Saudi Court Sentences Religious Police Official For Having Too Many Wives

Reuters reported Wednesday that a Saudi Arabian court has convicted a man in his 50's who holds an administrative position with the Saudi religious police of having six wives. The man claimed he was not educated enough to know that Islam does not allow him to be married to more than four women at the same time. The court in Ahad-al-Massarha in the southern province of Jazan said it did not believe his claims. It sentenced him to 120 lashes, banned him from preaching and leading prayers, ordered him not to travel abroad for 5 years and required him to memorize two chapters from the Qur'an.

Virginia Governor's New Equal Opportunity Order Eliminates Sexual Orientation Protection

Earlier this month, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed Executive Order No. 6 on Equal Opportunity in all facets of state government, superseding an Equal Opportunity executive order signed in 2006 by Gov. Tim Kaine. The new order eliminates reference to a ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation-- a category that was included in the prior executive order. It also calls for the state to take "appropriate" measures to emphasize recruitment of minorities. Gov. Kaine's EO called for "affirmative" measures. TPM on Wednesday, in an article reviewing the situation, said that Gov. McDonnell has also signed a different memo calling for equal opportunity for all in the Governor's office in hiring, promotion, discipline and termination. It urges all other cabinet secretaries to implement a similar policy.

Court Tells Prosecutor To Remove Ash Wednesday Markings

Ash Wednesday yesterday led to an unusual ruling in a Marshall County, Iowa courtroom. Today's Marshalltown (IA) Times-Republican reports that after the lunch recess in an attempted murder trial, the prosecutor handling the case returned to court with ash on his forehead-- a traditional Catholic practice on the day on which Lent begins. The court agreed with defense counsel that the ash should be removed before the jury returned to avoid improper influence for or against the prosecution's case. Assistant County Attorney Paul Crawford complied, saying he understood the request was made out of an abundance of caution.

9th Circuit Rejects Church Members' Attempt To Prevent Marijuana Seizure

In Multi-Denominational Ministry of Cannabis and Rastafari, Inc. v. Holder, (9th Cir., Feb. 16, 2010), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an action by members of a religious organization seeking to enjoin further seizures by government officials of their marijuana plants. Among the various grounds for rejecting plaintiffs' First Amendment, RLUIPA and RFRA claims was a finding that the government had a compelling interest in preventing diversion of thousands of marijuana plants to non-members of the church. Courthouse News Service reported on the decision.

Utah Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Two FLDS Cases

The Utah Supreme Court yesterday heard oral arguments (recording of full arguments) in two cases relating to the ongoing efforts of the state of Utah to reform the FLDS United Effort Plan Trust. Yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune reports that the first case, FLDS v. Lindberg, involves the question of whether FLDS church members can collaterally attack reform of the trust over three years after the trial court entered its order. The second case, Snow, Christensen & Martineau, involves the trial's court's disqualification of a law firm from representing FLDS members in an action against the trust because the firm previously had a legal relationship with the trust. (See prior related posting.)

New Hampshire House Refuses To Backtrack On Same-Sex Marriage

The Concord (NH) Union Leader reports that on Monday the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted down two proposals that would have backed away from the state's recognition of same-sex marriage. By a vote of 201-135, the House defeated a proposed state constitutional amendment (CACR 28) that would have defined marriage as being only between a man and a woman. An hour later, by a vote of 210-109, the House defeated HB 1590 that would have enacted a statutory repeal of same-sex marriage in the state.

French Politicians Criticize Restaurant Chain For Serving Halal Meat

Reuters today reports that in France, various politicians are criticizing Quick, a fast-food chain, for deciding to serve only halal meat in eight of its restaurants that have a large Muslim clientele. Marine Le Pen, vice president of the far-right National Front, argued that the restaurant's customers "are forced because of halal meat to pay a tax to Islamic organizations" that certify the food. She also criticized President Nicolas Sarkozy for supporting a "forced Islamization of France" because almost all of Quick's stock is owned by an arm of the state-owned savings bank, the Caisse des Depots et Consignations.

Other politicians joined in. Rene Vandierendonck, the Socialist mayor in the town of Roubaix, threatened to sue, and Lionnel Luca, a conservative member of parliament called for a boycott to restore "freedom of choice." Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire added his criticism, saying: "When they remove all the pork from a restaurant open to the public, I think they fall into communalism, which is against the principles and the spirit of the French republic." However a marketing firm executive says Quick is merely responding to competition from smaller Halal restaurants.

EEOC Files One Religious Discrimination Suit; Settles Another

The EEOC announced last week that it had filed suit in a North Carolina federal district court against a Goldsboro, North Carolina construction company that refused to accommodate the religious needs of Seventh Day Adventist employees. The lawsuit against T.S. Loving Co. alleges that eventually the day laborers were fired because of their refusal to work on their Sabbath which runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Yesterday, in another case, the EEOC announced that UPS Freight, one of the country's largest trucking companies, will pay $46,000 to a Rastafarian who was fired shortly after he was hired because he refused for religious reasons to cut his hair or shave his beard. In the settlement of the EEOC lawsuit that had been filed in a Pennsylvania federal district court, the company also agreed to an injunction prohibiting it from engaging in religious discrimination or retaliation, to anti-discrimination training and to post a notice of the settlement. (See prior related posting.)

Settlement Reached In Suit Alleging Proselytizing of Clients By Salvation Army

The New York Civil Liberties Union yesterday announced a settlement agreement relating to part of the claims in Lown v. Salvation Army. In 2005 (see prior posting), a New York federal district court permitted a taxpayer's suit to proceed challenging the alleged use of government social service funds by the Salvation Army to proselytize clients. Under the settlement, six governmental agencies in New York City, Long Island and New York state have adopted auditing procedures or standards of conduct that will be used to monitor the Salvation Army to make sure it does not force clients in need of government-funded social services to also attend religious worship or instruction. The NYCLU will receive regular reports from the agencies, and the court will maintain jurisdiction over the agreement for two years to make sure it is enforced.

County Commissioners Will Lead Prayer Instead of Ministers

Buncombe County, North Carolina county commissioners have been discussing with their county attorney the implications of a federal court decision ruling that the invocation policy in another North Carolina county violates the Establishment Clause. Last month, a federal district court held that Forsyth County's policy as implemented advances one particular faith. (See prior posting.) Now, according to yesterday's Asheville Citizen-Times, Buncombe County will stop inviting ministers to deliver an invocation, and instead the county commissioners themselves will offer the opening prayer at each commission meeting.

Court Orders Exhumation So Deceased's Cremation Wishes Can Be Carried Out

In Hiller v. Washington Cemetery, (NJ App., Feb. 16, 2010), a New Jersey appellate court agreed that the body of decedent Irving Gottesman should be disinterred so that it can be cremated and his ashes scattered in accordance with his clearly expressed wishes. Irving Gottesman had been born into an Orthodox Jewish family, but did not remain observant after his early years. However his brother Bert did. When Irving died, Bert, within hours, had Irving's body buried in a Jewish cemetery. This prevented the woman with whom Irving was romantically involved from being able to make arrangements for cremation, even though Irving's will called for her to be the one to make funeral arrangements. Both the trial and appellate courts saw no reason that Irving's wishes should not be carried out. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

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.)