Feds Appoint Prosecutor To Focus On Polygamy Issues

Today's Salt Lake Tribune reports that the U.S. Justice Department has appointed a senior, career prosecutor to work with Utah, Arizona and Nevada to combat polygamy related crimes. This disclosure came in letters that Nevada Sen. Harry Reid sent this week to the attorneys general of Utah and Arizona. Today's Toronto Globe and Mail says that the U.S. investigation may extend to combating the so-called "polygamy underground railway" across the Canada-U.S. border through which young women are sent to marry older men. Women are sent between FLDS communities in British Columbia, Utah and Arizona. This action by the Justice Department may be the first step toward appointing a special task force. Last week, the Deseret News reported that Sen. Reid had long been pushing for the Justice Department to take action. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, while welcoming federal involvement, took issue with Reid's criticism of Utah's law enforcement. Shurtleff said Utah has done much to combat polygamy.

Meanwhile yesterday in St. George, Utah, some 200 people attended the annual conference presented by the Utah-Arizona Safety Net Committee to hear presentations by members of polygamous communities, news media, social service providers and law enforcement. Yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune quotes conference participant Anne Wilde from the "fundamentalist Mormon" advocacy group, Principle Voices, who said that fundamentalist Mormons represent a wide diversity of beliefs, and should not all be lumped together with the FLDS.

Malaysian Sharia Court Agrees To Cancel Woman's Prior Conversion To Islam

AFP today describes as "rare" a decision handed down in Malaysia by Penang Sharia Court judge Othman Ibrahim. He permitted a Buddhist woman who had converted to Islam to reconvert to Buddhism. Islamic courts usually do not permit renunciations of Islam, but here the court said that Siti Fatimah only converted in order to be able to marry a Muslim man. She never practised Islam. Now that her husband has left her the judge said he had no choice but to order her original conversion certificate nullified since she had continued to practice Buddhism anyway. The woman now still has to convince authorities to change her identity card so she will no longer be classified as a Muslim on it.

Christian Student Group Sues to Challenge University Speech Code

On Wednesday, a student group, the Christian Fellowship, filed suit in federal court against Pennsylvania's Shippensburg University challenging university rules that plaintiff claims chills free speech and infringes its free exercise of religion. The complaint (full text) in Christian Fellowship of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania v. Rudd, (MD PA, filed 5/7/08) alleges that "Christian Fellowship is a religious expressive student organization whose members hold and seek to advance Biblically-based opinions and beliefs regarding issues of race, gender, politics, and religion that may be objectionable or offensive to other students and sanctionable under applicable University speech codes." According to a release by the Alliance Defense Fund, a similar 2004 lawsuit was settled when the University agreed to revoke challenged provision in its speech code, but since then it has re-enacted many of the same policies. Today's Hagerstown (MD) Herald-Mail reports on the lawsuit.

Evangelical Manifesto Released Urging A "Civil Public Square"

Yesterday in a Washington, DC press conference, over 70 religious leaders endorsed a document titled An Evangelical Manifesto (full text, summary). Here is a small part of what it had to say about the place of Evangelicals in public life:

[W]e repudiate two equal and opposite errors into which many Christians have fallen. One error is to privatize faith, applying it to the personal and spiritual realm only.... The other error, made by both the religious left and the religious right, is to politicize faith, using faith to express essentially political points that have lost touch with biblical truth. That way faith loses its independence, Christians become the "useful idiots" for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology. Christian beliefs become the weapons of political factions....

[W]e repudiate the two extremes that define the present culture wars in the United States..... We are committed to a civil public square – a vision of public life in which citizens of all faiths are free to enter and engage the public square on the basis of their faith, but within a framework of what is agreed to be just and free for other faiths as well....

[W]e are concerned that a generation of culture warring ... has created a powerful backlash against all religion in public life among many educated people.... [W]e are concerned that globalization and the emerging global public square have no matching vision of how to live with our deepest differences on the global stage.... [W]e warn of the danger of a two-tier global public square. This is a model of public life which reserves the top tier for cosmopolitan secular liberals, and the lower tier for local religious believers.

The Associated Press, reported on the document, pointing out that a number of Christian religious leaders on the political right do not support it. Americans United for Separation of Church and State gave the Manifesto qualified praise, or, as it said, it gave it "one amen". More information on the Manifesto, including a lengthy Study Guide, is available on the Evangelical Manifesto website.

Religious Monuments Case Delays Army Memorial To Plane Crash Victims

June 14 is the 65th anniversary of the World War II "Bakers Creek" plane crash in Australia that killed 40 U.S. troops. Families of the soldiers, veterans' organizations, and others have contributed money for a monument to the soldiers that they want the Army to place at Ft. Myer, near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Scripps Howard News Service yesterday reported that the Army however is holding off on accepting the monument because of a pending Supreme Court case on religious monuments. In Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, the Supreme Court will decide whether a city created a "public forum" open to others as well by accepting a donation of a 10 Commandments monument put up in a city park. (See prior posting.)

In reporting to Congress last week, an Army spokesman wrote: "Due to the ramifications that this case may have on the Army's acceptance of the Bakers Creek Memorial or any other monument funded by private funds, the Army will await the Supreme Court's decision to assess its options." Robert Cutler, executive director of the Bakers Creek Memorial Association, suggested a solution-- have the Army buy the memorial for a nominal amount so it is not "donated". Meanwhile the memorial remains temporarily at the Australian Embassy in Washington. (A posting at Texomas carries a photo of the memorial.)

McCain Speaks Out On International Religious Freedom

Yesterday, Republican presidential candidate John McCain spoke at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan on "his vision for defending the freedom and dignity of the world's vulnerable." In his speech (full text) he had this to say about religious freedom:

There is no right more fundamental to a free society than the free practice of religion. Behind walls of prisons and persecuted before our very eyes in places like China, Iran, Burma, Sudan, North Korea and Saudi Arabia are tens-of-thousands of people whose only crime is to worship God in their own way. No society that denies religious freedom can ever rightly claim to be good in some other way. And no person can ever be true to any faith that believes in the dignity of all human life if they do not act out of concern for those whose dignity is assailed because of their faith. As President, I intend to make religious freedom a subject of great importance for the United States in our relations with other nations.

In the speech he also focused on the evils of human trafficking and use of the Internet by child predators. CNN reported on the speech.

San Angelo Mayor Writes of Logistical Challenges After FLDS Ranch Raid

Scripps Howard News Service yesterday carried a piece by J.W. Lown, the 31-year old mayor of San Angelo, Texas, the town located some 45 miles north of the FLDS Ranch that was raided by authorities last month. Lown gives a candid account of how he dealt with the demands placed on his city for space to house the over 400 children taken into state custody along with many of their mothers. Lown also looks at the deluge of media that appeared, saying "Every media outlet complimented me and the city of San Angelo for the Port-A-Potties and refreshments we delivered." Lown concluded: "Though our role as 'host' is drawing to an end, you will still see plenty of San Angelo on TV. All those mothers you've seen strolling up courthouse steps in their pastel prairie dresses? That's the Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo. And their day in court isn't over."

Kansas High Court Upholds Citizen Grand Jury Law Used By Abortion Foes

Yesterday in Tiller v. Corrigan, (KA Sup. Ct., May 6, 2008), the Kansas Supreme Court upheld provisions of K.S.A. 22-3001 providing for citizens to petition for the empanelling of a grand jury. The court held that the provisions are not unconstitutional on their face. The law, used in Kansas by by abortion opponents to obtain investigations of abortion clinics, was challenged on separation of powers grounds. In upholding the law, the unanimous decision went on to say that the court in which the citizen petition is filed must review the validity of the petition and oversee the grand jury process. The supreme court also concluded that a citizen-empanelled grand jury has authority to issue subpoenas for documents, but the supervising court must assure that the grand jury is not on arbitrary fishing expedition and that the subpoena targets were not selected out of malice or with intent to harass. Finally, the supreme court said that when valid subpoenas are issued for patient records, a number of steps must be taken to protect patient privacy. Yesterday's Kansas City Star reported on the decision. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Maryland High Court Refuses To Grant Comity To Pakistani Talaq Divorce

In Aleem v. Aleem, (Ct. App. Md., May 6, 2008), the Maryland Court of Appeals (the state's highest court) refused to recognize a talaq divorce obtained under the laws of Pakistan (Mulsim Family Laws Ordinance 1961) by a husband who, with his wife, resided in Maryland. The parties, married in Pakistan in 1980, resided in the U.S. on diplomatic visas.

After Farah Aleem filed for divorce in a Maryland court, her husband, Irfan Aleem, without notice to Farah, went to the Pakistani embassy in Washington and performed talaq by executing a written document that recited "I divorce thee" three times. Under Pakistani law, unless agreed otherwise, the wife has no claim to property owned by her husband on the date of divorce. In her Maryland divorce action, Farah sought to have Irfan's World Bank pension and other assets declared marital property. Pointing to a provision in Maryland's constitution (Declaration of Rights, Art. 46) that assures equal rights to men and women, the court reasoned that:

the enforceability of a foreign talaq divorce provision, such as that presented here, in the courts of Maryland, where only the male, i.e., husband, has an independent right to utilize talaq and the wife may utilize it only with the husband’s permission, is contrary to Maryland’s constitutional provisions....

The court concluded that:

talaq divorce of countries applying Islamic law, unless substantially modified, is contrary to the public policy of this state... where, in the absence of valid agreements otherwise, ... marital property is subject to fair and equitable division.... Additionally, a procedure that permits a man (and him only unless he agrees otherwise) to evade a divorce action begun in this State by rushing to the embassy of a country recognizing talaq and ... summarily terminate the marriage and deprive his wife of marital property, confers insufficient due process to his wife. Accordingly, for this additional reason the courts of Maryland shall not recognize the talaq divorce performed here.

The court observed in an introductory footnote: "we address Islamic law only to the extent it is also the civil law of a country. The viability of Islamic law as a religious canon is not intended to be affected." Today's Baltimore Sun, reporting on the decision, notes that the assets involved in the case total $2 million.

Montreal Cabbie Files Human Rights Complaint Over Religious Items

Today's Montreal Gazette reports that Montreal cabbie Arieh Perecowicz has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission challenging a Montreal Taxi Bureau bylaw that bans any "object or inscription that is not required for the taxi to be in service." Perecowicz, who is Jewish, has two mezuzahs embedded in the posts between the front and rear seats of his cab. He also has photos of his daughter and the founder of the Chabad Lubavitch movement as well as a Remembrance Day poppy in the taxi. His complaint asks for $5,000 in damages, alleging that the Montreal bylaw infringes his freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Next month, Perecowicz will ask a Montreal municipal court judge to postpone ruling on his four citations-- each fining him $191-- for violating the Taxi Bureau bylaw until the Human Rights Commission rules in his case. Perecowicz suggests that the fines are related to his appearance on television with other drivers complaining that the Taxi Bureau was not enforcing its rules against unlicensed cabs.

Ohio School Is Divided Over Support Of Science Teacher

Yesterday's Mt. Vernon (OH) News reports on the peer pressure at Mt. Vernon Middle School for students to support controversial science teacher John Freshwater. As reported previously, Freshwater is defying a directive that he remove a Bible that he keeps on his desk in view of his students. The community has become sharply divided over support of the teacher. Parent Christine Hamilton says her two sons have been harassed because they are friends with the boy whose parents filed the complaint against Freshwater. Meanwhile, a separate investigation is under way of an minor injury suffered by a student during Freshwater's science class. The injury was apparently caused by some kind of electrostatic device. (Mt. Vernon News). [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Israel Bible Quiz Finalist Is A Messianic, Stirring Intense Controversy

In Israel, the state-run International Bible Quiz, sponsored jointly by the army and the Education Ministry, is a highlight of each Independence Day celebration. Jewish Agency representatives in 30 countries organize regional competitions to select teenagers who will take part in the final rounds. The Forward yesterday reported that as Israel's 60th birthday approaches on Thursday, an intense battle has broken out over whether 17-year old Bat-El Levy, one of Israel's four finalists, should be permitted to continue to compete. Contest rules limit participation to those who are Jewish. Levy, it turns out, is from a messianic Jewish family. Messianics are considered to be Christians by most Jews. However the teenager is listed as Jewish in her state identification papers. Also her mother is Jewish, so she meets the strict halachic (Jewish Law) definition of who is a Jew. Attorneys for the Bible Quiz say there is no basis to challenge her Jewishness.

Messianics claim they are subject to constant prejudice in Israel. They say that the anti-missionary organization, Yad L'Achim, is particularly attempting to marginalize them. After Bible Quiz authorities refused to disqualify Levy, a dozen influential rabbis issued a statement calling for contestants and spectators to boycott the Bible contest. In a related development, last month 12 Messianics whose fathers were Jewish, but whose mothers were not, were granted Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. (See prior posting.)

Tennessee AG OK's Bible Park Financing Under State, But Not Federal, Law

Tennessee's Attorney General, Robert Cooper, issued an opinion yesterday ruling that Tennessee law permits the use of public funds to support the development of Bible Park USA, but left open the question of whether public funding for the theme park would violate the Establishment Clause of the federal constitution. Yesterday's Murfreesboro Daily News Journal and Legal Newsline report that Bible Park USA developers and Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess have proposed a possible tax-increment financing arrangement that would allocate most of the property tax revenue from the park and a 5% privilege tax on sales inside the park to pay down bonds issued to finance construction. (See prior related posting.)

Canadian Court Says Diocese and Congregations Must Share Properties

In Canada, a number of parishes, upset over issues such as same-sex unions, have voted to break away from the Anglican Church of Canada. Yesterday's Toronto Globe and Mail reports on an Ontario Superior Court ruling issued on Monday holding that three break-away parishes and the diocese must share possession of church properties until the court makes a final ruling on who is entitled to ownership. The three parishes involved are St. George's Anglican Church in Lowville, St. Hilda's Anglican Church in Oakville, and the Church of Good Shepherd in St. Catharines. Some lawyers say that a final decision on ownership of these properties could be years away.

China Objects To USCIRF's Report

China yesterday strongly criticized the annual report issued earlier this week by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The report lists China as one of the eleven most oppressive "countries of particular concern". According to Xinhua, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang yesterday said:

[T]he Chinese government protects its citizens' freedom of religious belief according to the laws and Chinese citizens ... enjoy full freedom of religious belief protected by law. We advise the USCIRF to seriously examine the United States' own problems and stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of religion....

Liberty Counsel Launching Campaign To Support Graduation Prayer

Liberty Counsel today announced the launch of its annual "Friend or Foe" Graduation Prayer Campaign. It says that its goal is to "ensure that prayer and religious viewpoints are not suppressed during graduation ceremonies." It has again made available online its "Legal Memorandum on Graduation Prayers in Public Schools". The memo outlines the possibility of prayers being offered by students or speakers on their own initiative where they have been chosen to speak on the basis of religiously neutral criteria. It also reviews the possibility of privately-sponsored graduation ceremonies or baccalaureate services. Liberty Counsel is also more generally encouraging students to wear its red "I Will Pray" wristbands to school.

Indian, Pakistani Muftis Argue Over Muslim Compliance With Indian Law

Wednesday's Pakistan Daily Times reports on competing declarations by Muslim clerics on the propriety of Muslims in India slaughtering cows and eating beef. Mufti Habibur Rehman, head of India’s large Darul Uloom Deoband madrassa, told a resident of the Indian town of Muzaffarnagar that while eating beef is legal under Islamic law, it is prohibited by Indian law because of the beliefs of the predomninant Hindu population. Therefore, Rehman said, for Muslims in India, it is not right to secretly slaughter and eat the meat of cows. Pakistan's Mufti Abdul Rehman Al Rehmani (head of Darul Ifta wa Al-Qazzath of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa Pakistan) however disagrees. He argues that telling Indian Muslims to comply with Indian law in this regard will encourage them to accept Hindu beliefs. He says that if democratic India's minorities fear to follow their own religions, "then the peace of the whole world will be in great danger."

West Virginia Town Moves From Lord's Prayer To Moment of Silence

The Charles Town, West Virginia City Council on Monday night voted 7-1 to open its meetings with a moment of silence instead of the Lord's Prayer which it had recited for decades before city council meetings. The move came after a Jewish resident of the city raised questions about use of the Lord's Prayer. Today's Martinsburg (WV) Journal reports that council member Geraldine Willingham was the only dissenting vote after two other members who earlier voted to keep the Lord's Prayer went along with the moment of silence proposal. Willingham complained that the change was made because of "one negative person".

US Rights Agency Hears Witnesses On Religious Discrimination In Prisons

The U.S. Civil Rights Commission has recently posted online the full transcript of its Feb. 8 Briefing on Religious Discrimination In Prisons. The first panel focused on Free Exercise of Inmates' Religious Rights vs. Prison Security. Speakers were: Chaplain Joseph Pryor (Federal Bureau of Prisons); Steven T. McFarland (Justice Department's Task Force for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives); Carol Atkins (Warden of Maryland Correctional Institution); Frank Cilluffo (Director of GWU's Homeland Security Policy Institute); and Gregory Saathoff (Univ. Virginia's Critical Incident Analysis Group).

The second panel covered Free Exercise of Inmates' Religious Rights vs. Church State Separation. Speakers were Patrick Nolan (Justice Fellowship of Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship Ministries); Lane Dilg (ACLU); Imam Abuquadir Al-Amin (Society of American Muslims); Alex Luchenitser (Americans United for Separation of Church and State); Chaplain Gary Friedman (B'nai B'rith International Pastoral Care Agency for Jewish Prisoners and Their Families); and Reverend Patrick McCollum (National Correctional and Chaplaincy Directors Association).

US Civil Rights Commission Chairman Gerald Reynolds said: "The testimony and materials gathered as a part of this briefing will become part of the 2008 Statutory Report enforcing prohibitions of religious discrimination in prisons."

Paper Reports On Clergy Clash In Break-Away Episcopal Church

While numerous reports have chronicled the progress of litigation between the Episcopal Church and break-away congregations wishing to affiliate with more conservative Anglican convocations, Saturday's Hartford Courant furnishes a different perspective. In an article titled Episcopalian Split Comes Down To Locked Groton Church, the paper reports on the experience of Rev. David Cannon who was appointed by the Episcopal Church to take over leadership of Bishop Seabury Church in Groton, CT. Rev. Ronald Gauss, the church's existing leader, whose move to the Convocation of Anglican Churches in North America is supported by church members, refused to turn over church keys or its books to Rev. Cannon. This, like numerous other cases, is lkely to end up in litigation over who owns the church property.