Israeli Civil Court Reverses Rabbinical Court's Enforcement of Illegal Contract

Haaretz today reports on a decision by an Israeli district court in Tel Aviv taking the unusual step of reversing a decision of a rabbinical court as being in violation of public policy. At issue is an illegal agreement between two Haredi (strictly-Orthodox) real estate developers.  When the Jewish Agency invited tenders for the purchase of a parcel of land in downtown Jerusalem, developer Avraham Tzeinwirt agreed to pay developer Aharon Eisenberg $1.15 million in exchange for Eisenberg withdrawing from the bidding. Tzeinwirt won the bid, but then refused to pay Eisenberg. Eisenberg took the matter to an Orthodox rabbinical court (Badatz) in Bnai Brak. The rabbinical court, headed by Rabbi Nissim Karelitz ordered Tzeinwirt to pay. Unhappy with the result, Tzeinwirt appealed to a civil court which found that the developers' agreement was designed to defraud both the Jewish Agency and tax authorities. The entire deal has now been canceled and the judge sent a copy of her ruling to the Jewish Agency, the attorney general, the Justice Ministry and the Antitrust Authority for them to consider the possibility of criminal charges. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State in Israel) for the lead.]

Saudi Supreme Court Reverses Death Sentence Imposed On TV Psychic For Sorcery

Amnesty International reports that last week Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court reversed a death sentence that had been imposed on Ali Hussain Sibat, a popular psychic who had appeared on the Lebanese satellite TV channel Sheherazade. Sibat was arrested last year by Saudi religious police while he was on the omra pilgrimage in Medina, and was charged with practicing sorcery. (See prior posting.) An appellate court had upheld the sentence, saying that Sibat's actions made him an "infidel". The Supreme Court said that the death penalty was not appropriate because there was no proof that others were harmed by his actions. The court remanded the case for retrial, saying the lower court should consider commuting the death sentence and deporting him to Lebanon at the end of his sentence.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Smith v. Beauclair, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118662 (D ID, Nov.4, 2010), an Idaho federal district court concluded that attorneys for an inmate who sued prison officials to accommodate his Cherokee religious beliefs are entitled to an award of attorneys' fees on in connection with two of plaintiff's claims on which he was deemed to be the prevailing party (wearing of beard and access to medicinal herbs). The court awarded $41,965.

In Collman v. Skolnik, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118718 (D NV, Oct. 8, 2010), a Nevada federal district court allowed an inmate to proceed with his lawsuit seeking to have the Philadelphia Church of God listed as a recognized faith group by prison authorities.

In Rose v. California, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119397 (ED CA, Oct. 26, 2010), a California federal magistrate judge held that a parole hearing panel did not violate an inmate's rights under the First Amendment or RLUIPA by considering, during the parole hearing, two disciplinary reports stemming from religiously-based violations of prison rules (hair length and tobacco possession that were part of his Native American religious practices).

In Antonetti v. Skolnik, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120063 (D NV, Oct. 25, 2010), a Nevada federal district court permitted an inmate to move ahead with his claim that "he is a devout, practicing fundamentalist Christian and has been denied access to a priest, a place of worship, communion, confessional, and congregation with those of his faith [and]... has thereby been denied forgiveness, connection to his god and chances at atonement." He also seeks a kosher diet "that is in accordance with his beliefs."

Palestinian Blogger In West Bank Faces Possible Life In Prison For Heretical Postings

AP reported Friday from the West Bank Palestinian town of Qalqilya that a mysterious blogger who angered the Arab world by his Arabic language postings blog postings and Facebook pages claiming he was God and that Muhammad had the attributes of a "primitive Bedouin" has now been caught.  It turns out that the blogger, whose website spoofing the Qur'an drew over 70,000 visitors, is Walid Husayin, a quiet 26-year old son of a Muslim scholar. Husayin led a double life, working in his father's barber shop and praying each Friday with his family. But he spent evenings blogging, in English and Arabic, arguing in favor of atheism and criticizing Islam as fostering irrationality and ignorance.  Husayin has now been arrested and charged with "insulting the divine essence."  Seer Press News says that Husayin, who was apprehended because he spent an unusual amount of time in an Internet cafe, could be sentenced to life in prison. According to Dbglobal News,even Husayin's mother wants him to be imprisoned for life to restore the family honor and protect the family.

San Francisco Resident Seeks Signatures For Initiative To Ban Male Circumcision

San Francisco (CA) resident Lloyd Schofield has submitted a proposed initiative measure to the San Francisco Department of Elections seeking to ban circumcision of males under the age of 18. The proposed ban would include circumcisions performed for religious reasons. Violation of the ban could lead to a fine of up to $1000 and up to one year in jail. In support of the proposed ban, Schofield said: "Tattooing a child is banned as a felony and circumcision is more harmful than a tattoo."  Third Age reported yesterday that in order for the initiative to be placed on the November 2011 ballot, its proponent must collect 7,168 valid signatures.

Louisiana Panel Supports New Biology Textbooks Despite Objections To Their Treatment of Evolution

A Louisiana state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education advisory panel voted 8-4 yesterday to recommend adoption of new high school life science text books, despite opposition by some who argued the books should include information on the theory of intelligent design and should pose more questions about evolutionary theory.  WWLTV News reports that objections to the books were mostly submitted through written comments while most of those who testified before the panel supported their adoption arguing that intelligent design is not science.

New Jersey County Settles DOJ Lawsuit Charging Failure To Provide Religious Accommodation

The U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday that it had reached a settlement in its Title VII lawsuit against Essex County, New Jersey. The suit was filed on behalf of an female Muslim corrections officer who was denied permission to wear a religiously-required headscarf because it violated the Department of Corrections uniform policy. (See prior posting.)  The settlement, which must still be approved by the court, calls for the county to pay the officer,  Yvette Bashir, $25,000. It also calls for the creation of a county religious accommodation policy and county employee training regarding religious discrimination and accommodation.

1st Circuit: New Hampshire Schools' Pledge of Allegiance Recitation Is Constitutional

In Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Hanover School District, (1st Cir., Nov. 12, 2010), the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an Establishment Clause challenge, as well as other constitutional challenges, to New Hampshire's School Patriot Act that requires a time during the school day for recitation of the pledge of allegiance. Any student's participation is voluntary. Those who wish not to recite the pledge are to either stand or sit silently. Plaintiff argued that the recitation of the pledge is a religious exercise because the pledge contains the words "under God." The court said:

At the heart of FFRF's claim is its argument that those students who choose not to recite the Pledge for reasons of non-belief in God are quite visibly differentiated from other students who stand and participate.... FFRF's premise is that children who choose not to recite the Pledge become outsiders based on their beliefs about religion. That premise is flawed..... There are a wide variety of reasons why students may choose not to recite the Pledge, including many reasons that do not rest on either religious or anti-religious belief. These include political disagreement with reciting the Pledge, a desire to be different, a view of our country's history or the significance of the flag that differs from that contained in the Pledge, and no reason at all.

The Becket Fund issued a press release announcing the decision. [Thanks to Volokh Conspiracy for the lead.]

Adjunct Union Says It Should Be Recognized By NLRB At Catholic College

Riverdale, New York's Manhattan College, which holds itself out as a Catholic institution, is in the midst of a fight by its adjunct faculty to unionize.  Inside Higher Ed today reports that the school is invoking the Supreme Court's 1979 decision in NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago that held church-operated high schools are not within NLRB jurisdiction. The Court focused on the risk of free exercise infringement involved. Subsequently appellate courts broadly applied the ruling to religious colleges as well.  However, the union is arguing that adjunct faculty unions have no power to change the religious nature of a college, that Manhattan College does not meet the test of a religious institution, and that it is morally wrong for the college to invoke decisions exempting religious institutions from NLRB jurisdiction. On the issue of whether the college is a religious one, its president, Brennan O'Donnell, complained:

[T]he fact that we are a welcoming, pluralistic community is being presented as proof that we cannot be an authentic Catholic college. Questions about the number of brothers in various roles imply that the work of lay faculty, staff, and administrators is negligible in forwarding our mission, and betrays a complete incomprehension of a full generation's hard and faithful work in passing forward the charism of religious orders to lay colleagues.

Pennsylvania Voter Was Required To Affirm Address By Placing Hand On Bible

Pennsylvania's election laws allow a voter who has moved to a new address in the same county can still vote by giving a "written affirmation of the change of address to poll workers in the new precinct. (Background.) Today's Philadelphia News reports that one poll worker instead required a voter to place her hand on a Bible and state her name and address before signing in. It turns out that for decades Bibles have been part of the package of polling-place supplies. They are used to swear in election workers before the polls open. The city's voter registration administrator says that poll-worker training will be updated to cover Bible issues.

Washington Pharmacy Board Moves Ahead On Rule Change To Permit Facilitated Referrals

As previously reported, in July the Washington State Board of Pharmacy settled a lawsuit against it by agreeing to begin rule-making proceedings to amend a controversial rule that requires pharmacies to fill all prescriptions (including Plan B, the "morning after" contraceptive) even if doing so violates their religious beliefs. The rule as interpreted did permit a pharmacist with objections to have the prescription filled by a co-worker in the same store if another pharmacist was also on shift.  According to the Tacoma (WA) News Tribune, yesterday the Board of Pharmacy took the next step, voting 3-2 to ask the Board staff for recommendations on drafting a rule allowing facilitated referrals to other pharmacies for "time sensitive" medications that the pharmacy will not or cannot fill. Two of the Board members who had originally voted for settling the case now changed their minds after the Board received 5,359 comments in its rule making proceeding, 4,448 in opposition to any change. Several pro-choice groups had prepared form letters online that could be sent as comment letters. The Board majority that still supports the change says there is too much focus on Plan B. They say that small pharmacies are being driven out of business under the current rule that requires them to stock even high-cost specialty drugs. Supporters of the change agree that more than Plan B is at stake. They say there might be religious objections to furnishing life-saving HIV drugs as well, for example.

United Methodist Church Sues Break-Away Oregon Congregation

The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church last week announced that it had filed suit in an Oregon state court against a break-away congregation, seeking to recover for UMC the real and personal property held by the Ontario,Oregon congregation.  The complaint (full text) in Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church v. Ontario Community Church, Inc., (OR Cir. Ct., filed 11/3/2010), asserts that UMC is entitled to the property under provisions in its Book of Discipline that specify local church property is held in trust for the denomination. The congregation broke away after its members objected to a change in clergy imposed by the bishop.  The congregation filed amended articles of incorporation describing itself as a non-denominational church and purporting to revoke any express or implied trusts created for the benefit of UMC or other bodies.The complaint also alleges that the meeting at which a vote to break away was taken was improperly called and that members lack authority to alter restrictions on local church property. AP yesterday, reporting on the decision, says that congregations in California and Alabama have left the United Methodist Church in recent years, sparking similar litigation.

Pakistani Court Imposes Death Sentence On Christian Woman For Blasphemy

Christian Today reports that in Pakistan on Sunday, a court in Punjab province sentenced a Christian woman to death for blasphemy. It also imposed a fine equivalent to two and a half years' wages. In previous blasphemy cases, the death sentence has not been carried out and this may amount instead to a life sentence. Defendant Asia Bibi, a farm worker in the village of Ittanwali, got into a heated religious discussion with Muslim fellow farm workers.  When they tried to convince Bibi to accept Islam, Bibi told them that Jesus had died for mankind's sins and asked what Muhammad had done for them. Apparently the Muslim women, offended by Bibi's remarks, began to beat her while others locked her in a room and abused her and her children. Local Muslim leaders then pressured prosecutors to file charges against Bibi.

UPDATE: CathNews India (11/15) reports that Bibi's family has appealed the conviction and sentence to the Lahore High Court.

Spanish Court Acquits Muslim Tourists Who Attempted To Pray In Catholic Church

A judge in Cordoba, Spain has acquitted eight Austrian tourists who were charged in March with offending Catholic religious sentiments by attempting to recite Islamic prayers in the Mezquita Cathedral.(See prior posting.) Prior to the 13th century, the building was a mosque and Spanish Muslims have long asserted the right to pray there.  According to Wednesday's LifeSite News, the court ruled that the tourists' actions were merely a public disorder and not an attempt to offend religious sentiments. They were aimed at supporting joint use of the building by Catholics and Muslims, and that, according to the court, does not discredit Catholic beliefs.

Naval Officers Sues Seeking Conscientious Objector Status

Last week, the ACLU announced that it had filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of a naval officer on active duty at Groton naval base, challenging the Navy's refusal to discharge him as a conscientious objector.  In Izbicki v. Mabus, (D CT, filed 11/3/2010), (full text of petition), Ensign Michael Izbicki alleged that after he graduated the Naval Academy, his Christian beliefs developed and he ultimately concluded that he could not take someone's life or aid others in doing so. The petition cites a long list of erroneous assertions made by the Navy in rejecting Izbick's two applications for CO status. [Thanks to God and Country blog for the lead.]

UPS Packages Containing Hajj Visas Delayed By Government Inspections

AP reported on Tuesday that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporarily seized for inspection four separate packages containing passports for Muslims to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. In one of the cases,  17 Virginia residents sent their passports to a California travel agent who had arranged for Hajj visas with the Saudi consulate.  The travel agent sent a package containing the passports and visas back to Virginia by UPS on November 1. However apparently UPS turned the package over to federal Customs and Border Protection officials, delaying its delivery and causing all but one of the Virginians to miss their scheduled flights. According to the Washington Post, Customs and Border Protection bought replacement tickets, at a cost of $34,000, for all the individuals involved. In another case, UPS identified packages containing passports and Hajj visas sent by a second California travel agent to Muslims in Minnesota, California and Washington state, again turning them over to CPB for a security check before they were ultimately delivered. In a release issued Tuesday, the Council on American Islamic Relations said: "The American Muslim community needs to know whether packages sent from point to point within our borders are being screened based on the religion of the sender or recipient, and whether or not such packages can be seized and opened by government officials without a warrant."

Rabbi Convicted of Wire Fraud and Blackmail

The Wall Street Journal reports that Rabbi Louis Balkany, dean of Bais Yaakov, a religious day school in Borough Park, New York, was convicted yesterday in federal court in Manhattan on charges of wire fraud, extortion, blackmail and making false statements.  The indictment (full text) charges that Balkany "was engaged in a scheme to extort a Connecticut-based hedge fund ... into paying millions of dollars to Balkany's school and to another school on behalf of Balkany." As summarized by the Wall Street Journal:

Balkany, who offer spiritual advice to prisoners, approached SAC Capital starting late last year with an offer: He would instruct an inmate not to squeal to the government about alleged insider trading at SAC Capital if the hedge fund made a $2 million donation to his religious school, plus a $2 million loan to another school.

New Church-State Separation Library Collection Dedicated

The State reports that the University of South Carolina Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library was scheduled yesterday to dedicate the Flynn T. Harrell Collection on the Separation of Church and State. The collection assembled by Flynn T. Harrell contains books, journals, an extensive clippings collection and 45 years of correspondence on the issue.

Paper's Report On Halal Slaughtering Highlights EU Labeling Proposal

Yesterday's London Mail carried an investigative report on Halal slaughtering of animals in Britain written by a reporter who went under cover into a slaughter house posing as a business man considering buying Halal meat for a chain of stores. Reporter Danny Penman obviously came away as no fan of the slaughtering practices, describing the killing of animals without stunning them first in graphic terms. The article goes on to report that supermarkets, fast food chains including McDonalds, schools, hospitals, pubs and sporting venues "are serving up halal meat to unwitting customers."  British law generally requires animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 contain an exemption for slaughter by religious methods. Penman reports on growing objections to the exemption (which also covers kosher slaughter) and says that some Halal meat producers have taken to using stunning. He also reports that in June, the European Parliament proposed a labeling requirement that would force halal and kosher meat to be labeled as coming from "unstunned animals." A spokesman for Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says that in principle the Government supports labeling, but it would rather have all animals stunned. A Halal slaughterhouse owner says he would also support a labeling requirement.

In Indonesia, Obama Speaks About Religious Pluralism In Major Address

Yesterday as part of his trip to Asia, President Obama delivered a major speech at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. (CNN) Obama spent four years as a young boy in Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population.  A substantial portion of the President's remarks (full text) focused on religion in Indonesia.  He said in part:

Religion is the final topic that I want to address today, and – like democracy and development – it is fundamental to the Indonesian story.

Like the other Asian nations that I am visiting on this trip, Indonesia is steeped in spirituality – a place where people worship God in many different ways.  Along with this rich diversity, it is also home to the world’s largest Muslim population – a truth that I came to know as a boy when I heard the call to prayer across Jakarta.

Just as individuals are not defined solely by their faith, Indonesia is defined by more than its Muslim population. But we also know that relations between the United States and Muslim communities have frayed over many years. As President, I have made it a priority to begin to repair these relations.....

Innocent civilians in America, Indonesia, and across the world are still targeted by violent extremists. I have made it clear that America is not, and never will be, at war with Islam. Instead, all of us must defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates, who have no claim to be leaders of any religion – certainly not a great, world religion like Islam. But those who want to build must not cede ground to terrorists who seek to destroy....

We are two nations, which have traveled different paths. Yet our nations show that hundreds of millions who hold different beliefs can be united in freedom under one flag....

Earlier today, I visited the Istiqlal mosque – a place of worship that was still under construction when I lived in Jakarta. I admired its soaring minaret, imposing dome, and welcoming space. But its name and history also speak to what makes Indonesia great. Istiqlal means independence, and its construction was in part a testament to the nation’s struggle for freedom. Moreover, this house of worship for many thousands of Muslims was designed by a Christian architect.

 Such is Indonesia’s spirit. Such is the message of Indonesia’s inclusive philosophy, Pancasila.  Across an archipelago that contains some of God’s most beautiful creations, islands rising above an ocean named for peace, people choose to worship God as they please. Islam flourishes, but so do other faiths.