Malaysian Blogger Released, But Appeal Being Considered

In September, Malaysian blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin was arrested by Malaysian authorities under the Internal Security Act on charges that articles he posted threatened public order and security. He was charged with "causing tension among the country's multi-racial and multi-religious society" through postings on the news blog Malaysia Today of articles insulting to Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad and defamatory of Malaysia's leaders Amnesty International reported last Friday that the high court in the state of Selangor said that the arrest was unconstitutional and ordered Kamarudin released, ruling that the country's Home Minister Syed acted beyond his powers in having him arrested. However, the Daily Express reports that the Federal Attorney General's Office has been asked to look into a possible appeal of Kamarudin's release.

Recent Prisoner Free Excercise Cases

In High v. Baca, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77385 (D NV, Oct. 1, 2008), a Nevada federal district court adopted a federal magistrate's recommendation (2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88077 (Feb. 6, 2008)) not to dismiss plaintiff's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when officials served him breakfast during Ramadan before sunrise, instead of before dawn.

In Johnson v. Sisto, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88253 (ED CA, Oct. 21, 2008), a California federal magistrate judge recommended denial of plaintiff's request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Plaintiff prisoner alleged that he was denied substitutions for menu items forbidden by his religion and tht he was prevented from wearing his religious headwear in the library.

In Sacred Feather v. Merrill, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89783 (D ME, Oct. 29, 2008), a Maine federal district adopted the recommendations of a federal magistrate judge (see prior posting) and dismissed claims by a Native American prisoner. The court concluded that a reasonableness test, rather than a compelling governmental interest test was proper as to plaintiff's First Amendment claims, and that plaintiff had waived his RLUIPA claim.

In Gilbert v. Steed, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90507, (D KA, Nov. 6, 2008), a Kansas federal district court held that plaintiff had a plausible free exercise claim. He alleged that he was segregated from other inmates while eating his kosher diet.

In Ketzner v. Williams, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90500, (WD MI, Sept. 30, 2008), a Michigan federal district court agreed with a federal magistrate's conclusion that temporarily removing prisoners from the Kosher Meal Program when they are in possession of non-kosher food items does not violate either the Establishment or the Free Exercise clause.

In Garrison v. Dutcher, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90504, (WD MI, Sept. 30, 2008), a Michigan federal district court held that RLUIPA does not authorize individual-capacity claims. It held that plaintiff can move ahead on his official-capacity First Amendment and RLUIPA claims alleging delays in delivering him his spiritual herbs. It concluded that the test for a substantial burden under RLUIPA is whether the government, by act or omission, renders impracticable, significantly restricts, or forecloses one's religious exercise, or puts substantial pressure on an individual to modify his behavior in violation of his religious beliefs. Finally the court upheld a prison policy that requires books, including Bibles, to be received only directly from the publisher or an authorized vendor. (See prior related posting.) UPDATE: For later proceedings in the case, see 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91438 (June 29, 2009) and 2009 U.S. Dist LEXIS 90842 (Sept. 30, 2009).

Sikh Defendant Will Not Be Allowed To Wear Turban At Trial

Today's Stockton (CA) Record reports that a San Joaquin (CA) County Superior Court Judge has ruled that a defendant in a murder case who is a Sikh will not be allowed to wear his turban during trial. Judge Charlotte Orcutt ruled that there is too much risk that 56-year-old Gurparkash Khalsa could hide a weapon or noose in the 18 to 24 feet of fabric. There is concern that other inmates could use the turban to harm Khalsa in the courthouse holding cell, so Khalsa proposed putting it on just outside the courtroom. But this would require bailiffs to spend 10 to 15 minutes with him while he wraps his turban. Khlasa, who is is being held on charges of murdering his daughter's former boyfriend, is not allowed to wear his turban in jail either and has rejected the alternative of a smaller cloth head covering.

Tonight Is 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht

Tonight is the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, a Nazi Germany pogrom that killed 92 Jews. Over 25,000 Jews were arrested and many were sent to concentration camps. Jewish businesses were vandalized and more than 200 synagogues were destroyed. The event is often seen as the beginning of the Holocaust. Vatican Radio reports that Pope Benedict XVI's Angelus Address today recalled the event and appealed more broadly against all forms of discrimination and anti-Semitism. He also called attention to the current slaughter of innocent civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Also, marking Kristallnacht, Lubavitch.com reported on Jewish life in Germany today.

California School Board Says "No" To Display of "Under God" Motto

The trustees of Antelope Valley Union High School District in California last Wednesday defeated, by a vote of 3-2, a proposal to place the motto "one nation under God" on the wall of their board room. Yesterday's Contra Costa Times reports that board proponent Al Beattie said the line from the Pledge of Allegiance does not unconstitutionally promote religion. Opponent Ira Simonds said if any line from the Pledge were put up, he would prefer "with liberty and justice for all".

Rhode Island Auto Dealers Split Over Repeal of Sunday Closing Law

Yesterday's Providence (RI) Journal carries an article over the split among car dealers in Rhode Island over whether the state's ban on Sunday car sales should be repealed. Thirteen other states have similar laws. The Journal reports: "Rhode Island's 60 dealers have split into cultural camps: those who would jump at Sunday work even in a boom, versus those who'll never work on Sundays, even in the current bust."

Saudi Arabia Attempts To Deprogram Arrested Islamic Militants

Today's New York Times Magazine carries an article titled Deprogramming Jihadists. It describes the post-prison rehabilitation program used by Saudi Arabia to deprogram Islamic extremists. According to the article: "Most prisoners complete the program within two months. Upon release, each former jihadist is required to sign a pledge that he has forsaken extremist sympathies; the head of his family must sign as well. Some also receive a car (often a Toyota) and aid from the Interior Ministry in renting a home. Social workers assist former jihadists and their families in making post-release plans for education, employment and, usually, marriage."

Federal Suit To Be Filed On Behalf of Amish Over NY Building Codes

Several towns in northern New York have brought suits to enforce their building code requirements against members of a conservative Amish sect. (See prior postings 1, 2, 3 .) While state courts have rejected their free exercise defenses, WNYF News reported Friday that the Becket fund is planning to file a federal lawsuit against the Town of Morristown on behalf of nearly a dozen Amish men facing code violation charges there. In anticipation of that, a judge in Hammond (NY) has postponed further proceedings in an eviction proceeding against two Amish families there.

Louisiana City's Festival Creates Church-State Issue

Thibodeauxville, Louisiana's annual music and food festival has become the latest focus in the battle over the proper division between church and state. The flyer promoting the festival says it will include "all-day Christian music and dance." A citizen's complaint over this led the ACLU to write the mayor seeking an end to future city participation in events that highlight the Christian faith. However, according to Thursday's Lafourche Parish Daily Comet, the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce says that it, not the city, is the sponsor of the annual festival, so no church-state issue arises. But the Louisiana ACLU says City Council has a cooperative-endeavor agreement of $10,000 with the Chamber to promote tourism and economic development. Yesterday's Daily Comet reports that the Alliance Defense Fund has offered free legal assistance to the city to fight the ACLU's charge. Chamber of Commerce president Kathy Benoit, though, says that the controversy has been one of the best sources of publicity for the festival.

California Same-Sex Marriage Backers Protest Against Mormon Church

Angry that California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage passed, on Thursday some 2000 protesters demonstrated outside the Mormon Temple in Los Angeles. The Mormon Church was particularly active in campaigning for passage of the ballot measure. (See prior posting.) Reporting on the demonstrations, Britain's Independent says that a public relations war against the Mormon church is planned, with demonstrations likely across California, including during Mormon services today. A report on Thursday's demonstration from LifeSiteNews says one protester urged taxing the Mormon church and others carried signs with slogans such as: "Don't teach hate" and "Mormons have 10 wives - I can't have one?" Some argue that the LDS church and other religious groups violated principles of church-state separation by backing Tuesday's ballot measure. However the Episcopal church in California supports same-sex marriage and says it will continue to work to validate it.

Beyond California, on Friday, according to the New York Times, a rally and march around the headquarters of the Mormon church took place in Salt Lake City (UT). Speaking at the rally, Utah State Senator Scott D. McCoy, one of three openly gay Utah legislators, told the crowd of 2000: "The way to deal with this problem is to love more, not hate."

Meanwhile today's Los Angeles Times reports on more general protests around California over the passage of proposition 8.

UPDATE: On Nov. 7, The LDS Church issued a statement decrying the protests against it, saying "it is wrong to target the Church and its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process." The Roman Catholic diocese of Sacramento also issued a statement, saying: "Bigoted attacks on Mormons for the part they played in our coalition are shameful and ignore the reality that Mormon voters were only a small part of the groundswell that supported Proposition 8."

7th Circuit Says Illinois May Reject "Choose Life" License Plates

In Choose Life Illinois, Inc. v. White, (7th Cir., Nov. 7, 2008), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the refusal of the state Secretary of State to issue a special "Choose Life" license plate after proponents obtained the requisite number of signatures requesting it. The court said:

Specialty license plates implicate the speech rights of private speakers, not the government-speech doctrine. This triggers First Amendment "forum" analysis, and we conclude specialty plates are a nonpublic forum. Illinois may not discriminate on the basis of viewpoint, but it may control access to the forum based on the content of a proposed message—provided that any content-based restrictions are reasonable. The distinction between content and viewpoint discrimination makes a difference here.

It is undisputed that Illinois has excluded the entire subject of abortion from its specialty-plate program; it has authorized neither a pro-life plate nor a pro-choice plate. It has done so on the reasonable rationale that messages on specialty license plates give the appearance of having the government’s endorsement, and Illinois does not wish to be perceived as endorsing any position on the subject of abortion. The State’s rejection of a "Choose Life" license plate was thus content based but viewpoint neutral, and because it was also reasonable, there is no First Amendment violation.

Judge Manion wrote a concurring opinion. The court’s decision reversed the district court that had ordered the Secretary of State to issue the specialty plates. (See prior posting.) Today’s Chicago Sun Times reports on the 7th Circuit’s decision. The Thomas More Society, representing Choose Life Illinois, announced that they will seek a rehearing, and if that fails will seek Supreme Court review. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Cert. Filed In Exorcism Case

A petition for certiorari was filed last Monday with the U.S. Supreme Court in Pleasant Glade Assembly of God v. Schubert, (Docket No. 08-592). In the case, the Texas Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, rejected the lawsuit brought by then 17-year old Laura Schubert alleging false imprisonment and assault by the pastor, youth minister and several members of an Assembly of God Church. The suit grew out of psychological injuries plaintiff suffered from a "laying of hands" on her to exorcise demonic forces. The majority held that deciding the case would unconstitutionally entangle the court in matters of church doctrine. (See prior posting).

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the cert. petition. [Thanks to Scott Gant.]

Remaining Claims In "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" Case Settled

Last year, the Supreme Court last year decided Morse v. Frederick, holding that Juneau, Alaska school officials did not violate a student's free speech rights when they confiscated his banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" displayed at the at the Olympic Torch Relay.(See prior posting.) However, there were additional claims left to be decided on remand. The AP reported yesterday that now the school district and former student Joseph Frederick have reached a settlement in the case. In exchange for Frederick dropping his remaining claims, the school district will pay him $45,000 and will also hire a neutral constitutional law expert to chair a forum on student speech rights this school year. Under the settlement, the school district will continue to enforce its policies prohibiting students from displaying materials that advocate or celebrate illegal drug use.

Media Reports On Role of Religious Voters In Obama's Victory

The media yesterday were filled with interesting articles on the role of religious voters in Barack Obama's election victory. The Wall Street Journal reported: "Mr. Obama won among Catholics, 54% to 45%, made gains among regular churchgoers and eroded a bit of the evangelical support that has been a fixture of Republican electoral success for years, exit polls showed." Newsweek looks at Obama's performance numbers among Evangelicals, Catholics, Jews and Secularists, finding that despite the "fairly relentless God talk" in Obama's campaign 75% of secularists voted for him. As to Evangelicals, McCain got around 74% of their vote, but that was a 5% decrease from George Bush's performance. And a separate article in today's Wall Street Journal suggests that McCain's still strong showing among Evangelicals belies reports during the campaign that "new Evangelicals" might go with the Democrats. [UPDATE: However today's New York Times places a different spin on the data, pointing out that Obama doubled his support among young evangelicals.] Much of the data was from a study published yesterday by Faith In Public Life.

Yesterday's Forward analyzes the Jewish vote, finding that 78% voted for Obama (a higher number than voted for Kerry in 2004). Earlier in the campaign, the level of Jewish support for Obama was much more questionable. The change was a result of concerted outreach efforts, Jewish unease over Sarah Palin and among some young Jews the possible opportunity to recreate the Black-Jewish alliance of civil rights movement days.

Finally Virtue Online publishes a fascinating account of private meetings during the primary campaign between Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson and Obama. Robinson, the first gay bishop consecrated by the Episcopal church, discussed the role of religion in public life with Obama. Robinson, a controversial figure, gave this account of his first meeting with Obama: "The first words out of his mouth were, 'Well you're certainly causing a lot of trouble.' My response to him was, 'Well that makes two of us.'" Robinson says they also talked about their shared experience of being a "first", its dangers and the expectations it creates.

UPDATE: Today's New York Times also carries an article on the feelings of Muslim college students about the Obama victory. Most Muslims supported Obama. However they were frustrated by rumors that Obama was a Muslim and finally heartened by Colin Powell's statement rejecting the premise underlying the rumor. Many felt that open Muslim support would hurt Obama's chances.

DC Case Seeks To End Life Support Over Family's Religious Objections

Yesterday's Washington Post reports on a lawsuit filed in D.C. Superior Court by the Children's National Medical Center seeking an order allowing it to end life support for a brain-dead 12-year old boy. Motl Brody's parents however say that their Orthodox Jewish beliefs do not recognize brain death, and that their son's circulatory and respiratory systems are functioning with mechanical assistance. D.C. law allows doctors to declare patients dead if they lack brain activity, and does not contain an exception for families with contrary religious beliefs. The law of New York where the Brodys live does have such an exception. [Thanks to J.J. Landa for the lead.]

Green Bay Now Will Permit Combined Religious-Secular Holiday Displays

Green Bay, Wisconsin City Council seems to be having a change of heart over holiday displays at city hall. Yesterday's Appleton (WI) Post-Crescent reports that the proposed policy that would have allowed only secular displays on government property has now been changed. By a vote of 8-4, Council added language stating that the U.S. Supreme Court has approved combined religious and nonreligious displays, and that city officials, at their discretion, may permit these as well as purely secular ones. Before final passage, Green Bay's city attorney will study the new language. According to WBAY News, Freedom from Religion Foundation, unhappy with the new language, will move ahead with an appeal they filed this week in a case challenging last year's nativity scene display at city hall. (See prior posting.) A federal district court had dismissed their challenge after the city enacted a moratorium on future displays.

South African Court Recognizes Hindu Marriages

In South Africa,the Durban High Court issued a ruling yesterday that for the first time recognizes Hindu marriages for purposes of the country's Intestate Succession Law-- the law that governs inheritance when someone does not leave a will. IOL reports that the decision allows Saloshinie Govender to inherit her husband's property as his "spouse" under that law. On the other side were the parents of Govender's late husband. They would have inherited his property if he did not leave a wife recognized by the law as a survivor.

NY Appellate Court Rejects Claim Against State By Kosher Food Seller

Commack Self-service Kosher Meats, Inc. v Rudgers, (NY App. Div., Nov. 6, 2008), is a lawsuit brought by a kosher food business that was cited for violating the New York's law (later held unconstitutional) which prohibited the sale of food as kosher if it was not prepared in accordance with Orthodox Jewish requirements. Plaintiff Commack argued that its reputation and business were damaged by the state when it discontinued a court case in which plaintiff had been charged with violating the kosher law. Commack says this caused it to lose the opportunity to defend itself and be exonerated. The court held, however, that "Commack's failure to appeal from or otherwise challenge District Court's order permitting the withdrawal of the state's action is fatal to their claim." The court said that even if that were not the case, Commack would not succeed on the merits since there was nothing in the record but speculation to support the charge that authorities acted with intentional malice in enforcing then-valid laws. [Thanks to J.J. Landa for the lead.]

Islamist Cleric In Britan Says No To Poppies For Remembrance Day

In Britain, it is traditional to wear a red poppy on Remembrance Day (Nov. 11) to show respect for the sacrifices of veterans and civilians during wartime, especially remembering World War I. Britain's Daily Star reports today that some "Muslim strongholds [in Britain] have become no-go zones for poppy sellers." Controversial Islamist cleric Anjem Choudary said any Muslim who wears a poppy is betraying his religion and backing “"British nationalism". This came a few days after Choudary said that giving sweets to children on Halloween is "the greatest crime any person can commit." Many British Muslims disagree with Choudary. Shahid Malik, a Muslim member of Parliament from Dewsbury and Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Justice says he will be selling poppies in his home town of Dewsbury on Saturday.

Kyrgystan's Parliament Passes Restrictive Religion Law

According to Forum 18, Kyrgystan's Parliament yesterday unanimously passed a restrictive religion law. Under the law, in order for a religion to register, it must have 200 members whose identities are confirmed by local administrations. Yesterday's International Herald Tribune reports that the law also bans private religious schools and the dissemination of religious material in public places. It curtails proselytism, all in an attempt to limit the influence of foreign Christian evangelical and radical Islamic groups. Religious organizations will be required to disclose financial information to authorities. The law will be sent to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev around November 15. He will have a month to decide whether to sign it. It is expected that he will approve it. Rights activists, such as the Institute on Religion & Public Policy (letter to Pres. Bakiyev), say the law is a violation of international human rights standards.