Protester Sues Nashville's Scientology Centre For Injuries

The Tennessean reports today on a lawsuit filed against the Church of Scientology's Nashville Celebrity Centre by Thomas A. Parker, a member of the anti-Scientology group Anonymous. Parker and others planned to protest the April 25 opening of the Centre. The lawsuit alleges that Parker was confronted by two off-duty police officers who had been hired as security guards for the Centre, was pushed to the ground and arrested for criminal trespass. The incident occurred across the street, some 450 yards away from the Centre. Later the charges against Parker were dismissed. Parker suffered injuries to his shoulder, elbows and knees.

Two Courts Around the World Rule On Conscientious Objector Claims

In different parts of the world this week, courts were examining the question of conscientious objector exemptions from military service. In Case of Bayatyan v. Armenia, (ECHR, Oct. 27, 2009), the European Court of Human Rights held that the European Convention on Human Rights does not require Armenia to provide an exemption from military service for a Jehovah's Witness who is a conscientious objector. The freedom of thought, conscience and religion protections of Art. 9 of the Convention need to be read in light of the provision in Art. 4, Sec. 3(b) which appears to leave the choice of providing CO objections up to the decision of each country. (Court's press release on case.) Subsequently Armenia adopted an alternative service law.

Meanwhile, according to Ekklesia, last week Colombia's Supreme Court held that all citizens have the right to opt out of military service on religious, moral or philosophical grounds. Previously only men studying to be Catholic priests were entitled to an exemption on religious grounds.

Malaysia Seizes Bibles That Translate "God" As "Allah"

CNN reported yesterday that in Malaysia during recent months, the Home Ministry's Publications and Quran Text Control Department has seized over 20,000 Malay-language editions of the Bible from the Bible Society of Malaysia and from the Gideons. The problem is that the Bibles translate "God" into the Malay word "Allah". However the government says that the word "Allah" can only be used by Islam, and that its use in Christian texts will confuse Muslims and draw them into Christianity. A similar dispute involving the Catholic Herald was resolved earlier this year by requiring the newspaper to print a disclaimer in large type declaring it is a Christian publication. (See prior posting.)

House Democrats' Health Care Bill Does Not Mandate Coverage For Spiritual Healing

Yesterday in Congress, House Democrats introduced their health care reform bill, H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. (Press release.) The Chicago Tribune reports that this version does not mandate insurance coverage for services of Christian Science practitioners or other spiritual care. Christian Science practitioner Shirley Paulson said that Christian Science treatment is different from faith healing. Christian Science does not bar members from also seeking traditional medical care. The typical session with a Christian Science practitioner costs $25.

Al Arabiya Charged With Blasphemy In Saudi Court

According reports in Arab News and in Maktoob Business yesterday, in Saudi Arabia a group of citizens has filed a lawsuit against the television channel Al Arabiya charging it with blasphemy. The station is Saudi owned, and operates from Dubai. The lawsuit, filed in the summary court in Jeddah, charges the station with ridiculing God, the Prophet Muhammad and his sayings, and the Angel Gabriel.

Jury Agrees Bible Reading Dispute Was Merely A Misunderstanding

Yesterday, according to WBIR News, a federal court jury in Knoxville, Tennessee found in favor of the Knox County Schools in a lawsuit over the right of elementary school students to read the Bible during recess. The suit involves an incident that occurred when plaintiff, Luke Whitson, was in the 4th grade at Karns Elementary School. Luke's family claims that the school's principal interfered with a group of students who had started a Bible study club at recess. They sued for an injunction and nominal damages. The school said it was all a misunderstanding of the school's policy which prohibits adult-led Bible study during school hours, but allows students to study the Bible on their own. Apparently the jury agreed with the school's contention. (See prior related posting.)

Chabad Gets Default Judgment Against Russia In Suit Over Book Collections

Talk of the Planet reported yesterday that Judge Royce C. Lamberth, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, has entered a default judgment against the Russian Federation in the lawsuit against it by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement to recover two historic collections of Jewish religious books and manuscripts. (See prior posting.) After U.S. courts rejected Russia's jurisdictional challenges, Russia filed a statement with the court stating that it would no longer continue in the litigation and its counsel, Squire Sanders & Dempsey, withdrew. In issuing the default judgment, Judge Lamberth said: "The defendants have willfully refused to continue in this litigation."

Claims Against Archdiocese In Abuse Cases Do Not Violate First Amendment

In similar opinions handed down this week in two diversity cases, a Missouri federal district court held that it is required to make its own independent constitutional analysis in clergy sexual abuse cases to determine whether allowing negligent hiring, retention and supervision claims to be brought against the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis violates the First Amendment. The Missouri Supreme Court previously held that adjudicating such claims would be inconsistent with the First Amendment. In Ohl-Marsters v. Johnston, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99585 and McCormick v. Johnston, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99587 (ED MO, Oct. 26, 2009), the court held that proceeding with these claims would not violate either the Free Exercise or the Establishment Clause. However the court dismissed breach of fiduciary duty claims and respondeat superior claims against the Archdiocese brought by both plaintiffs, finding that those claims were not supported by state law.

7th Circuit: Village Can Exclude Churches From Commerical District Under RLUIPA

In River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest, (7th Cir., Oct. 27, 2009), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to grant a preliminary injunction to permit a church to relocate from a crowded warehouse to property it purchased in an area zoned for various commercial uses, but not for religious services. The church claimed that the Village of Hazel Crest's denial to it of a special use permit violated the "equal terms" provision of RLUIPA. The court concluded that the church had little likelihood of prevailing on the merits. It adopted the approach followed by the 3rd Circuit, holding that under RLUIPA a zoning ordinance can differentiate between religious and non-religious institutions for legitimate, non-religious reasons. Here the Village wanted to create a tax-generating commercial district near mass transit. It can exclude non-commercial uses, including churches, without violating RLUIPA. (See prior related posting.)

Radical Group Seeking To Create Sharia State In U.S. Arrested In Michigan; Leader Killed

In Michigan yesterday, raids by law enforcement officers at a warehouse in Dearborn and a home in Detroit led to a series of arrests and the unsealing of a federal conspiracy complaint against 11 men who are alleged to be members of a radical fundamentalist Sunni Muslim group. Yesterday's Detroit Free Press reports that the leader of the group, 53 year old Luqman Ameen Abdullah, was killed by authorities in an exchange of gunfire after he refused to surrender during the warehouse raid. A news release issued jointly by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI described the group, which calls itself Ummah ("the brotherhood"), as "a group of mostly African-American converts to Islam which seeks to establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United States." According to the affidavit of an FBI agent, some of the members of the group were converted to Islam while in prisons across the U.S. Here in two parts (1, 2 ) is the full text of the affidavit of the FBI agent that accompanied the complaint.

President Signs New Hate Crimes Law As Part of Defense Authorization Act

Yesterday afternoon, President Obama signed the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. His statement at the signing ceremony focused mainly on the defense spending portions of the bill. A few hours later he hosted a reception commemorating another part of the bill, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (See prior posting.) In his statement there (full text), he described the legislation:

through this law, we will strengthen the protections against crimes based on the color of your skin, the faith in your heart, or the place of your birth. We will finally add federal protections against crimes based on gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.... And prosecutors will have new tools to work with states in order to prosecute to the fullest those who would perpetrate such crimes. Because no one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love. No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability.

WorldNet Daily reported on statements by a number of conservative Christian groups criticizing the new law.

Court Finds No Standing To Challenge Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funding

In Sherely v. Sebelius, (D DC, Oct. 27, 2009), several rather differently situated plaintiffs sued to enjoin the federal government from taking further actions to implement federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. Provisions for funding are in Guidelines promulgated by the National Institute of Health. Plaintiffs are the Christian Medical Association, Nightlight (a Christian adoption agency that promotes adoption of embryos created during IVF procedures), parents who have already had a child through adopting an embryo, two researchers who would be competing for funding, and Nightlight on behalf of the embryos still stored at clinics. The court found, for various reasons, that each of the plaintiffs lacks standing to pursue the lawsuit. Some of the plaintiffs lacked standing because the court found the claim that the regulations will reduce the number of embryos available for adoption is speculative and dependent on third party conduct. As to the embryos still in storage, the court said that they lack standing because "embryos are not 'persons' under the law." AP reports on the decision.

Suit Challenges School Policy On Distribution of Flyers

An elementary student in Holly, Michigan has, through a suit brought by his mother, challenged the Holly Area Schools' policy (full text) governing the distribution of material to other students. The complaint (full text) alleges that plaintiff's 1st and 14th Amendment rights, as well as his rights under the Michigan Constitution, were violated when he was prevented from distributing a flyer advertising a Christian summer camp. Here are the facts as summarized by an ADF press release on the case:

A school district policy states that while "materials that have a religious content may be distributed during 'non-instructional' time," the "board reserves the right to refuse distribution of any material by outside individuals or groups to the students of the district."

In June, a Christian student at Patterson Elementary School attempted to distribute fliers inviting his classmates and friends to the Youth Summer Camp at Cornerstone Church. Fliers were placed in individually sealed envelopes, which also contained a letter describing the Youth Summer Camp.

After the student began placing the flier envelopes in cubbyholes where other fliers are placed, a teacher ordered him to stop distributing the fliers, saying that anything that comes from a church cannot be distributed at school.

The teacher removed the fliers and told the student to place them in his backpack. The principal informed the student’s mother that because of the so-called "separation of church and state," religious materials could not be distributed at schools. Further attempts to negotiate with officials were unsuccessful.

Cert. Filed In Oklahoma 10 Commandments Case

A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed Wednesday with the U.S. Supreme Court in Haskell County Board of Commissioners v. Green. In the case, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a display of a Ten Commandments monument on the lawn of the county courthouse in Stigler, Oklahoma, violated the Establishment Clause. Alliance Defense Fund issued a release announcing the filing.

UPDATE: The brief in opposition to the granting of cert (full text) was filed on Jan. 11, 2010 by the ACLU which represents respondents.

Court Upholds Modified Conditional Use Permit For Jewish School

In Concerned Residents of Hancock Park v. City of Los Angeles, (CA Ct. App., Oct. 27, 2009), a California appellate court upheld the decision of the Los Angeles Central Area Planning Commission (CAPC) to expand the conditions in the conditional use permit (CUP) granted to Yavneh Hebrew Academy to operate a school. CAPC expanded the number of individuals who could attend Saturday morning religious services held at the Jewish school from just students and their parents to anyone so long as attendance did not top 300 people. Plaintiffs argued that this allowed the school to effectively function as a public synagogue, instead of as a school. The court disagreed, concluding that "even with the modifications in place, ... Yavneh is a school and not a religious institution, and so it was not required to seek a separate CUP for use as a religious institution." The court also concluded that CAPC properly took the anti-discrimination requirements of RLUIPA into consideration when it fashioned the CUP conditions in a religion-neutral way that was consistent with the practice of secular schools that held extensive Saturday and evening activities.

Two Arrested In Plot to Attack Danish Paper That Published Muhammad Cartoons

Fallout from the publication by a Danish newspaper in 2005 of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad continues. The caricatures sparked protests from Muslims around the world. (See prior posting.) The Justice Department announced yesterday that two Chicago men were arrested this month for their alleged parts in a conspiracy to attack the offices of Jyllands-Posten, the first newspaper to publish the cartoons, or to kill cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and Flemming rose, the paper's cultural editor. Here are the full texts of the criminal complaints in US v. Rana and U.S. v. Headley. Today's Chicago Tribune reports on the indictments.

2nd Circuit Dismisses Civil Rights Claims Against Airport Customs Personnel

In Muhammad v. Ahern, (2d Cir., Oct. 27, 2009), the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights action brought by two plaintiffs who claimed they were subjected to unconstitutional border stops, searches, and detentions by Customs & Border Protection agents at New York's Kennedy Airport when they flew in from Saudi Arabia and Morocco. The court said plaintiffs' allegations that the border stops violated their rights to free speech, assembly, and free exercise of religion, and their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, were too conclusory to withstand a motion for summary judgment. The court also rejected plaintiffs' 4th Amendment claims.

Signature Campaign Begins On California Anti-Divorce Amendment [Updated]

The California Secretary of State announced last week that the proponent of an initiative petition to amend California's Constitution to ban divorce in the state may begin to collect signatures. The proposed amendment would still allow annulments, but would completely eliminate the ability of married couples to get divorced in California. Proponents will need to collect the signatures of 694,354 registered voters to qualify the initiative for the ballot.

According to Huffington Post last month, the proponent, John Marcotte, introduced the amendment to mock the proponents of Proposition 8 who focused on protecting traditional marriage as a reason to oppose same-sex marriage. Last month, Cockeyed.com published an interview with Marcotte. Here is one exchange that gives the flavor of his remarks:

RC: well, this is a bold step. Do you think you face a strong opposition?

John: The opposition will always be there. The secular progressives, gays and MSNBC hosts -- but we beat them once with Prop 8 and we'll beat them again. If people are thinking about getting a divorce, just remember "Hell is eternal, just like your marriage was supposed to be." Jesus still loves you if you get divorced, just not as much as before.

Thanks to Not a Potted Plant and a commenter for correcting my initial incorrect interpretation of the proposal as as one that was meant to be serious in its approach. I guess it was a bad morning for my sense of humor that usually has a better compass than today.

Kuwait High Court Rejects Challenge To Election of Women MPs Who Refuse To Wear Hijab

Kuwait's Constitutional Court-- the country's highest tribunal-- today rejected an attempt by four voters to invalidate the election of two women members of Parliament. AFP reported on the decision. Petitioners argued that because the two women refused to wear the hijab (headscarf), they were in violation of a provision in the election law requiring candidates to comply with Islamic religious requirements. The Court however said that the election law does not specify which sharia regulations candidates must follow, and at any rate the guarantees in the Kuwaiti Constitution for equality, personal liberty, and freedom of belief and religion supersede anything to the contrary in the election law. (See prior related posting.)

Georgia Episcopal Diocese Wins Title To Property of Historic Savannah Church

Today's Savannah (GA) Morning News reports that the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia has won its lawsuit against the break-away Christ Church in Savannah. (Background on lawsuit.) A Georgia trial court yesterday declared that the 276-year old church building belongs to the Diocese and not to the congregation that passed a resolution in 2007 declaring that the Episcopal Church and the Georgia diocese had abandoned the historic principles of the denomination's faith. Among other things, the court cited the Episcopal Church's Dennis Canon that says parish property is held in trust for the Episcopal Church and the local diocese. The congregation's brief (full text) had argued that its 1789 Charter gave it title to the property and that the Dennis Canon did not create a legally enforceable trust.