Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Government Report Says Most Volunteering Is Through Faith-Based Organizations
New York's Syrian Jewish Community Reacts To Rabbis' Arrests
Some in the community are criticizing FBI informant, Solomon Dwek, son of a Syrian Jewish rabbi in Deal, New Jersey. Dwek was a key in obtaining evidence against those arrested. On Saturday, Dwek's father denounced the concept of Jews informing on each other during a study session at his synagogue. Then, to emphasize the point, Rabbi Dwek co-taught a class with Rabbi Edmund Nahum, one of those arrested and released on bail. On a Jewish radio program Saturday night, Sam Hirsch, a former Borough Park assemblyman, called for Solomon Dwek to be ostracized by the community. He also analogized Dwek to the halachic concept of a moser, the Jewish informer who was to be executed. Hirsch backed off his remark later.
The Forward article also has a lengthy discussion of the possible impact of the indictments on the rivalry between factions in Deal's Orthodox Jewish community.
"WWJD" Debt Collection Suit Voluntarily Dismissed After Counterclaims Filed
Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign Lawsuit Settled
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Dearborn (MI) Wrestling Coach Sues Principal Claiming Religious Bias
The complaint (full text) in Marszalek v. Fadlallah, (ED MI, filed 7/27/2009), alleges more broadly:
57. Defendant Fadlallah, since assuming duties as Fordson’s principal in 2005, has systematically weeded out Christian teachers, coaches, and employees, and has terminated, demoted, or reassigned them because of their Christian beliefs, expressions, and associations. Defendant Fadlallah acts in this manner because Christian beliefs are inconsistent with his personal Muslim beliefs.The lawsuit, challenging Marszalek's firing, alleges discrimination, due process violations, and infringement of free exercise, speech and association rights under various provisions of the U.S. and Michigan constitutions. It also alleges violations of Michigan's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act and a claim for tortious interference with advantageous business relationships. Yesterday's Detroit Free Press reported on the lawsuit.
58. Defendant Fadlallah has publicly stated "he sees Dearborn Fordson High School as a Muslim school, both in students and faculty, and is working to that end," or words to that effect.
A press release by the Thomas More Law Center that filed the suit on behalf of Marszalek quotes TMLC president Richard Thompson, who made a broader assertion. He said: "We are getting a glimpse of what happens when Muslims who refuse to accept American values and principles gain political power in an American community. Failure to renew coach Marszalek’s contract had nothing to do with wrestling and everything to do with religion."
Japan's Catholic Bishops Says Clergy Should Not Serve As Citizen Judges
Author Criticizes Religious Views of Nominee For Head of NIH
At Washington Meeting With Chinese, Obama Raises Religious Freedom Issue
The White House has posted a press release and video of the President's remarks.[T]he United States respects the progress that China has made by lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Just as we respect China's ancient and remarkable culture, its remarkable achievements, we also strongly believe that the religion and culture of all peoples must be respected and protected, and that all people should be free to speak their minds. And that includes ethnic and religious minorities in China, as surely as it includes minorities within the United States.
Support for human rights and human dignity is ingrained in America. Our nation is made up of immigrants from every part of the world. We have protected our unity and struggled to perfect our union by extending basic rights to all our people. And those rights include the freedom to speak your mind, to worship your God, and to choose your leaders. These are not things that we seek to impose -- this is who we are. It guides our openness to one another and to the world.
Nigerian Rebels Demanding Sharia Expand Attacks On Security Forces
Monday, July 27, 2009
India's Defense Minister OK's Beards In Military For Muslim Men
Texas County May Contract With Chaplain Service For Employees
Recent Articles of Interest
- Elliott Visconsi, The Invention of Criminal Blasphemy: Rex v. Taylor (1676), (Representations, Vol. 103, pp. 30-52, Summer 2008).
- Lea Bishop Shaver, The Inter-American Human Rights System: An Effective Institution for Regional Rights Protection?, (July 22, 2009).
- Francis Joseph Mootz, Faith and Politics in the Post-Secular Age: The Promise of President Obama, (July 13, 2009).
- Erin J. Cox, Freeing Exercise at Expression's Expense: When RFRA Privileges the Religiously Motivated Speaker, (UCLA Law Review, Vol. 56, p. 169, 2008).
- Prakash Shah, The Indian Dimension of An-Na'im's Islam and the Secular State, (Islam and Europe: Crises Are Challenges, Marie-Claire Foblets & Jean-Yves Carlier, eds., Leuven University Press, 2009).
- MarÃa Fraile Ortiz, The Islamic Headscarf: Does Context Matter?, (InDret, Vol. 3, 2008).
- Andrew F. March, Are Secularism and Neutrality Attractive to Religious Minorities? Islamic Discussions of Western Secularism in the 'Jurisprudence of Muslim Minorities' (Fiqh Al-Aqalliyyat) Discourse, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 30, No. 6, pp. 2821-2854, 2009).
From SmartCILP and elsewhere:
- Symposium on the Environment, 23 Notre Dame Journal of Law Ethics & Public Policy 429-697 (2009).
- Jeffrey Shulman, Making Sense of the Establishment Clause, Engage, Vol. 10, Issue 2, p. 4 (2009).
- George W. Dent, Jr., The Growing Clash Between Religious Freedom and the Gay Movement, Engage, Vol. 10, Issue 2, p. 7 (2009).
Sunday, July 26, 2009
"Flying Imams" Can Proceed Against Airport Security Officers For Search and Arrest
In Shqeirat v. U.S. Airways Group, Inc., (D MN, July 24, 2009), the court wrote, in part:
The court however did dismiss plaintiffs' claims against US Airways holding that it was not a state actor and that law enforcement officers did not substitute the airline's judgment for their own. the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported on the decision yesterday. (See prior related posting.)MAC Defendants suggest that the attacks of September 11, 2001—perpetrated by men of Middle Eastern descent who espoused a radical version of Islam—justifies a massive curtailment of liberty whenever terrorism, and in this case, the suspicion of Islamic terrorism, is concerned. Unquestionably the events of 9/11 changed the calculus in the balance American society chooses to make, especially in airport settings, between liberty and security. Ultimately, the proper balance will be achieved, in large part, because we have the most capable and diligent law enforcement and intelligence communities in the world. But when a law enforcement officer exercises the power of the Sovereign over its citizens, she or he has a responsibility to operate within the bounds of the Constitution and cannot raise the specter of 9/11 as an absolute exception to that responsibility.
On the record before the Court, no reasonable officer could have believed they could arrest Plaintiffs without probable cause. The right that was violated is clearly established, and, thus, the MAC Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity. Accordingly, summary judgment is denied on the unreasonable seizure claim.
USAID Inspector General Raises Questions About Religious Nature of Some Grants
This audit surveyed 31 USAID regional legal advisors, as well as 9 of the 10 faith-based organizations that receive the most USAID funding, concerning the use of USAID funds for religious activities. From these responses, audit staff found that some USAID-awarded funds were used for religious activities in four contracts that amounted to more than $325,000. These funds were used for the rehabilitation of mosques and adjoining community centers in Iraq. USAID also funded, within a program to combat HIV/AIDS, lesson plans that contained Biblical applications and discussions.Both the Washington Post and BeliefNet News reported last week on the IG's audit.
However, USAID officials were unsure whether such uses of Agency funding violated Agency regulations or the Establishment Clause .... In their view, the relevant legal precedent relating to the separation of church and state, and its application overseas—especially in light of foreign policy objectives—complicated the decision-making process about what activities should or should not be funded. USAID requested legal clarification on this issue from the Department of Justice in 2007 but has not received final guidance...
Georgia Judicial Council Permits Religious Head Coverings In Courtrooms
Head coverings are prohibited from the courtroom except in cases where the covering is worn for medical or religious reasons. To the extent security requires a search of a person wearing a head covering for medical or religious reasons, the individual has the option of having the inspection performed by a same-sex officer in a private area. The individual is allowed to put his or her own head covering back on after the inspection is complete.
Canada's High Court Rejects Hutterite Challenge To License Photo Requirement
The Province's evidence demonstrates that the existence of an exemption from the photo requirement would materially increase the vulnerability of the licensing system and the risk of identity‑related fraud. Second, the universal photo requirement for all licensed drivers minimally impairs the s. 2(a) right. The impugned measure is reasonably tailored to address the problem of identity theft associated with driver’s licences. The evidence discloses no alternative measures which would substantially satisfy the government’s objective while allowing the claimants to avoid being photographed.The majority also rejected a claim that the universal photo requirement infringes the equal protection guarantee of Sec. 15 of the Charter.
Justices Abella, LeBel and Fish each wrote a dissent. They stressed both the significant impact of the universal photo requirement on the Hutterite's religious beliefs and argued that the regulation is not a proportionate response to the problem of identity theft. Yesterday's Calgary Herald, reporting on the decision, says that the Hutterites are considering the possibility of leaving the province for a location that would be friendlier to them. Today's Lethbridge (AB) Herald also reports on the decision after interviewing the lawyer who represented the losing Hutterite colony.
Islamic Restictions Increasingly Being Enforced In Gaza
Analysis Says European Fears Regarding Muslim Communities Appear Unfounded
Recent Prisoner and Institutionalized Persons Free Exercise Cases
In Ayotte v. McPeek, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62163 (D CO, June 5, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge allowed an inmate to move ahead with his claim that his free exercise rights were infringed when his requests to replace his defective hearing aids were denied.Plaintiff alleged, along with other claims, that he has been prevented from fully understanding the religious programs that he attends in prison.
In Modlenaar v. Liberatore, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62842 (WD NY, July 21, 2009), a New York federal district judge allowed a former Attica inmate to move ahead against a corrections officer in a suit challenging a denial of kosher food for six days while he was on a medically restricted diet.
In Pratt v. Hogan, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63086 (ND NY, July 6, 2009), a civilly committed patient claimed that his required sex offender treatment program violated his free exercise rights. He alleged that he was an atheist, and the Good Lives Model and Boundaries Program compels one to believe in "spirituality" and includes relaxation programs that are partly based on eastern Zen practices. A New York federal district court concluded that defendants are entitled to qualified immunity because it was objectively reasonable for them to perceive no constitutional violations in implementing the program.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Suit Against Children Services Officials By Muslim Mother Is Mostly Dismissed
Plaintiffs fail to cite a single precedent establishing that, even when viewed in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs, Defendants acts--placement in a Christian foster home, refusal to place them in a Muslim foster home, refusal to provide them with a list of Muslim leader's phone numbers, or falsely reporting in FCCS' administrative file that they did not want to practice Islam--interfered with their right to free exercise. Accordingly, they have waived their free exercise claim by failing to support or develop it.Plaintiffs were permitted to move ahead with claims under Section 1983 that the social worker interfered with protected rights of familial association and that she retaliated for plaintiff's engaging in protected speech. Plaintiffs were also permitted to proceed with a state law claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. The social worker was charged with falsifying facts in her administrative file on the children.