Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Maine Supreme Court Hears Tuition Voucher Arguments
Two Pennsylvania Prisoner Claims Rejected
In Meggett v. Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections, 2006 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 66 (Commonwealth Ct., Feb. 13, 2006), a Pennsylvania state court upheld the state prison system's regulations on hair length and styling against a prisoner who wished to wear dreadlocks as part of his Hebrew Israelite faith. The court held that while a practice is protected even when it is not a mandatory tenet of a religious faith, here the policy was a reasonable response to legitimate penological concerns.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Ohio Reversal-- No Teaching of Intelligent Design, At Least For Now
Georgia Governor Proposes Constitutional Amendment To Aid Faith-Based Programs
It's Valentine's Day-- So It's Time for A Religious Freedom Lawsuit
Will Scotland Force Catholic School To Become Muslim?
St Albert's Primary school in the Glascow suburb of Pollokshields is a state-funded Catholic school. However, more than 75% of its students are Muslim. Today's Education Guardian reports that pressure is now growing to turn this school, located in the midst of Scotland's largest Pakistani community, into a Muslim school. Currently there are no state-funded Muslim schools in Scotland. Last year, Glasgow's largest mosques and Muslim organizations formed the Campaign for Muslim Schools to press the issue. It's spokesman, Osama Saeed, said, "The national policy on faith schools is that, whenever there is a demand from a faith community, there should be a school. Ergo, there should be a Muslim school here." However Scotland's first minister, Jack McConnell, seems to believe that faith schools can be divisive. He has announced that children from denominational and non-denominational schools will be brought together for various activities like school trips and drama.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Proposed Israeli Constitution Has Controversial Provisions On Religion-State
Paper Features Role Of Police Chaplains
Rev. Jerry Creek of the Southwest Arkansas Baptist Association, a former police chaplain who is now a military chaplain said that he approaches both chaplaincies alike: "No distinctions are ever made about denomination and we don’t push people towards religion. So many men and women are going off to war and many of them have questions. Our response is to ask them if they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior or if they are in the process. When they tell us they are in the process, we offer to help them."
Science Education In Ohio Under Examination
Today's Toledo Blade ran an article on what is actually happening in Ohio classrooms. It suggests that some of those teaching intelligent design may have aberrational views about other aspects of science as well:
Michael Maveal wants his eighth-grade students at Jones Junior High to know the truth - as he sees it. So, the Toledo Public Schools science teacher tells them that evolution is an unproven theory, as is creation. He teaches them about Nebraska man, a creature rejected by science long ago, to demonstrate the fallibility of evolution. He teaches them that Pluto has never been seen. (It has.) He teaches them that humans are not animals. (We are.) He teaches them about the famous scientific hoax, Piltdown man, once purported to be an early human ancestor.
"I'm not afraid of dealing with all the fakery that's going on in all the science community,'' Mr. Maveal said. "We have to present information to the kids so they can make an intelligent decision for themselves. "I tell them what the scientists won't admit."While Mr. Maveal is unusual in his willingness to acknowledge his disbelief in evolution, and his highly skeptical treatment of generally accepted science, his approach reveals the turmoil that exists in some science classrooms.
Muslim Prisoners Want Better Food Options In Washington State
British Artists Seek Repeal of Blasphemy Laws
Turkish Court Sanctions Teacher For Wearing Hijab
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Two Courts Refuse To Interfere With Ecclesiastical Decisions
Yesterday's New York Times reports on a decision this week by a New York trial judge permitting the Catholic archdiocese of New York to tear down Manhattan's St. Brigid's church and build residential apartments on the site. Dismissing a challenge brought by a group of former parishioners and the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, Justice Barbara R. Kapnick wrote, "This court finds that it would be an 'impermissible intrusion into Cardinal Egan's ecclesiastical authority to mandate that he use those funds to reopen the building as a church and/or to require him to operate a parish therein."
Recent Publications
Rex Ahdar (University of Otago) & Ian Leigh (Durham University), Religious Freedom In the Liberal State (Oxford Univ. Press, Dec. 2005). [from Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw listserv.]
New Article (from SmartCILP):
Kevin Pybas, Does the Establishment Clause Require Religion To Be Confined To the Private Sphere?, 40 Valparaiso Univ. Law Review 71-112 (2005).
Christian-Based Prison Proposed In Texas
Today Is Darwin Day
[T]he timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as "one theory among others" is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children. We believe that among God's good gifts are human minds capable of critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the will of our Creator. To argue that God's loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris. We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge. We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth.In a related development, in Ohio last Tuesday, 23 of the 32 scientists on the state's Science Content Standards Advisory Committee sent a letter to Governor Bob Taft urging the state school board to repeal portions of its science standards and lesson plans. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported on the letter that said current state guidelines undermine evolution by urging teachers to "critically analyze" the theory.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Criminal Charges Filed For Importing Skull For Religious Ritual
Photographer Protected Even When Art Offends Religious Beliefs
Plaintiff argues that the use of the photograph interferes with his constitutional right to practice his religion. The free exercise clause, however, restricts state action.... There is no state action complained of in this case, only the private actions of defendants. ...
Clearly, plaintiff finds the use of the photograph bearing his likeness deeply and spiritually offensive. The sincerity of his beliefs is not questioned by defendants or this court. While sensitive to plaintiff's distress, it is not redressable in the courts of civil law. In this regard, the courts have uniformly upheld Constitutional 1st Amendment protections, even in the face of a deeply offensive use of someone's likeness.... [C]onstitutional exceptions to privacy will be upheld, notwithstanding that the speech or art may have unintended devastating consequences on the subject, or may even be repugnant. They are ... the price every person must be prepared to pay for in a society in which information and opinion flow freely. [Thanks to Marc Stern via Religionlaw listserv for information.]
Unconstitutional School Prayer Persists, and Some Support It
Italian Priest Cleared of Charges Filed For Claiming Jesus Existed
Failure to Provide Christian Science Class In Prison Upheld
Friday, February 10, 2006
Satmar Dispute Decided By New York Trial Court
Rosenwasser's decision contradicts a 2004 decision (now on appeal) by a different judge that left control of the Williamsburg congregation to Zalmen's side. That case is Matter of Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar Inc. v Kahan.In the dispute that began over ownership of the Kiryas Joel cemetery and ballooned into a larger fight for control of the Hasidic movement, acting state Supreme Court Justice Stewart Rosenwasser sided squarely with Aron's faction. Aron's rivals support his brother, Zalmen, chief rabbi in Williamsburg.
Rosenwasser agreed with Aron's side that the cemetery belongs jointly to the main Satmar congregations in Kiryas Joel and Brooklyn, not just the Brooklyn group. But more importantly, he declared that Aron supporter Berl Friedman remains president of the Brooklyn branch, rejecting claims that the grand rebbe expelled him in 2001.
By itself, the ruling appears to place control of the Williamsburg congregation, its property and other assets back in the hands of Aron's faction. Control of the Satmar's Williamsburg core could determine which brother succeeds their father as grand rebbe, the supreme leader of more than 100,000 Satmar followers worldwide.
Finland Will Deny Licenses To New Private Religious Schools
Catholics Insulted By Australian Senate Debate On RU486
Australian Catholics were particularly offended by the approach taken during the debate by some Senators who are members of the Australian Greens Party. Especially grating was a T-shirt, distributed by the YWCA, worn by Senator Kerry Nettle which aimed its message at Health Minister Tony Abbott. Emblazoned on the front of the shirt (pictured in this article from today's Herald Sun) was the slogan, "Mr. Abbott, Get your rosaries off my ovaries." Prime Minister John Howard said that the message was offensive to Catholics across the country. But, he said, Nettle has the right to express herself and it should not be a criminal offence to make derogatory remarks about a particular religion. The full text of the bill, all speeches made in the Senate debate on it, and other legislative material relating to the bill are available from Parlinfo Web.
Colorado Court Upholds Right of Both Divorced Parents To Influence Child's Religion
Michigan Scout Troops Seek Private Sponsors To Avoid Establishment Clause Challenges
Islamic Conference Wants New UN Body To Also Prevent Religious Intolerance
However, just as delicate negotiations on details of the new Council were beginning this week, the Organization of the Islamic Conference has called for the insertion of language requiring the new Council to "prevent instances of intolerance, discrimination, incitement of hatred and violence" arising from "any actions against religions, Prophets and beliefs". Yesterday's Financial Times says that supporters of the new Council fear that the OIC demand could be exploited by countries looking to undermine the creation of the HRC for other reasons. The OIC's move, growing out of the recent international furor over published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, has also caused concern over infringing free speech, and over possible delays if the proposal opens the door to demands on other specific issues. (See related Update at prior posting.)
Injunction Stay Pending Appeal Denied In Indiana Legislative Prayer Case
In concluding that House Speaker Bosma had showed no irreparable harm, the court said: "The Speaker's claim that the injunction interferes with his 'ability to accommodate the religious needs of those who lead these prayers' reflects a persistent misunderstanding of the court's decision and of the applicable law. All individuals -- the Speaker, all House Members, and any guests who might be invited to offer an official prayer -- retain the right to pray and worship as they see fit in private and non-official settings."
Discussing applicable precedents at length, the court said that it was not persuaded that defendants were likely to succeed on appeal either on their challenge to plaintiffs' standing or on the merits of the case. (See prior related postings 1, 2, 3.)
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Air Force Issues Revised Religious Guidelines
The new draft of the Guidelines, now shortened to one page, call for:
- Religious accommodation for military personnel.
- No endorsement of particular religious beliefs.
- Protection of voluntary discussion of religion.
- Public prayer limited to special ceremonies, and then it must be inclusive and non-denominational.
The conservative Christian group Focus on the Family issued a release praising the revised guidelines:
UPDATE: Statements from groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and Americans United for Separation of Church and State have criticzed the Air Force's amended Guidelines. Language that was in the earlier version that discouraged public prayer at "staff meetings, office meetings, classes, or officially sanctioned activities such as sports events or practice sessions" has been omitted from the shortened revised Guidelines. (New York Sun report, Feb. 10.)The guidelines appropriately caution superiors against making comments that could appear to subordinates to be official policy. With that in mind, they properly state that "superiors enjoy the same free exercise rights as all other airmen." Just as important, we hope these guidelines will bring an end to the frontal assault on the Air Force by secularists who would make the military a wasteland of relativism, where robust discussion of faith is impossible. That has not been the history of our armed forces, and it should not be their future. We particularly thank the Air Force for specifically recognizing that "voluntary participation in worship, prayer, study and discussion is integral to the free exercise of religion." Some have claimed an offense against the Constitution at the mere mention of these matters, although nothing could be further from the truth.
Title VII Pre-Empts RFRA In Employment Discrimination Case
EU Official Suggests Media Code On Religious Reporting
Evangelical Group Moves To Intervene In AF Academy Suit
Paintings Excluded From Black History Month Display
UPDATE: Representing the artist, Liberty Counsel, a conservative legal advocacy group, demanded the city include Marcus' paintings in the display by Feb. 15 or face a federal lawsuit. (Report by AP.)
Evangelicals Urge Congress To Deal With Global Warming
Wisconsin Bill Would Ban Teaching of Intelligent Design
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
World Leaders Speak Out On the Muhammad Cartoons and Resulting Violence
PRESIDENT BUSH: ... We also talked about a topic that requires a lot of discussion and a lot of sensitive thought, and that is the reaction to the cartoons. I first want to make it very clear to people around the world that ours is a nation that believes in tolerance and understanding. In America we welcome people of all faiths. One of the great attributes of our country is that you're free to worship however you choose in the United States of America.
Secondly, we believe in a free press. We also recognize that with freedom comes responsibilities. With freedom comes the responsibility to be thoughtful about others. Finally, I have made it clear to His Majesty and he made it clear to me that we reject violence as a way to express discontent with what may be printed in a free press. I call upon the governments around the world to stop the violence, to be respectful, to protect property, protect the lives of innocent diplomats who are serving their countries overseas. ...
KING ABDULLAH: ... The issue of the cartoons, again, and with all respect to press freedoms, obviously, anything that vilifies the Prophet Mohammed -- upon him or attacks Muslim sensibilities, I believes needs to be condemned. At the same time, those that want to protest should do it thoughtfully, articulately, express their views peacefully. When we see protests -- when we see destruction, when we see violence, especially if it ends up taking the lives of innocent people, is completely unacceptable. Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, is a religion of peace, tolerance, moderation.
And we have to continue to ask ourselves, what type of world do we want for our children? I too often hear the word used as, tolerance. And tolerance is such an awful word. If we are going to strive to move forward in the future, the word that we should be talking about is acceptance. We need to accept our common humanity and our common values. And I hope that lessons can be learned from this dreadful issue, that we can move forward as humanity, and truly try to strive together, as friends and as neighbors, to bring a better world to all.
Elsewhere today, a joint statement (full text) was issued by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and the head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Ekmelettin Ihsanoglu. They said: "We fully uphold the right of free speech. But we understand the deep hurt and widespread indignation felt in the Muslim World. We believe freedom of the press entails responsibility and discretion, and should respect the beliefs and tenets of all religions. But we also believe the recent violent acts surpass the limits of peaceful protest." (ISN report).
Meanwhile CNN reports new violence today over the cartoons, this time in Afghanistan where several people have been killed. New demonstrations also took place today in Iraq, Bangladesh and by Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron. In today's New York Times, art critic Michael Kimmelman writes a thoughtful piece on the subject titled A Startling New Lesson In the Power of Imagery.
5th Circuit Hears Arguments Today On School Board Prayers
UPDATE: This AP article summarizes what went on at the oral argument.
Civil and Religious Law On the Muhammad Drawings
Yesterday, Deutsche Welle published an overview of the laws on blasphemy and incitation to religious hatred in eleven European countries. The controversial Muhammad cartoons might run afoul of some of these laws. In France, five Muslim organizations filed suit to prevent a French paper, Charlie-Hebdo, from publishing the caricatures. Scotsman.com reported yesterday that the court dismissed the case on the technical ground that the public prosecutor's office, which is always represented in French courts, was not properly notified of the case. The paper apparently plans to publish the illustrations today.
Townhall.com yesterday carried an excellent report from CNSNews analyzing whether or not Islamic law prohibits all pictures and drawings of the Prophet Muhammad. Reporter Patrick Goodenough concludes that opinions of Muslim scholars on the issue vary. Images of Muhammad have in fact appeared in Islamic art and literature over the centuries. And the same prohibition in Islamic law applies to pictures of any person, or even of animals. However, many news stories in European and American media have claimed that a prohibition on any picture of Muhammad was behind the intense reaction of Muslims around the world to the cartoons originally published in Denmark. An extensive selection of pictures of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic artwork over the centuries, as well as depictions in non-Islamic sources, are reproduced in an Archive at zombietime.com. And at Get Religion blog, we are reminded (with photo) that Muhammad is among the nine lawgivers depicted in the frieze on the north wall of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Health Inspectors Did Not Infringe Religious School's Free Exercise Rights
Muslim Prisoner's Free Exercise and Establishment Clause Claims Rejected
Georgia Tax Exemption For Bibles Violates Establishment Clause
UPDATE: The opinion in the case, Budlong v. Graham, is now available online. [Thanks to How Appealing.]
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Eminent Domain Taking Violates Establishment Clause
Court Asks For More Briefs On Whether RFRA Applies In GTMO
Utah Bill Narrowing Peyote Exemption Moves Forward
Department of Agriculture Proposal Said To Violate Free Exercise Rights
Recent Scholarly Publications
From SSRN: Abner Greene (Fordham Law School), The Apparent Consistency of Religion Clause Doctrine (forthcoming in Washington University Journal of Law & Policy).
From SmartCILP: Sheila Suess Kennedy & Leda McIntyre Hall, What Separation of Church and State? Constitutional Competence and the Bush Faith-Based Initiative, 5 Journal of Law In Society (Wayne State Univ.) 389-408 (2004).
Elgin Illinois Church Loses Zoning Permit Case
Monday, February 06, 2006
U.S., Britain Decry Violent Cartoon Responses; Iran Paper Creates New Challenge
Q: Scott, Iran has announced it's cutting off trade ties with Denmark over this cartoon of the prophet Mohammed. Does this worry you at all, that this sort of thing is happening?In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair today issued the following statement:
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I haven't seen what the regime in Iran has said. I think we've made our views very clear when it comes to the regime. But in terms of the issue relating to the cartoons, we have spoken out about this very issue. We condemn the acts of violence that have taken place. There simply is no justification to engage in violence. We call for constructive and peaceful dialogue based on respect for all religious faiths. Those who disagree with the views have the right to express their views, but they should do so in a peaceful manner. And we urge all governments to take steps to lower tensions and prevent violence, including against diplomatic premises, businesses and individuals.
And let me just make a couple other important comments. We have talked about the need for tolerance and respect for people of all communities and of all faiths. And that's important for everyone to heed. We have also said that we understand fully why Muslims find the cartoons offensive, and we have spoken out about that. In a free society, people have the right to express their views, even when they are offensive and wrong. We support and respect the freedom of press, but there are also important responsibilities that come with that freedom. And that's why we continue to urge tolerant respect for people of all faiths.
We also urge all those who are criticizing or critical of the cartoons to forcefully speak out against all forms of hateful speech, including cartoons and articles that frequently have appeared in the Arab world espousing anti-Semitic and anti-Christian views. So I think those are the points that we would emphasize when it comes to this very issue.
Meanwhile, an Iranian newspaper responded by launching a contest to find the 12 "best" cartoons about the Holocaust, according to today's Jerusalem Post. Farid Mortazavi, graphics editor for Tehran's Hamshahri newspaper, said that this would test how committed Europeans really are to the concept freedom of expression.We understand the offence caused by the cartoons depicting the prophet and of course regret that this has happened. Such things help no one
It is always sensible for freedom of expression to be exercised with respect for religious belief. But nothing can justify the violence aimed at European embassies or at the country of Denmark.
We and our EU partners stand in full solidarity with them in resisting this violence and believe the Danish government has done everything it reasonably can to handle a very difficult situation. The attacks on the citizens of Denmark and the people of other European countries are completely unacceptable as is the behaviour of some of the demonstrators in London over the last few days.
The police should have our full support in any actions they may wish to take in respect of any breaches of the law, though again we understand the difficult situation they had to manage. We also strongly welcome the statements of Muslim leaders here who are themselves tackling the extremists who abuse their community's good name.
Russian Army May Move To Formal Hiring of Orthodox Chaplains
There are currently 2,500 officers in the military who are responsible for morale. Sergei Melkov, a consultant on military issues to the Muslim Council of Muftis, which also has a cooperation agreement with the Russian military, suggested that "Giving priests the status of chaplains would look like acknowledging that these officers have been failing at their jobs." Oleg Askalenok, head of a Protestant umbrella group, the Russian Military Christian Union, said the Orthodox Church was preventing other denominations, including Protestants, from preaching in the military by calling them cults.
Arkansas Supreme Court Dismisses Imam's Suit
Government Asks For Dismissal of Suit Against Air Force Academy
Hindu Festival Challenged In Indian Supreme Court
The suit follows calls last month by ANHAD for the Indian government to ban the upcoming Shabri Kumbh, scheduled to begin February 11. (DNA India report.) ANHAD claims the festival will be used to convert tribal members to Hinduism. Many of the tribal people who have followed their own tribal religion, have been converted to Christianity. Right wing Hindus claim the conversions were obtained through improper use of gifts to the individuals. The festival is being organized by the right-wing Hindu Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has ties with the country's main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata. Extensive additional background on the controversy is in a Jan. 6 article in Rediff India Abroad.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Circumcision As A Protected Religious Practice
Freedom of Press?-- US, Jordan and South Africa React Differently On Cartoon Controversy
MR. MCCORMACK: For us, freedom of expression is at the core of our democracy and it is something that we have shed blood and treasure around the world to defend and we will continue to do so. That said, there are other aspects to democracy, our democracy -- democracies around the world -- and that is to promote understanding, to promote respect for minority rights, to try to appreciate the differences that may exist among us....
[W]e believe that it is an important principle that peoples around the world encourage dialogue, not violence; dialogue, not misunderstanding and that when you see an image that is offensive to another particular group, to speak out against that. Anti-Muslim images are as unacceptable as anti-Semitic images, as anti-Christian images or any other religious belief. We have to remember and respect the deeply held beliefs of those who have different beliefs from us. But it is important that we also support the rights of individuals to express their freely held views....
QUESTION: When you say "unacceptable," it applies some sort of action against the people who perpetrate those images.
MR. MCCORMACK: No. I think I made it very clear that our defense of freedom of expression and the ability of individuals and media organizations to engage in free expression is forthright and it is strong, you know. This is -- our First Amendment rights, the freedom of expression, are some of the most strongly held and dearly held views that we have here in America. And certainly nothing that I said, I would hope, would imply any diminution of that support....
QUESTION: Do you caution America media against publishing those cartoons?
MR. MCCORMACK: That's for you and your editors to decide, and that's not for the government. We don't own the printing presses.... [W]e, as a Government, have made our views known on the question of these images. We find them offensive. We understand why others may find them offensive. We have urged tolerance and understanding. That -- all of that said, the media organizations are going to have to make their own decisions concerning what is printed... [I]t's not for the U.S. Government to dictate what is printed.
The BBC yesterday reported that in Jordan, two newspapers-- Shihan and al-Mehwar-- became the first in the Arab world to reprint some the cartoons. Their editors were promptly arrested and accused of insulting religion under Jordan's press and publications law. Jihad Momani, editor of Shihan, was also fired by his newspaper, which withdrew copies of the paper from newsstands. Momani had published three of the cartoons along with an editorial questioning whether the reaction in the Muslim world was justified. He later issued an apology.
In South Africa, where only one paper has published one of the cartoons so far, the Johannesburg High Court issued an order Friday night against several newspapers prohibiting them from publishing any cartoon, caricature or drawing of Muhammad. South Africa's Sunday Tribune reports that the pre-emptive order came in a suit filed by the Jamiat-ul Ulama of Transvaal.
On Saturday, protesters in Syria set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies (AP). On Sunday, Denmark's embassy in Lebanon was torched (AP).
For prior postings on the controversy, see 1, 2, 3 , 4 .UPDATE: On Sunday, according to Islam Online, several Muslim leaders called on the international community and the United Nations to enact international prohibitions on insulting religions and religious symbols. Meanwhile, HonestReporting.com accused Arab countries of ignoring insulting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel cartoons regularly published in their own media.
Ohio Governor On Intelligent Design
State Board of Education member Martha W. Wise, who favors removing any reference to intelligent design from the state's lesson plan, last month asked state Attorney General Jim Petro for an opinion on the legality of Ohio's guidelines and lesson plan. However Petro refused because the request did not come from the full board. Petro is campaigning in a hotly contested Republican primary for governor, and his ads have overtly used religious themes (see prior posting).
Two Senate Resolutions Passed
S. Res. 364 is titled "A Resolution Honoring the Valuable Contributions of Catholic Schools In the United States". UPDATE On Feb. 8, the House of Representatives passed a similar resolution. H.Res. 657.
S. Res. 366, among other things, designates Feb. 2-9 as a week of prayer and reflection for the people of Uganda. It expresses concern for the Ugandan victims of Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, and asks Sudan, Uganda, and the international community to bring justice and humanitarian assistance to Northern Uganda.
First Amendment Challenge To Refusal of School Bussing Not Moot
Friday, February 03, 2006
Second Circuit Upholds NYC Schools' Holiday Display Policy
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Loosens Church Land Tax Exemptions
National Prayer Breakfast More Inclusive This Year
As reported in AP stories (here and here), this year's event was more ecumenical than the Prayer Breakfasts of past years. The breakfast, which usually draws over 3500 attendees, is privately funded and is sponsored by the Fellowship Foundation, an evangelical Christian group. Presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush have attended, as have members of Congress and world leaders. In past years, the event has had a decidedly Christian tone. This year, however, the Breakfast was co-chaired for the first time by a Jew, Sen. Norm Coleman who, along with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, offered Hebrew prayers. The Breakfast also featured as a speaker a prominent Muslim, King Abdullah II of Jordan. Nathan J. Diament, director of public policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America praised the new inclusiveness of the Breakfast.
More Explanations and Views On the Muhammad Cartoon Battle
Last November, Abu Laban, a 60-year-old Palestinian ... put together a delegation that traveled to the Middle East to discuss the issue of the cartoons with senior officials and prominent Islamic scholars. "We want to internationalize this issue so that the Danish government will realize that the cartoons were insulting, not only to Muslims in Denmark, but also to Muslims worldwide," said Abu Laban.... However, the Danish Muslim delegation showed much more than the 12 cartoons published by Jyllands Posten. In the booklet it presented during its tour of the Middle East, the delegation included other cartoons of Mohammed that were highly offensive, including one where the Prophet has a pig face. But these additional pictures were NOT published by the newspaper, but were completely fabricated by the delegation and inserted in the booklet (which has been obtained and made available to me by Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet). The delegation has claimed that the differentiation was made to their interlocutors, even though the claim has not been independently verified.Meanwhile in a sidebar to its story today on the controversy, the Associated Press sets out a more conventional explanation, focusing on the prohibition in Islamic law of any kind of depictions of Muhammad.
The Toronto Star carries an interesting story on comments by Ruth Mas, a lecturer in Islamic studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, who argues that the cartoons reflect not blasphemy, but racism. The article also quotes Michael Muhammad Pfaff, of the German Muslim League, who argues that the cartoons are reminiscent of the caricatures of Jews in the Nazi propaganda sheet Der Sturmer.
Finally, SFGate runs excerpts from editorials around the world on the controversy. (See prior related postings on the cartoon controversy 1, 2, 3 .)
Jewish Democrats Criticize Boehner's Record
House of Lords To Hear Muslim Student's Appeal
UPDATE: A Press Association report discusses the arguments that were made before the Law Lords.
British Hindus and Sikhs May Sue To Build Funeral Pyre
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Muhammad Cartoon Controversy Continues-- Latest Developments
Also according to the AP story, today Palestinian gunmen jumped on the outer wall of a European Union office in Gaza City and demanded an apology for the drawings. Today's Jerusalem Post reports that a leaflet signed by a Fatah militia and the Islamic Jihad had said the EU office and churches in Gaza could come under attack and urged all French citizens to leave Gaza. On Wednesday night, the Fatah-affiliated Aksa Martyrs' Brigades and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine threatened to blow up the Danish and Norwegian consulates in the Palestinian Authority, Israeli Army Radio reported. And, according to Haaretz, these threats have led Norway to close its Palestinian Authority representative office in the West Bank.
Ten Commandments Battles Continue in Legislatures and Courts
In Georgia yesterday, the House of Representatives by a vote of 140-26 approved HB 914. The bill would permit "a uniform, pedagogically sound, distinctive, and appropriate presentation of the story of the role of religion in the constitutional history of America and Georgia" to be "publicly displayed in governmental buildings throughout the State of Georgia". The bill sets out the text of the Declaration of Independence, the Mayflower Compact and the King James version of the Ten Commandments which, together with a prescribed statement captioned "context for acknowledging America's Religious Heritage", comprise the document that the Secretary of State is to prepare and distribute to governmental entities. The Associated Press, reporting on the House vote, quoted one Republican Rep. Fran Millar, who said: "If we lump the Bible with the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence, are we demeaning the Bible?"
Meanwhile, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, in the Kentucky House of Representatives on Tuesday, the Committee on State Government approved House Bill 277. It permits state and local governmental agencies and public schools to display "historical artifacts, monuments, symbols and texts, including but not limited to religious materials", if the displays have historical and cultural, rather than religious, purposes. At the last minute, however, the Committee tacked on an amendment that calls for the posting of "In God We Trust" above the dais of the speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Backers fear this provision will threaten the constitutionality of the entire bill.
There have also been developments in the courts. Today's Deseret Morning News reports that Utah federal district Judge Dee Benson had denied preliminary relief to plaintiffs in a case in which a Salt Lake City religious group is seeking permission to place a monument declaring Summum's Seven Aphorisms next to a 10 Commandments monument in a Pleasant Grove, Utah park. A Sunstone taken from the LDS temple at Nauvoo, Ill., and donated by a Pleasant Grove resident is also in the park. The city says that it has a long-standing, though unwritten, policy of only allowing monuments that relate to the city's history or donated by those with long-standing ties to the Pleasant Grove community. (See prior related posting.)
Falun Gong Found Protected Under Ontario Human Rights Code
Further Proceedings In 2 Jail Free-Exercise Cases
Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that in the Western District of Arkansas, federal district Judge Jimm Larry Hendren accepted most of a magistrate's findings, agreeing that denying a Native American prisoner access to a prayer feather was not reasonably related to the goal of security in a county jail. (See prior posting.) However the judge rejected the magistrate's imposition of nominal damages, finding that the defendants had qualified immunity.
In Andreola v. State of Wisconsin, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3359 (ED Wis., Jan. 18, 2006), after previously granting summary judgment to defendants on an inmate's other claims, a Wisconsin federal district court now also granted defendants summary judgment on a claim under RLUIPA by an Orthodox Jewish pre-trial detainee who was not given access to kosher food meeting his religious requirements while held in the Rock County Jail. Instead he was served selected items from the jail's regular menu. Strictly kosher food was not easily available in the county where the jail was located. The court found a compelling security interest in not permitting the inmate to prepare his own food, and a compelling interest in preserving county funds and not subsidizing religion in the jail's refusal to serve plaintiff prepackaged kosher meals.