. The complaint (full text) in Hassane v. Trimedx, (ED MI, filed 2/15/2016) says that plaintiff was hired as a technician in a program that included extensive training. However, after he requested the use of two-weeks earned vacation time to travel to Egypt to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr with his family, he was removed from the training program, placed on probation and denied a promotion and salary increase that all others received. Detroit News reports on the lawsuit.

Denial of Permit For Muslim Cemetery Was Arbitrary and Capricious

The Farmington (MN) Independent reported yesterday on a decision last month by a Dakota County, Minnesota trial court judge holding that the Castle Rock Township board of supervisors' decision to deny a permit for a Muslim cemetery was arbitrary and capricious. The Al Maghfirah Cemetery Association sued after the township said the cemetery would cause a loss of tax revenue and expressed concern that the cemetery would not be maintained and would not be open to the public.  It is estimated that the 73-acre cemetery site will accommodate 35,000 burials-- enough to serve the growing Minnesota Islamic community for 200 years.

Ejected Muslim and Sikh Airline Passengers Sue

The New York Daily News reported yesterday that a federal lawsuit has been filed against American Airlines and two affiliated regional carriers by  four friends-- 3 Muslims and a Sikh-- who were ejected from a Toronto to New York flight last December because they made the stewardesses and the captain uneasy.  The flyers' appearance and the fact that two of them upgraded to business class just before boarding aroused suspicions in the crew.  Two of the ejected passengers were Bangladeshi Muslims, one an Arab Muslim and one a Sikh from India.  The lawsuit seeks $9 million in damages, claiming plaintiffs were discriminated against for looking too Muslim.

Muslim Employees Walk Out of Meat Packing Plant In Dispute Over Prayer Breaks

Media are reporting this week on the firing of between 150 and 180 Somali Muslim workers at a Cargill meat packing plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado.  Denver 7 News and Minneapolis Star Tribune report that the action grew out of a dispute that developed when a new shift manager told 11 employees that they could not all take a prayer break at the same time. Ten of these workers resigned, and 177 other workers either did not show up, or clocked in and left, the next day in support.  When the protesters did not return or call in for three days they were terminated.  Apparently the parties are still in touch over the possibility of the employees getting their jobs back. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

NYC Taxi Appeals Unit Says Religious Belief of Driver Does Not Justify Gender Discrimiination

Triggered by a New York Post article, a number of media outlets last week reported on a Sept. 3, 2015 decision of the New York City OATH Taxi and Limousine Tribunal Appeals Unit.  In Taxi & Limousine Commission v. Tamsir Drammeh , the Appeals Unit upheld a hearing officer's decision that a Muslim cab driver violated a Commission rule prohibiting any action that is "against the best interest of the public" when he refused to transport a female passenger in the front seat of his cab for religious reasons. When a family of four hailed the cab, the driver told them that all four could sit in back, or the husband could sit in front, but the wife could not. The Hearing Examiner concluded: "That his religion did not allow him to sit next to a woman is not an acceptable defense in an occupation that is operated to serve the public." Affirming that decision, the Appeals Unit stated:

There is strong public policy which prohibits a TLC licensee from engaging in “invidious discrimination while serving the public” .... In addition, it is well established that a taxicab driver is required to possess sufficient self-restraint to deal in a mature fashion with the everyday conflicts inherent in his job.... This includes a situation where the driver’s religious beliefs may conflict with his obligations and duties as a taxi driver to transport members of the public.

Here, the respondent’s determination that it would be proper for the passenger’s husband to sit in the front seat, but not proper for the passenger to do so solely because of her gender, evidenced a discriminatory attitude and constituted an action against the best interests of the public.

The cabbie was fined $350 and suspended for one day.

Wheaton College Suspends Prof Over Statement In Solidarity With Muslims

Religion News Service yesterday reported on the controversy at Christian-affiliated Wheaton College which has placed political science professor Larycia Hawkins on administrative leave for a statement she made expressing solidarity with Muslims.  Hawkins, an Episcopalian, decided to wear a hijab during the Advent season leading up to Christmas as a statement of solidarity.  But the statement that potentially placed her job in jeopardy was a Facebook post reading:

I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.

In a press release Tuesday, the Wheaton College administration said:

In response to significant questions regarding the theological implications of statements that Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Larycia Hawkins has made about the relationship of Christianity to Islam, Wheaton College has placed her on administrative leave, pending the full review to which she is entitled as a tenured faculty member.

Wheaton College faculty and staff make a commitment to accept and model our institution's faith foundations with integrity, compassion and theological clarity. As they participate in various causes, it is essential that faculty and staff engage in and speak about public issues in ways that faithfully represent the College's evangelical Statement of Faith.

Historically Wheaton College, located in Illinois, while evangelical has not been fundamentalist in its outlook.  However the school has been one of the religious institutions at the center of the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate controversy. (See prior posting.)

NYC Municipal Judge Sworn In On Qur'an

Geo TV and ABNA report that last Thursday in New York City, a Muslim woman, Carolyn Walker-Diallo, was sworn in as a civil court judge of the 7th Municipal District in Brooklyn, using a Qur'an instead of a Bible for the ceremony.  Walker-Diallo who has been active in local politics and community development, wore a headscarf during the ceremony. Coming at a time of heightened anti-Muslim rhetoric from some quarters in the U.S., social media reaction to the swearing-in was mixed.

British Court of Appeals Says Muslim Prison Chaplains Did Not Suffer Pay Discrimination

In Naeem v The Secretary of State for Justice, (EWCA, Dec. 9, 2015) , the England and Wales Court of Appeal held that discrimination was not the cause of the average pay of Muslim prison chaplains in British prisons being lower on average than that of Christian chaplains. Instead it was caused by the fact that the Prison Service only began employing Muslim chaplains in 2002.  Before that there were not enough Muslim prisoners to call for employing full-time Muslim chaplains.  Thus the average length of service for Muslim chaplains is less than for Christian chaplains.  Chaplains get pay raises based on length of service.

Petitioners, who originally brought their cases before an Employment Tribunal, argued that they were the victims of "indirect discrimination"-- which is defined in British law as a practice that operates with a disparate impact on a protected class.  The appeals court, relying on earlier precedent, held: "an employer can rebut a claim of indirect discrimination by showing that an apparent disparate impact is the result of non-discriminatory factors." Law & Religion UK reports further on the decision.

Bill In Israel's Knesset Encouraging Female Muslim Judges Draws Orthodox Jewish Opposition

While it is well known that Israel has a system of Jewish religious courts, it is sometimes overlooked that the country also has a system of religious courts for over a dozen other religious communities.  These religious courts deal with personal status family law matters of Israelis who are members of those religious groups. (Background.) Times of Israel reported yesterday on a bill proposed by three members of the Knesset (Israel's Parliament) that would require those appointing judges to Muslim religious courts to include at least one woman on the list of nominees and encourage in other ways election of women to Muslim courts. The bill has the backing of the important Ministerial Committee of Legislation.  However under the coalition agreement between the parties in Prime Minister Netanyahu's government, the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party has a veto over legislation on religion-state matters.  A party spokesman said it was planning to exercise the veto here because it fears the bill could set a precedent for Jewish religious judges which, under Orthodox Jewish law, are only male.

Donald Trump Calls For Ban on Muslims Entering United States

Acting in contradiction to the policy approach urged yesterday by President Obama (see prior posting), Republican front-runner Donald Trump this afternoon issued a statement (full text) calling for a complete ban on Muslims entering the United States.  The statement reads:

Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on. According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing "25% of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad" and 51% of those polled, "agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah." Shariah authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won't convert, beheadings and more unthinkable acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women.

Mr. Trump stated, "Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life. If I win the election for President, we are going to Make America Great Again."

Challenge To Gun Store's "Muslim Free Zone" Dismissed For Lack of Imminent Injury

In CAIR Florida, Inc. v. Teotwawki Investments, LLC, (SD FL, Nov. 24, 2015), a Florida federal district court dismissed a religious discrimination suit brought by a Muslim advocacy organization against a gun store and firing range whose owner announced (through a YouTube video) that it was implementing a "Muslim Free Zone."  The suit alleged that the declaration by Florida Gun Supply violates Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation. (See prior posting.) The court held however that the announcement -- which was seen on national television-- did not threaten imminent harm.  The court agreed with defendant's contention that:

[T]here are no facts demonstrating that Plaintiff was (or will be) unlawfully discriminated against. There are no facts demonstrating that Plaintiff has attempted to purchase a firearm from Defendant and was denied on the basis of its religion or has attempted to attend a gun safety class and was denied on the basis of its religion or attempted to do anything at Defendant’s retail gun store and was denied on the basis of religion. And there are no allegations that Plaintiff will attempt to do any such activities at Defendant’s retail gun store in the future and be unlawfully denied on the basis of religion. Thus, Plaintiff has not alleged facts to demonstrate actual present harm or a significant possibility of future harm as required by Article III.

American Freedom Law Center, which represented defendants, issued a press release announcing the decision. Its press release described the announcement by Florida Gun Supply as a "refusal to equip Islamic terrorists." WND reports on the decision.

Trump's Call For Registration of U.S. Muslims Criticized By Democrats and Many Fellow-Republicans

The New York Times today reports that Democrats and many fellow-Republicans are criticizing Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump's remarks supportive of a system to register all Muslims in the country.  Trump said it is merely an issue of "management." Hillary Clinton called Trump's comments "shocking rhetoric." Former Gov. Jeb Bush said in response to Trump's position: "You talk about closing mosques, you talk about registering people — that’s just wrong."

New Muslim Political Party Launched In Australia

In Australia yesterday, a Sydney businessman launched a new political party, the Australian Muslim Party.  According to 9News, the new party hopes to run candidates for the Senate in all states and territories next year.  Businessman Diaa Mohamed, founder of the new party, says that  it is important that the Muslim community have a political voice.  The party was formed in part in response to the recent creation of six anti-Islamic parties.  Non-Muslims are welcome to join the party.

Republican Candidates Express Concerns About Muslims In U.S. After Paris Terrorism

The New York Times reported yesterday on statements by Republican presidential candidates reflecting a growing suspicion of Muslims after the recent terrorism in Paris:

[Donald] Trump, who said last month that he would be open to shutting down mosques as part of the fight against Islamic State militants, reiterated on Monday that the idea should be “studied.”

“I would hate it do it but it’s something that you’re going to have to strongly consider because some of the ideas and some of the hatred, the absolute hatred, is coming from these areas”....

Ben Carson ... called on Congress to defund its program to give safe passage to Syrian refugees. The retired neurosurgeon also suggested....  “I believe that we need to put a lot more pressure on the clerics, the imams, to make a very distinct line between what ISIS, ISIL, the radical Islamic jihadists are doing, and what traditional Islam is about”....

Jeb Bush ... also expressed concern about refugees from the Middle East entering the United States and said ... Christians and Muslims who are fleeing Syria should be treated differently. “We should focus our efforts as it relates to refugees for the Christians that are being slaughtered,” Mr. Bush said.

At a news conference, President Obama particularly criticized suggestions that there should be a religious test for which refugees will be admitted.

As Indian Prime Minister Visits Britain, Religious Minorities' Rights Are Raised

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, head of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People's Party) began an important 3-day formal visit to Britain yesterday. However his visit has been dogged by concerns on at least two fronts regarding the rights of religious minorities in India. According to The Guardian:

In the last few months, mobs of fanatics, some linked to his party, the BJP, have lynched Muslims for eating, carrying or possessing beef, or on mere suspicion of having done so.... Most of all, however, critics say it was Modi himself who spawned the narrative of beef as a critical issue during elections last year by warning of a “pink revolution” (a widespread slaughter of cows) if his party didn’t win.

Meanwhile, Sikhs have a different concern, and have enlisted Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in their cause. According to an NSO Press Release"

The office for the leader of the Labour Party has said Jeremy Corbyn will be taking up the issue of the 1984 Sikh genocide with the Indian premier during his visit to Britain this week.... [P]rior to Mr Modi’s landslide victory, he and his party had placed the blame for the killings of Sikhs on the then Congress government. Furthermore, following appointment to office Mr Modi’s Home Minister described the killings as “genocide”.... [However, according to a Sikh leader in the UK] ... "Mr Modi has done nothing to bring identified Congress leaders who urged gangs of hooligans, to kill, murder and burn Sikh men, women and children, to justice. They now freely roam the streets gloating of their achievements to the bewilderment of relatives of those murdered, as well as the wider Sikh community."