Sikh High Schooler Sues NY Department of Education For Failing To Protect Him

A press release yesterday from the Sikh Coalition reports that a former Queens, New York high school student has filed a federal lawsuit against New York City's Department of Education charging that it failed to protect him against bias-based harassment and attacks from other students. A year ago, student Jagmohan Singh Premi was punched in the face by a fellow student who had a long history of making fun of his patka (small turban) and beard, and attempting to pull off his patka. Teachers and administrators at Richmond Hill High School tried, but could not to stop the harassment. Incidents continued even after the harasser was suspended. The lawsuit alleges that therefore the Department of Education had a responsibility to step in and do more.

Obama's Speech To Muslim World Includes Focus On Religious Freedom

This morning, President Barack Obama delivered a major address to the Muslim world from Cairo, Egypt. (Full text of speech.) In his broad-ranging speech, he said that "Islam has always been a part of America's story," pointing out that the first nation to recognize the U.S. was Morocco. One section of his speech was devoted to religious freedom. He said:

Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways.

Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of another’s. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld – whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt. And fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.

Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat.

Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit – for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.

Indeed, faith should bring us together. That is why we are forging service projects in America that bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah’s Interfaith dialogue and Turkey’s leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can turn dialogue into Interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action – whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.

9th Circuit Says San Francisco's Criticism of Catholics Did Not Violate Establishment Clause

In Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights v. City and County of San Francisco, (9th Cir., June 3, 2009), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to a strongly worded resolution passed by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors criticizing a directive from Catholic Cardinal William Levada instructing Catholic social service agencies to not place children in need of adoption with same-sex couples. Applying the Lemon test, the court found both a secular purpose and effect, as well as no entanglement. It said in part:

To be sure, the Board could have spoken with a gentler tone, but the strength of the Board’s language alone does not transform a secular purpose into a religious one.... [S]ame-sex adoption is "a secular dimension of the City’s culture and tradition that the City believes is threatened by the specific directive issued to the Archdiocese."... [T]he Board’s well-established practice of responding whenever the equality of gay and lesbian families is called into question necessarily colors the message conveyed by the Resolution. In adopting the Resolution, consistent with past practice, the Board sought to champion same-sex families and nondiscrimination as to gays and lesbians. An objective observer would understand as much.

Judge Berzon concurred, saying it was important that the resolution was limited in three ways: no regulation was attached to the resolution; the resolution was merely enacted; it was not made more permanent through plaques or ads; and the resolution was not repeated or pervasive. Yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle reported on the decision.

Mediation Settles Epicopal Church Dispute In Colorado Springs

The Colorado Springs (CO) Gazette reports that a lengthy mediation session yesterday settled litigation over ownership of Colorado Springs Grace Church & St. Stephen's. A decision handed down in March awarded the $17 million church building to the Episcopal Church USA rather than the break-away group that affiliated with the more conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America. (See prior posting.) An appeal had been filed. But now the CANA faction agreed instead to give up the building, saying it is too expensive to maintain anyway. However the Episcopal Diocese that gets the building said that the CANA faction realized they had a weak case.

NH Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill After New Religious Protections Added

Yesterday the New Hampshire House and Senate enacted changes to the same-sex marriage bill that the legislature had already passed, going along with demands of Gov. John Lynch for further protections for religious institutions as a condition of his signing the law. (See prior posting.) The Concord Union Leader reports that the governor then signed the bill yesterday afternoon. It takes effect Jan. 1. Two amendments to the already-passed HB 436 were placed into HB 73 and HB 310. The new changes affirm that religious organizations retain control over who may marry within the faith and they may not be required to participate in a marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs. No religious organization is required to provide in connection with a marriage that violates its religious beliefs any marriage counseling, programs, courses, retreats, or housing designated for married individuals. Finally, religious fraternal benefit societies need not provide insurance where it would violate the society's free exercise of religion.

Fiji Orders Methodists To Cancel Annual Conference

AFP reported earlier this week that the military government in Fiji has ordered the Methodist Church-- Fiji's largest religious group-- to cancel its annual conference scheduled for August. A joint statement by the military and police said the church is trying create instability in the country. Global Voices today has a longer background story on these developments, pointing out that the Methodist Church was critical of the 2006 coup by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who himself is a Methodist.

Russian Trial Reflects Split Between Young Muslims and Establishment

Today's New York Times reports on a trial taking place in Kazan, the capital of Russia's Muslim Tatarstan region. Twelve defendants are charged with being members of Hizbut Tahrir, a fundamentalist Islamic organization that, among other things, wants to create an Islamic Caliphate. Russia says Hizbut Tahrir is a terrorist organization, while its members say it is a political party that no longer advocates violence. Relatives say defendants' involvement with Hizbut Tahrir was minimal, and that the real reason for their prosecution is that they were studying different currents in Islam and proselytizing outside official Muslim religious structures. A mufti with the government-backed Muslim Religious Board of the Republic of Tatarstan admitted that the Muslim establishment had not responded well to the more modern interests of young Muslims.

Summum Seeks Dismissal of Its 7 Aphorisms Monument Challenge

Last March, after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum that Pleasant Grove City, Utah need not acccept a "Seven Aphorisms" monument for a local park, it remanded to the lower courts for further consideration a more complicated companion case, Summum v. Duchesne City. (See prior posting.) In Duchesne City, Summum wanted to put up its monument on an equal basis with the Ten Commandments that was in a city park. Now, according to yesterday's Deseret News, Summum has asked a federal district court to dismiss its lawsuit because subsequent developments have in effect mooted it. The city has moved the Ten Commandments monument from Roy Park to the city cemetery. Summum's attorney, Brian M. Barnard, says that while the cemetery is still city property, cemeteries are treated differently. He explained: "Cemeteries have traditionally been a place for religious expression. Grave markers, tombstones have always had religious symbols on them. And individual plots are normally considered to be owned by the family."

Obama's Outreach To Muslims Begins With TV Interview Before Leaving

President Obama has arrived in Saudi Arabia to begin his 5-day trip to the Middle East and Europe. As reported by BBC News today, Obama hopes the trip will signal a new dialogue with the Muslim world. Tomorrow he delivers a major speech from Cairo University. On Monday, before he left on his trip, President Obama gave an interview (full text) in the White House to the French television channel, Canal Plus. Getting particular notice is this statement by the President during the interview:

I think that the United States and the West generally, we have to educate ourselves more effectively on Islam. And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslims Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.

Tony Harnden, writing for the London Telegraph, contrasts this with Obama's statement two months ago at a news conference in Turkey that Americans "do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation." Less noticed have been other statements about Islam made by the President in the Monday's Canal Plus interview:

I think the most important thing I want to tell young people is that, regardless of your faith, those who build as opposed to those who destroy ... leave a lasting legacy.... And the impulse towards destruction as opposed to how can we study science and mathematics and restore the incredible scientific and knowledge -- the output that came about during centuries of Islamic culture... I think that has to be lifted up....

I think the importance of educating women has to be something that's emphasized. If you look at indicators of human development across the board, those where girls are getting a chance for an education end up being more economically productive. How to reconcile this with some of the traditional values and norms of Islam, that's not for me to dictate, but certainly I think it's something that can be accomplished, and I want to encourage that.

British Tribunal Says Catholic Adoption Agency Policy Violates Equality Act

In Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) v. Charity Commission for England and Wales, (Charity Trib., June 1, 2009), Britain's Charity Tribunal has held that a Catholic adoption agency is violating the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 by refusing to furnish adoption services to same-sex couples. (Here are links to earlier rulings in the case.) A temporary exemption for Catholic agencies from the 2007 regulations expired in December 2008. The current case involved Catholic Care, an agency that has had particular success with "hard to place" children. Today's London Telegraph reports:

The Tribunal's ruling leaves leading charity Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) facing a deep religious impasse and creates a fundamental conflict between the tenets of the Catholic Church and the law of the land. If the charity now sticks to Church policy and continues to follow its "heterosexuals only" policy it could lose its charity status and public funding. It might also face discrimination claims by same-sex couples it has turned away in the past.

(See prior related posting.)

Obama Issues LGBT Pride Month Proclamation

Baptist Press reports that many evangelicals are unhappy that President Barack Obama on Monday issued a Proclamation (full text) proclaiming June 2009 as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month." The proclamation notes that this year is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, a clash with New York police that is generally seen as the start of the gay rights movement. The Proclamation says in part that: "LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society." It lists a number of pro-LGBT initiatives undertaken by the Administration. Yesterday's Windy City Times says that both sides are unhappy with the Proclamation. Gay rights activists says the Administration has not done enough to further equal rights. This is not the first time a President has issued this sort of Proclamation. Bill Clinton issued gay pride proclamations in 1999 and 2000.

Ireland Will Seek More Victim Compensation From Catholic Orders

After last month's release in Ireland of a massive report on child sexual abuse over decades at Catholic institutions (see prior posting), the Irish government says that it will seek a larger share of the 1.2 billion Euros that will ultimately be paid to victims from the 18 religious orders named in the report. Today's Irish Times says that the the 127 million Euros payment agreed to by the Education Ministry in 2002 was based on the view that any abuse was intermittent. The new report shows that it was endemic. Child rights advocates say the amounts awarded to victims by a redress board have been too small and have been inconsistent.

UPDATE: The June 5 Irish Times reports that the 18 religious orders which were party to the 2002 compensation agreement with the Irish government have agreed to an audit of their assets in connection with negotiations over their contributing additional amounts to compensate abuse victims.

Court Refuses To Enjoin Graduation In Church Building

Yesterday in Does v. Elmbrook Joint Common School District No. 21, (ED WI, June 2, 2009), a Wisconsin federal district court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to bar two Wisconsin high schools from holding their graduation ceremonies in a church building. Yesterday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on the judge's oral decision which concluded that using the church would not be viewed by most as an endorsement of the church's beliefs. He said:"A ceremony in a church does not necessarily constitute a church ceremony." The order denying the injunction indicated that a written opinion would follow.

A release by Americans United, which brought the lawsuit, said that at previous graduation ceremonies held in Elmbrook Church, a suburban Milwaukee mega-church, students were awarded their degrees under a 20-foot tall cross. Also the church teaches that non-Christians, such as plaintiffs, will suffer eternal torment in Hell. AU says that there are 11 secular venues in the area that could have been used for graduation. TMJ4 News says this is likely the last year the church will be used for graduation because new gymnasiums in the two high schools will be available by next year. (See prior related posting.)

3rd Circuit Says School Can Bar Bible Reading At Kindergarten "Show and Tell"

In Busch v. Marple Newton School District, (3d Cir., June 1, 2009), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, upheld a Pennsylvania elementary school's restriction that barred a kindergartner's mother from reading aloud from the Bible as part of a "show and tell" activity in her son's classroom. The teacher assigned each student an "All About Me" week, part of which involved a parent visiting the class and leading students in an activity or story. Donna Busch wanted to read from the Bible because it was her son Wesley's favorite book. Donna claimed that the school's refusal violated her free speech and equal protection rights, as well as the establishment clauses, under both the U.S. and state constitutions. The majority said in part:

Restrictions on speech during a school's organized, curricular activities are within the school's legitimate area of control because they help create the structured environment in which the school imparts basic social, behavioral, and academic lessons.... Principal Cook disallowed a reading from holy scripture because he believed it proselytized a specific religious point of view.

Judge Barry wrote a concurrence, saying:

children of kindergarten age are simply too young and the responsibilities of their teachers too special to elevate to a constitutional dispute cognizable in federal court any disagreement over what a child can and cannot say and can and cannot do and what a classmate can and cannot be subjected to by that child or his or her champion.

Judge Hardiman dissented as to plaintiff's free speech claim, arguing that the school had engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination:

Clearly, "the constitutional rights of students in public school are not automatically coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings."... It does not follow, however, that the state may regulate one's viewpoint merely because speech occurs in a schoolhouse — especially when the facts of the case demonstrate that the speech is
personal to the student and/or his parent rather than the school's speech. The majority’s desire to protect young children from potentially influential speech in the classroom is understandable. But that goal, however admirable, does not allow the
government to offer a student and his parents the opportunity to express something about themselves, except what is most important to them.

Yesterday's San Jose (CA) Mercury News reported on the decision. (See prior related posting.)

Oregon Passes Bill To Require Reasonable Religious Accommodation For Employees

Yesterday's Mid-Willamette Valley (OR) Statesman Journal reports that Oregon's legislature has passed and is about to transmit to the governor SB 786, the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act. The new law requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees' religious practices and observances. The employer need not make accommodations that impose undue hardship, i.e. that create significant difficulty or expense. The bill focuses particularly on employees' right to use vacation or leave for religious observances and their right to wear religious clothing on the job. However, under the bill, public school teachers may be barred from wearing religious clothing in the classroom. [Thanks to Don Byrd for the lead.]

Liberty Counsel Files IRS Complaint Against Americans United

Yesterday, Liberty Counsel filed an 11-page letter, along with another 11 pages of exhibits, (full text) with the IRS seeking to have it investigate Americans United for Separation of Church and State. (Liberty Counsel press release.) Pointing to AU's recent complaint to the IRS about Liberty University (see prior posting), the letter asks the IRS to:

(1) enjoin AU from continuing its intolerable waste of tax dollars through its barrage of unwarranted IRS complaints and subsequent investigations; (2) enjoin AU from continuing its abusive attacks and selective harassment of conservative churches, groups and related organizations; (3) enjoin AU from continuing its campaign of misrepresentation to the public of the political climate in relation to the conservative church and related groups; and (4) investigate the partisan pattern of filing complaints and the partisan activities of AU to determine whether such abuses represent illegal activities that jeopardize its current tax-exempt 501(c)(3) incorporation.

In a release yesterday, Americans United called to complaint "a desperate diversionary tactic" by Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Liberty Counsel. AU executive director Rev. Barry W. Lynn says "Falwell knows full well that Americans United is rigorously non-partisan." Last year, a Houston area Pastors Council filed a similar complaint against Americans United. (See prior posting.)

Former Alabama C.J. Roy Moore Announces For Governor's Race

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore yesterday announced that he is running for Governor of Alabama in the 2010 election. AP says that the announcement came on the first day that candidates can begin to raise money for the 2010 election. Moore is best known for his fight over a granite monument of the Ten Commandments that he put up in the lobby of the state judicial building. His refusal to remove the monument as ordered by a federal court led to his removal as Chief Justice in 2003. Moore ran for governor in 2006, but lost the Republican primary. He will face at least 4 others this time in the primary. Speaking to 150 supporters in Montgomery, Moore said: "Out of Washington comes a dangerous new message that we are not a Christian nation. Indeed, I refute that." He has also launched a campaign website that features a statement from Dr. James Dobson who calls Moore "a man of courage and strong Christian character."

Lawyer In Case Praises Sotomayor's 1993 "Menorah" Decision

In yesterday's Jerusalem Post, lawyer Nathan Lewin describes the case he won in White Plains, New York in 1993, representing a Chabad rabbi who wished to display a large menorah during Hanukkah at one of the city's two major parks. The decision in Flamer v. City of White Plains,(SDNY, 1993), has become the center of attention as one of the major religion decisions written by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor when she was a federal district judge. As Lewin recounts, the primary opposition to the menorah were other Jewish organizations and more liberal local rabbis who generally press for strict church-state separation. The mayor and city council were responding to that pressure. So Chabad sued, and Sotomayor ruled in its favor, following precedent in the 6th and 11th Circuit, while distinguishing a 1989 case decided by her own 2nd Circuit that went the other way. Lewin comments:

That court of appeals [the 2nd Circuit] had jurisdiction to review and reverse any decision the neophyte Judge Sotomayor might render in the White Plains case. The safest course for her was to hide behind the 1989 ruling and send Chabad packing. Instead, she took our constitutional claim seriously and authored a lengthy and detailed opinion reviewing Supreme Court precedents. She accurately described the Vermont decision issued by her superiors as "somewhat confusing" and distinguished it away. Citing a line of Supreme Court decisions that had had upheld speech with religious content and found it no less worthy of constitutional protection than secular speech, she upheld the right of a private party to deliver a religious message in a "public forum." The opinion was persuasive enough that White Plains decided not to appeal, and the Chabad menora is now a White Plains institution.

USCIRF Asks Obama To Raise Religious Freedom Issues In Saudi Arabia, Egypt

This Thursday, President Obama will be in Egypt. From Cairo, he will deliver a major speech reaching out to the Muslim world. (Wall Street Journal.) Last week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sent letters (full text) to the President urging him to use the speech to stress the importance of protecting religious rights of minority religions in Muslim countries. A second letter asks President Obama to use his bilateral visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt to raise a range of concerns about religious freedom and related human rights directly with King Abdullah and President Mubarak. The White House May 29 press briefing discusses the President's itinerary in the Middle East and Europe.

Tiller Murder May Impact Sotomayor Hearings

Some anti-abortion leaders fear that the murder of Dr. George Tiller at his church yesterday will impact hearings on the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. AP reports that activists fear backlash to the killing will stifle anti-abortion viewpoints being expressed in the questioning of Sotomayor by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Most anti-abortion leaders quickly issued statements condemning the murder. However the reaction (full text) of activist Terry Randall, founder of Operation Rescue, was more mixed. He said in part:

George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions.... Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.