Michigan Supreme Court Adopts Rule Allowing Trial Judges To Order Removal of Face Coverings

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Michigan Supreme Court yesterday, by a vote of 5-2, adopted a rule that permits trial judges to decide whether to require witnesses to remove head coverings or face veils. The rule was proposed after a controversy over a small claims court judge who dismissed a Muslim plaintiff's case when she refused to remove her niqab while testifying. (See prior posting.) The rule was proposed (full text) as an amendment to the Rules of Evidence, and provides : "The court shall exercise reasonable control over the appearance of parties and witnesses so as to (1) ensure that the demeanor of such persons may be observed and assessed by the fact-finder, and (2) to ensure the accurate identification of such persons." Volokh Conspiracy also discusses the amendment.

Suit Challenges Academic Credit For Released Time Religious Instruction

In Spartanburg, South Carolina, parents of two high schoolers and the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) have filed suit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of Spartanburg High School's offering academic credit for religious released-time instruction. The complaint (full text) in Moss v. Spartanburg County School District ) No. 7, (D SC, filed 6/17/2009), alleges that the school's implementation of its Released Time for Religious Instruction Policy, adopted pursuant to South Carolina's 2006 Released Time Credit Act, violates the Establishment Clause. The statute provides that in awarding academic credit, the course must meet the same secular criteria used for awarding transfer credit. The complaint alleges that the course offered to students-- taught by a private group, the South Carolina Bible Education in School Time-- is evangelical, sectarian and proselytizing in its content. FFRF yesterday issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

PBS Will Enforce Rule Against Purely Religious Broadcasts

The Board of PBS has decided to begin enforcing a rule that has been on its books since 1985 that prohibits its public television affiliates from carrying purely religious programming. Fox News yesterday reported that the decision will not force six PBS stations that currently carry sectarian programming to end their current coverage, but no new religious shows can be aired by them and none of the 350 other stations can air shows with purely religious content. Thus the Mass for Shut-Ins broadcast by New Orleans and Denver affiliates can continue, as can Mormon devotionals on Brigham Young University's PBS station. All stations can still air documentaries on religious topics as well as newsworthy religions services such as a Papal Mass. Federal law does not bar religious programming on PBS, but network officials are concerned about the appearance of endorsement.

India Fails To Approve Visas For USCIRF Delegation

Reflecting the complicated politics involved in both countries, the Indian government has failed to approve visas for members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom who were supposed to visit the country beginning June 12. Today's India Times reports that Indian officials denied that the failure to issue visas was related to statements made earlier this month by Hindu leader, Shankaracharya Jayendra Sarawati. (See prior posting.) However the Indian government does feel that a high profile visit, approved by the Indian government, would be inappropriate at this time. USCIRF has criticized violence against religious minorities in India. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is apparently not eager for the USCIRF trip to take place either. Most of the USCIRF commissioners and staff are holdover appointees from the Bush administration, and the timing of the trip overlapped with a planned visit to India by US Undersecretary of State William Burns who will be laying the groundwork for a visit to India by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Suit Dismissed After University Changes Policy On Outside Speakers

After the 6th Circuit last year reversed a trial court's dismissal of a claim against Ohio's Miami University challenging its policy on access for outside speakers (see prior posting), the University changed it speaker policy and the parties have now settled the lawsuit . A Stipulation of Dismissal (full text) has been entered. Along with the dismissal in Gilles v. Hodge, (SD OH, June 15, 2009), Miami University filed a letter it had issued to evangelist James Gilles indicating that he-- like others who have not been invited by a student group-- may preach and hand out literature on certain sidewalks on campus, but elsewhere on campus may only engage in consensual personal conversation with individuals. Alliance Defense Fund issued a release Monday applauding the change in University policy on access by outside speakers.

In Britain, Jewish Couple Sues Over Light Sensors In Hallway On Sabbath

Today's London Mail reports on an unusual religious discrimination lawsuit filed by an Orthodox Jewish couple in the British coastal resort town of Bournemouth. Dr. Dena Coleman, a head teacher at an Orthodox Jewish school in London and her husband Gordon, who purchased a vacation apartment in a building in the town in 2003, object to the motion-sensing light switch that the management company of their building placed in communal hallways six months ago. The Colemans complain that the sensor forces them to be prisoners in their own apartment on the Sabbath, since triggering the lights during the Sabbath by walking into the hallway violates their religious beliefs. The Colemans have offered to pay for an override switch to disable the sensors during the Sabbath, but the management company and other residents object. They say the switches save electricity costs and prevent heat damage to light fittings. In response, the Colemans filed suit alleging that failure to accommodate their beliefs amounts to religious discrimination and a violation of the Equality Act 2006 and Human Rights Act 1998. They also say that when they bought their apartment, they were assured that motion sensors would not be installed. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

UPDATE: Totally Jewish.com reported on Thursday that the directors of the management company have decided to install an override switch to meet the Colemans' objections. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State In Israel) for the lead.]

Protesters Object To New York MTA Rule Requiring Logos On Religious Headwear

A rally organized yesterday by the Sikh coalition protested the policy of New York City's MTA that allows uniformed workers wear turbans or Muslim head scarves, but only if they are blue and feature the MTA logo. NY1 News reports that elected officials and MTA workers joined the rally. Activists argue that it is offensive to Sikh and Muslim workers to require them to brand their sacred space with a corporate logo. MTA responded saying: "standardized uniforms assist our customers in quickly identifying employees if they need emergency assistance or just travel directions."

ACLU Report Says War on Terrorism Financing Infringes Muslims' Religious Freedom

Yesterday the ACLU issued a 166-page report titled Blocking Faith, Freezing Charity: Chilling Muslim Charitable Giving in the "War on Terrorism Financing." A press release accompanying the Report summarizes its findings:

U.S. terrorism finance laws and policies unfairly prevent Muslim Americans from practicing their religion through charitable giving, create a climate of fear and distrust in law enforcement and undermine America's diplomatic efforts in Muslim countries.... "Without notice and through the use of secret evidence and opaque procedures, the Treasury Department has effectively closed down seven U.S.-based Muslim charities, including several of the nation's largest Muslim charities," said Jennifer Turner, a researcher with the ACLU Human Rights Program and author of the report....

"Widespread intimidation of Muslim donors and the arbitrary blacklisting of charitable organizations trample on Muslims' free exercise of religion through charitable giving and tarnish America's reputation as a beacon of religious freedom," said Turner. "...[U]nless the Obama administration takes action, this legacy of the Bush administration will persist."

The ACLU has also posted a number of resources, including a video showing some of those affected, to supplement the report.

Court Rejects Selective Prosecution Claim In Faith Healing Death of Young Girl

In Oregon City, Oregon, a state trial court judge has rejected a motion by Carl and Raylene Worthington that second-degree manslaughter and criminal mistreatment charges against them be dismissed. Yesterday's Oregon City News reports that the parents are being prosecuted in the death of their 15-month old daughter, Ava, after they failed to seek medical treatment for her because they believe in faith healing. Ava died of bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection. The Worthingtons argued that they were being treated differently because of their Followers of Christ religion, saying that there had been six other cases in the county where children died from apparent negligence, but their parents were not charged. Ruling at a pre-trial hearing, Judge Steven Maurer said that the facts and legal principles in the other cases were vastly different from this one.

Utah AG Files Proposed Settlement of UEP Trust Litigation

Yesterday Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff filed a Report of Proposed Settlement and Plan of Distribution in a Utah trial court. The proposal and accompanying Letter of Intent (Word.doc) are designed to end the litigation to reform the UEP Trust that holds property of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints Church. (See prior posting.) The Report says:

The Proposed Settlement reflects the general terms that the Utah AG finds to be acceptable and in the best interest of the Reformed Trust. At this point, no other party has officially agreed to the terms. However, it does reflect many points acceptable by Trust Participants who align themselves with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (the “FLDS”).

Today's Dallas Morning News summarizes the proposal:

The letter of intent proposes dividing undeveloped land south of the twin towns, with 60 acres going to the FLDS. Another portion of the land would be subdivided into 50 lots to be distributed to former church members who could prove a legitimate claim to trust assets. Existing residential properties would also be divided under a plan that would allow for both individual property deeds and the retention of larger, communal swaths of land.

The proposal calls for the establishment of a housing panel to decide property claims. Its members would include individuals proposed by both the FLDS and an existing court-appointed advisory board. The proposal also calls for the removal of Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed fiduciary who has managed the trust since 2005, and for the appointment of a new fiduciary to execute the settlement over a period of about one year.

The proposal also calls for the cemetery to go to the FLDS Church, to be administered by the Bishop. However 200 graves are to be set aside for non-FLDS members.

Court Says Defamation Suit Against Fellow Church Members Can Proceed

In West v. Wadlington, (IN Ct. App., June 10, 2009), the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's dismissal of defamation and invasion of privacy claims brought by Rosayln West, a member of the Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Indianapolis, against two other church members. The suit involves a long e-mail about West that one of the defendants-- Betty Wadlington-- wrote and the other--Jeanette Larkin-- circulated to 89 other members of the Church's "Women of Faith" group. Larkin used her work e-mail-- the Indianapolis police department (also named as a defendant)-- to forward the allegedly defamatory material. The court rejected defendants' claim that adjudicating the matter would require the court to determine matters of religious doctrine. It concluded: "We agree with West that several statements in the letter could be viewed as defamatory without requiring a court to determine any religious questions." One of the statement's in the letter was that West had an "evil spirit." The court concluded that this posed the closest case, but that evil has a secular as well as a religious meaning. Yesterday's Courthouse News Service reports on the decision.

Communist Party USA Creates New Religion Commission

According to a report yesterday by the People's Weekly World Newspaper, the Communist Party USA has created a new Religion Commission to reach out to individuals and organizations and to "welcome people of faith into the party." The Commission is headed by Tim Yeager, a Chicago trade unionist and a member of the Episcopal Church. Yeager said that many incorrectly assume that all Communists are atheists, or that the Party requires members to be atheists. He says that this is not true and religious people are welcome to join. The Commission's goal in part is to share the Party's views on the religious aspects of current struggles and to discuss "the relationships, contradictions and commonalities among science, Marxism and religion."

DC Elections Board Rejects Referendum On Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages From Elsewhere

Last month, the D.C. City Council, over the opposition of local ministers and others, passed an ordinance recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. (See prior posting.) Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville (MD) led a group of largely African-American clergy seeking to place a referendum on the new law before D.C. voters. The Washington Post reported yesterday that the D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics has ruled the referendum illegal because under D.C. law no referendum can be used to authorized discrimination that is prohibited by the D.C. Human Rights Act.

The Board, in In re Referendum Concerning the Jury and Marriage Amendment Act of 2009, (DC Bd. Elec., June 15, 2009), ruled that: "The Council has, through the Act, expressed its determination to clearly state that discrimination against same-sex couples who are validly married elsewhere is prohibited. Simply stated, the Act means that the HRA now requires the District government and all public accommodations, inter alia, to refrain from discriminating against same-sex couples who are validly married elsewhere." The Board has also posted online the full text of legal comments it received on the proposed referendum.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, on behalf of several D.C. voters, the Alliance Defense Fund filed an appeal of the decision by the Board of Elections & Ethics. (Press release.) The complaint (full text) in Jackson v. D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics, (DC Super. Ct., filed 6/18/2009), claims that the "refusal to afford same-sex couples the status of 'marriage' does not run afoul of the DC-HRA."

Rebels Say Philippine Army Is Using Mosques As Military Camps

In the Philippines, the army last August resumed its 40 year battle against the Moro Islamic Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in oil and gas-rich areas in the southern Philippines. The fighting resumed after the Philippine Supreme Court declared a Memorandum of Agreement between the parties illegal. (Background.) Yesterday World Bulletin reported that the MILF called on the army to stop using mosques as military camps as it is doing in the town of Datu Piang in Maguindanao. The MILF's statement said that converting mosques into military camps offends the sensibilities of Muslims and is a "grave violation of international humanitarian law."

Defaults On Sharia-Compliant Bonds Create New Legal Issues

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that new legal problems face U.S. bankruptcy judges as for the first time two issues of Sharia-compliant bonds have defaulted. A case in bankruptcy court in Louisiana,--proceedings against energy firm East Cameron Partners LP-- has become the test case. The problem is how to apply Western legal principles to instruments issued under Islamic law. Sukuk bonds avoid the Islamic ban on interest by being structured as a sale-repurchase arrangement. In the East Cameron Partners bankruptcy, bankruptcy judge Robert Summerhays ruled that purchasers of the Sukuk certificates issued by a special purpose entity relied on the fact that they were becoming owners of royalty interests transferred to the entity. East Cameron had argued that Sukuk holders were merely lending money secured by the royalties-- and thus other creditors also had an interest in the royalties.

Entertainment Reporter Will Sue, Saying He Was Fired To Satisfy Scientologists

Today's London Independent reports that in Los Angeles, entertainment journalist Roger Friedman says he plans to sue Fox News that fired him in April. Friedman, who has been a longstanding critic of the Church of Scientology, claims that Fox fired him in order to get actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta-- both adherents of Scientology-- to sign onto future movie projects. Cruise and Travolta say that Friedman was dismissed for writing a blog column encouraging the download of an illegally pirated version of the 20th Century movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Friedman says that was a pretext.

City Prosecutor Sues Youngstown for Employment Discrimination

In Youngstown, Ohio, a Muslim prosecutor in the Youngstown Law Department has filed a federal lawsuit alleging religious discrimination and failure to accommodate his need to attend Friday mosque services. In Ally v. City of Youngstown, (ND OH, filed 5/18/09), (full text of complaint), plaintiff Bassil Ally claims that for two years he was permitted to attend mosque services by being assigned to a courtroom that never met on Friday afternoons. In 2007, fellow prosecutors began to complain that Ally was receiving preferential treatment. He was also subjected to derogatory comments from fellow workers regarding his religion and national origin. Ally was placed on administrative leave after he went to mosque rather than attend a meeting of prosecutors scheduled by the City Prosecutor at a conflicting time. He was reinstated after he filed a complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, but then, he alleges, he was harassed and humiliated, and was ultimately reassigned to a courtroom that met regularly on Friday afternoons. The complaint alleges discrimination, retaliation,harassment and hostile work environment in violation of state and federal law. Defendant's answer (full text) denies all the allegations and asserts a broad range of affirmative defenses. The Youngstown Vindicator reported on the case yesterday.

China Cancels Licenses of 21 Human Rights Lawyers

ChinaAid today says that the government of China has cancelled or refused to renew the licenses of at least 21 human rights attorneys. Many of the attorneys involved have worked on religious freedom cases in China. Human rights attorneys in China have taken the unusual step of requesting international pressure against the government.

Chemotherapy Helping Boy Whose Religious Objections Were Rejected By Court

According to the Mankato (MN) Free Press the court-ordered chemotherapy being administered to 13-year old Daniel Hauser has shrunk his tumor, indicating that it has not become resistant to chemotherapy. However it is still too early to determine his longer term prognosis. In a high profile case, a Minnesota court rejected the religious objections of Daniel and his mother to chemotherapy treatment for the boy's Hodgkin's lymphoma. (See prior posting.) The paper reports that Daniel is still "very angry" about receiving chemotherapy, and attributes lessening of certain side effects to the use of natural therapies arranged by his mother. A family spokesman said those natural therapies were also responsible for the chemotherapy working.

Egyptian Court Refuses To Recognize Conversion of Muslim To Christianity

In Egypt on Saturday, Cairo's Administrative Court refused to order that Maher al-Moatassem Bellah al-Gohary be issued a new identification card recognizing his conversion to Christianity and his Christian name, Peter Ethnasios. AINA reports that al-Gohary converted to Christianity 34 years ago, but did not petition the court for governmental recognition until last year after Egypt's Coptic Church issued him a baptism certificate confirming his original conversion in Cyprus. While in the past Egyptian courts have recognized reconversion of Coptic Christians who converted to Islam and then converted back, it has never recognized the conversion to Christianity of someone who was born a Muslim.