USCIRF Accused of Anti-Muslim Bias

A Washington Post report yesterday says that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is itself being accused of religious bias. The article by reporter Michelle Boorstein reports that USCIRF staff, former staff and some former commissioners charge that the agency "is rife, behind-the-scenes, with ideology and tribalism, with commissioners focusing on pet projects that are often based on their own religious background. In particular, they say an anti-Muslim bias runs through the commission's work..." Last fall, a former agency policy analyst, Safiya Ghori-Ahmad, filed an EEOC complaint against USCIRF. She says her contract was cancelled because of her Muslim faith and her affiliation with the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Some critics also charge that USCIRF devotes a disproportionate amount of its time to issues of persecution of Christians, and not enough on persecution of other religious groups. Current commissioners, including one who is an imam, deny this, saying they have taken action on behalf of the Uighurs in China and the Ahmadis in Pakistan. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State in Israel) for the lead.]

White House Statement Marking Ash Wednesday

The White House today issued the following statement marking Ash Wednesday:

Michelle and I join Christians here in America and around the world in observing Ash Wednesday. We mark this solemn day of repentance and promise, knowing that Lent is a time for millions to renew faith and also deepen a commitment to loving and serving one another.

Virginia Legislature Approves Pro-Choice License Plates, But With Disagreement On Use of Fees

In Virginia, both the House of Delegates and the state Senate have passed bills authorizing a license plate with the message: "Trust Women/ Respect Choice." The House version (HB 1108), passed yesterday by a vote of 77-22, however eliminated a provision that would have directed a portion of the fees from the plates to Planned Parenthood. Instead the House bill sends the fees to the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund administered by the state Board of Health to support women with unplanned pregnancies. (Hampton Roads Pilot, 2/16). The Senate version, (SB 704), passed yesterday by a vote of 26-8, retains the original language directing fees to Planned Parenthood. The Washington Post reports that an attempt to amend the bill to conform it to the House version was defeated. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Pope Meets With Irish Bishops Over Sex Abuse Scandal

The Vatican yesterday issued a statement (full text) after Pope Benedict XVI's two-day summit with Irish bishops on the priest sex abuse scandal in that country. The Murphy Commission Report issued last year faulted the Church's handling of abuse cases for 30 years ending in 2004.(See prior related posting.) Both The Pilot and Zenit yesterday reported on the meetings and their aftermath. According to the Vatican, the Pope "challenged the Bishops to address the problems of the past with determination and resolve, and to face the present crisis with honesty and courage. He also expressed the hope that the present meeting would help to unify the Bishops and enable them to speak with one voice in identifying concrete steps aimed at bringing healing to those who had been abused, encouraging a renewal of faith in Christ and restoring the Church’s spiritual and moral credibility."

Meanwhile a new controversy broke out over the refusal by Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, the Vatican's apostolic nuncio to Ireland, to appear before the Irish parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. According to yesterday's Irish Times, the nuncio in a letter to the Oireachtas committee said: "it is not the practice of the Holy See that apostolic nuncios appear before parliamentary commissions."

Colorado Senate Committee Rejects Proposal For Religious Bill of Rights In Schools

The Colorado Independent reports that on Monday, a committee of the Colorado State Senate defeated by a vote of 4-3 the controversial proposed "Religious Bill of Rights for Individuals Connected to Public Schools Act" (SB 10-089). The bill would have required the state board of education to prepare and distribute documents setting out rights of students, parents, teachers and employees to engage in various types of religious expression in the schools. It would also have allowed teachers to refuse to teach topics that violate their religious beliefs. The committee also rejected a watered-down version that would have merely called on the state attorney general to develop answers on religious questions that arise in schools. Opponents of the bill said that schools can already consult the attorney general on these issues.

Contempt Charged As Father Violates TRO On Daughter's Religious Training

Yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times reports on an ugly in-court battle in Chicago over a 3-year old's religious upbringing while her parents are going through a divorce. Joseph and Rebecca Reyes married in 2004. He was Catholic and she was Jewish. When their daughter was born several years later, Joseph converted to Judaism-- under pressure from his wife's family according to him. The couple disagrees over whether Joseph agreed to raise their daughter in the Jewish faith. After the couple separated in 2008, Joseph returned to his original Catholic faith. After not seeing his daughter for 7 months, Joseph went to court. The court allowed Joseph to take his daughter every other weekend and Thursdays for dinner. However in December, after Joseph sent Rebecca a picture of their daughter being baptized at a local Catholic church, Rebecca obtained a temporary restraining order from the court ordering Joseph not to expose their daughter to any religion other than Judaism.

Defying the order, last month Joseph took their daughter to Holy Name Cathedral, accompanied by a television news crew. Yesterday Joseph was arraigned on contempt charges. He could face up to 6 months in jail and a $500 fine. ABC News conducted a long interview with Joseph Reyes yesterday. (Full transcript).

Palestinian Authority Raising Hurdles for Miss Palestine Contest

Palestinian advertising firm owner Salwa Youssef began last year to plan the first Miss Palestine beauty pageant. Contestants will model traditional Palestinian clothing and there will be no bathing suit pageant. However, according to yesterday's Christian Science Monitor, the secular Palestinian Authority government of President Mahmoud Abbas-- sensitive to pressure from religious and cultural conservatives-- is placing hurdles in the way of the plans. It said Youssef had not obtained the proper license for the event, and criticized her original timing which would have put the finale on the eve of the anniversary of the Israeli-Palestinian Gaza war. The PA Tourism Ministry is now not responding to Youssef's requests for sponsorship of the event. If the PA approves it, there will likely be criticism from Hamas that controls the West Bank and has pushed through legislation forcing women to wear modest dress in public.

First Step in Mexico On Church-State Separation Amendment to Constitution

Business Week reports last week that the lower house of Mexico's Congress has approved a constitutional amendment that formally establishes separation of church and state. The amendment "guarantees the autonomy of institutions from religious norms, rules and convictions or individual ideologies, as well as the equality of people before the law independent of their convictions." The overwhelming vote was 363-1 with 8 abstentions. Analysts say the amendment is designed to limit the Catholic Church's influence over political decisions. The Church has criticized enactments by Mexico City legalizing first-trimester abortions, and permitting same-sex marriage and adoptions. The amendment measure still has a long way to go. It must still be approved by Mexico's Senate, signed by President Felipe Calderon and ratified by a majority of Mexico's state legislatures. [Thanks to Bob Ritter for the lead.]

FLDS Appoints New President As Trust Reform Efforts Drag On

AP reported yesterday that the polygamous Utah-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) has filed documents with the Utah Department of Commerce naming Wendell Loy Nielsen as president replacing the jailed Warren Jeffs. The 69-year old Nielson, who has been running the day-to-day affairs of FLDS for some time, was indicted on three counts of bigamy in 2008 following the raid of the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch. The Utah filing makes it clear that Nielsen has legal authority to make business decisions for the church. It is unclear whether he has replaced Jeffs as the church prophet.

Meanwhile, yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune reports on the frustration felt by Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff over the protracted litigation growing out of the state's efforts to reform the United Effort Plan Trust that holds the $110 million worth of homes and vacant land that had been administered as communal assets of FLDS. Shurtleff is considering recommending a replacement for court-appointed trustee Bruce Wissan who, after five years in the position, is in protracted legal disputes with FLDS. Shurtleff says that they were close to a settlement last summer, explaining: "negotiators came up with a way to get around FLDS' refusal to accept property deeds for land they consider consecrated to God through their church. The discussions, though, unraveled over use of communal properties like parks and where and what type of property would be designated for use by community residents who are not FLDS." (See prior related posting.)

Court Orders Religious Highway Billboards Removed

A Kentucky state trial court judge has ordered two highway billboards that display religious messages to be taken down within 60 days, finding that they violate state highway beautification laws. Yesterday's Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the billboards violate restrictions on placing billboards within 660 feet of a highway, except in commercial or industrial zones, or under certain other exceptions. Jimmy Harston of Scottsville, Ky., who installed the billboards argued that the state was censoring his religious expression. One of the billboards proclaims "hell is real" (with 10 Commandments excerpts on the other side). The other billboard asks: "If you died today, where would you spend eternity?" The billboards have been up for five years without the required state permit, and the court says its ruling has nothing to do with restricting religious expression. It has to do with highway regulation.

School Yearbook Photo Raises First Amendment Concerns

In Arlington, Washington, the president of the Arlington High School debate club, honors student Justin Surber, is at the center of a First Amendment controversy. Once a week, to provoke debate Surber wears to school a T-shirt picturing philosopher Friedrich Nietzche and a quote from him: "God is dead." Surber also wore the shirt on the day the debate club's photo was taken for the yearbook. The yearbook advisor asked for a retake without the T-shirt, and when that second photo was taken sometime later, in protest Surber and a friend refused to be in it. Surber says his views are being censored, and that photos of students wearing clothing with Christian messages are allowed in the yearbook. According to an AP report yesterday, school officials point to the student handbook which says that student publications are not private speech of students, but are public activities of the school district. They say that the school district's lawyer advised that a student's First Amendment rights are not violated when a yearbook refuses to run a photo of him.

Jewish Groups Split On Issues In Pending Supreme Court CLS Case

An article yesterday from JTA discusses the differences of opinion within the Jewish community over which side to support in the pending Supreme Court case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. At issue in the case is whether the University of California's Hastings College of Law may impose its policy against discrimination on the basis of religion and sexual orientation on a student religious group seeking formal recognition. Orthodox Jewish groups have filed amicus briefs on the side of the Christian Legal Society, arguing among other things that if CLS loses, University rules would require Jewish student groups to admit Jews for Jesus proselytizers as members. On the other hand, more secular Jewish civil rights groups such as the ADL are supporting the University, concerned that otherwise government funds will be able to be used to support discriminatory activities. Various of the groups disagree over whether the case is limited to issues relating to student groups, or whether it will have broader implications for faith-based funding.

Newly Merged School Board Will Open Meetings With Prayer

According to a report yesterday from WQAD News, the Mercer County, Illinois School Board has decided to open each of its meetings with a prayer. Superintendent Alan Boucher said they were advised by legal counsel that this would be permissible so long as prayers are non-sectarian and the Board does not favor one religion over another. An organization of local ministers will rotate the prayer among its members. The Mercer Board is newly formed from a merger of the Westmer and Aledo school districts. The Aledo board previously opened its meetings with prayer.

USCIRF Wants US To Raise Religious Freedom Questions In UN On 4 Countries

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom last Friday wrote Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (full text of letter) urging that U.S. representatives to the United Nations raise religious freedom issues at this month's Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review session. USCIRF is particularly concerned about Iran, Iraq, Egypt and Kazakhstan, all of whom are up for review in the seventh session of the UPR process.

In Morocco, Debate Over Ban On Sale of Alcohol To Muslims

AFP reported yesterday on the efforts in Morocco to repeal laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol to Muslims. The ban, imposed by royal decree in 1967, is largely ignored in the country and the wine industry is an increasingly important part of the country's economy. Bayt Al Hikma, or House of Wisdom, an organization pressing for democratic values, argues that the law that limits sale of alcohol to foreigners violates the constitutional rights of Moroccans. However the Islamist Justice and Development Party strongly backs the ban.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Paul E. McGreal, The Unpublished Free Exercise Opinion in Jensen v. Quaring, (Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Fall 2009).
• Robert A. Kahn, News Value, Islamophobia, or the First Amendment? Why and How the Philadelphia Inquirer Published the Danish Cartoons, (U of St. Thomas Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-07, 2010).
• Piero Tozzi, Whither Free Exercise: Employment Division v. Smith and the Rebirth of State Constitutional Free Exercise Clause Jurisprudence, (Journal of Catholic Legal Studies, Vol. 48, No. 2, 2009; Catholic Lawyer, Vol. 48, No. 2, 2009).
• Sherman J. Clark, Neoclassical Public Virtues: Towards an Aretaic Theory of Law-Making (and Law Teaching), (Virtue in the Law, Forthcoming; Michigan State University Legal Studies Research Paper, Feb. 13, 2010).

From Bepress:

• Elimelech Westreich, Elements of Negotiability in Jewish Law in Medieval Christian Spain, (Theoretical Inquiries in Law: Vol. 11 : No. 1, Article 14, 2010).

British Tories Debate Role of Christian Conservatives In Party

Friday's Financial Times carries a lengthy article analyzing the growing importance of Christian conservatives in Britain's Conservative Party. Here is an excerpt:

As Conservatives grasp the real possibility of victory this year, some are asking what degree of power a few evangelical Christians – only 3 per cent of the party members, according to one poll – will wield. The answer will determine the shape and sturdiness of any Conservative government....

As Conservatives grasp the real possibility of victory this year, some are asking what degree of power a few evangelical Christians – only 3 per cent of the party members, according to one poll – will wield. The answer will determine the shape and sturdiness of any Conservative government.

[Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Welcome To the Blogosphere to Religious Left Law

Welcome to the blogosphere to Religious Left Law. One of the blog's contributors, Prof. Robert Hockett, describes its purpose:

Our aim is to offer a site at which people who adhere to a variety of faith traditions, with perhaps varying degrees of intensity across persons and through time, might discuss legal and cognate subjects together in mutual respect and affection.

Other contributors include Steve Shiffrin, Eduardo Penalver and Michael Perry. A link to the blog has been added to the Religion Clause sidebar. [Thanks to Patrick O'Donnell for the lead.]

UPDATE: I failed to note that Patrick O'Donnell is also a blogger on Religious Left Law.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Iron Thunderhorse v. Pierce, (5th Cir., Feb. 9, 2010), the 5th Circuit rejected a RLUIPA claim by a Native American inmate. The court upheld prison restrictions denying plaintiff permission to grow his hair, prohibiting him from performing pipe ceremonies in his cell, and limiting vendors from whom he could buy a headband.

In Jones v. Burk, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9674 (ED CA, Feb. 4, 2010) , a federal magistrate judge found that plaintiff had exhausted his available administrative remedies, so he could file suit challenging the temporary or permanent denial of various Muslim religious items and access to Muslim clergy. In so finding, the court held that a remedy is not "available" if a prisoner has no reasonable way of knowing about its existence.

In Marchant v. Murphy, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10971 (D MA, Feb. 9, 2010), a Massachusetts federal district court rejected a claim by a civilly committed sex offender that his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA were violated by the correctional institution's refusal to create a second competing Native American religious group.

In Blake v. Murphy, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10963 (D MA, Feb. 9, 2010), a Massachusetts federal district court denied a 1st Amendment free exercise challenge by a civilly-committed sex offender who sought construction of a sweat lodge so he could practice his Native American religion. The court held that plaintiff was collaterally estopped by a prior state court decision rejecting the same request under RLUIPA.

In Mangus v. Dauphin County Prison, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11205 (MD PA, Jan. 8, 2010), a Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing an inmate's complaint regarding a religious diet for adherents of Islam and alleged restrictions on prayer and religious attire. The court found that plaintiff failed to connect the warden who she sued to any of the alleged acts and had failed to exhaust her administrative remedies.

In Courtney v. Burnett, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11521 (WD MI, Feb. 10, 2010), a Michigan federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124853, Oct. 5, 2009) and dismissed an inmate's 1st Amendment and RLUIPA claims objecting to the removal of his right to eat in the kosher diet line in the former institution in which he was housed.

In Jaspar v. Moors, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12049 (ED CA, Feb. 10, 2010), a California federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing a Jewish inmate's complaint that defendant interfered with his seeing the prison rabbi, after a series of confrontations between plaintiff and defendant over activities in the Protestant chapel.

President Addresses Islamic World Forum; Appoints New Envoy To OIC

Yesterday President Obama addressed by video the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar. The White House has posted the text and a video of his remarks. The President said: "the United States and Muslims around the world have often slipped into a cycle of misunderstanding and mistrust that can lead to conflict rather than cooperation." He outlined his efforts to advance "mutual interest and mutual respect" between the U.S. and Muslims around the world. The President also announced yesterday that he has appointed Rashad Hussain to serve as his Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Hussain presently serves as Deputy Associate Counsel to the President.