Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Saudi Law Could Sentence Man To Death For Profanity
UPDATE: A different Turkish barber, Ersin Taze, who was arrested by Saudi authorities over a month ago for slandering the Prophet Muhammad, has been released. M&C (June 5) reports that the Turkish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Naci Koru, said that a Saudi court dismissed the case for lack of evidence.
Times Public Editor Says Columnist Was Wrong On Obama As Apostate
ON May 12, The Times published an Op-Ed article by Edward N. Luttwak, a military historian, who argued that any hopes that a President Barack Obama might improve relations with the Muslim world were unrealistic because Muslims would be “horrified” once they learned that Obama had abandoned the Islam of his father and embraced Christianity as a young adult.
Under “Muslim law as it is universally understood,” Luttwak wrote, Obama was born a Muslim, and his “conversion” to Christianity was an act of apostasy, a capital offense and “the worst of all crimes that a Muslim can commit.”..... Did Luttwak cross the line from fair argument to falsehood? Did Times editors fail to adequately check his facts before publishing his article? Did The Times owe readers a contrasting point of view?
I interviewed five Islamic scholars, at five American universities, recommended by a variety of sources as experts in the field. All of them said that Luttwak’s interpretation of Islamic law was wrong.
Yuma Church Sues Over Zoning Denial
US Marine Removed After Proselytizing Muslims In Fallujah
Influential Philanthropist Backing New Hebrew Language Charter School In NY
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Cases In Canada, Britain Sanction Refuals To Treat Gay Couples Equally
Meanwhile in Britain, the Devon County Council has suspended the license of the Earl of Devon to use his castle for marriage ceremonies after he refused on religious grounds to permit a gay couple to hold a civil partnership ceremony there. Friday's Pink News reports that this is the first time such action has been taken under the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations that came into effect last year.
Muslim Workers Claim Religious Discrimination Over Uniform Policy
French Court Annuls Muslim Marriage When Wife Is Not A Virgin As Claimed
UPDATE: France's Justice Minister Rachida Dati has ordered a government appeal of the case, according to a June 3 Reuters report. Attorneys for both the husband and wife object, but Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that French law should not be interpreted to allow virginity to be a "key element in consent to marry." Concern over Muslim views being incorporated into French law has been in the background of the heated debate over the ruling.
Obama Resigns From His Church After Guest Preacher Mocks Clinton
Friday, May 30, 2008
Indiana Tax Court Says Christian Campground Gets Exemption
School Sued After Telling Student Not To Wear Anti-Abortion T-Shirts
South Carolina Passes Bill Permitting Display Including 10 Commandments and Lord's Prayer
Yesterday's Greenville News reports that some House members were upset that a Senate amendment removed the Pledge of Allegiance as one of the documents in the display. Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell voted against the bill fearing that inclusion of the Lord's Prayer in the display would lead to litigation. Describing the historical significance of the Lord's Prayer, the bill says: "The Lord's Prayer, used to teach people how best to seek their daily needs, is a model of philosophy and inspiration for legal and moral systems throughout the ages. In the colonies, James Oglethorpe brought debtors to freedom in our neighboring state of Georgia in remembrance of 'forgiving our debts as we forgive our debtors'."
Tennessee Federal Court Says School Endorsed "Praying Parents" Group
The court concluded that "certain practices at Lakeview Elementary School during the 2005-2006 school year did not have a secular purpose and were allowed or pursued to tacitly approve the activities of the Praying Parents, which had the primary effect of endorsing or promoting their Christian beliefs and programs at the school. In addition, the Praying Parents practices and programs at the school caused the Lakeview administrators and teachers to become excessively entangled with religion in violation of the Establishment Clause." Today's Tennessean reports on the decision. (See prior related posting.)
ACLU Sues Claiming Ohio Judge Is In Contempt For Displaying Poster
The Motion for an Order to Show Cause filed yesterday (full text of motion and supporting memorandum in ACLU of Ohio Foundation v. Ashbrook) says that the current poster is a list of Humanist Precepts printed next to the Ten Commandments, with a discussion of their differences. It conclude with the statement: "I join the founders in personally acknowledging the importance of Almighty God's fixed moral standards for restoring the moral fabric of this nation." Judge DeWeese says he is not in contempt because this is a different poster than the one that was previously enjoined. He told the Mansfield News Journal: It’s really about a debate of philosophies and how that affects our criminal caseloads. I put both sides up. People can make their own decisions."
Preliminary Injunction Against Illinois Moment of Silence Extended Statewide
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Texas Supreme Court Says State Lacked Basis For Removing FLDS Children
On the record before us, removal of the children was not warranted. The Department argues without explanation that the court of appeals’ decision leaves the Department unable to protect the children’s safety, but the Family Code gives the district court broad authority to protect children short of separating them from their parents and placing them in foster care. The court may make and modify temporary orders "for the safety and welfare of the child", including an order "restraining a party from removing the child beyond a geographical area identified by the court". The court may also order the removal of an alleged perpetrator from the child’s home and may issue orders to assist the Department in its investigation. The Code prohibits interference with an investigation, and a person who relocates a residence or conceals a child with the intent to interfere with an investigation commits an offenseJustices O'Neill, Johnson and Willett in a separate opinion dissented in part, arguing that there was sufficient evidence to justify taking into custody the pubescent female children. They said "evidence indicated a pattern or practice of sexual abuse of pubescent girls, and the condoning of such sexual abuse, on the Ranch..." They argued that resistant behavior by parents and children made it difficult to fashion less intrusive remedies. However these justices agreed with the majority that there was not sufficient evidence to justify awarding custody of male children and pre-pubescent female children to DFPS. CNN reports on the decision.
While the district court must vacate the current temporary custody orders as directed by the court of appeals, it need not do so without granting other appropriate relief to protect the children, as the mothers involved in this proceeding concede....
In the companion case involving 13 other children, the Court issued a brief per curiam opinion reaching the same result.
The pleadings and briefs in the cases are available here and here from the Texas Suprme Court website.
British Churches and Borough Dispute Over Free Trash Pick-Up
Army Plans To Remove Crosses From Kosovo Base Chapel Grounds
Court Hears Arguments In Virginia "Division Statute" Case
Quebec Report on Cultural Accommodation Issued
representatives who must embody to the utmost State neutrality and maintain the appearance of impartiality that is essential to the exercising of their duties [should] be prohibited from wearing religious signs. This is true of judges, Crown prosecutors, police officers, prison guards and the president and vice-president of the National Assembly. However, teachers, civil servants, health professionals and all other government employees should be allowed to continue to wear religious signs. In keeping with the same principle of neutrality, the crucifix in the National Assembly and the reciting of prayers at meetings of municipal councils should not be permitted in a secular State....In response, according to the Montreal Gazette, last week the National Assembly voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that expresses "its attachment to our religious and historic heritage represented particularly by the crucifix in our Blue Room and our coat of arms adorning our institutions." (Full text of resolution at pg. 840). A post yesterday on Wall of Separation reviews Canadian reaction to the recommendation to remove the crucifix displayed over the speakers chair in the National Assembly. (See prior related posting.)
Students who wish to wear in class religious signs such as the hidjab, kippah or turban should be able to do so. Students must not be exempted from compulsory courses in the name of freedom of religion. Educational institutions are not required to offer permanent prayer rooms.... However, it is in keeping with the spirit of adjustment to authorize for the purpose of prayer the use of temporarily unoccupied rooms.