India's Supreme Court Orders Reconsideration of Decision on School's No-Beards Policy

On Friday, a two-judge panel of India's Supreme Court ordered reconsideration of a decision on enforcement of a Catholic schools' grooming policy that was handed down by a different panel of the Court in March (see prior posting). At issue is a Muslim student's challenge to his dismissal from Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School because he refused to shave his beard. According to yesterday's The Hindu, the new decision stayed the school's order dismissing Mohammad Salim, saying that the order "needs to be reviewed afresh as the core issue of a Muslim's right to sport a beard as guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution [right to practise and profess one’s religion] was violated by the school." The Court's earlier oral decision was controversial because of comments by Justice Markandey Katju who said: "We don't want to have Taliban in the country."

Moves Seek Return of 17-Year Old Convert To Ohio

Extensive press attention has been given to the case of 17-year old Rifqa Bary who last month fled her home near Columbus, Ohio after converting from Islam to Christianity. A Florida court ordered that Rifqa remain in temporary foster care with the Christian family with whom she has been placed while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates her allegations that her father threatened to kill her because of her conversion. (See prior posting.) Now, however, it appears that Ohio authorities would like Rifqa returned to their jurisdiction. A spokesperson for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said on Friday that the Governor believes the case should be handled by Ohio authorities. (AP) In what appears the first step toward obtaining Rifqa's return to Ohio, her parents filed a complaint in court in Columbus, Ohio charging Rifqa with being incorrigible. (UPI). The complaint says that Rifqa cut school and disappeared from home before fleeing by bus to Florida.

Lame Duck Hardliners In Indonesian Province Press For Strict Sharia Criminal Code

From the Brisbane Times, ABC News and the Jakarta Post this week we piece together the following story. In Indonesia's province of Aceh in 2005, separatist rebels and the government signed a peace accord after 29 years of conflict. (Background.) Four years earlier, the government had granted broad elements of autonomy to the province which proceeded to adopt a code partially enforcing Islamic law. This past April, however, the secular Partai Aceh (the former independence fighters) won elections and will take control of the legislative council in a few weeks. It wants to repeal portions of the province's Islamic code, which has been enforced with less rigor in recent years. However religious fundamentalists are attempting to get the lame duck legislature to enact a new jinayat, or strict Islamic criminal law, before they finally leave office. Apparently a vote will be held in the legislative council on Monday.

The jinayat covers consumption of alcohol, gambling and rape. However the greatest attention has been given to its punishments for adultery. Unmarried couples would receive 100 lashes with a cane, while married adulterers would be stoned to death. Now though opposition is growing to the death penalty for married adulterers from government officials. The new law would also punish those who give assistance to others violating the sharia law on adultery, such as beauty salons, motels or hotels.

Dawkins, Armstrong Debate Evolution and God In the Wall Street Journal

Under the caption Man vs. God, today's Wall Street Journal publishes a lengthy and interesting exchange between biologist Richard Dawkins and religious historian Karen Armstrong on evolution and the existence of God. Here is an excerpt from Dawkins article:

Making the universe is the one thing no intelligence, however superhuman, could do, because an intelligence is complex—statistically improbable —and therefore had to emerge, by gradual degrees, from simpler beginnings: from a lifeless universe—the miracle-free zone that is physics....

Where does that leave God? The kindest thing to say is that it leaves him with nothing to do, and no achievements that might attract our praise, our worship or our fear. Evolution is God's redundancy notice, his pink slip. But we have to go further. A complex creative intelligence with nothing to do is not just redundant. A divine designer is all but ruled out by the consideration that he must at least as complex as the entities he was wheeled out to explain. God is not dead. He was never alive in the first place.

Here is an excerpt from Armstrong's response:

Most cultures believed that there were two recognized ways of arriving at truth. The Greeks called them mythos and logos. Both were essential and neither was superior to the other; they were not in conflict but complementary, each with its own sphere of competence. Logos ("reason") was the pragmatic mode of thought that enabled us to function effectively in the world and had, therefore, to correspond accurately to external reality. But it could not assuage human grief or find ultimate meaning in life's struggle. For that people turned to mythos, stories that made no pretensions to historical accuracy but should rather be seen as an early form of psychology; if translated into ritual or ethical action, a good myth showed you how to cope with mortality, discover an inner source of strength, and endure pain and sorrow with serenity.

In the ancient world, a cosmology was not regarded as factual but was primarily therapeutic; it was recited when people needed an infusion of that mysterious power that had—somehow—brought something out of primal nothingness: at a sickbed, a coronation or during a political crisis..... The Genesis creation hymn, written during the Israelites' exile in Babylonia in the 6th century BC, was a gentle polemic against Babylonian religion. Its vision of an ordered universe where everything had its place was probably consoling to a displaced people....

Religion was not supposed to provide explanations that lay within the competence of reason but to help us live creatively with realities for which there are no easy solutions and find an interior haven of peace; today, however, many have opted for unsustainable certainty instead. But can we respond religiously to evolutionary theory? Can we use it to recover a more authentic notion of God?

8th Circuit Says No Damage Claims Against States Under RLUIPA Prisoner Provisions

The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Circuits in holding that while RLUIPA's prisoner provisions are an appropriate use of Congress' spending power, states do not waive their sovereign immunity from damage claims under the Act by accepting federal prison funds. The 11th Circuit has taken the opposite position. In Van Wyhe v. Reisch, (8th Cir., Sept. 10, 2009), the court also held that the Civil Rights Remedies Equalization Act of 1986 (42 USC Sec. 2000d-7) which provides for the waiver of sovereign immunity by states for claims under any "Federal statute prohibiting discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance" does not apply to the institutionalized persons section of RLUIPA. The case involved claims by a Jewish inmate in the South Dakota State Penitentiary who wanted time and facilities to study Hebrew and who wanted to eat his meals outside in a sukkah during the Jewish holiday of Sukkkot.

In an amusing confusion of Hebrew terms, in denying plaintiff's request for an injunction giving him additional group study time to learn Hebrew, the court said: "his religion considers learning Hebrew to be a 'mikvah,' or 'good deed'." The court, of course meant "mitzvah". A "mikvah" is a ritual immersion pool. (See prior related posting.)

Suit Challenges Brooklyn Housing Project As Favoring Hasidic Residents of Area

The Brooklyn Paper reported yesterday on a state court lawsuit filed in New York by a coalition of forty excluded community groups in North Brooklyn claiming religious and racially discriminatory impacts from a proposed Broadway Triangle rezoning plan. The plan calls for converting 31 acres of former industrial land in East Williamsburg into a mixed-income community with much of the area reserved for below-market-rate housing. Two non-profit groups-- United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizen Council-- were given no-bid contracts to develop the area.

There is a long history of tension between the Hispanic and Hasidic communities in the area. Plaintiffs claim that the Williamsburg Hasidic community has been the beneficiary of racial quotas despite federal court orders calling for an end to discriminatory practices. The waiting list for low-income housing is 90% Hispanic and African-American, while almost 50% of the 2,000 public housing units in the area are occupied by Hasidic Jews. (See prior related posting.) According to the New York Daily News, the lawsuit charges, among other things, that limiting buildings in the rezoned area to 8-stories favors Orthodox Jews who cannot ride elevators on the Sabbath, while taller buildings would create more housing. The rezoning project however does have support from both Catholic and Hasidic groups and from some politicians. The rezoning still has to be approved by the City Planning Commission. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

House Resolution Marks Today's Anniversary of 9-11

The House of Representatives on Wednesday marked today's anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by passing H. Res. 722 by a vote of 416-yes; 0-no; 18-not voting. The Resolution mourns and remembers those killed on that day. It also: "asserts, in the strongest possible terms, that the fight against terrorism is not a war on any nation, any people, or any faith," and "calls on all Americans to renew their devotion to the universal ideals that make the Nation great: freedom, pluralism, equality, and the rule of law."

CNN reports on other major events that will take place today to mark the anniversary-- memorial services in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania and a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. (the time the first hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center) led by President Obama, Michelle Obama and White House staff on the South Lawn of the White House

Appeal To Utah Supreme Court Filed By FLDS In Trust Reformation Case

Yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune reports that five members of the FLDS Church, including two of its bishops, have asked the Utah Supreme Court to review a trial court ruling that refused to permit them to intervene in proceedings brought by Utah's Attorney General to reform the United Effort Plan trust. The trust holds lands of church members in Hildale, Utah; Colorado City, Ariz., and Bountiful, British Columbia. In In the Matter of the United Effort Plan Trust, trial court Judge Denise Lindberg held that potential beneficiaries of charitable trusts do not have a legally cognizable interest that permits them to assert claims. (See prior posting.) The petition for review, filed last month, argues that church members have an interest in the matter distinct from the public at large represented by the attorneys general of Utah and Arizona.

Ramdadan Brings Arrests For Eating In Egypt; Ridicule of Bachelors In Nigeria

For the first time this year, Egypt's Ministry of Interior has begun arresting those caught eating or drinking in public during Ramadan. Al Arabiya reported Wednesday that in the governorate of Aswan, 150 Egyptians were charged with the misdemeanor of publicly breaking the fast. Many others were arrested in the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada where the governor ordered all restaurants closed during the day. Human rights groups criticized the arrests. One lawyer also said that the ban on eating "in public" might not cover those eating in a restaurant or cafe, since they are a closed place not seen by everyone.

Meanwhile Al Arabiya yesterday reported on a rather unusual Ramadan activity in Nigeria that apparently has received official sanction. The country's mainly-Muslim city of Kano each Ramadan holds a carnival title "kamun gwauro" (meaning "bachelor catch" in the local Hausa language). The hereditary Nalako (bachelors' hunter), wearing amulets, an animal skin, woven shirt and cap wanders around the city with a noose looking for unmarried men. Bachelors who are found are paraded around with singing and drumming and are forced to dance and sing a "bachelor song" to embarrass them into taking a wife.

Admissions Criteria of British Jewish School Bend After Court Decision

Yesterday's London Jewish Chronicle reports that for the first time London's Jewish Free School has admitted a student who was not considered Jewish under Orthodox religious law as interpreted by the Office of Britain's Chief Rabbi. The student's mother was converted to Judaism by a rabbi from one of the non-Orthodox movements in Judaism. Earlier this year, Britain's Court of Appeal ruled that the school's traditional admission criteria amounted to unlawful racial discrimination, and said that publicly supported Jewish schools could favor Jewish students only if they base their selections on a student's faith, and not his or her ethnicity. (See prior posting.) The case is being appealed. (See prior posting.) Apparently the decision to admit this student was made after the student's parents appealed to an independent panel of the Brent Council, which is the school’s local authority. Unless the Court of Appeal decision is overturned, beginning next year Jewish schools will have to rewrite their admissions policies. Britain's United Synagogue says that parents who will need certificates of synagogue attendance for their children to show their Jewish faith should register at their local synagogue by next week. [Thanks to Rabbi Michael Simon for the lead.]

Chabad Group Sues Connecticut Town Over Zoning Refusal

Yesterday's Litchfield County (CT) Times reports that a RLUIPA lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Connecticut on Wednesday by Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield County and its rabbi, Joseph Eisenbach, challenging the refusal by the town of Litchfield to allow Chabad to restore and add onto a Victorian house on the edge of the town's Historic District. Chabad wants to use the building as a synagogue, community center and classrooms. The proposed 21,000 square foot renovation would also contain living quarters for the rabbi, his family and guests, a mikveh, kitchens, offices and a swimming pool. (See prior posting.) The Historic District Commission says the size of the building would have overwhelmed the town's central historic district. But the lawsuit says that the zoning denial was motivated in large part by anti-Hasidic animus as reflected in a number of public statements by officials. The Hartford Courant says: "The lawsuit raises the specter of one of the most scenic villages in this wealthy state being accused of using its strict architectural standards to help it violate a group's right to practice its religion."

Britain Appoints First Jewish Civilian Chaplain For Military Forces

Britain's Ministry of Defence announced Tuesday that Rabbi Arnold Saunders has been appointed the first Jewish Civilian Chaplain to the British military. He will be responsible for serving Jewish personnel in all three branches of the military services. The Ministry says that some 130 Jewish personnel currently serve in the British armed forces, while other reports put the number at around 200. The British military in recent years has appointed only Christian chaplains as part of the regular Chaplains' corps, though the Jewish community has appointed an honorary chaplain and Jewish chaplains serve in the Territorial Army (the reserves). In 2005, the military appointed civilian chaplains to serve Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh members of the armed forces. (Background). YNet News has more on Rabbi Saunders appointment. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig & State in Israel) for the lead.]

Plea Deal Entered In Charges of Importation of Monkey Parts

Yesterday's Staten Island (NY) Advance reports that a plea deal in federal court in New York brings to a conclusion the 3-year old case against Liberian native Mamie Manneh who had been charged with importing parts of endangered African primates without the permit required by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and failing to disclose to border officials the true nature of the product she was importing. In a decision last year, the court rejected Manneh's free exercise defense to the charges, concluding that her religious claims were not sincere. (See prior posting.) On Tuesday, Manneh pled guilty to smuggling illegal monkey parts ("bushmeat") into the U.S. Manneh has been on parole since last October in an unrelated case in which she was convicted of running over her husband's girlfriend in a parking lot.

Suit Challenges Mississippi's Use of Religious Themes In Abstinence Teen Summits

The ACLU of Mississippi yesterday announced that it has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to end religious messages that are part of state-sponsored and state-funded "abstinence-only-until-marriage" programs. The complaint (full text) in Robinson v. Thompson, (SD MI, filed 9/9/2009), alleges that an annual teen summit held by the state to promote National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month has featured Christian prayer, religious themes and overtly Christian comments as part of speakers' presentations. For example, this year's Summit featured a lengthy presentation about the Ten Commandments from Adams County (MS) Court Judge John N. Hudson. The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that these practices violate the Establishment Clause, an injunction and a return to the federal government of any federal funds used to pay for the annual teen summits.

Finland Convicts City Council Member for Anti-Islam Blog Posting

A trial court in Helsinki, Finland has convicted Jussi Halla-aho, a member of Helsinki's City Council, of violating the sanctity of religion through an anti-Islamic posting on his blog last June. Today's Helsingin Sanomat reports that the court fined Halla-aho 330 Euros. The posting at issue claimed that Islam sanctifies pedophilia and that the Prophet Muhammad was a pedophile because he had an underage wife. The court however acquitted Halla-aho of another charge of incitement against an ethnic group, finding that an anti-Somali posting was an attempt at satire. Halla-aho-- who commented on his sentence and repeated his statements on an Internet bulletin board-- plans to appeal.

Muslim Prayer Rally Planned For D.C.; Some Christians Object

A New Jersey mosque is organizing a national prayer rally in Washington, DC on Sept. 25. Hassen Abdellah, president of Dar-ul-Islam mosque, expects 50,000, mostly Muslims, from around the country to attend the event on Capitol Hill whose focus will be a Friday prayer service at 1:00 p.m. Organizers though have a permit for access to the West Front of the Capital for the full day. Reporting last week on the planned event, the Newark Star-Ledger says that the event is not political. Abdellah says: "This is not a protest. Never has the Islamic community prayed on Capitol Hill for the soul of America. We're Americans. We need to change the face of Islam so people don't feel every Muslim believes America is 'the great Satan,' because we love America."

Apparently some Christians are objecting to the planned Muslim rally. Charisma Magazine yesterday reported on an e-mail circulating virally on the Internet from Mosy Madugba, head of Spiritual Life Outreach in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, calling for Christians to use prayer to oppose Islam's growing influence in the U.S. He ask Christians to fast from midnight on Sept. 25 until the Muslim prayer event ends at 7:00 p.m. His letter says in part: "It is warfare time. Do not joke with this. If Christians fail to frustrate this game plan in the spirit, you will regret the outcome."

Poll On Views of Religious Similarities and Religious Discrimination Released

The Pew Forum yesterday released a poll of Americans' views of religious similarities and differences. 65% of those surveyed say that Islam is either very different or somewhat different from their own religion. 58% of those surveyed view Muslims as being subject to much discrimination. 45% say Islam is no more likely than other religions to encourage violence, and 45% say they personally know someone who is Muslim. The full survey also asks about perceptions of various other religious traditions. 19% of all those surveyed, and 24% of white Protestant evangelicals, say that they think of themselves as part of a religious minority. A Time Magazine article discusses the poll results.

City Council Substitutes Pledge of Allegiance For Prayer

The Freedom from Religion Foundation continues to write to city councils around the country objecting to their opening their sessions with sectarian prayers, and the cities continue to respond in various ways. In Tehachapi, California on Tuesday, City Council opened its meeting with recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance instead of the usual prayer. KERO News reports that the change was implemented after a letter from FFRF charged that "prayers currently given during the Council meeting impermissibly advance Christianity." Council member Ed Grimes said, "First and foremost, we need to protect the city from litigation..." Conservative candidate for state assembly, Ken Mettler, however charged FFRF with relying on intimidation: "they like to bully some of the smaller cities, but they've picked on the wrong small city.... [W]e like our heritage, and they're messing with the wrong folks here."

Maryland Town Will Buy Land In Religious Bias Settlement

Today's Frederick (MD) News-Post reports that the town of Walkersville, Maryland has agreed in general on a settlement in a lawsuit against it brought by the owners of land that the Ahmadiyya Movement of Islam had hoped to buy to construct a mosque. In the lawsuit the seller alleged that his sale of the land was blocked by government officials and private citizens in concerted actions motivated by anti-Muslim hostility. A March 2009 federal court decision allowed plaintiff to proceed with most of his claims. (See prior posting.) Under the settlement-- which has not yet been reduced to writing or signed-- the city will purchase the land from owner David Moxley for $4.7 million. At the Walkersville town council meeting tonight, an ordinance will be introduced to appropriate the funds, and a public hearing on the settlement is scheduled for Sept. 23.

USCIRF Faces Some Opposition In Congress

The Washington Post yesterday reports that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom could disappear in 2011 when its current authorization sunsets. Earlier this year the Commission survived attempts to cut its funding as some in Congress think other approaches to international religious freedom would be more productive. Some sources say there is friction among Commission members. USCIRF however also has its defenders and its new chairman, Leonard Leo has been making the agency's case to influential members of Congress.