Consent Judgment Entered In Louisiana Gideon Bible Case

A Consent Judgment (full text) has been entered by a Louisiana federal district court in Roe v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board, (ED LA, May 28, 2008). The decree concluded that distribution of Gideon Bibles at Loranger Middle School violated the Establishment Clause. It ordered school officials "to refrain from allowing, participating in and/or encouraging the distribution of Bibles, or other religious materials, to elementary school children within the jurisdiction of the Tangipahoa Parish School System, on school property." It also awarded plaintiffs nominal damages and attorneys' fees. Yesterday's Advocate reported on the court's action. The consent decree means that school officials will not appeal to the 5th Circuit to try to overturn the district court's earlier decision finding an Establishment Clause violation. (See prior related posting).

Interview With Head of Saudi Virtue Commission Published

The Arabic International Daily Asharq Alawsat yesterday published a rare interview with Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, head of Saudi Arabia's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Al-Ghaith gave this summary of the Commission's work in 2006:

The presidency of the commission conducted more than 47,500 awareness and guidance programs that consisted of symposiums, panels, and guidance lectures and distributed more than 7,830,000 pamphlets and audio cassettes. Through its various branches and centers, the presidency of the commission arranged more than 60,940 cooperation visits and contacts. All this is within the realm of the first part of the commission's mission; namely, the promotion of virtue.

As for the second part, namely, the prevention of vice, about 416,000 cases were dealt with the number of persons involved in these cases was 434,000 individuals (that is 2% of the population of Saudi Arabia if the number of citizens and residents is over 22 million persons). The unpublicized cases that ended with pledges [not to commit the offense again] in order to protect the reputation of the perpetrator involved about 392,000 individuals, that is, about 90%. About 42,000individuals, that is, about 10% were referred to the quarters concerned. These percentages show very clearly that the purpose of the commission is to reform and correct. This is the approach that all the members of the commission take. No one is referred to the quarters concerned unless we see that such a referral is unavoidable.

The lengthy interview also covers a number of other topics including various complaints about the Commission's operations.

Court Denies Preliminary Injunction To Yoko Ono In Suit Over Anti-Evolution Film

Yesterday in Yoko Ono Lennon v. Premise Media Corp., (SDNY, June 2, 2008), a New York federal district court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to Yoko Ono in her copyright infringement suit over use of a 15-second excerpt from a John Lennon song in the film "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed". Yesterday's International Herald Tribune and Wall Street Journal Law Blog both report on the decision relating to music and lyrics from the song "Imagine". The movie claims academic suppression of supporters of Intelligent Design theory. In denying the preliminary injunction, the court held that defendants are likely to succeed on their "fair use" defense. (See prior related posting.)

Scalia Addresses Orthodox Jewish Group On Church-State Issues

The New York Sun reports on a speech given Sunday night by Justice Antonin Scalia to the annual dinner of the Agudath Israel of America. He said that the Constitution should not be read to "banish the Almighty from the public forum." He also complained about the Supreme Court's recent rulings that government cannot favor religion over non-religion, saying that this does not, represent American tradition. Extensive photos of the event are available on Yeshiva World News. An audio recording of Scalia's full speech is available online from JBlog.Central.

Trial Judge Orders FLDS Children Released, Subject to Restrictions

In San Angelo, Texas, Judge Barbara Walther signed an order this morning allowing mothers of around 450 FLDS children to take the children back from shelters across the state at which they were being held in state custody. Today's San Angelo Standard-Times reports that the order places substantial restrictions on the parents and children while the Department of Family and Protective Services carries out an investigation of alleged sexual abuse on the YFZ Ranch. The order prohibits the children from leaving the state, requires parents to keep DFPS informed of their address and permits state officials to make unannounced visits any day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The court also granted an emergency stay of its order as to a 16-year old girl who is the daughter of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. A separate arrangement with tighter restrictions is being negotiated in her case.

UPDATE: The full text of Judge Walther's order is now available online. Also today, according to the Standard-Times, FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop said that FLDS policy will now be to bar any girl from marrying who is not of the legal consent age in the state where she lives. The group will counsel members against such marriages.

Danish Embassy In Pakistan Bombed, Apparently Over Muhammad Cartoons

AFP reports that today a suicide bomber blew up a car outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 8 and wounding 30. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, authorities say it was likely linked to caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that were originally published in Danish newspapers in 2005. Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri have urged attacks on Danish targets in retaliation for the cartoons.

5th Circuit Rules In Favor of Odinist Prisoner

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last week reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment and remanded the free exercise and RLUIPA claims of a Texas prisoner who practices the Odinist/Asatru faith. In Mayfield v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice, (5th Cir., May 30, 2008), the court first held that the 11th Amendment does not bar declaratory and injunctive relief against prison officials. The court then concluded that disputed issues of fact remain that could lead to plaintiff''s successful challenge of TDCJ's policy that prevents Odinists from assembling for religious services in the absence of an outside volunteer and its policy that prevents Odinists from personally possessing runestones and accessing rune literature .

Recent Articles Of Interest

From SSRN:

• Ran Hirschl, The Theocratic Challenge to Constitution Drafting in Post-Conflict States, (William & Mary Law Review, Vol. 49, No. 4, 2008 ).
• Catherine J. Ross, Children and Religious Expression in School: A Comparative Treatment of the Veil and Other Religious Symbols in Western Democracies, (May 25, 2008).
• Vincent Martin Bonventre, The Fall of Free Exercise: From 'No Law' to Compelling Interests to Any Law Otherwise Valid, (Albany Law Review, Vol. 70, No. 4, 2007).
• Thom Brooks, The Capabilities Approach, Religious Practices, and the Importance of Recognition, (May 27, 2008).
• Samuel Moyn, Jacques Maritain, Christian New Order, and the Birth of Human Rights, (May 1, 2008).
• John E. Taylor, Why Student Religious Speech is Speech, (West Virginia Law Review, Vol. 110, No. 1, 2007).

From SmartCILP:

• Phillip C. Aka, Assessing the Constitutionality of President George W. Bush's Faith-Based Initiatives, 9 Journal of Law In Society 53-110 (2008).
• Symposium. Fifteenth Annual Society of Catholic Social Scientists Meeting. 47 Journal of Catholic Legal Studies 1-190 (2008).

Christian Students' Suit Against Washington School Settled

Alliance Defense Fund announced last Thursday that it had reached a settlement with Washington state's East Valley School District in a suit ADF had filed in March challenging East Valley High School's refusal to allow a group of Christian students to meet in an empty room during lunch hour. (See prior posting.) The Notice of Voluntary Dismissal says that school officials have decided to allow the students to meet on the same terms as other groups. The school also changed its policy that prohibited “[r]eligious services, programs or assemblies . . . in school facilities” so that it clearly applies only to school-sponsored religious programs not to private religious speech.

Preachers Told Not To Proselytize In Muslim Area of British City

London's Daily Mail today reports that two Christian preachers say the West Midlands Police in the British city of Birmingham violated their freedom of expression protected by the Human Rights Act. A Muslim police community support officer ordered the preachers to stop handing out Bible extracts in a Muslim area of the city. He told Americans Arthur Cunningham and Joseph Abraham that it was a hate crime to try to convert Muslims to Christianity. The preachers are demanding an apology and compensation, or else they threaten to sue. West Midlands police say the officer acted with good intentions in diffusing a heated argument between two groups of men. The incident arises as some are expressing increased concern over supposed Islamic "no-go areas."

Court Dismisses Free Exercise Claims Against Private Actors

In Palm v. Sisters of Charity Health System, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42287 (D ME, May 29, 2008), a Maine federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of a claim that doctors were discriminating against believers in the "Bible Code" when they involuntarily committed plaintiff to a private hospital. The court said that claims of a conspiracy to violate free exercise rights brought under 42 U.S.C. 1985(3) and 42 U.S.C. 1986, as well as civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983, should be dismissed because defendants are not state actors.

Kuwait MPs Protest Women Cabinet Members Not Wearing Headscarves

AP reported yesterday that nine Islamic members of Kuwait's newly-elected Parliament walked out in protest when two women Cabinet members being sworn in were not wearing headscarves or the long dresses that Islamists say are religiously required. The nine men returned after Modhi al-Homoud and Nouria al-Subeih took their oaths of office. Now 24 of the 50 members of Kuwait's Parliament are religious hard liners.

Saudi Law Could Sentence Man To Death For Profanity

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, a Turkish barber who cuts hair in the city has been in jail for 13 months for using a profanity that takes God's name in vain. Sabri Bogday cursed during an argument with a neighbor. The neighbor reported Bogday to the police. While Turkey's president Abdullah Gul has sought Bogday's release, some Saudi judges consider his offense to be heresy and infidelity, punishable by death. Other judges however treat this merely as disbelief which allows the offender to obtain release by retracting what he has said and repenting.

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

Today's New York Times carries a piece by Public Editor Clark Hoyt criticizing a May 12 op-ed by Edward N. Luttwak titled President Apostate? The Public Editor wrote:

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

Last week in Yuma, Arizona, a federal lawsuit was filed challenging the denial of a conditional use permit to Centro Familiar Cristiano Buenos Nuevas Christian Church that wished to operate in the city's Old Town Historic Zoning District. Last Thursday's Yuma Sun reports that the permit was denied after opponents expressed concern about the impact the church would have on the redevelopment of the area. The complaint (full text) alleges: "The City of Yuma Planning & Zoning Commission denied the application because the Church, as a religious assembly, did not fit within its concept of a use that would promote economic growth in the downtown area. The Plaintiffs have brought this suit because Yuma’s denial violates the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, several provisions of the federal Constitution, and Arizona’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act." In a release on the case, Alliance Defense Fund says :"The zoning code at issue allows membership groups and theaters to locate in the district while specifically excluding religious organizations."

US Marine Removed After Proselytizing Muslims In Fallujah

The AP reported yesterday that a Marine in Iraq was removed from duty after it was disclosed that he had passed out coins promoting Christianity to Sunni Muslims in the strongly religious city of Fallujah. One side of the coin read: "Where will you spend eternity?" The other side read: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16." The incident could heighten tensions over a proposed long-term security agreement between the U.S. and Iraq. Sheik Abdul-Rahman al-Zubaie criticized the Marine's actions, saying: "This event did not happen by chance, but it was planned and done intentionally. The Sunni population cannot accept and endure such a thing. I might not be able to control people's reactions if such incidents keep happening." [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Influential Philanthropist Backing New Hebrew Language Charter School In NY

The Forward reported this week that "mega-philanthropist" Michael Steinhardt is backing a group of individuals who plan to file an application in New York City to create a Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn. The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life will thereby lend its substantial weight to the movement to create public charter schools that teach Hebrew-language, Jewish culture and history and and acquaint students with modern Israeli society. Last year, the nation's first such school-- The Ben Gamla School-- opened in Hollywood, Florida to mixed reviews in the Jewish community. (See prior posting.)

Cases In Canada, Britain Sanction Refuals To Treat Gay Couples Equally

In M.J. v. Nichols, (Sask. Hum. Rts. Trib., May 23, 2008), the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal held that a government marriage commissioner must not discriminate in performing civil marriages. The Tribunal held that a Commissioner who refused to perform a ceremony for a gay couple violated Section 12 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code. Awarding damages of only $2500, the Tribunal said: "it is clear that the Respondent was acting out of his genuine and sincere religious belief in refusing to perform the marriage ceremony. This is not a case where the Respondent was simply acting in a callous and calculated manner. Even though I have determined that the Respondent was not entitled to refuse to perform the marriage ceremony on the basis of his religious beliefs, I can take this into account in assessing an appropriate award." Canadian Press yesterday reported on the case.

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

Earlier this week, six Somali Muslim women filed religious discrimination complaints with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights over the uniform policy of their New Brighton, Minnesota employer, Mission Foods. Thursday's Finance and Commerce reports that the women dress in traditional Islamic robes and head coverings, and refuse to wear a new pants-and-shirt uniform, saying to do so would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs. Mission Foods is the largest producer of tortillas in the US.

French Court Annuls Muslim Marriage When Wife Is Not A Virgin As Claimed

Reuters reported yesterday that a heated debate is raging in France after a court allowed an Muslim husband to annul his marriage when he discovered that his wife was not a virgin as she had claimed to be. The husband's lawyer said that the basis for the annulment was not religious, but rather a principle in French law that treats marriage as a contract and permits an annulment "when there is an error concerning essential qualities of one of the spouses."

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.