Atheist Group Challenges Ireland's New Blasphemy Law

Ireland's new blasphemy law came into force yesterday. It prohibits intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of any religion by publishing or uttering grossly abusive insults to matters held sacred by the religion. Yesterday's London Guardian reported that to challenge the law, a group known as Atheist Ireland published "25 Blasphemous Quotations" on its website. The quotes were from famous figures ranging from Jesus to Mark Twain to Frank Zappa. Atheist Ireland's leader says the group will challenge the blasphemy law through the courts if they are charged under it. Yesterday also was International Blasphemy Day, and Atheist Ireland used the occasion to announce that it was launching a broad-based campaign to both obtain repeal of the blasphemy law and attain a secular Irish Constitution. [Thanks to Scott Mange for a lead on this.]

Danish Cartoonist Who Drew Muhammad Caricature Is Attacked In His Home

In Aaarhus, Denmark yesterday, a 28-year old Somali man broke into the house of cartoonist Kurt Westegaard armed with an axe and a knife, shouting that he wanted to kill the 74-year old Westegaard. Westegaard drew the now-famous caricature of the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban that was published along with 11 other cartoons in 2005 by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The cartoons set off a series of violent demonstrations around the world. (See prior posting.) Today BBC News reports that Westegaard, who was at home with his 5-year old granddaughter, locked himself into a safe room and pressed a special panic button alerting police to the attacker. The suspect, who could not be named under Danish law, tried but failed to break into the safe room and then attacked police with his axe when they arrived. Police shot the suspect outside Westegaard's home. The head of Denmark's intelligence agency says that the attack was "terror related." Apparently the suspect is connected to the radical al-Shabab group in Somalia.

Happy 2010 To Religion Clause Readers!

Dear Religion Clause Readers:

Happy New Year! As we enter 2010, I want to again thank all of you who read Religion Clause-- both long time followers and those who have joined us more recently. With the advent of the Obama administration last January, some readers asked me whether there would continue to be sufficient church-state and religious liberty developments to sustain the blog. I think the past year has shown that this should not have been a concern.

It has been a good year for Religion Clause blog. The site meter shows that the blog has attracted over 672,000 visits since it began in 2005. Approximately 241,700 of these visits were registered in 2009-- a 17% increase over 2008. I continue to seek out additional ways for readers to access Religion Clause. This year I added a feed on Twitter (@ReligionClause). So in addition to the standard method of reading Religion Clause at its URL, you can subscribe to RSS feeds on your favorite RSS reader, subscribe by e-mail, find postings on Lexis through Newstex, log onto Twitter or purchase a subscription to read on your Kindle. Scroll to the bottom of the Religion Clause sidebar to click on various subscription options. One warning however: many of these alternative methods of access do not pick up an item a second time when an Update has been added.

Religion Clause's established format of strict neutrality, broad coverage and links to extensive primary source material has made it a widely-recognized authoritative source for keeping up on church-state and religious liberty developments around the world. I am pleased that my regular readers span the political and religious spectrum. So, while the blog represents a rather substantial investment of time on my part, so long as it continues to serve this unique role, I hope to continue it.

This year, moderating comments has become a more difficult issue. First, I have had a significant increase in robo-generated spam comments. Second, while I attempt to allow a very broad spectrum of views and approaches, I have had to delete some comments that are defamatory, repetitive, hostile, irrelevant or which otherwise impair the blog's usefulness as a neutral resource on legal issues and policy developments. Often I am able to moderate comments several times a day, but sometimes there may be a delay of as much as one or two days in my getting to them.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who send me leads to new developments, or who alert me to needed corrections. These help me assure that coverage is complete and accurate. I read all of your e-mails and appreciate receiving them, even though I cannot always acknowledge them. Normally when I blog on a story sent to me by a reader, I mention the sender. If you do not want me to mention you, I will be happy to honor that request if you let me know when sending me information.

Best wishes for 2010!

Howard M. Friedman

Jordan Seeks Dead Sea Scrolls From Canada Under UN Convention

Invoking the the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the government of Jordan has asked Canada to seize the portion of the 2000-year old Dead Sea Scrolls that are on display until January 3 from Israel at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum. Canada, Jordan and Israel have all signed the Convention and its First Protocol. (Signers of Convention, Protocol.) The Convention is aimed at assuring that cultural property is not damaged during armed conflict. Yesterday's Toronto Globe and Mail reports that while the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947 by Bedouin Arabs and found their way to Israel, the majority of the Scrolls were found in the next seven years in operations supervised by Jordan on land it occupied west of the Jordan River. The thousands of fragments found were taken to the Palestine Archeological Museum in East Jerusalem. When Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War, the Israel Antiquities Authority took possession of the Scrolls to conserve and exhibit them at the Israel Museum.

The First Protocol (Art. I, Sec. 2) to the Hague Convention, which has been signed by Canada, Jordan and Israel, is designed to prevent exportation of cultural property during an armed conflict. It requires each signatory:

to take into its custody cultural property imported into its territory either directly or indirectly from any occupied territory. This shall either be effected automatically upon the importation of the property or, failing this, at the request of the authorities of that territory.

Canada's Cultural Property Export and Import Act Sec. 36.1(4), implementing the Convention, provides:

If the government of a State Party submits a request in writing to the Minister for the recovery and return of any cultural property that has been exported from an occupied territory of that State Party and that is in Canada in the possession of or under the control of any person, institution or public authority, the Attorney-General of Canada may institute an action in the Federal Court or in a superior court of a province for the recovery of the property by the State Party.

Israel argues that the temporary loan of the Scrolls for display in Canada does not amount to "exportation" under the Hague Convention, and that the Scrolls, which it says it is merely holding as custodian, are part of the Jewish heritage. Palestinians argue that the Scrolls are also part of their heritage. [Thanks to Vos Iz Neias? for the lead.]

Ex-Indonesian President, Moderate Religious Reformer, Dies

Voice of America reports that former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid (know as Gus Dur) died on Wednesday at the age of 69. In a release issued yesterday, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom chair Leonard Leo paid tribute to Dur's interfaith initiatives. He said:

Gus Dur was a renowned religious reformer, a voice of moderation when his country needed it most, and a bridge between Muslims and people of other faiths. His unique voice and perspective will be missed.... His life's mission was to increase religious understanding and reduce religious extremism worldwide. Though the world produces few men of his talents, the mission he lived for should be everyone's goal.

Claims Against Jewish Newspaper Dismissed To Avoid Religious Entanglement

In Abdelhak v. Jewish Press, Inc., (NJ App. Div., Dec. 31, 2009), a New Jersey appellate court dismissed a complaint alleging defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress on the ground that the claims could not be decided without excessively entangling the court in matters of religious doctrine and practice. At issue was a lawsuit by an Orthodox Jewish doctor who was falsely listed by a Jewish newspaper in its "Seruv Listing," a list of men who had been formally held in contempt by a Jewish religious court for refusing to comply with an order to give their wives a Get (Jewish divorce document). (Background.) Plaintiff argued that there cannot be excessive entanglement in violation of the Establishment Clause when the cause of action is secular and the defendants are not religious figures. The court, however, rejected this contention and applied the abstention doctrine, reasoning that:

to evaluate whether plaintiff's reputation suffered any injury, a jury would, of necessity, be required to determine how a Seruv Listing is viewed within the Orthodox Jewish community and whether an Orthodox Jew would be offended by another's refusal to provide a Get. To make that determination, a jury would be obliged to consider the intricacies of Jewish doctrine. Such consideration would require a jury to delve deeply into the importance of giving a Get and the disdain heaped on a man who refuses one.

[Thanks to Bridget Englard for the lead.]

Connecticut School Will Move Graduation Away From Cathedral

The South Windsor, Connecticut, Board of Education has voted to move South Windsor High School's 2010 graduation from the First Cathedral in Bloomfield to the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. The move came after Americans United and the ACLU threatened to sue the Enfield school system which also uses the Cathedral, and made preliminary inquiries of South Windsor. (See prior posting.) Wednesday's Hartford Courant reports that the Cathedral has charged fees of $7400 to $8000 for schools to use its facilities. The Enfield school board will consider whether to move its schools' graduations as well when it meets in January.

UPDATE: ACLU announced on Feb. 9 that the Windsor (CT) Board of Education has voted to move its graduation away from The First Cathedral. With this decision, all 5 districts that had been using the church have now decided to hold their ceremonies elsewhere.

Malaysian Court Says Catholic Paper Can Use Term "Allah"

A High Court judge in Malaysia has vindicated the free exercise rights of a Catholic newspaper, The Herald, in an oral opinion handed down today. Bernama and the Wall Street Journal report on the decision that upholds the right of the paper to use the word "Allah" in its Malay-language edition to refer to God. The Home Ministry had banned the paper from using the term, and the paper filed suit to challenge the restriction. (See prior posting.) Judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan held that while Sec. 11(4) of the Malaysian Constitution permits a ban on the use of the term by non-Muslims who are attempting to proselytize Muslims, the Constitutional protections of free expression (Sec. 10) and free exercise of religion (Secs. 11 and 12) permit the paper to use the term in material directed at other Christians. The government had argued that The Herald's online edition can be accessed by Muslims, but the court said that it is enough of a safeguard that the paper is in fact read mainly by Christians. Its main audience is indigenous tribes who converted to Christianity decades ago. The Mandarin, English and Tamil editions do not use the term. The court's decision can be appealed. (See prior related posting.)

UPDATE: The Malay (1/2) reports that the Prime Minister's Department in cooperation with the Home Ministry will appeal the High Court's decision.

UPDATE2: On Jan. 6, the High Court granted the Home Ministry a stay of its order while an appeal is taken to the Court of Appeal. (Outlook India; AP.)

7th Circuit Decides Two RLUIPA Zoning Cases

In World Outreach Conference Center v. City of Chicago, (7th Cir., Dec. 30, 2009), the 7th Circuit issued an opinion in two consolidated appeals involving claims that zoning decisions violated RLUIPA. After concluding that RLUIPA is constitutional, the court initially focused on the City of Chicago's rezoning of a former YMCA building in a way that prevented World Outreach, a religious organization dedicated to providing living facilities to the homeless, from operating it as a community center. The court concluded that World Outreach had not shown religious discrimination, but instead did show that the city discriminated against it in favor of a developer who was a financial supporter of a city alderman. Allegations that the city harassed World Outreach through filing frivolous legal claims states a RLUIPA claim for imposing a substantial burden on the group's free exercise of religion.

In the second case, the court upheld the city of Peoria's classifying as a landmark an apartment building next door to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. This designation prevented the church from tearing down the building in order to build a family life center. The court rejected the Church's RLUIPA claim, holding that the burden on its free exercise is only modest. It can sell the building and use the proceeds to construct a family life center elsewhere in the city. Today's Chicago Tribune reports on the Chicago portion of the opinion.

Remains of 500 Animals From Santeria Rituals Found In Philadelphia House

In Philadelphia on Wednesday, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals enforcement officers, executing a search warrant, found the remains of more than 500 animals in a home whose most recent occupant was last seen five days ago. CNN reports that officials believe the animals were sacrificed as part of Santeria rituals. Most of the remains were from chickens, but also included dozens of sheep and goats and the remains of two primates-- possibly small monkeys. Also an altar with candles was found in the house. SPCA law enforcement director, George Bengal, said it was not clear if any laws had been violated. It will likely depend on whether the animals were sacrificed inhumanely.

Federal Court Orders New York Kosher Poultry Plant To Shut Down

A New York federal district judge on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting further slaughtering at New Square Meats in the village of New Square-- home of the Skver Hasidic sect. The court agreed with the U.S. Attorney's Office that the plant failed to comply with the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act. Various sanitary violations were found at the plant. The poultry slaughterhouse slaughtered more than 355,000 birds in 2008. Almost all of its product is sold through a New Square grocery, Oneg Poultry. Both The Forward and the Lower Hudson Journal-News yesterday report on the court's order, as well as on several other recent controversies involving the Skver sect. (See prior posting.) The Forward quotes Queens College sociology professor Samuel Heilman:

The fundamental question, of course, is what is it about these people that makes it possible for them to, on the one hand, claim to be more religious and pious, and on the other hand, break rules that are non-halachic rules.

He answered that the Skvers, along with other fundamentalist groups, tend to divide the world into "us and them", and feel they can be less concerned in portions of their lives that involve outsiders.

Fired Muslim Workers Denied Unemployment Benefits

In Osman v. JFC, Inc., (MN App., Dec. 29, 2009), the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of unemployment benefits to 22 Somali Muslims who were fired from their jobs at a poultry processing plant after they refused to comply with the company's break policy. They claimed they needed to take breaks at a different time in order to fulfill their religious obligation to perform the Fajr prayer. The court rejected the former employees' argument that they had been promised a floating break. In addition, the court found that their free exercise rights were not infringed by the denial of unemployment compensation because they did not prove that they had a sincere belief that Fajr could only be performed during the first 45 minutes after dawn.

Contributions To Arizona Scholarship Organzations Raise Federal Tax Issues

The Arizona Republic this week explored the question of whether Arizonans are violating federal tax law by taking charitable deductions for certain contributions to private school tuition organizations. Arizona law gives up to a $1000 tax credit per couple ($500 per individual) for contributions to these groups that then grant scholarships to private and parochial school students. Parents cannot make contributions for their own children, but other relatives can. Also a number of parents engage in "swapping", or making contributions for each others children. Tax experts say that it is clearly a violation of federal law to take a federal deduction for a swap contribution, since the gift is being made to benefit oneself. A closer question arises as to contributions accompanied by "recommendations" for scholarship recipients. IRS Publication 526 spells out the rules for which charitable contributions are deductible. Separately, the entire tax credit program is being challenged in court on Establishment Clause grounds. (See prior posting.) [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

H1N1 Precautions Suspended Religious Activities At Montana Jail

In October, in an attempt to prevent the H1N1 flu virus from infecting inmates, Montana's Missoula Detention Center suspended all face-to-face visits with inmates and suspended religious activities, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and other functions that rely on outside visitors for the duration of the flu season. Last week in Office of the State Public Defender v. McMeekin, (MT Sup. Ct., Dec. 23, 2009), the Montana Supreme Court issued a writ of mandamus ordering the jail revise its policy so that attorneys can have face-to-face visits with pretrial detainee clients. The non-contact visits that had been provided allowed others to overhear attorney-client conversations. Apparently no one challenged the suspension of religious activities. The jail has changed its policy in response to the state Supreme Court order, but has asked visitors who have not been vaccinated for H1N1 to wear masks and use hand sanitizer.

FLDS Church Asks Utah Supreme Court To Stay Proceedings In Trust Case

The FLDS Church on Monday filed a petition with the Utah Supreme Court asking it to stay all proceedings and orders by the lower court in the long-running case seeking to reform the Untied Effort Plan Trust. The Trust holds communal property in Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona that belonged to FLDS members. Yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune reports that the move came after trial judge Denise Lindberg sealed all filings relating to the future of the Trust and rejected the Church's efforts to intervene in the case. The Church, known for its belief in polygamy, says that the secular management of the trust under court jurisdiction makes it impossible for members to organize their lives in a communal "Holy United Order" as required by their religious teachings. (See prior related posting.)

Holocaust Survivors' Suit Against Vatican Bank Dismissed By 9th Circuit

In Alperin v. Vatican Bank, (9th Cir., Dec. 29, 2009), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds a lawsuit by Holocaust survivors against the Vatican Bank. As explained in an earlier 9th Circuit decision in the case:

A group of twenty-four individuals and four organizations ... claim that the Vatican Bank, known by its official title Istituto per le Opere di Religione, the Order of Friars Minor, and the Croatian Liberation Movement ..., profited from the genocidal acts of the Croatian Ustasha political regime ... which was supported throughout World War II by Nazi forces. That profit allegedly passed through the Vatican Bank in the form of proceeds from looted assets and slave labor. The Holocaust Survivors brought suit in federal court claiming conversion, unjust enrichment, restitution, the right to an accounting, and human rights violations and violations of international law arising out of the defendants' alleged involvement with the Ustasha during and following World War II.

This decision, involving the property claims, concluded that neither the international takings exception nor the commercial activities exception removed this suit from protection under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. AP yesterday reported on the decision.

Court OK's Ban of Creche on Roadway Median

In Satawa v. Board of County Road Commissioners of Macomb County, (ED MI, Dec. 28, 2009), a Michigan federal district court refused to issue a temporary injunction against the County Road Commission's decision to ban a private individual's placement of a nativity scene on the median of a busy Warren, Michigan road. A nativity scene had been displayed on the now-60 foot wide median of the 8-lane road during the Christmas season since 1945. Historical farm equipment is also on display on the median. In December 2008, the Freedom from Religion Foundation complained that the nativity scene's presence and its use of electricity provided by the municipality violates the Establishment Clause. After receiving the complaint, the Road Commission decided that the size of the display, and its proximity to the intersection, created a danger to public safety and ordered it removed because no permit had been issued for the display. In 2009, the Road Commission refused to issue a permit on the ground that this would amount to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

Plaintiff sued, claiming that the refusal violates his freedom of expression. (See prior posting.) Observing that this is an "extremely close case," the court analyzed a number of "public forum" cases and concluded that a median in the middle of a busy roadway is not a "traditional public forum." It further ruled that the county has a compelling interest in prohibiting placement of the creche in the median because it may impede sight lines at the intersection. Also if this structure is allowed, the county would have to permit all sorts of displays on road medians, creating safety hazards around the county. At the same time, the alternative of displaying the creche a few hundred yards away on Church property would not create any public safety concerns. Finally, the court concluded that banning of temporary structures on busy road medians would not convey a message of endorsement or disapproval of religion. Yesterday's Detroit News reported on the decision.

Egypt Questioning Reporter On Blasphemy Charges

In Egypt, Saudi journalist Nadine al-Bdair and the editor-in-chief of Cairo's Al Masry Al Youm newspaper, Magdy al-Galad, will be summoned by authorities for questioning today. Maktoob News and Gulf News report that General Public Prosecutor Abdul Majeed Mahmoud ordered the prosecutor of south Cairo to investigate blasphemy charges after the newspaper published an article by al-Bdair arguing that if Muslim men are allowed four wives, then an edict should be issued permitting women to have four husbands. A member of Egypt's Parliament has already filed suit over the article, and some clerics say it is provocative and anti-Islamic.

Virginia Warden Retires Amid Charges of Denying Prisoners Religious Services

AP reported yesterday that Barbara Wheeler, warden at Virginia's Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, is retiring amid allegations that she segregated masculine-looking lesbians, and that she placed excessive restrictions on inmates' access to religious services. State Sen. Frank Ruff says he is concerned about allegations that lists of inmates who may attend religious services were not adequately updated, that inmates were turned away from church services to punish them for infractions such as their hair being too long, and that all lay chaplain visits to the prison were stopped. Fluvanna is Virginia's largest women's prison, housing some 1,200 inmates.

Concerns About Religious Profiling for Security Arise Again After Flight 253

The foiled Christmas Day bombing attempt aboard a Northwest Airlines flight approaching Detroit has raised the spectre of profiling of Muslim travellers for added airport screening. Today's London Express reports that Prof. Anthony Glees, director of Buckingham University's Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, called that move an "obvious and rational" method to deter Islamic terrorists from striking British targets, while, at the same time, reducing lines at airport security gates for others. A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said: "The actions of one misguided individual should not tarnish the reputation of the majority. We will let terrorists win if bigotry is allowed to flourish."

According to TPM, over the week end, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said on Fox News:

I think there are situations like this where we are afraid of being accused of profiling. The fact is while the overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding people, on the other hand 100% of the Islamic terrorists are Muslims, and that is our main enemy today. So while we should not be profiling people because of their religion, at the same time we should not be bending over backwards to somehow keep them off a list.

A press release yesterday from the Council on American-Islamic Relations urged authorities to avoid ethnic and religious profiling.