White House Issues Greetings To Muslims Celebrating Eid al-Adha

On Friday, the White House issued a Presidential Message sending greetings to all Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha. The message describes the holiday as a four-day observance to "honor Abraham's example of sacrifice and devotion to God". The message continues: "This holiday reminds us of the values that so many of our citizens hold in common, including love of family, gratitude to God, the importance of community, and a commitment to respect, diversity, tolerance, and religious freedom." In the United States, celebration of Eid al-Adha began today. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

Reports Of Chinese Arrests Of Priests Loyal To Vatican Denied

In China, the government recognizes only the state-approved Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) churches. However a number of underground churches remain loyal to the Vatican, and reports (AsiaNews.it) say that nine priests from the underground Catholic church in Hebei province were arrested by police on Wednesday. Yesterday's Washington Post quotes Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the CPA, as saying he had not heard of any arrests. He denied there was a campaign on to crush the underground church movement and said underground churches that violate the law will be dealt with by police, not the Catholic Patriotic Association.

Church-State Relations Being Redefined In Europe

Today's Washington Times reports on the conflicting pressures throughout Europe as the continent attempts to redefine the relationship between religion, politics and civil life. Traditional groups are seeking a greater recognition of Europe's Christian heritage. Others are seeking new models to better integrate Europe's growing Muslim communities. Jonathan Bartley, co-director of Ekklesia, says: "We are witnessing post-Christian Europe taking shape. The remaining alliances of religion and governments don't make sense anymore, in many people's eyes, and they are coming apart."

Invasive Fish Regulations Said To Violate Fish Owner's Free Exercise Rights

Wildlife regulations in the state of Maine prohibit importing or possessing koi-- an invasive fish species-- without a state permit. Today's Portland Press Herald reports that restaurant owner Cuong Ly is challenging on free exercise of religion grounds the state's insistence that he not put his ten pet koi on public display. On Friday he filed a court challenge to the restrictions. Prior to their seizure last July, for 15 years Ly had kept the fish in a 150-gallon aquarium in his restaurant. Ly says that his Feng shui spiritual beliefs require that the fish be seen in order for them to bring good luck to his restaurant. Originally the state insisted that he also implant identifying microchips in the fish, but now regulators have dropped that requirement in favor of Ly taking identifying photos of the fish.

Soccer League Permits Sikhs To Play Wearing Patkas

The Sikh-American Legal Defense Fund yesterday issued a press release on a ruling last month that now allows players in the Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania Youth Soccer League to play soccer while wearing a patka-- a Sikh religious head covering. The State of Pennsylvania Referee Association said that the "Secretary General of the United States Soccer Federation has given permission to those bound by religious law to wear such head coverings, usually a turban or yarmulke."

Another Indian State Passes Anti-Conversion Law

The Indian state of Himachal Pradesh yesterday passed an anti-conversion law-- but one that is somewhat milder than those in other states. The law bans forcing or inducing another person to change religions, and provides that the victim can freely return to his original religion within a month of the conversion. The law is particularly aimed at Christian missionaries who convert poor Hindus with inducements of free education and health care. ANI reports that while five Indian states ruled by the BJP Party have passed anti-conversion laws, this is the first such statue passed in a state whose government is controlled by the Congress Party.

California Supreme Court Rejects Murderer's Complaint On Use Of Bible In Jury Deliberations

In People v. Williams, (CA Sup. Ct., Dec. 28, 2006), the California Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a convicted murderer's argument that he should be granted a new trial because a juror had brought several pages copied from a Bible into the jury room and had read passages from them during penalty phase deliberations. The Court concluded that, given the circumstances-- including another juror saying immediately after the reading that religion should play no part in their decision-- it was not substantially likely that any juror was actually biased against the defendant because of the Bible reading. Yesterday's Bakersfield Californian reports on the decision.

Saddam's Execution Hurried To Miss Muslim Holiday

Today’s New York Daily News reports that Saddam Hussein’s execution just before dawn Saturday in Baghdad was carefully timed to take place before the start of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. The holiday, also known as the Festival of the Sacrifice, commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to God.

Iraqi law, written during Saddam’s regime, prohibits executions during a religious holiday. The International Herald Tribune reports that some confusion existed on timing because the Eid does not begin until Sunday for Shiites—who now control the Iraqi government. So the official holiday in Iraq did not begin until then. However for Sunnis—Saddam's sect—the holiday began on Saturday. An Iraqi official expressed some frustration at the confusion: "According to the law, no execution can be carried out during the holidays. After all the hard work we have done, why would we break the law and ruin what we have built?" CBS News reports that the Iraqi government consulted Muslim clerics on the timing issue. In the end, according the International Herald Tribune: "the hanging was carried out with such haste that an ad hoc air at times overshadowed the historical import."

According to Pakistan's The International News, two other defendants sentenced to death along with Saddam will not be executed until after the holiday ends-- Tuesday for Sunnis and Wednesday for Shiites.

To those looking for historical analogues, the hurried execution in the face of an upcoming religious celebration brings to mind the circumstances surrounding the execution 53 years ago of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in the United States. The convicted atom spies' execution was hurriedly advanced from 11:00 p.m. on Friday night to 8:00 p.m. after the Rosenberg's lawyers—seeking a 24 hour delay—argued that it would be a sacrilege to kill the Rosenberg's—who were Jewish—on their Sabbath. (from Natl. Comm. to Reopen Rosenberg Case).

UPDATE: Governments in a number of Sunni Muslim countries have criticized the decision to execute Saddam Hussein on Eid al-Adha. Sunday's Chicago Tribune reports that leaders in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan criticized the timing of the execution. Among Arab countries, only Kuwait welcomed the developments. Saad bin Tafla al-Ajmi, former information minister of Kuwait, said "This is the best Eid gift for humanity." Meanwhile, Reuters reports that a number of European leaders, as well as the Vatican, have criticized use of the death penalty even for Saddam.

4th Circuit Decides Two RLUIPA Cases

Yesterday, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down decisions in two RLUIPA cases:

In Madison v. Commonwealth of Virginia, (4th Cir., Dec. 29, 2006), the 4th Circuit upheld the constitutionality of RLUIPA as a valid exercise of Congress’ spending power. It rejected Virginia’s broad sovereign immunity defense, finding that Congress conditioned Virginia’s acceptance of federal correctional funds on the state’s consent to be sued under RLUIPA. However, the court held that because RLUIPA does not unequivocally indicate that the waiver of sovereign immunity extends to money damages, the Eleventh Amendment bars claims for monetary relief against Virginia.

The case was brought by a Virginia inmate seeking the prison’s “Common Fare” meals. He claimed that his “Hebrew Israelite” religion directs him to eat a kosher diet. The United States had intervened in the case on the side of the inmate, and amicus briefs in support of the prisoner’s position had been filed by the ACLU, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and the Coalition of Prison Chaplain Associations. The Associated Press reported on the decision.

In Lovelace v. Lee, (4th Cir., Dec. 29,2006), the 4th Circuit in a 2-1 decision held that Virginia prison officials had not adequately justified their policy on Ramadan observance that resulted in a disciplinary denial of a Nation of Islam prisoner's participation in the Ramadan fast and weekly prayer services. It held that under RLUIPA, prison officials had the burden of showing that their actions were the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest. The court held that mere negligent deprivations did not violate RLUIPA, but that here plaintiff’s claim against the correctional officer alleged intentional conduct. The majority also permitted plaintiff's free exercise and due process claims to proceed and refused, on the present state of the evidence, to find that a correctional officer defendant had qualified immunity.

Judge Wilkinson, dissenting, said "not content to recognize this case for what it is — a possibly legitimate complaint by a Muslim prison inmate that his Ramadan fasting rights were deliberately and maliciously violated by a prison guard — the majority expands it to what it is not, an excuse for top-to-bottom fine tuning of an accommodating policy designed to foster the very values of religious expression set forth in RLUIPA."

Top Ten 2006 Free Exercise- Church/State Developments

Here are my picks for the Top Ten developments in Church-State Separation/ Free-Exercise of Religion in 2006. They reflect my judgment on the relative lasting importance of the many judicial, legislative and political events of the past year. This year, international stories have often carried a high profile, and several of the picks reflect this. Each development has been the subject of many postings over the year. A link to one typical story on the issue accompanies each pick. I invite comments by those who agree or disagree with my choices.

1. Muslim nations react strongly to publication of Muhammad caricatures by Danish newspaper.
2. Fundamentalist Christian clergy work to energize conservative voters for November elections, walking fine line on IRS limits.
3. Military chaplains split on support for guidelines emphasizing inclusive prayer at military events.
4. A federal district court strikes down Iowa’s faith-based prison rehabilitation program.
5. Muslim women around the world find increasing resistance by government agencies, courts and politicians to their wearing of niqab (veil), or even hijab (headscarf).
6. Polygamy begins to regain respectability despite prosecution of FLDS leader.
7. Supreme Court holds religious use of hallucinogens is protected by RFRA.
8. Attempts in courts and Congress to save the Mt. Soledad Cross continue.
9. The Rahman case in Afghanistan and the punishment of proselytization and conversion in Asia and the Middle East capture world attention.
10. Politicians and commentators object to swearing-in on Koran for first Muslim member of Congress.

You can compare the top ten picks for 2006 by the Religious Newswriters Association. Their poll looks to all the year's "religion stories", not just the ones that involve legal or church-state issues. Interestingly, we agree on the top story, but not on many of the others. And if you want to review my 2005 picks, they are still online from a year ago.

UPDATE: Here is another top ten list posted just this morning by Don Byrd at Blog from the Capitol.

Utah Cities Change New Years Celebrations Because Of Mormon Traditions

Provo and St. George, Utah, have switched their cities' traditional New Years Eve celebrations to Saturday in order to avoid conflicts with the Mormon religious practice of discouraging revelry on Sundays. KUTV this week also reported that two other cities, Kaysville and Fruit Heights, have totally cancelled their celebrations.

U.S. Military Seeking To Recruit More Muslims

Yesterday's Christian Science Monitor reported on efforts by the Pentagon to recruit more Muslims into the military. As the need for Arabic speakers, and for those who understand the cultures of Iraq and Afghanistan, increase, the service academies have opened Muslim prayer rooms and have recruited Imams to serve as chaplains. Non-Muslim officers have begun to celebrate religious events with Muslims in the U.S. and overseas. The Marines have tried to accommodate the observance of Ramadan by their enlistees, have created an outreach program to Arab-Americans in major U.S. cities, and are attempting to sensitize Marine recruiters to cultural differences they may encounter in working with Arab-Americans. [Thanks to Melissa Rogers for the lead.]

Thailand Bars "Coyote Ugly" Dancers As Religiously Offensive

In Thailand, the Culture Ministry has banned dancers known as Coyote Girls from dancing in public, particularly near Buddhist temples. The dancers are named after the 2000 U.S. film "Coyote Ugly" about a group of young women who dance seductively on a New York City bar top. Similar dancers began to be featured in Bangkok night clubs, and then began to appear at shopping malls, outdoor festivals and at businesses to promote their products. The Associated Press in a story carried widely over the last few days by U.S. papers reports that Queen Sirikit has ordered a ban after Coyote Girls appeared at a motorcycle shop in mid-October in the northeastern province of Nong Khai. Their performance was near a Buddhist temple that was holding a festival to mark the end of the Buddhist Lent-- a 3-month period devoted to study and meditation.

TSA Trains Agents In Cultural Sensitivity For Hajj Pilgrims

WorldNetDaily yesterday reported that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has provided sensitivity training to 45,000 airport security officers to prepare them for expected travel by thousands of U.S. Muslims to Saudi Arabia in the Hajj that began yesterday. The State Department publicized the training program on its USINFO website last Tuesday. WorldNetDaily reports that TSA, as well as other government agencies, is working with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on issues relating to profiling and cultural sensitivity. Some are critical of the relationships with CAIR because of actions and statements by some of its leaders since 9/11 and because of the group's relationships with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Court Requires Church To Comply With Amended Zoning Law

Last week, in City of Elgin v. All Nations Worship Center, (IL App. Ct., Dec. 20, 2006), an Illinois appellate court upheld the city of Elgin's attempt to amend its zoning ordinances to avoid problems under RLUIPA and under the First Amendment. After All Nations Worship Center challenged Elgin's total ban on churches in areas zoned for business, the city amended its ordinance to permit churches to obtain conditional use permits in those areas. The church however claimed that since its judicial challenge was filed under the old ordinance-- that it says was invalid-- it acquired a vested right to operate without applying for a permit under the new law. The appellate court disagreed and upheld the lower courts dismissal of the church's counterclaim that challenged the old ordinance. Yesterday's Elgin Courier News reports on the decision.

6th Circuit Awards Attorneys' Fees In RLUIPA Case

Yesterday in DiLaura v. Township of Ann Arbor, (6th Cir., Dec. 27, 2006), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with plaintiffs in a RLUIPA case that they were "prevailing parties" and were entitled to $178,535 in attorneys fees, rejecting the district court's lower award. In the underlying case, the Apostolate for the Eucharistic Life challenged the Township's refusal to grant a zoning variance so it could operate a bed and breakfast that hosted guests without charge for prayer and contemplation.

Gerald Ford Remembered For Helping Soviet Jews Gain Freedom

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford who died on Tuesday night (White House announcement) will, among other things, be remembered for his important contributions to international religious freedom, and particularly religious freedom for Soviet Jews. Yesterday's Australian Jewish News points out that Ford signed the Helsinki Final Act in August 1975. In the document, the U.S., Canada, the Soviet Union and 32 European countries agreed to respect human rights, including fundamental freedoms of religion, thought and conscience. The Declaration helped put pressure on the former Soviet Union to permit emigration of Jews. In another attempt to pressure the Soviet Union to allow persecuted Jews to leave the country, in January 1975 Ford signed into law the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. It denied most-favored nation trading status to nations with non-market economies that restricted free emigration.

Keith Ellison Speaks Out On His Muslim Faith and Politics

Minnesota Representative-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, spoke in Detroit yesterday to a group of Arab-American, Muslim, labor, and Catholic leaders at a meeting sponsored by Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength, MOSES, a Detroit faith-based coalition. Ellison, recently the subject of criticism by some columnists and politicians who objected to his plans to be sworn in to office using the Quran (see prior posting), made interesting and conciliatory comments about the role of his faith in his political decisions. Here are some excerpts as reported by the Detroit Free Press :

I'm not a religious leader, I've never led religious services of any kind. I'm not here to be a preacher, but in terms of political agenda items, my faith informs me....

I'm a little incredulous about why anyone would care about what I'm going to swear on. In fact, if I swore on a book that wasn't of my tradition ... would you trust me?

Many people see their religion as an identity thing, much in the same way Crips or Bloods might say, "I'm this, this is the set I'm rolling with". They've never actually tried to explore how religion should connect us, they're into how religion divides us. .... They haven't really explored ... how my faith connects me to you.

Texas City Sued By Santeria Priest Over Animal Sacrifice Ban

Jose Merced, a Santeria priest, has filed suit against the city of Euless, Texas because it refuses to permit him to conduct religious ceremonies that include animal sacrifices. The Associated Press yesterday reported that the federal lawsuit filed in Fort Worth charges that city officials refused to grant Merced a permit even to conduct the ceremonies inside his home where neighbors would not see or hear them. City officials say that killing animals inside the city is illegal. Merced argues that animal sacrifice as a form of worship is central to Santeria and is protected by the First Amendment, citing a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case, Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah.

Suit and Counter-Suit In Illinois Priest Sex Abuse Case

In state court in Chicago last month, a priest accused of sexually abusing two boys over 20 years ago while he was serving in a Burbank, IL church filed a defamation action against his accusers. The priest denies the abuse charges and claims his accusers had a vendetta against him. Even though a review board found reasonable cause to believe that the abuse occurred, Fr. Robert Stepek is suing for over $1 million in damages. Renew America reports the story and sets out the full text of the complaint in the suit. In response to the defamation suit, the two alleged victims have filed a counter-suit according to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times on Dec. 14. The complaint in that suit (full text published yesterday by Renew America) seeks to hold the Chicago Archdiocese liable for any damage suffered by the accused priest. The complaint says that victims' reports of alleged abuse were supposed to be held in confidence and not made public by the Archdiocese, and that Stepek himself, as well as another priest, disclosed the charges.