"Eruv" Project Faces Environmental Concerns

The California Coastal Commission finds itself in the middle of an unusual conflict between Orthodox Jews and environmentalists, according to an AP story carried yesterday by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Families that attend an Orthodox synagogue on Venice Beach's boardwalk are seeking permission to build an eruv, a symbolic enclosure that would permit them under Jewish law to carry objects and push strollers and wheel chairs to synagogue on the Sabbath when various activities otherwise are prohibited. The $20,000 project would entail stringing 200-pound test fishing line along four miles of beach front between lamp posts and steel poles above 19 welcome-to-the-beach signs. A major problem, however, is that the line would run near a nesting area for dozens of endangered California least terns. Proponents suggest hanging reflective streamers on the string in this area so the birds will not run into it.

Mark Massara, director of the Sierra Club's California Coastal Program, criticizes the proposal that he says allows public property to be used for religious purposes. Coastal Commission staff is considering approval of the eruv for a three-year trial period.

Court Invalidates Canada's Definition of Terrorism

Yesterday, an Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision struck down a key provision in Canada's anti-terrorism law. In Queen v. Khawaja, (Ont. Super. Ct. Justice, Oct. 24, 2006), Justice Rutherford held that the law's definition of "terrorist activity" violates Sec. 2 of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms that protects freedom of religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression and association. The provision at issue, Sec. 83.01(1)(b)(i)(A) of Canada's Criminal Code limits prohibited conduct to activity that is undertaken "in whole or in part for a political, religious or ideological objective or cause". The court said that this definition will focus investigative and prosecutorial scrutiny on political, religious and ideological beliefs and will have a chilling effect on the exercise of protected rights. Relying on writings by academics, the court said that this definition will lead to "the shadow of suspicion and anger falling over" those connected with groups identified with particular terrorist acts.

The court pointed out that one of the purposes of the clause in question was to limit the range of activities that would otherwise be covered by the act. However, the court said, this justification is outweighed by the freedoms-infringing impact of the provision. The court held that the act should be applied as if this clause did not exist. The Toronto Globe & Mail, covering the decision yesterday, pointed out that it will likely make it easier to obtain convictions under the act. Yesterday's New York Times article on the case quotes Lawrence Greenspon, lawyer for defendant Mohammed Momin Khawaja, a Canadian-born software developer who was charged in connection with a bomb plot, as saying that the definition of terrorism as a politically or religiously motivated crime has led to abuses by police and intelligence officers. He added, "That's why they're knocking on Muslim Canadians' doors and questioning and detaining people who are Arab or followers of Islam."

Newdow's Libel Suit Survives SLAPP Motion

Yesterday in Newdow v. Miles, (CA Ct. App., Oct. 24, 2006), a California appellate court rejected a motion to dismiss a libel action filed by Michael Newdow against Austin Miles, an"interdenominational chaplain", growing out of statements made by Miles in an Internet posting. Miles claimed that Newdow committed perjury in Newdow's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the phrase "under God" in the pledge of allegiance. Newdow says that the testimony attributed to him was fabricated by Miles. Miles moved to dismiss the lawsuit under California' SLAPP law that is designed to prevent using defamation actions to silence speech on controversial public issues. The court found that Newdow had made a sufficient prima facie showing of facts that support his claim to avoid dismissal under the statute. [Thanks to How Appealing for the lead.]

Intelligent Design An Issue In Iowa Lt. Governor Race

In Iowa, the teaching of Intelligent Design in public school science courses has become an issue in the race for Lieutenant Governor. Today's Des Moines Register reports that Republican Lt. Gov. candidate Bob Vander Plaats has publicly supported the teaching of intelligent design along with evolution in public schools. 35 faculty, students and others from several Iowa universities have signed a letter sent to the media opposing Vander Platts' position. Drafted by Hector Avalos, a religion professor at Iowa State University, the letter says: "we see intelligent design as a faith-based claim that is being misrepresented as a scientific one."

Nuns Risk More Jail For Refusing To Pay Restitution To Air Force

In Denver, Colorado, a federal judge has rejected a proposal by three nuns that they be excused from paying restitution to the U.S. Air Force for damage they caused in a demonstration against U.S. nuclear policy. According to this week's Denver Post, Sisters Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert and Jackie Hudson, who have already served substantial prison time for obstructing national defense and damaging government property, seek to engage in community service work instead of paying $3,082 for the damage they caused in cutting through a chain link fence at a missile silo. The nuns object on conscientious grounds to paying any money to the military because of the uses the military would make of the funds. That refusal may mean they are returned to jail. [Thanks to How Appealing for the lead.]

Intelligent Design An Issue In Ohio School Board Races

This morning's Toledo Blade covers the somewhat differing views on the teaching of intelligent design held by the four candidates running in a non-partisan contest for a vacant north-central Ohio seat on the State Board of Education. John Bender (a registered Democrat) believes that intelligent design has no place in science classes. He is supported by outgoing term-limited board member Martha Wise. Candidate Roland Hansen, an independent, favors alternatives to evolution being taught in optional courses. Candidate Ken Ault says he is undecided on the issue. And candidate Kathleen McGervey, a registered Republican and former parish religious school teacher, says: "The scientific facts that support evolution should be taught and the scientific facts that call it into question should be taught and it should be done in science [classes] because they are scientific arguments."

Five of the eleven elected seats on the 19-member board are being decided in next month's election, and intelligent design is an issue in other districts as well. (See prior posting.) Intelligent design has been hotly debated in recent years by the state board.

Dispute At U of Tennessee On Student Funds For Christian Band

At the University of Tennessee at Martin, a controversy has erupted over the use of Student Activities Council (SAC) funds to sponsor last night's concert by the Christian band Sonicflood. Today's issue of The Pacer reports that the band was brought to campus after student government president James Orr encouraged the campus ministries to request SAC sponsorship of the program. Adam Francis, a senior philosophy major, questioned the constitutionality of using $10,000 of student funds for the concert by starting a group on the social networking website Facebook captioned "Why is UTM using my money to book a Christian band?"

RLUIPA Dispute Brewing Over Expansion of California Synagogue

Yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle reported on a threatened lawsuit under RLUIPA in a dispute over the expansion of the sole synagogue in wealthy Marin County, California. In May, the Town of Tiburon Planning Commission denied congregation Kol Shofar's application for a conditional use permit. (Minutes of May 10 and May 31 Commission meetings.) An appeal to the Town Council followed, and a decision is expected on Nov. 15. The building expansion, which may cost up to $15 million, is opposed by neighbors who claim it will increase traffic and noise and provides inadequate parking. [Thanks to both Eric Rassbach and Steven H. Sholk for sending information on this.]

UPDATE: Wednesday's San Francisco Chronicle reports on the hearing held Tuesday night by the Tiburon Town Council to discuss the Planning Commission's recommendation. The hearing pitted two high profile First Amendment lawyers against each other. Derek Gaubatz, director of litigation for the Becket Fund represented Congregation Kol Shofar, while law professor Marci Hamilton represented the synagogue's neighbors who are objecting to its expansion plans.

President's Statement On Eid al-Fitr

Yesterday the White House released a statement by President Bush extending best wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world who are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. The White House website has a page devoted to Ramadan, which also contains links to the President's statement on the beginning of Ramadan and his statement at an Iftaar dinner at the White House on Oct. 16.

New Civil Marriage Bill Proposed In Israel

Israel's government plans to introduce into the Knesset a limited civil marriage bill according to reports yesterday by the Jerusalem Post and Y-Net News. The bill, drafted by Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit, will permit civil marriage in Israel only between Israeli citizens who are defined as non-Jews according to Orthodox Jewish law and who do not belong to any other religion. It will have the odd effect of requiring individuals to prove that they are not Jews in order to take advantage of the bill's provisions. The new law will not permit civil marriages between Jews and non-Jews, nor will it permit Jews to marry in Israel in ceremonies performed by Conservative or Reform rabbis, or by civil authorities. The move comes as part of an agreement for Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu Party to join the Kadima-led coalition government. (Y-Net News.)

The main beneficiaries of the new law will be many Russian immigrants to Israel who cannot prove to rabbinic authorities that they are Jewish under Orthodox rabbinic standards. This approach has the backing of Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and the Shas religious party, since it does not conflict with Jewish religious law. However some rabbis fear that this is merely a first step to permitting civil marriages between Jews and non-Jews.

Court Approves Settlement Of West Virginia School Jesus Portrait Suit

The high profile lawsuit in Harrison County, West Virginia over a portrait of Jesus that had hung for many years in Bridgeport High School came to a quiet end last Wednesday as a federal judge approved a settlement submitted by both parties-- but whose text has apparently not been publicly released. (West Virginia Record, Oct. 19). Both parties, represented respectively by the Alliance Defense Fund (release) and the Americans United announced two weeks ago that they had reached a settlement. The only description of it was in AU's press release: "The settlement today ensures that the school board will not allow a display of Sallman's 'Head of Christ' or unconstitutional displays of 'any pictures, paintings, posters, prints, statues, carvings, or other items with religious content' at Bridgeport High School. " An Oct. 6 letter to the editor of the Huntington (WV) News by the lone dissenter on the school board was equally cryptic. He said that the settlement did clarify some important points and indicated that he would back the full board's decision, even though he had voted against it. He also indicated that funds that had been donated for the school's legal defense would be returned to donors. He promised that the Alliance Defense Fund would release a summary of the settlement in the coming weeks, but so far there appears to be no sign of that release.

UPDATE: I now have a copy of the Consent Judgment (thanks to Ed Brayton). In exchange for plaintiffs dropping the suit and making no claim for attorneys' fees or expenses, the school system agreed that it:

will not restore the Head of Christ portrait or another copy of that portrait to Bridgeport High School. Nothing in this agreement will preclude the adoption of a textbook or other professionally published curriculum-related material that includes a reproduction of the portrait, so long as [it] ... is selected for constitutionally valid secular purposes and in accordance with Defendants' normal policies and practices.

... any pictures, paintings, posters, prints, statues, carvings, or other items with religious content displayed by, or under the authority or direction or with the approval or endorsement of, the Defendants acting in their official capacities will be displayed only: (a) for constitutionally valid secular purposes ...; and (b) in accordance with the Defendants' educational mission....

Nothing in this agreement will ... prevent individual Bridgeport High School employees or staff from possessing, displaying, or using religious items in their personal work areas ... in a manner consistent with relevant court decisions and statutory law.

New Study of Pentacostals and Charismatics

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life earlier this month released a new ten-country survey of Pentacostals and Charismatics titled Spirit and Power. The report says: "Renewalist Christians' strong focus on the supernatural has led to the widespread perception that the movement is largely apolitical in outlook. Although renewalists are focused on spiritual matters, many also say there is a role for religion in politics and public life. In nine of the 10 countries surveyed, for instance, at least half of pentecostals say that religious groups should express their views on day-to-day social and political questions; support for this position is equally widespread among charismatics. In every country surveyed, furthermore, renewalists are at least as likely as others to express this view." This week's Christian Century discusses the study.

Israeli Mother Launches Symbolic Challenge To Role Of Jewish Law

Today's Jerusalem Post reports on an odd case that is about to go to Family Court in Israel. In Israel Jewish marriage, divorce and personal status issues are governed by Jewish law (Halacha), sometimes applied by rabbinic courts and sometimes applied by the civil Family Court. (Background.) Under Jewish law (halacha), a child born from an adulterous relationship holds the status of "mamzer" and in Israel is only permitted to marry a convert to Judaism or another mamzer. However there is a strong presumption that a child conceived while a woman is married was in fact fathered by the woman's husband. Surprisingly, a mother-- whose name is not reported-- is seeking to have the Family Court rule that her son (identified only by the pseudonym Moshe) was in fact a mamzer, even though she was eight months pregnant before she was formally divorced from her husband.

Represented by an organization that defends the rights of unconventional families, the mother-- a secular Jew-- wants a DNA test to show that Moshe's father is in fact the man who she married after her divorce from her first husband was final. Rabbi Moshe Rauchverger, a senior member of the Chief Rabbinate's Governing Council and Haifa marriage registrar, says that the mother should protect her son's presumed legitimacy. The mother's attorney, however, emphasized the point that the lawsuit aims to make: "It is absurd that in Israel of the 21st century people like Moshe have to suffer because of Halacha."

British Summit On Inclusion By Faith Schools

Today's Guardian reports that in Britain, representatives of the country's major religions are meeting today with Education Secretary Alan Johnson for an "inclusion summit". The Secretary will discuss the government's recently proposed legislation to require new (but not existing) faith schools to admit up to 25% of their student body from faiths other than that of the institution's sponsor, or else obtain an exemption. The Church of England has announced that it will voluntarily do this in its schools. Most new faith schools that will be subject to the proposal are expected to be Muslim. (See prior related posting.)

UPDATE: This Is London on Monday reported that the British government has plans to give Ofsted (Office For Standards In Education) inspectors the power to grade state-supported faith schools on how much they contribute to "community cohesion" by employing teachers of different religious backgrounds.

UPDATE: On Oct. 27, Britain's Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced that he was dropping the proposal to require new faith schools to take 25% of their students from other religious groups. (ePolitix)

New Books On Religion, Law & Public Policy

A number of new books of interest have recently been published:

Brooke Allen, Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers ,(Ivan R. Dee Publisher, Sept. 2006), reviewed in Sunday's New York Times.

Darryl Hart, A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State, (Ivan R. Dee Publisher, Sept. 2006).

Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation, (Knopf, Sept. 2006).

David Pryce-Jones, Betrayal: France, the Jews and the Arabs, (Encounter Books, Oct. 2006).

Robert Royal, The God That Did Not Fail: How Religion Built and Sustains the West, (Encounter Books, Aug. 2006).

Lew Daley, God and the Welfare State, (MIT Press, Oct. 2006).

David Yonke, Sin, Shame & Secrets: The Murder of a Nun, the Conviction of a Priest, and Cover-up in the Catholic Church, (Continuum International, Nov. 2006).

Andrew Greeley & Michael Hout, The Truth about Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe, (University of Chicago Press, Fall 2006).

Jewish Dems List Worst Members of Congress On Jewish Issues

This week's Philadelphia Jewish Voice reports on a recent rating of members of Congress by the National Jewish Democratic Council Political Action Committee. The NDJCPAC has named its "Backward Eighteen"-- the 18 members of Congress up for election this year whose records are worst on issues of importance to the American Jewish community. Not surprisingly, considering the group that compiled the list, the 4 Senators and 14 Representatives on the list are all Republicans. The list includes legislators from Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Wyoming.

Mississippi City Sued By Preachers Who Were Kept Off Sidewalk

On Friday, the Alliance Defense Fund filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Wiggins, Mississippi and various of its officials on behalf of two Christian preachers who were threatened with arrest for carrying signs and engaging in religious speech on a public sidewalk using a microphone and amplification system. The complaint (full text) says that police told the individuals that they were violating the city's noise ordinance, its sign ordinance, were obstructing traffic and endangering public safety. Police told the two Christian evangelists to obtain a permit, but they were later told that the city did not have a permit system. The complaint alleges that the city's conduct violated the 1st and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as provisions of the state constitution protecting speech and assembly.

Rising Orthodox Jewish Population Impacts Much In New Jersey Town

Today's Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger carries a long article on the changes taking place in Lakewood Township, NJ as the Orthodox Jewish population has expanded rapidly. Members of the Orthodox community-- who generally avoid assimilating into the more general culture-- have been elected to various municipal offices and boards. There are almost three times as many children in Orthodox Jewish day schools as there are in public schools. Disputes on allocation of state funds for pre-school special education have arisen. The state Department of Education held that black and Latino children in the Lakewood district have received too little; whites tend to be in more expensive all day pre-school programs. The Department's finding is under appeal. An Orthodox neighborhood watch group formed after an Orthodox woman was abducted and raped has been denounced by the Lakewood Public Safety Director as a private police force. Housing discrimination complaints are high. The other rapidly growing ethnic group in Lakewood is undocumented Mexicans. Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg says that small incidents are blown out of proportion and framed as an "Orthodox conspiracy".

While unofficial websites describe Lakewood Township as a hub of Orthodox Judaism (Wikipedia), the Township's official web site makes almost no mention of this. Its listing of houses of worship includes only two of the more than 100 Orthodox synagogues in the township, and its listing of private elementary schools lists none of the many Orthodox institutions. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Niqab Controversies In US, Britain, Egypt

Around the world, the niqab-- a veil covering the face that is worn by some Muslim women-- is creating heated controversy.

Earlier this month in Britain, a Muslim teaching assistant was suspended after she refused to remove her niqab while teaching 11-year olds who speak English as a second language. Yesterday's Telegraph reported that the teacher, Aishah Azmi, sued for discrimination in an employment tribunal after she was suspended for failing to comply with management instructions. She argued that her rights under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2004 were violated. The tribunal rejected her discrimination claim, but award her damages for injury to her feelings. A second report by the Telegraph says that Azmi's lawyer plans to seek legal aid funding to appeal the case to the European Court of Human Rights. However, a Muslim member of Parliament, Shahid Malik, called for Azmit to drop the suit, saying that there is no support for it from Muslim parents.

In Egypt, the Provost of Helwan University angered some Muslims when he issued an order that any students wearing a niqab must be checked by security women to verify their identity before they will be permitted into the school's dormitories. Gulf News today reports that the university is concerned that a man could walk into female dormitories hidden behind a niqab, or that other criminal activity could be hidden. However students and human rights groups are protesting the order issued a few weeks ago. Illustrating the strength of the feelings on the issue, last week a female Muslim preacher was threatened with death after stating on a television broadcast that the niqab was not required by Islamic law. And the Muslim Brotherhood has filed a complaint with the Prosecutor-General seeking an investigation into alleged exclusion of niqab-wearing students from government-run universities.

Meanwhile, niqab controversies also have come to the United States. Today's Detroit Free Press reports that in a small claims dispute in Hamtramck (Michigan) District Court, a judge has said that he will dismiss a case after a Muslim woman refused remove her niqab before testifying in her lawsuit against a rental car company. The judge said he needs to see the woman's face while she is on the witness stand in order to help assess the truthfulness of her testimony.

Former German Official Criticizes Religious Motivations Of Bush

The Associated Press today reports on excerpts from a new book by Germany's former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in which the German leader expresses concern about the religious motivations behind decisions of U.S. President George W. Bush. In excerpts published by Der Spiegel, Schroeder says: "We rightly criticize that in most Islamic states, the role of religion for society and the character of the rule of law are not clearly separated. But we fail to recognize that in the USA, the Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible have similar tendencies." Schroeder's book is titled Decisions: My Life in Politics.