Algerian Appeals Court Upholds Conviction For Smoking During Ramadan

In Algeria, an appeals court yesterday upheld the convictions of three men for smoking cigarettes on the street during the Ramadan daylight fasting period this past September. However their sentences for offending religion were reduced from 3 month to 2 months in jail, and they are likely to be released this week. The court reversed the conviction of a fourth defendant who was smoking in private. AP reports that the men-- all of whom were construction workers-- were caught in an upscale Algiers neighborhood. Apparently they were charged under a 2001 law that punishes "denigrating the dogmas or precepts if Islam." Algerian secularists are concerned about growing government enforcement of religious rules.

Maryland County Residents Urge Council To Reject RLUIPA Settlement

In Bristol, Maryland, zoning officials denied Riverdale Baptist Church a permit to construct an expanded campus for its Arundel Bay Christian Academy. The Church in turn filed a RLULIPA lawsuit in federal district court charging discrimination. County attorneys negotiated a settlement under which the county would adopt legislation essentially permitting the project to proceed. Yesterday's Annapolis Capital reported that at Monday's South County Council meeting, some 50 residents urged Council to reject the proposed settlement and fight the lawsuit in court. They point to traffic, water runoff and urbanization concerns.

Newsweek Criticized For Article On Obama As the Antichrist

This week's issue of Newsweek carries an article titled Is Obama the Antichrist? The article reports on various signs pointed to by Christian millennialists leading them to the conclusion that the president-elect is the world leader who will usher in the great battle, the Rapture and the Second Coming. Among the portents is the fact that recently one of the winning lottery numbers in Illinois, Obama's home state, was 666 (the sign of the beast). The article reports that Liberty University's law school dean Mat Staver says he does not believe Obama is the Antichrist, but can see how others might believe it. A posting yesterday on Media Matters takes Newsweek to task for giving credibility in its article to the views of RaptureReady.com editor Todd Strandberg

Holder of Sharia Law Degree Becomes Egypt's First Woman Marriage Registrar

Al Jazeera yesterday published an interview with Amal Soliman, the first woman in Egypt to be appointed as a Mazouna, or female marriage registrar. Registrars conduct wedding ceremonies, recite verses from the Quran at the ceremony and sign the official certificates making the marriage legally binding. They also officiate at divorces. The the Committee of Egyptian Mazouns had challenged Soliman's application, saying that it is inappropriate for a woman to hold the position. However Soliman, who holds a post-graduate degree in Sharia law, eventually won out over ten male applicants for the position. Local family court judge Khaled el-Shalkamy accepted Soliman's application last February, but it took until late September for the Egyptian Minister of Justice to formally sign off on the appointment. Soliman conducted her first wedding ceremony on Oct. 25. On Nov. 14, United Arab Emirates followed suit by appointing its first woman as a Mazouna.

HHS Proposal on Religious Objectors Opposed by Some EEOC Members

Today's New York Times reports on the many comment letters that the Department of Health and Human Services has received on its proposed regulations designed to protect conscience rights of doctors and other health care providers participating in programs receiving HHS funding. The regulations apply to those who have moral or religious objections to providing certain medical procedures, including sterilization and abortion. (See prior posting.) Among the many individuals opposing the rule were three officials of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: its Republican legal counsel, Reed L. Russell, and two Democratic EEOC members, Stuart J. Ishimaru and Christine M. Griffin. They contend that the new rules are unnecessary in light of existing legal precedent. The Times quotes from the letter submitted by Ishimaru and Griffin which argues that the proposed rules would throw into question from 40 years of court decisions had carefully balanced "employees' rights to religious freedom and employers’ business needs." Here is a link to the public submissions on the rule that have been received by HHS.

Indiana's Sale of "In God We Trust" Plates Without Added Fee Is Upheld

In Studler v. Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, (IN Ct. App., Nov. 17, 2008), an Indiana state appellate court rejected a challenge to Indiana's sale of "In God We Trust" license plates to motorists without charging the $15 administrative fee that is added to the cost of most other special plates. An Indiana driver who was assessed added fees for the state's "Environment" license plate argued that the differential treatment violated Art. I, Sec. 23 of the state's Constitution. That section provides: "The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens." The court rejected plaintiff's argument, holding that "the classification is reasonably related to the inherent characteristics of the license plates," and "the unequal burden is uniformly applicable to all similarly situated class members." Yesterday's Munster (IN) Times reports on the decision.

Religious Groups Ask California Supreme Court To Void Proposition 8

Yesterday the California Council of Churches along with a number of liberal Protestant and Jewish groups filed a "Petition for Writ of Mandate or Prohibition" (full text) with the California Supreme Court seeking to prevent enforcement of Proposition 8 that was approved by voters earlier this month. (Press release). The petition alleges that the state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage was adopted using improper procedures. California's constitution (Art. XVIII) has stricter requirements for constitutional "revisions" than it does for "amendments." Only amendments can be adopted through the initiative process-- the route used for Proposition 8. Revisions require a two-thirds vote of the legislature before being submitted to voters. The Petition filed with the Supreme Court reads in part:

The religious institutions that file this petition ... count on article XVIII to ensure that the California Constitution's guarantee of equal protection for religious minorities cannot be taken away without a deliberative process of the utmost care possible in a representative democracy. If Proposition 8 is upheld, however, the assurance will disappear-- for, just as surely as gay men and lesbians could be deprived of equal protection by a simple majority vote, so too could religious minorities be deprived of equal protection-- a terrible irony in a nation founded by people who emigrated to escape religious persecution.

Six separate legal challenges to Proposition 8 have been filed with the California Supreme Court. (San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 17). [Thanks to Don Clark for the lead.]

German Homeschoolers Seek Political Asylum In U.S.

In Germany, children are required to attend public school and home schooling is banned. Uwe and Hannelore Romeike who homeschool their children recently left Germany for the United States in order to avoid fines, jail and possible loss of custody of their children. HSLDA reported yesterday that a petition for political asylum has been filed by the Romeikes who refuse for religious reasons to send their children to Germany's secular public schools. The Romeike family currently lives in Tennessee where they are free to homeschool. Asylum is available where individuals in the U.S. have a well-founded fear of actual persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion if they return to their home country. Homeschool Legal Defense Association is supporting the unusual asylum application.

Town Sued Over Zoning Ban Preventing Church From Sheltering Homeless

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pennsylvania ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday on behalf of First Apostles Doctrine Church of Brookville, Pennsylvania. The church and its pastor, Rev. Jack L. Wisor, want to use the church as a homeless shelter, saying providing shelter to "guests" is part of its ministry. In August, Wisor was fined $500 for zoning violations stemming from his allowing three homeless men to live in the church's parsonage. (See prior posting.) The lawsuit alleges that the zoning enforcement violates the 1st Amendment's free exercise clause, the 4th Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure, RLUIPA and Pennsylvania's Religious Freedom Protection Act.

UPDATE: The day after the lawsuit was filed, the parties reached a settlement agreement and on Wednesday the court issued an order that permits the church to resume housing up to eight homeless people and two staff members. (York (PA) Daily Record).

French Appellate Court Reverses Controversial Annulment

An appellate court in Douai in northern France yesterday reversed a decision by a lower court that had granted a Muslim husband an annulment when he discovered that his wife was not the virgin she had claimed to be. The lower court had held that the husband was misled "concerning essential qualities" of his wife. (See prior posting.) Agence France Press reports that now the wife supports the annulment. Many European parliament members complained however that the lower court decision amounted to unacceptable infringement of religion into the public sphere. French Justice Minister Rachida Dati says that, despite the government appeal of the case, the annulment would be acceptable on other non-religious grounds such as breach of trust between husband and wife.

British Employment Appeal Tribunal Broadly Protects Against Religious Bias

In Saini v. All Saints Haque Centre, (UK Empl. App. Trib., Oct. 24, 2008), a British Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 were violated when Employee A is mistreated for the purpose of seeking to get rid of Employee B on the grounds of Employee B's religion. The claimant asserted that an immigration advice center was controlled by adherents to the Ravidass faith who were determined to bring pressure against Hindus employed at the center. Personnel Today reported on the case in yesterday's edition.

Nigerian Court Orders Release of Man Arrested For Having 86 Wives

IBN reports today that Nigeria's Federal High Court has ordered the unconditional release of Mohammed Bello Abubakar. The 84-year old man had been arrested and charged with "insulting religious" creed and "unlawful marriages" after local Muslim leaders ordered him to divorce 82 of his 86 wives. (See prior posting.) Initially he was arraigned by an Upper Sharia Court in Niger state. Now the Federal High Court has ordered the inspector general of police to give Abubakar protection from local authorities. BBC News reported several days ago that Abubakar had been released on bail, but IBN says he is still in custody. There is no law against polygamy in Nigeria, but Islamic law permits only four wives. The Niger state government says it will appeal the High Court's order. It is one of the Nigerian states that has reintroduced Sharia law.

Court Supervised Election of Buddhist Temple Board Upheld

In Wat Phra Buddha Chinnaraj Buddhist Temple v. Ketpongsuda, (CA Ct. App., Nov. 14, 2008), a California Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's resolution of a dispute over control of a Buddhist Temple in Chino Hills, CA. The trial court found that bylaws adopted in 1996 were the governing instrument and that later revisions were not properly adopted. It went on to order an election of new directors under the 1996 bylaws. The election was supervised by a court-appointed special master. The appellate court found that the court below properly applied "neutral principles of law" in making its determinations, and did not infringe the Temple's free exercise of religion protected by the California constitution.

Seven Amish Men Convicted For Refusing To Use Safety Emblem

After an all-day trial in a Graves County court in Mayfield, Kentucky, seven Amish men were convicted Friday of refusing to use the state-mandated orange "slow-moving vehicle" emblem on their horse-drawn buggies. They were fined a total of $250. Objecting to bright colors, they are willing only to use gray tape, plus lanterns at night. Believing that they should not trust their safety to a man-made symbol, they insist that the tape only outline the back of their buggies. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported yesterday that the defendants, members of the Swartzentruber Amish sect, plan to appeal. They claim that insistence on using the state emblem infringes their free exercise rights, and that their prosecution was discriminatory because the law has not been enforced against slow-moving farm machinery. (See prior related posting.)

Recent On-Topic Scholarly Articles and Book

From SSRN:

• Paul Horwitz, The Philosopher's Brief, (Constitutional Commentary, Forthcoming).


• Thomas Charles Berg, Religious Organizational Freedom and Conditions on Government Benefits, (Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, 2009).


• Perry Dane, West Virginia State Board of Education V. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943), (ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, David Spinoza Tanenhaus, ed., Gale, 2008).


• Amelia J. Uelmen, 'It's Hard Work': Reflections on Conscience and Citizenship in the Catholic Tradition, (Journal Catholic Legal Studies, Vol. 47, pp. 317-342, 2008).

From Bepress:

• Maurice Adams & Adriaan J. Overbeeke, The Constitutional Relationship between Law and Religion in the History of Ideas: A Contemporary European Perspective, (Global Jurist: Vol. 8 : Iss. 3, 2008)).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere (Constitutional Law issues):

• Paul E. McGreal, The Case for a Constitutional Easement Approach to Permanent Monuments in Traditional Public Forums, (Northwestern University Law Review, Oct. 27, 2008).


• Susan Gellman & Susan Looper-Friedman, Thou Shalt Use the Equal Protection Clause for Religious Cases (Not Just the Establishment Clause), 10 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 665-743 (2008).


• Daniel A. Seeger, Reconciling Religious Faith and Democratic Practice: The Problem of the Elusive Definition of Religion, 84 Notre Dame Law Review 97-109 (2008).


• Deborah Jones Merritt & and Daniel C. Merritt, The Future of Religious Pluralism: Justice O'Connor and the Establishment Clause, 39 Arizona State Law Journal 895-948 (2007).

From SmartCILP (Law & Religion):

• Marriage, Religion, and the Role of the Civil State. Foreword by Joel A. Nichols; articles by Margaret F. Brinig, Steven L. Nock, Elliot N. Dorff, John Witte, Jr. and Joel A. Nichols. (Links to full text.) 5 University of St. Thomas Law Journal 544-615 (2008).


• Liaquat Ali Khan, Advocacy under Islam and Common Law, 45 San Diego Law Review 547-608 (2008).


• W. Jesse Weins, Employer Funding of Fertility Awareness Training: Acceptable Alternative to Mandated Prescription Contraceptive Coverage in Employee Benefits, 12 Michigan State University Journal of Medicine & Law 321-339 (2008).


• Alfred L. Brophy, How Missionaries Thought: About Property Law, For Instance, 30 University of Hawaii Law Review 373-399 (2008).


• Charles R. Foster, Identity and Integrity in Clergy Formation, 5 University of St. Thomas Law Journal 457-469 (2008).

Recent Book:

• John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think, (Gallup Press, March 2008), author interview in Christianity Today.

Will Prince Charles Eventually Have Religiously More Inclusive Title?

According to an article in yesterday in Religious Intelligence, recent reports that Britain's Prince Charles would change the Coronation Oath to make it more multi-faith when he eventually becomes king are unfounded. Britain's monarch is head of the Church of England as well as head of state. Prince Charles has indicated in the past that he would like the king's traditional title, "Defender of the Faith", to be changed to the more inclusive "Defender of Faith"-- omitting "the" from the title. The exact style of the British sovereign has been modified over the years by Parliament. Apparently one way for Charles to accommodate his wishes would be for Parliament to revert to the original Latin form-- "Fidei Defensor." It can be translated either as referring to "faith" or "the faith". Despite the implication to the contrary in the Religious Intelligence article, the Coronation Oath does not appear to contain a reference to the title of the monarch.

Boy At Center of D.C. Hospital's Suit Buried After Heart-Lung Function Ends

AP reported yesterday that 12-year old Motl Brody died Saturday and was buried on Sunday in Brooklyn, NY. Brody was at the center of a pending lawsuit in Washington, D.C. (See prior posting.) Children's National Medical Center was seeking court approval to disconnect the boy's ventilator because he was pronounced brain dead. The religious beliefs of Motl's Orthodox Jewish parents were that life does not end until heart and lung functions cease. Apparently that point was reached Saturday.

German Professor of Islamic Theolgy Says Muhammad Never Existed

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal reports on Prof. Muhammad Sven Kalisch, head of the Center for Religious Studies at Germany's Munster University. A convert to Islam, Kalisch is Germany's first professor of Islamic theology. Hired to apply Western scholarship to Islamic studies, he has now concluded that the Prophet Muhammad probably never existed. He says this does not mean he is no longer a Muslim. Officials, alarmed at the implications of his scholarship, have removed him as head of a program to train teachers to teach religion to their Muslim students in public schools. Police have told Kalisch to move his Center to a more secure area. The Center has removed a sign identifying its location and has eliminated its address from its website.

Challenge To Religious Workers Visa Provisions Moves Ahead

In Ruiz-Diaz v. United States, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91967 (WD WA, Oct. 31, 2008), a Washington federal district court denied defendants' motion to dismiss a class action brought on behalf of certain foreigners in the United States who are seeking Religious Worker visas and by three religious organizations that employed them. The suit challenges a government regulation (8 CFR 245.2) that precludes applicants from filing for Adjustment of Status before their employer's visa application is approved. Plaintiffs were permitted to move ahead on their due process, equal protection, free exercise and Religious Freedom Restoration Act claims. (See prior related posting.)

Muslim Deli Owner Charges Yonkers Police With Selective Enforcement

A Yonkers, New York delicatessen owner has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against 14 Yonkers police officers. According to Friday's Lower Hudson Journal News, Haifa Tamimi says police engaged in selective enforcement against her of a city ordinance requiring businesses to close between midnight and 6 a.m. She says she was targeted beginning in 2002 because she was a Muslim and an Arab. The lawsuit claims other businesses were not ticketed. Her 24-hour deli did most of its business during the midnight to 6 a.m. shift.