DHS Removes NSEER Rules, Making Any Muslim Registry Program By Trump More Difficult

Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security issued a release (full text) removing regulations relating to the  National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS).  As reported by Vox, in 2011 President Obama had suspended the program, which targeted Muslims, by removing all countries from the list of those to whom the registration requirements apply. The program as it operated after 9-11 required males on non-immigrant visas who are 16 years old or older from 25 countries-- 24 of them Muslim countries-- to register.  The much-criticized program led to 13,000 deportations. Yesterday's action completely removes the regulations.  The Department of Homeland Security, finding that the data captured under SEERS is now available through other means, concluded that the removal of the old rules is merely procedural to delete "regulations related to an outdated, inefficient, and decommissioned program."  DHS was thus able to delete the old rules without going through the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act by invoking the exception for "rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice."

The action, effective with publication in today's Federal Register, means that the incoming Trump Administration, which has variously called for registration of Muslim immigrants, or those entering the U.S. from Muslim countries, will need to go through the full Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment requirements to implement a registration system. It will not be able to just reinvigorate SEERS. New York Times also reports on the action by DHS.

Slovakian President Vetoes Anti-Muslim Bill; Override Expected

AFP reports that in Slovakia yesterday, President Andrej Kiska vetoed as "discriminatory" a bill that would make it more difficult for Muslims and other religious minorities to receive government subsidies.  Currently under Slovakian law, a religion must have at least 20,000 followers in the country in order to qualify for subsidies.  The bill that was passed by the National Council (the Parliament) would increase that number to 50,000.  Some 2,000 to 5,000 Muslims currently live in Slovakia, whose total population is 5.4 million. It is expected that the National Council will override the President's veto after Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters, "While I am prime minister, I will never agree to establish a unified Muslim community in Slovakia."

Attorney General Lynch Speaks To Interfaith Event About Hate Crimes

Attorney General Loretta Lynch yesterday spoke on the Justice Department’s Commitment to Combating Hate Crimes (full text of remarks) at an interfaith event held at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center in Reston, Virginia.  She said in part:

[A]ll of us have seen the flurry of recent news reports about alleged hate crimes and harassment – from hijabs yanked off of women’s heads; to swastikas sprayed on the sides of synagogues; to slurs and epithets hurled in classrooms....

These incidents – and these statistics – should be of the deepest concern to every American.  Because hate crimes don’t just target individuals.  They tear at the fabric of our communities, and they also stain our dearest ideals and our nation’s very soul.  There is a pernicious thread that connects the act of violence against a woman wearing a hijab to the assault on a transgender man to the tragic deaths of nine innocent African Americans during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME in Charleston, South Carolina.... Regardless of our faith, we believe in our common humanity.... That is why the Department of Justice – and the entire Obama Administration – regards hate crimes with the utmost seriousness, whether they target individuals because of their race, their religion, their gender or their sexual orientation.  And that is why we have worked tirelessly over the last several years to bring those who perpetrate these heinous deeds to justice.

Australian Judge Says Muslim Plaintiff Cannot Testify Without Removing Veil

Australia's Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that a trial court judge in the Australian state of New South Wales has ruled that a Muslim woman who is plaintiff in a civil case against the state and federal governments may not take the stand in her own trial without removing her veil which conceals her face. Moutia Elzahed, who is one of two women married to a convicted Islamic extremist, is suing over alleged police brutality during a 2014 counter-terrorism raid of her home.  Elzhed says that for religious reasons she cannot show her face to any man outside her family.  She rejected alternatives of testifying in closed court or via a closed circuit television link since either would show her face to the male lawyers involved in the case.  Elzhed also refused to stand when Judge Audrey Balla entered the courtroom.

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the judge's decision.

Muslim Lawyers' Groups Strategize Over Trump Administration

National Law Journal reported Monday that Muslim lawyers' groups around the country are planning ahead for the issues that may arise in the Trump administration, saying in part:

"People right now are struggling to figure out where we're going to focus our efforts," said Fatema Merchant, a member of the Capital Area Muslim Bar Association (CAMBA) board....

Civil rights, hate crimes, First Amend­ment protection, immigration law and election law are some of the concerns of the 100-member organization.... The challenge is to determine how to spend the group's energy. "We can't do everything," she said.

CAMBA is among Muslim attorney groups nationwide grappling with changes expected in the professional and private lives of Muslim lawyers following Trump's election. Of particular worry is his proposal to create a Muslim registry.

Bill Introduced In Congress To Bar Muslim Registry

In a press release yesterday, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene who represents the state of Washington in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced HR6382 the No Religious Registry Act. Introduced in response to statements suggesting that President-Elect Donald Trump favors a registry of Muslims in the U.S., the bill would bar the collection of information and the creation of a registry for classifying U.S. nationals, U.S. visa applicants or aliens lawfully present in the U.S. on the basis of religious affiliation,

In Israel, Anti-Noise Bill Aimed At Mosques Falters When Legislators Realize It Also Bars Jewish Sabbath Alerts

The Washington Post reported yesterday that in Israel this week, ultra-Orthodox Jewish government ministers stopped progress in the Knesset (Parliament) on a government-approved bill that would have prevented religious institutions from using loud speakers.  The law was aimed at mosques in which the five-times-per-day calls to prayer are broadcast through loudspeakers attached to the top of minarets.  Jewish Israelis living close to Muslim neighborhoods have complained for years, especially about the early morning calls to prayer that wake them. Arab Israelis had strongly opposed the law, one Arab Knesset member calling it "a populist and racist attempt to incite against the Arab public."  What stopped the bill however was the realization by Orthodox Jewish Knesset members that the bill, written in broad terms, would also outlaw sirens used in Jewish neighborhoods to alert Jews to the start of the Sabbath.

Muslim Nanny Sues Actor Couple

According to The Wrap, in a suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, Sarah Alaseri (a young Muslim woman) is seeking damages for religious discrimination (as well as sexual harassment) against actor Steve Howey and his wife Sarah Shahi.  Alaseri was employed by the couple as a nanny. The suit claims that Howey and Shahi ridiculed Alaseri's religious beliefa and practices-- including mocking her for dressing modestly, fasting and wearing a headscarf when praying.

U.S. Muslim Leaders Urge Messages of Hope At Friday Prayers

A press release yesterday from CAIR urged Muslim prayer leaders and imams to address post-presidential election anxieties in sermons during their regular Friday prayer services today. An outline of talking points for leaders prepared by Sh. Omar Suleiman, president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research in Texas, was included. Here are some excerpts:

We have to come to terms with the idea that will be faced with some level of hardship with our faith regardless of the circumstances. Part of ending harm towards the community collectively is individually being ready to dispel stereotypes. In Makkah, the public display of the faith was the protest of the Companions. We must also continue to publicly be unapologetically Muslim....

It’s very easy for us to say that they all hate us, and there is no good left in the people. Instead let us remind ourselves that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed for the people most sincerely when their rejection for him was most severe. He prayed for them at Ta’if when they struck him in the face, and at Uhud when they almost killed him....

The under 25 voters were almost unanimous in expressing what type of America they wanted to live in. And it is not one of bigotry or xenophobia. We have to make sure we continue to invest in the younger generation so that they don’t repeat the mistakes of the past (and in this case, the present). We must continue to build institutions that will stand for justice and peace for generations to come. The Day of Judgment has not come yet, and even if it had, we would still be required to finish planting what is in our hands.

Apartment Owner Sued Over Rental Discrimination Against Muslims

The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights yesterday announced the filing of a lawsuit in state court charging the owner of an apartment building with discriminatory refusal to rent to Muslims. The complaint (full text) in Porrino v. Greda, (NJ Super., filed 10/19/2016), details the Division's use of testers after receiving a complaint from a Muslim woman.

3rd Circuit Gives Muslim Inmate Victory On Retaliation and RFRA Claims

In Mack v. Warden, (3d Cir., Oct. 11, 2016), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in a lengthy opinion gave an unusual victory to an inmate who claims that anti-Muslim harassment by two correctional officers caused him to refrain from praying while at his paid work assignment at a federal prison commissary.  He contends that he was terminated from his work assignment for orally complaining to a supervisor about the harassment.  The suit was filed pro se, and inmate Charles Mack lost at the trial court level.  However he prevailed on a number of his claims on appeal at which he was represented by law students from Duke University's Appellate Litigation Clinic.

One of the defendant officers slapped Mack on his back, sticking an "I Love Bacon" sign on him, and then threatened to have him fired when he later objected.  The appeals court held 2-1 that Mack's oral complaint to a prison guard about the mistreatment qualifies as a petition for the redress of grievances protected by the 1st and 14th Amendments.  It thus supports a 1st Amendment retaliation claim. Second the appeals court held unanimously that a claim for damages under RFRA (as opposed to RLUIPA) lies against individual officers for their ultra vires acts, even though a prison policy or regulation is not being challenged, and that the alleged conduct substantially burdened plaintiff's religious exercise. The court however refused to extend a Bivens damage remedy for 1st Amendment free exercise violations and also dismissed plaintiff's equal protection claim. Penn Live reports on the decision.

Muslim Caseworker Sues Charging Religious Discrimination

A Bangladeshi Muslim woman who was a social worker and had been employed as a case manager by a behavioral healthcare company filed suit in an Oregon state court last week charging religious, racial, national origin and disability discrimination in her termination.  The complaint (full text) in Rahman v. Cascade Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., (OR Cir., Ct., filed 10/7/2016), claims, in part, that adverse employment action against her stemmed from her refusing for religious reasons to shake hands with men (including her boss), her wearing of a hijab, and her praying at work up to three times per day. The Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries had dismissed her complaint filed with them, finding inadequate evidence of discrimination. (Full text of OBLI order).  The Oregonian reports on the lawsuit.

Muslim Palestinian Teacher's Discrimination Claims Survive Motion To Dismiss

In Hashem v. Hunterdon County, (D NJ, Sept. 20, 2016), a New Jersey federal district court refused to dismiss certain claims by a New Jersey high school history teacher that her school and her supervisors discriminated and retaliated against her on the basis of religion, race and national origin.  The teacher, Sireen Hashem, a Muslim Arab of Palestinian descent, was reprimanded for showing a video, at the suggestion of another teacher who had also shown it, featuring the young Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl's education advocate. Subsequently Hashem's contract was not renewed.  According to the court:

Hashem alleges that she was instructed not to "teach current events in the same manner as her non-Arab, non-Palestinian and non-Muslim colleagues." ...On a separate occasion, Hashem was allegedly told "not [to] mention Islam or the Middle East in her class, and that she "should not bring her culture, life experience or background into the classroom."

While dismissing a number of her claims, the court allowed the teacher to move ahead with claims for employment discrimination, disparate treatment, retaliation and discriminatory discharge.

Muslim Safety Officer Awarded $100,000 In Discrimination Suit

In Dingus v. Tennessee Department of Safety, (ED TN, Sept. 20, 2016), a Tennessee federal district court, on remand from the 6th Circuit, awarded damages of $100,000 to a former Tennessee safety officer for mental anguish and emotional distress he suffered as a result of religious discrimination.  De'Ossie Dingus, a Sunni Muslim, sued under Title VII claiming discrimination and harassment over the years. Knoxville News Sentinel reports on the decision.

Ethiopia Pardons Muslims Convicted of Opposing Government's Moderate Push

AP reports that in Ethiopia on Saturday, the chief prosecutor pardoned around 1,000 convicts upon the approach of the Ethiopian New Year and Eid al-Adha.  Among them were 135 Muslims convicted on anti-terrorism charges of religious extremism.  The pardoned convicts had participated in months-long anti-government protests in 2012 when the government encouraged the teaching of the moderate Al-Ahbash form of Islam and required that it be taught in an Addis Ababa religious school. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Muslim Police Officer Sues For Religious Accommodation

A Muslim police officer in the Town of West New York, NJ, filed a religious discrimination lawsuit this week in New Jersey federal district court alleging that he was not provided a religious accommodation to the police department's Appearance Policy.  The complaint (full text) in Awadallah v. Town of West New York, (D NJ, filed 9/7/2016), alleges that plaintiff wears a light beard as part of his Muslim religious beliefs. It contends that defendants initially denied the possibility of an accommodation and then delayed action on his request.  He was not permitted to work overtime while he was wearing his beard, and was required to submit proof of his religious beliefs. Ultimately his accommodation request was denied. Plaintiff alleges this violates Title VII and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. [Thanks to Jeff Pasek for the lead.]

Obama Nominates First Muslim Federal Court Judge

As reported by National Law Journal, yesterday President Obama nominated (White House announcement) Abid Qureshi, partner in the D.C. law firm of Latham & Watkins, for a federal district judgeship in the District of Columbia.  Qureshi, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the first Muslim ever nominated for a seat on a federal court. A litigator whose expertise includes white collar defense, Qureshi is also the global Chair of Latham’s Pro Bono Committee. (Bio). Muslim Advocates issued a press release commending President Obama for the nomination.

French Official Proposes New Efforts To Align Muslims With French Secular Values

Al Jazeera reports that in France on Monday, Muslim leaders met with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to discuss the future of Islam in the country. The Interior Minister wants to set up three new organizations to help French Muslims align their beliefs with the secular values of France. One of the organizations would focus on integration of the Muslim faith, the second on the building of mosques, and the third on Imams. Imams would be required to use French instead of Arabic for their sermons, and they would need to "understand French values".  The move comes in the wake of new tensions in the country over full-body swim suits worn by Muslim women. (See prior posting.)

Canadian Mounties Approve Hijab As Optional Uniform Choice

Global News reported this week that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has approved the hijab as a uniform option to encourage Muslim women to consider the RCMP as a career option.  Three types of hijabs were tested before approving one which maximizes officer safety and can be removed quickly if needed. The RCMP since 1990 has allowed Sikh officers to wear a turban. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

French Town Official Threatens To Sue Those Circulating Photos of Burkini Ban

In France in recent weeks, a number of seaside towns have barred Muslim women from wearing the "burkini"-- a swimsuit that covers them from knees to chest. (See prior posting.) The bans have variously been supported by reference to the French principle of laïcité (secularism in the public sphere), or by arguments that the burkini represents the "enslavement of women," or that the swimwear is a provocation in light of recent Islamist terrorist attacks in France. Now, photos of police enforcing the ban in Nice which were widely published in European media have become the center of additional controversy as the deputy mayor of Nice yesterday issued a statement (full text in French) threatening to sue anyone who shares the photos online.  He contends that the photos "provoke defamatory remarks and threats" against the police.  As reported by The Verge:

In the image, taken by a French photographer, four male police officers surround the woman and appear to issue a fine. With the men still standing over her, the woman was photographed removing her long tunic top. The agency that released the pictures in the UK said ... that the woman was fined and left the beach, but the office of Nice's mayor denied that she had been forced to remove her clothes, telling AFP that she was only showing the officers that she was wearing a swimsuit under her clothes. Notably, the woman was not wearing a burkini, but a long-sleeved tunic, headscarf, and leggings. The legal basis for Estrosi's lawsuit threats remains unclear.