Prince Charles Gets Honorary Degree, Speaks At Al-Azhar University

Prince Charles on Tuesday, according to the Washington Post, was awarded an honorary degree by Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the foremost Islamic institution in the Sunni Muslim world. He was accompanied on his visit to Egypt by his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, who wore a headscarf as she toured the mosque at Al-Azhar. Charles' speech at the University criticized Islamophobia in Europe, including the cartoons that appeared in Danish and other newspapers. He also criticized restrictions on Christians imposed by some Muslim nations. In Egypt, the large Coptic Christian community complains of restrictions on building churches and of discrimination in employment.

USDA Finds Violations At Kosher Slaughtering Plant

Last week, the Forward reported on the release by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of its Inspector General's April 25, 2005 Report (full text) on AgriProcessors, a large kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa. The report questioned certain methods used by AgriProcessors, calling them "inhumane slaughter" techniques. The company has since changed the questionable procedures. The USDA's investigation of AgriProcessors began after People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a vegetarian group, released an undercover video of animals being slaughtered in the plant. A lawyer who represents AgriProcessors, Nathan Lewin, said the report makes it clear that everything done at the plant was approved by the Agriculture Department until PETA released its video. The video and all relevant documents are available on the PETA Undercover website. The USDA report also faulted government inspectors who ignored the violations, accepted gifts of meat from the plant, and played video games instead of carrying out their inspections, according to a report in Jewish Week.

Texas School Sued Over Bible Group's Access To Website

The Liberty Legal Institute yesterday filed suit in federal district court against Plano, Texas school officials on behalf of Students Witnessing Absolute Truth, a Bible-study group. Today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that the group was not permitted to post an organizational description in the "Campus Programs" section for their school on the Plano Independent School District's website. In its announcement of the litigation, Liberty Legal Institute said: "The website page is specifically designated as a listing of all student groups offered within the school. By banning only the religious group, Plano ISD is in direct violation of the First Amendment and The Equal Access Act." An earlier suit by Liberty Legal, challenging the school district's refusal to permit a student to distribute religious-themed candy-canes, is in litigation in the same court.

Church-State Tidbits From Bush Q&A In Cleveland

Yesterday, at the City Club of Cleveland, President George W. Bush spoke on The War On Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom (full text). The Q&A following his talk produced two interesting colloquies involving church-state:

Q [A]uthor and former Nixon administration official Kevin Phillips, in his latest book, American Theocracy, discusses what has been called radical Christianity and its growing involvement into government and politics. He makes the point that members of your administration have reached out to prophetic Christians who see the war in Iraq and the rise of terrorism as signs of the apocalypse. Do you believe this, that the war in Iraq and the rise of terrorism are signs of the apocalypse? And if not, why not?

THE PRESIDENT: The answer is -- I haven't really thought of it that way. (Laughter.) Here's how I think of it. The first I've heard of that, by the way. I guess I'm more of a practical fellow. I vowed after September that I would do everything I could to protect the American people....*** I take a practical view of doing the job you want me to do -- which is how do we defeat an enemy that still wants to hurt us; and how do we deal with threats before they fully materialize; what do we do to protect us from harm? That's my job. And that job came home on September the 11th, for me -- loud and clear.....

Then, as part of a long answer to a question asking about domestic policy aimed at helping unsafe and poverty-stricken neighborhoods, the President promoted his faith-based initiative:

I believe that the idea of empowering our faith-based institutions -- government can help, but government sometimes can't find -- well, it just doesn't pass -- it's not a loving organization. And so I believe strongly -- I believe strongly in empowering faith-based and community-based programs all throughout America to help achieve certain objectives.

Mentoring, for example, mentoring of children in prisoners -- whose mother or dad may be in prison is an initiative I started. Drug rehabilitation, giving those who are eligible for drug money a voucher, money themselves, a scrip so they can redeem it at a program that they choose, not that the government assigns them to. In other words, there's a variety of social service programs aimed at lifting people up.

Nuns and Priests May Be Lawyers In India

In India today, the High Court of Kerala affirmed the decision of a lower court and held that nuns and priests are not barred from practicing law. The Bar Council of India had filed an appeal challenging the lower court's decision. According to Rediff.com, the appeals court held that "professing religion" by itself was not enough to reject an application for admission to the bar.

Pennsylvania Pastors Network Nears Line On Tax Code Limits

The new determination of the Internal Revenue Service to enforce the tax code's restrictions on non-profit organizations is about to be tested in Pennsylvania. Today's New York Times reports that the Pennsylvania Pastors Network is holding training sessions to teach clergy how to get their parishioners out to vote in the November election. Hosted by Colin A. Hanna, founder of the conservative advocacy group Let Freedom Ring, the first training session featured a seven-minute videotaped message from , Sen. Rick Santorum who faces a difficult re-election fight. He encouraged the pastors to support a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. The tax code permits non-profits to register voters and to express views on public issues, but they may not support a particular political party or candidate. Inviting just one candidate to speak, singling out one candidate's accomplishments and highlighting a combination of issues tailored to one candidate's campaign are all factors that the I.R.S. considers in determining whether a non-profit has engaged in prohibited partisan activity.

Mother Theresa Statue Controversial In Northern Albania

In Albania, the Culture Ministry has proposed erecting a statue of Mother Theresa, an ethnic Albanian, in the northern city of Shkodra, according to yesterday's Washington Post. Mother Theresa is widely admired in Albania, and she has been honored in the capital city of Tirana by having an airport and hospital named after her and an annex at the National Museum devoted to her works. However, on Sunday, representatives of the Charity Islamic Association, Islamic Intellectuals and Albanian Muslim Forum opposed the bust, saying the statue was a provocation. They said a cross in a nearby area was vandalized in January. However, the next day, Selim Muca, head of the Albanian Muslim Community, the organization representing all Muslims in Albania, said those objections from small Muslim groups were not the community's official position.

Lawyer Criticizes Ontario's Ban On Religious Arbitration Panels

An interesting article titled Faith Based Arbitrations In Ontario: A Lost Opportunity has been posted by Canadian lawyer Faisal Kutty. It criticizes Ontario's decision last month to preclude the use of religious laws in resolving family disputes under the province's Arbitration Act. Kutty says that misunderstanding, ignorance, and careless pronouncements, as well as inaccurate media coverage, led to the Family Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005. The FSLAA goes against the recommendations in the Boyd Report, a study commissioned by the Ontario government. Kutty argues that Ontario lost an opportunity to show the world how to balance the rights of a religious community with those of potentially vulnerable individuals, and to demonstrate how Islamic law and liberal democracy could co-exist. He fears that "back alley" arbitrations will continue in Ontario, but now without any regulation or supervision.

An earlier article by Kutty discussed the recommendations made by the 2004 Boyd Report that called for retaining religious-based arbitration, but imposing new regulation on arbitration tribunals and the family law arbitration process.

Indonesia Increasingly Convicts For Deviating From Islam

Today's Los Angeles Times carries a story on the increasing prosecution in Indonesia of those who deviate from accepted Muslim teachings. Article 28E of Indonesia's Constitution guarantees the right to practice one's religion and freely express one's beliefs. However blasphemy and insulting religion are both crimes under Indonesian law. Courts are increasingly convicting for one of these offenses when individuals violate a fatwa (ruling) by the Muslim Council of Ulemas. For example, Yusman Roy, a former boxer and a convert to Islam, is serving two years in prison for distributing a video of a bilingual prayer session he holds at his East Java boarding school. Conservative Muslims believe true prayer can be conducted only in Arabic. In August, a court acquitted Roy of deviating from Islam, but found him guilty of inciting hatred by challenging the views of local clerics.

Sumardi Tappaya, a high school religious teacher, is awaiting trial for blasphemy after a relative claimed he was whistling while he prayed. Ardhi Husain and his editors were sentenced to five years in prison for writing a book that the ulemas said contained 70 errors, such as claiming Muhammad was not the last prophet and that non-Muslims could go to heaven. And Lia Aminuddin, who claims to be the Virgin Mary and leads the quasi-Islamic God's Kingdom of Eden cult, was arrested in December for blasphemy after thousands of protesters surrounded her headquarters in Jakarta.

Fallout From Muhammad Cartoons Continues

Legal fallout continues in the Muhammad cartoon controversy. Jurist and AFP report that a group of 27 Danish Muslim organizations plans to bring suit in a Danish court against Jyllands-Posten, the paper that originally published the offending cartoons. This follows the refusal by the Danish prosecutor to file charges against the paper. The Muslim group also plan to file a complaint against Jyllands-Posten with the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Ahmad Akkari, a Danish Imam, claimed that Denmark's failure to proceed against the paper violated the country's obligations under U.N. human rights conventions. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for this lead.]

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur examining the situation has strongly criticized Denmark, according to a report yesterday in the Turkish paper, Zaman.

Meanwhile, in France, a draft law criminalizing blasphemy, has been proposed by an MP for the ruling Union for Popular Movement party (UMP). According to Friday's Islam Online, MP Marc Bouraud said he was driven by the Danish cartoons crisis, which "exposed the fragile link between freedom of expression and freedom of belief and thought."

New Prisoner Cases On Attendance At Religious Services

In Walee v. Crosby, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10633 (MD Fla., March 16, 2006), a federal district court rejected a prisoner's complaint that his free exercise rights were violated when the prison's computer system was not able to list his religious name along with his commitment name on the list of inmates who have been cleared to attend religious services.

In Joseph v. Lewis, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10653 (ED Cal., March 15, 2006), a California federal district court found that a prisoner had a valid free exercise complaint growing out of prison authorities' refusal to permit him to leave a vocational instruction class to attend Friday Jumu'ah prayer services. However his claim that his inmate grievance form was improperly processed was dismissed.

Austria Moves Toward Greater Recognition of Muslims

Yesterday, Islam Online reported that a proposed new law in Austria would give Muslims more rights than they currently have. The bill would set up a college to graduate imams. It would permit Muslim chaplains and Muslim congregational prayer in the army. Muslim chaplains would similarly be permitted in the police force and in hospitals. The proposal would also call for respect for the dress code of Muslim women and criminalize verbal and body attacks against them.

In another development, the Catholic Church in the Upper Austria region has decided to allow the teaching of Islam in one of its 55 schools, as the number of Muslim students enrolled increases. Other Catholic schools were expected to do the same, since the education law calls for such classes once the number of Muslim students reaches 3.

Hindu Group Sues Over California Textbook Changes

On Friday, a week after the California State Board of Education approved changes in the way textbooks treat Hinduism, the Hindu American Foundation filed suit challenging the fairness of the hearing conducted by the Board on the changes. Rediff.com reports on the suit filed in California Superior Court in Sacramento. The HAF complaint alleges that the SBE violated the law when it approved textbooks for sixth grade history-social science that tend to "demean, stereotype, and reflect adversely" upon Hindus, portray Hinduism as undesirable and hold Hindu beliefs and practices up to ridicule or as inferior. However, other Hindu groups praise the action of the Board, saying it assures historically accurate accounts of Indian history. The full text of the complaint and related exhibits is available online.

Afghan Judge Threatens Death Sentence For Conversion To Christianity

Today's Melbourne Herald Sun reports that a court in Afghanistan has told a man that he could face the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity. Supreme Court judge Ansarullah Mawlavizada said the suspect, Abdur Rahman, who was arrested after members of his family informed police of his conversion, would be charged with abandoning Islam. Sharia law calls for the death sentence for Muslims who abandon their religion. Article 3 of Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution provides that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam."

UPDATE: The United States on Monday said that it was closely monitoring Rahman's trial, and urged Afghan authorities to deal with the case transparently and according to the rule of law.

Church Member's Suit Dismissed As Ecclesiastical Matter

In Wolter v. Delgatto, (TX App-14, March 16, 2006), a Texas state court of appeals held that under the First Amendment, state courts lacked jurisdiction over a suit by a former church member challenging Heights Presbyterian Church's involvement in a low-income senior housing project. The court held that ultimately the suit was over how and when, under the Presbyterian Book of Order, the church may spend its resources, and that question is ecclesiastical in nature.

Phillips' New Book-- "American Theocracy"

Kevin Phillips new book, American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century (Viking, 2006) is reviewed in Saturday's New York Times, and is featured again in today's New York Times Book Review section.

Immigration Proposal Threatens Religious Social Services

Today's San Antonio (TX) Express-News carries a long article on the dilemmas that will be faced by religious social service organizations if the immigration reform bill pending in Congress is enacted. A part of House of Representatives' proposed legislation would make it a crime for any individual or group to knowingly assist an undocumented alien. Supporting that provision, Texas Rep. John Culberson says, "If a person is here illegally, then they're violating the law. How can anyone or any group be exempt from obeying the laws of the United States?" However, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Islamic, religious leaders all say that critical social services to the undocumented potentially could be reduced --if not stopped -- if that part of the bill becomes law. A number of members of the Senate are hopeful that the final version of the law will permit legitimate relief work to continue.

UPDATE: Sunday's New York Times adds another dimension to this story in an article titled Rift on Immigration Widens for Conservatives and Cardinals. It focuses on the Catholic Church's opposition to tightening of restrictions on undocumented aliens.

Lutheran School Seeks Dismissal of Sexual Orientation Bias Claim

Defense attorneys have moved to dismiss a widely publicized suit against the California Lutheran High School Association and Cal Lutheran High School in Wildomar, California, according to last Wednesday's North Coast Times. The suit brought by two students and their parents claimed that the school violated California's Unruh Civil Rights Act when it expelled the two students who were suspected of having a lesbian relationship. (See prior posting.) Defense attorneys argue that the school merely expelled two students who violated the school's Christian Code of Conduct. They claim that the Unruh Civil Rights Act that covers businesses should not apply to a nonprofit religious school. A provision in Sec. 220 of California's Education Code excludes religious schools from coverage of the anti-discrimination provision that applies explicitly to schools when its requirement would be inconsistent with the school's religious tenets. Defendants also argue that applying the law to the school would violate its associational rights, and that ordering the school to suppress its religious beliefs in admitting students would violate the Establishment Clause.

Suit Claims University's GLBT Program Violates Establishment Clause

Earlier this week, the Alliance Defense Fund announced that it has filed suit in federal court on behalf of two students against the Georgia Institute of Technology. The suit alleges that through a program called "Safe Space", the university promotes beliefs of religions that favor homosexual behavior and denigrates religions that oppose such behavior. The suit alleges that this violates the Establishment Clause. The suit also challenges the school's speech code and activity fee policy. The university claims that Safe Space is designed to dispel negative stereotypes and publicize support resources available to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students. The full text of the complaint in Sklar v. Clough, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, is available online.

6th Circuit Upholds Pro-Life License Plates

Yesterday, in ACLU of Tennessee v. Bredesen (6th Cir., March 17, 2006), the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision rejected a free expression challenge to Tennessee's sale of specialty license plates bearing the inscription "Choose Life". Individuals are not required to purchase this version of the plates. The majority held that the pro-life message was government speech not subject to requirements of viewpoint neutrality. The Louisville Courier-Journal today assessed reaction to the decision. The decision did not deal with the question of whether license plates carrying explicitly religious symbols-- like that proposed recently in Tennessee-- would violate the Establishment Clause.