Turkmenistan Court Imposes 2 Years Suspended On Conscientious Objector

Forum 18 reported Monday that in Turkmenistan, a two-year suspended sentence has been imposed on a conscientious objector who refused compulsory military service. Zafar Abdullaev, a Jehovah's Witness, was charged with violating Article 219, Part 1 of the Criminal Code. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief has called on Turkmenistan to create an alternative civilian service option for conscientious objectors. Shirin Akhmedova, Director Turkmenistan's National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, however, says that conscientious objectors can already serve in medical or construction units within the army. Some however, do not find this option religiously acceptable.

Pastor Sues Broadcaster For Stopping His Religious Activities At CNN Building

In Atlanta (GA), pastor Dick Christensen has filed suit against CNN, Turner Broadcasting and a security guard for false imprisonment, assault and battery, and violating his free speech and free exercise of religion rights. According to WSBTV News yesterday, in December 2008 Christensen and others were proselytizing, carrying banners and handing out Christian literature in front of the CNN headquarters building. A CNN security guard told Christensen he was on CNN property and should move. Christensen insisted he was on a public sidewalk. CNN guards placed Christensen on the ground, handcuffed him and held him in CNN offices for two hours or so before releasing him. CNN says it does not agree with Christensen's version of events. Christensen says that CNN is "hostile to the Christian message."

Judge Orders FBI To Turn Documents On Surveillance of Muslims Over to Court

The ACLU of Southern California yesterday won a preliminary victory in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit it filed in 2007 on behalf of 11 Muslim American leaders, mosques and local organizations who are seeking information on FBI monitoring of themselves and other groups. (See prior related posting.) USA Today and an ACLU press release report on the order issued by a California federal district judge requiring the FBI to turn some 100 documents over to the court so it can decide whether they should be publicly released. The court also ordered the FBI to conduct a search in its offices nationwide for any records of electronic surveillance of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Greater Los Angeles and its executive director. The ACLU charges that the FBI is targeting Muslims in southern California for surveillance based on their religion.

Christian Leaders In Australian Town Oppose Construction of Muslim School

In Camden, Australia, a town around 40 miles southwest of Sydney, a group of Christian leaders have joined together to oppose approval of plans for a Muslim school to be built by the Quranic Society. Last May, Camden Council voted unanimously to reject the school's plans. The Quranic Society has now reduced the size of its proposed school and has taken its case to the Land and Environment Court. Today's Sydney Morning Herald reports that a letter from the Christian group was read in court yesterday. It said in part: "Our concern is the Quranic Society inevitably advocates a political ideological position that is incompatible with the Australian way of life. This includes promoting Quranic law as being superior to national laws and regarding followers of any rival religion as inevitably at enmity with it."

Pakistani Court Overturns Two Blasphemy Convicitions

Compass Direct News reported yesterday that two elderly Christian men convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan have had their convictions overturned by a high court in Lahore. Last Thursday the court reversed the 10-year sentences of 67-year old James Masih and 72-year old Buta Masih who had been accused of burning pages from the Quran. They were also charged with terrorism- related offenses of creating fear and panic. The men say that the charges were fabricated as part of a dispute over land that a Muslim neighbor wanted James Masih to sell. Police arrested the two men in October 2006 as a group of 500 Muslims who had heard rumors of the Quran burning tried to kill the men. They men have already served over two years of their terms.

White House Plans For National Day of Prayer Are Uncertain

Federal law (36 USC 119) designates the first Thursday in May as National Day of Prayer, though a pending federal lawsuit is challenging the constitutionality of that statute. (See prior posting.) A Religion News Service article published yesterday reports that there is a good deal of uncertainty over whether the White House will host an official observance of the event this year. The Bush White House during its eight years had marked the day with a ceremony in the East Room attended by a range of religious leaders. The National Day of Prayer Task Force headed by Shirley Dobson is planning its own event, as in past years. However this year it is scheduling its ceremony on Capitol Hill in the morning-- the time when the White House event, with Dobson and others in attendance, had traditionally been held. Brian Toon, vice chair of the Task Force, says this year the White House has not been in touch with them about its plans. Joshua DuBois, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, said on Sunday that it is "too early to talk about the planning" for the National Day of Prayer.

UPDATE: On April 21, the Interfaith Alliance and Jews on First sent a letter to President Obama (full text) requesting that he issue a Proclamation calling for a National Day of Prayer and Reflection that is inclusive of all religious traditions as well as of those professing no religion. The letter says that "several years ago, the National Day of Prayer was taken over by a group of religious exclusivists led by Shirley Dobson of Focus on the Family."

Historian Discusses Early School Bible Reading Case

On April 1, the Ohio Supreme Court hosted an hour-long Forum on "The Cincinnati Bible War Case of 1873," with a presentation by Notre Dame historian Linda Przybyszewski. A video of the full presentation is online. The Court's press release on the Forum summarizes the history:

Amid the increasing diversity and pluralism of the post-Civil War era, the Cincinnati public schools were faced with a growing Catholic population unhappy that their children were instructed with the protestant version of the Bible. The school board’s solution to remove all bibles from the classroom erupted into a raging national controversy over the relationship between religion and government. In 1873, the Ohio Supreme Court put an end to the Cincinnati Bible War, upholding the board’s decision to end Bible reading in its schools.

The Ohio Supreme Court decision at the center of this discussion is Board of Education v. Minor, 23 Ohio St. 211 (OH Sup. Ct., 1873) [LEXIS link to full opinion]. The opinion is full of surprisingly 21st-century sounding defenses of church-state separation and protection of minority religions. The following is an example, but a full reading of the opinion is well worth the time:

Counsel say that to withdraw all religious instruction from the schools would be to put them under the control of "infidel sects." This is by no means so. To teach the doctrines of infidelity, and thereby teach that Christianity is false, is one thing; and to give no instructions on the subject is quite another thing. The only fair and impartial method, where serious objection is made, is to let each sect give its own instructions, elsewhere than in the state schools, where of necessity all are to meet; and to put disputed doctrines of religion among other subjects of instruction, for there are many others, which can more conveniently, satisfactorily, and safely be taught elsewhere.

Notre Dame Alums Call For Contribution Boycott Over Obama Invitation

A group of Notre Dame alumni, protesting University's invitation to President Barack Obama to speak at graduation and receive an honorary degree, are now calling for Father John Jenkins to be replaced as president of the University. Zenit reports that a "Replace Jenkins" website, objecting to Obama's "well known commitment to abortion in the broadest possible context" says that "Father Jenkins' decision to honor President Obama directly violates the 2004 US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ directive on Catholics in Political Life and is offensive to all Catholics." The website call on alums to sign a petition pledging to withhold contributions until Jenkins is replaced. The website says that supporters can instead contribute directly to pro-life organizations at the university, and that these amounts will be credited by Notre Dame to the alum's eligibility for the football lottery. (See prior related posting.)

Court Denies Tax Exemption For Property Leased To Summer Camp

A New York trial court has denied an exemption for 2006-08 property taxes for 130 acres of land in Pomona, New York owned by Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov, according to a report last week by the Lower Hudson Journal News. The court ruled that the Rabbinical College's profit from leasing the land to a summer camp makes the undeveloped property unconnected to the Rabbinical College's other activities. The Village of Pomona has already granted an exemption for 2009 taxes, but will consider revoking it for future years. A discrimination suit against Pomona is pending in federal court over the Villae of Pomona's refusal to permit the Rabbinical College to build facilities on 30 acres of its land. (See prior posting.)

UPDATE: The text of the court's decision in Congregation Rabbinical Coll. of Tartikov, Inc. v Town of Ramapo, (NY Sup. Ct., April 15, 2009), is now available online.

Creationist Institute Sues Texas Higher Ed Board Over Denial of Certification

The Institute for Creation Research has filed suit in a Texas federal court against the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board charging that the state agency violated its civil rights by denying it a certificate of authority to offer a masters degree in science education. The Institute says it is "the only graduate school which specializes in creationism-informed science education." It argues that without its program: "The monopolistic realities of the science education market in Texas (and in America generally) would limit creationist learners to science education opportunities from evolutionist graduate schools." Today's Dallas Morning News reports that the Institute had previously been approved by California authorities to offer a degree program, but now needs Texas approval because it moved its offices from San Diego to Dallas in 2006. (See prior related posting.)

UPDATE: Here are links to the full complaint and related documents, thanks to a commenter.

Russian Orthodox Church Wants UN To Reocognize Problem of "Christianophobia"

Interfax reports today that the Russian Orthodox Church has asked this week's Durban Review Conference (World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance) being held in Geneva to add the notion of "Christianophobia" to the world's lexicon. Archpriest Georgy Ryabykh, deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, says UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon mentioned anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in his opening remarks at the Conference, but made no mention of insults to Christians and violation of their rights. (See prior related posting.)

NY Court Says Muslim Marriage Is Valid, Even Though Not Recognized In NJ

New York law recognizes a marriage celebrated in a religious ceremony as valid even if the parties do not obtain the required marriage license. (NY Dom. Rel. Law § 25). New Jersey, on the other hand, does not recognize a religious marriage as valid if the parties failed to obtain a marriage license. (N.J. Stat. § 37:1-10). In Matter of Farraj, (NY Sup. Ct., April 14, 2009), a New York trial court held that New York law would be applied to render a Muslim marriage performed in New Jersey valid, even though the parties did not obtain a marriage license. The ceremony was held in New Jersey only because Islamic law requires that the marriage take place at the home of the bride's eldest male relative-- here her brother. The groom and the officiating imam both traveled from New York for the ceremony. The couple went back to New York for the wedding reception and lived in New York from that time until the husband's death over four years later. The court relied on Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws Section 283 to hold that the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the parties and the marriage should govern to validate the marriage.

The court went on to rule that since the marriage was valid, petitioner, Rabaa M. Hanash, has standing as a surviving spouse to petition the court for an accounting of her deceased husband's estate. One of the deceased husband's adult children from a former marriage had contested Hanash's right to demand an accounting, arguing that she was never lawfully married to Daoud Farraj .

Cert. Denied In Challenge To Jury's Use of Bible In Deliberations

The U.S. Supreme court today denied certiorari in Oliver v. Quarterman, Docket No. 08-833). (Order List.) In the case, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a jury's use of the Bible during the sentencing phase in a murder case was improper, but was not shown to have influenced the jury's decision. (See prior posting.)

President's Faith Based Council Creates 6 Task Forces

The Washington Post today provides more information on what the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is doing. It has set up six task forces to advise the President. The task forces are on (1) reform of the faith-based office, (2) fatherhood, (3) U.S. economic recovery, (4) interreligious dialogue, (5) global poverty, and (6) the environment and climate change. One topic, however, has become too controversial for the task forces to handle. The question of whether faith-based groups that take government funds can use religious criteria in hiring has been removed from the task force on reform of the faith-based office and given over to the White House legal counsel and the Justice Department.

Islamists Demand Additional Concessions On Islamic Law In Pakistan

Last week, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009, implementing Islamic law in the Malakand division of the Northwest Frontier Province. (See prior posting.) Under an arrangement with the Taliban, a special bench of the Peshawar High Court was to be set up, to be renamed Dar-ul-Quza (Qazi court), and a Sessions judge —to now be called Qazi — will hear cases with an Alim-e-Din (Quranic scholar) who will decide "religious technicalities." (See prior posting.) However the Washington Post reports on a speech yesterday to thousands, aired live on national television, by Sufi Muhammad, founder of banned militant organization Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), that is pressing for far greater government concessions.

According to Pakistan's Daily Times, Sufi told the audience that Pakistan's superior courts are un-Islamic and could not hear appeals from decisions of qazi courts set up in Malakand. He demanded that the government withdraw all judges from the Malakand division within four days and set up a Darul Qaza to hear appeals from the new qazi courts. Sufi also told the crowd: "There is no room for democracy in Islam," and demanded appointment of Qazi courts throughout the Malakand division. The Washington Post comments that Sufi's speech, along with one Friday at the Red Mosque in Islamabad by radical cleric Abdul Aziz (see prior posting), "pose a direct, unprecedented religious challenge to modern state authority" in Pakistan.

Egypt Presses Government Employees To Stop Wearing Niqab

Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments has held the first in a series of seminars designed to convince Muslim women in government jobs to stop wearing the niqab-- the full face veil. Those attending the seminar were given a book titled "Face Veil is a Custom not a Religious Obligation." Al Arabiya reports today that this follows a ban earlier this month imposed by the Ministry of Health on nurses wearing the niqab in hospitals. The government campaign is aimed at convincing women that the headscarf is sufficient under Islamic law.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Kenneth L. Marcus, Jurisprudence of the New Anti-Semitism, (Wake Forest Law Review, Vol. 44, 2009).

From Bepress:

• Patrick McKinley Brennan, Delivering The Goods: Herein of Mead, Delegations, and Authority, (Villanova University School of Law Working Paper Series, Working Paper 129, March 2009).

From SmartCILP:

• Edward B. Arroyo, Contemplating the Katrina Whirlwind: From "Apocalypse Now" To Solidarity For the Common Good, 7 Seattle Journal for Social Justice 163-203 (2008).
• James A. Davids, Pounding a Final Stake In the Heart of the Invidiously Discriminatory "Pervasively Sectarian" Test, 7 Ave Maria Law Review 59-121 (2008).
• Barbara J. Fleischer, Katrina Stories: Windows Into Religious Meaning, Pathways to Social Justice, 7 Seattle Journal for Social Justice 11-36 (2008).
• Anthony R. Picarello, Jr., The Good News of InnerChange, 7 Ave Maria Law Review 25-57 (2008).
• Thomas Ryan, Vision and Spirituality In Post-Katrina New Orleans, 7 Seattle Journal for Social Justice 101-125 (2008).

US Will Boycott Durban Review Conference

The State Department, in a press release issued yesterday, announced that it would boycott the United Nations Durban Review Conference being held in Geneva this week. This follows earlier withdrawal of the U.S. from pre-conference meetings and a statement that it would re-engage only if dramatic changes were made in the conference draft resolution. (See prior posting.) The Hudson Institute's Eye on the UN last week published a scathing report on the final draft of the review conference outcome document that continues to reflect the agenda of Islamic countries. CNN reports that the Congressional Black Caucus was dismayed at President Obama's decision and would have liked the U.S. to send a diverse delegation to the anti-racism conference.

Somalia Adopts Islamic Law

According today's the New York Times, Somalia's Parliament yesterday voted unanimously to institute Islamic law in the country. The vote ratifies a decision by the cabinet last month. Justice Minister Sheik Abdirahman Mohamoud Farah said that the adoption of Sharia was designed to undercut support for Islamist opponents of the government.

Directory of Church Social Services Distributed In Schools Is Criticized

Civil libertarians are criticizing a directory of youth groups and programs distributed to students in Greece, New York public schools last week. They say that its Christian focus crosses the church-state line. Today's Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle reports that the directory was produced and funded by local churches and lists mostly programs offered by Christian churches in town. However a few community food pantry, educational and support resources are also included. The directory is signed by the Greece Central School District superintendent, the school board president and a local Baptist pastor who heads a faith committee of the school board that provides input from the faith community. School officials say the directory is merely a resource for parents and young people looking for help, and that they worked with school district attorneys to avoid church-state issues.