Faith Healing Parents Get 10 Years Probation For Involuntary Manslaughter

In Philadelphia (PA), according to an AP report yesterday, Herbert and Catherine Schaible who were convicted last year of involuntary manslaughter in the death of their 2-year old son from pneumonia were sentenced to ten years probation. During that time, the parents, who have been described as pillars of their community, must seek routine and emergency medical care for their seven children.  The couple, members of the First Century Gospel Church, believe that seeking medical treatment evidences a lack of faith in God.  Common Pleas judge Carolyn Engel Temin told the couple that the welfare of the child is more important that the parents' religious freedom. (See prior related posting.)

Pakistani Court Imposes Death Sentence For Blasphemy Against Companions of the Prophet Muhammad

One India News reports that in Pakistan's Punjab province yesterday, a court has invoked the country's controversial blasphemy law to impose a death sentence on Muhammad Rafiq for committing blasphemy against the companions of the Prophet Muhammad. Rafiq, who lives in Jalalpur Peerwala, was seen by local residents wearing a wooden slab around his neck on which were written the offending remarks about the Sahaba Ikrams. Rafiq was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 200,000 ($2337 US). After he was arrested, Rafiq was moved from the local police station to a prison in Bahawalpur to prevent a mob from lynching him.

Suit Challenges School's Ban On Religious Songs From Talent Show

A lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Los Angeles last week on behalf of a 5th-grade student challenging Superior Street Elementary School's school's policy of barring acts with religious messages from the school's annual talent show sponsored by the PTA. The complaint (full text) in B.H. v. Garcia, (CD CA, filed 1/28/2011), alleges that the school told the student that his interpretive movement to the religious song "We Shine" was not permitted because of the song's religious message. The principal suggested that the student select a song that does not mention Jesus so many times.  The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that the school's policy violates the free speech, free exercise and establishment clauses of the 1st Amendment as well as the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause and seeks temporary or permanent injunctive relief so the student can perform in this week's show. Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing filing of the lawsuit.

UPDATE: ADF announced on Feb. 2 that after the filing of the lawsuit, the Los Angeles Unified School District agreed that it would no longer prohibit 5th grader B.H. from performing his Christian song. ADF attorneys however will continue the lawsuit to prevent future applications of the same policy.

Government Representatives, Including Many Muslims, Visit Auschwitz In Bid To Counter Holocaust Denial

In a trip to Poland organized by UNESCO, the Mayor of Paris and the Aladdin Project, 150 representatives of 40 governments yesterday visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, in a move designed to counter Holocaust denial, educate about the Holocaust and battle anti-Semitism. The mission included a large delegation from a number of Muslim countries. Among those attending was Karim Lahidji, the head of the Iranian League of Human Rights. Iran's president has been a leading Holocaust denier. AP and the UN News Centre both report on the trip.

Woman Pleads Guilty In Plot To Kill Swedish Cartoonist

In a press release yesterday, the Justice Department announced that Colleen LaRose, also known as "Jihad Jane", has entered a guilty plea in a Pennsylvania federal district court to an indictment charging conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements and attempted identity theft. As reported by CNN, LaRose was allegedly part of a plot to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks who in 2007 angered Muslims with his cartoon showing the Prophet Muhammad's head on the body of a dog. Her plea was a change from the not guilty plea entered earlier. She faces a maximum potential sentence of life in prison and a $1 million fine. (See prior related posting.)

Virginia House OKs Proposed Amendments On Prayer and Funding for Military Chaplains

The Virginia House of Representatives yesterday passed two proposed state constitutional amendments dealing with religion.  HJ 593, which passed the House by a vote of 61-33 (with one abstention), would bar state infringement of "the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including public schools..."  HJ 614, passed by a vote of  62-32 (with one abstention), would allow the state legislature to provide for loans and grants to students attending theological schools and seminaries in Virginia if the student is an approved candidate for the chaplaincy in any branch of the armed services (including the National Guard). NENC reporting on the bills says that they "face a more critical reception in the Senate, where similar measures routinely die."

MRFF and Air Force Academy Faculty Members Sue Over Planned Prayer Luncheon

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation and five US Air Force Academy faculty members yesterday filed suit in federal district court in Colorado seeking to enjoin a National Prayer Luncheon at the Academy scheduled for Feb. 10.  The luncheon is being financed by the Chapel Tithes and Offerings Fund, not taxpayer money, but plaintiffs object to its promotion by the command structure. Attendance is not mandatory. While the luncheon will feature readings by participants of numerous faiths, the keynote speaker is a retired Marine Christian evangelist Clebe McClary. (See prior posting.) The complaint (full text) in Mullin v. Gould, (D CO, filed 1/31/2011) asserts that the planned event violates the Establishment Clause by favoring religion or irreligion, and through the Christian keynote speaker favors Christianity over other religions. It asserts: "The promotion ... of religion in this fashion has an inherently coercive effect upon subordinates or non-believers to fear that their failure to believe as the Defendant commander believes may reasonably be expected to cause career damage to them." Four of the five faculty member plaintiffs filed the suit as "John Does," alleging that they fear serious negative career consequences if identified. Plaintiffs also filed a motion for preliminary injunction and a brief in support of the motion. MMRF announced the lawsuit in a press release, and AP reports on the filing of the suit.

Michigan School District Will Allow Kirpans

Yesterday's Detroit Free Press reports that the Plymouth-Canton, Michigan school district has reversed a ban imposed in December and will now allow Sikh students to wear a kirpan in school, so long as the Sikh ceremonial dagger meets certain conditions. The kirpan must be sewn inside a sheath so that the blade cannot be removed, and must be worn inside the student's clothing.  The kirpan blade may not be more than two and one-fourth inches long and must be dull. [Thanks to Don Byrd for the lead.]

Nepal Court Orders Government To Stay Action Against Hindu Temple Treasury Pending Resolution of Lawsuit

A single -judge panel of Nepal's Supreme Court yesterday ordered the government's culture ministry to take no further action regarding the assets of one of the oldest Hindu temples in the country pending resolution of a challenge to the government's order for the temple to disclose the assets.  Sify News reports that a committee of the culture ministry that was formed to examine the assets of temples ordered Pashupatinath Temple to reveal its now secret assets so they can be sent to banks and museums for safekeeping.  A Hindu activist who brought the court challenge says he is not opposed to protecting the temple's assets, but it should be done by a new law and not by the current interim government.

Required Disclaimer By Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers Violates Free Speech Protections

In Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, (D MD, Jan. 28, 2011), a Maryland federal district court struck down as a violation of free expression a Baltimore ordinance requiring various disclosures by limited-service pregnancy centers.  Under the ordinance, any facility providing pregnancy-related services, but which does not provide or refer for abortions or certain kinds of birth control, must post a sign in its waiting room notifying patients of that fact. Finding that the ordinance regulates protected non-commercial speech and is based at least in part on disagreement with the viewpoint of the speaker, the court held that a strict scrutiny standard applies in reviewing the ordinance. It concluded that the requirement to post a disclaimer is not the least restrictive means of combating the city's concern over false or misleading advertising by pregnancy centers. The suit was brought by the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns that operates in rent-free space provided by the Catholic archdiocese. AP via First Amendment Center reports on the decision.

In Britain, Parliament May Retaliate If Church Refuses To Ordain Women Bishops

In England, legislative changes to permit the ordination of women as bishops in the Church of England is slowly proceeding.  In July, the Church's General Synod approved the proposal and referred it to diocesan synods. If a majority of them approve the measure, it returns to the General Synod where it will require a two-thirds majority in each house (laity and clergy and bishops) to pass. This should occur in about 18 months. Then the measure must be approved by the British Parliament. (Background.) However the London Telegraph yesterday reported that opponents of the change think their chances of defeating the measure when it comes back to the General Synod are increasing.  To counter this possibility, a cross-party group of members of Parliament today will call on Parliament to remove the Church of England's exemption from British equality laws if the measure to ordain women bishops is not approved by the Church. (See prior related posting.)

Muslim Brotherhood Not Pressing Its Religious Agenda In Current Egyptian Crisis; Others Call for Liberalization

Ya Libnan reported yesterday that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is subordinating its religious goals to the effort to achieve democratic elections in the country. In that effort, they are backing Mohamed ElBaradei as the lead spokesman for negotiating political reforms on behalf of the various opposition groups.  Middle East analysts disagree over whether the Brotherhood should be seen as an extremist group, or as one having a more moderate theological agenda.

Meanwhile, Asia News reports that last week some 20 intellectuals and theologian from Al Azhar published a a statement titled "Document for the Renewal of Religious Discourse" which calls for dramatic liberalization of Islamic doctrine in Egypt. (Full text is included in the Asia News article.)

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Mike Madden, Second Among Equals? Understanding the Short Shrift that Freedom of Religion is Receiving in Canadian Jurisprudence, (Journal of Law and Equality, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 55-86, 2011).
• Lucia Ann Silecchia, Reflections on the Link between Faith and Intellect, (CUA Columbus School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2011-2, Jan. 18, 2011).
• Faisal Kutty, The Myth and Reality of 'Shari'a' Courts in Canada: A Delayed Opportunity for the Indigenization of Islamic Legal Rulings, (University of St. Thomas Law Journal, Vol. 7, 2010).
• Brian Leiter, The Law of Religious Liberty in a Tolerant Society, (January 25, 2011).
• Mark Rienzi, The Constitutional Right to Refuse: Roe, Casey, and the Fourteenth Amendment Rights of Healthcare Providers, (January 27, 2011).
• Gregory Brazeal, Webs of Faith as a Source of Reasonable Disagreement, (January 1, 2011).
• Michael C. Dorf, Same-Sex Marriage, Second-Class Citizenship, and Law’s Social Meanings, Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-03, Jan. 28, 2011).
• Wilson Ray Huhn, A Higher Law: Abraham Lincoln's Use of Biblical Imagery, (U of Akron Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-1, Jan. 24, 2011).

Recent Books:

• Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, The Islamic World in the New Century: The Organisation of Islamic Conference, 1969-2009, (Columbia Univ. Press, Nov. 2010), reviewed in Today's Zaman.
• S. Sayyid and AbdoolKarim Vakil (eds.), Thinking Through Islamophobia: Global Perspectives, (Columbia Univ. Press, Feb. 2011).
• John M. Owen IV and J. Judd Owen (eds.), Religion, the Enlightenment, and the New Global Order, (Columbia Univ. Press, Feb. 2011).
• American Foreign Policy Council, The World Almanac of Islamism 2010, (Rowman & Littlefield, Jan. 2011).

Religious Marriage Ceremony Alone Does Not Create "De Facto" Marriage In Kentucky

In Pinkhasov v. Petocz, (KY Ct. App., Jan. 28, 2011), the Kentucky Court of Appeals held that a marriage solemnized religiously without the parties obtaining a civil marriage license is not legally valid and will not, in light of the state's refusal to recognized common law marriages, be recognized as a "de facto" marriage.  The parties, neither of whom were U.S. citizens, were married in Kentucky in a Jewish religious ceremony after Anna Petocz became pregnant. However both parties insisted that no marriage license be obtained or filed "based upon immigration concerns and a need to remain legally free to marry American citizens for the purpose of applying for citizenship."  While the parties held themselves out as husband and wife to their Jewish congregation and community, Petocz scrupulously avoided doing so on documents such as tax returns, passport application, apartment application and mental health records. Two years later, Petocz filed an action to dissolve the marriage. Daniel Pinkhasov moved to dismiss and urged the court to rule only on the issues of custody and child support.  The Court of Appeals decision supports Pinkhasov's position.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Diaz-Morales v. Wells, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6208 (SD GA, Jan. 20, 2011), a Muslim inmate filed a habeas petition challenging loss of good conduct time imposed because he participated in a group boycott of religious meals. A Georgia federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of plaintiff's free exercise, equal protection and related claims because they cannot be raised by way of habeas corpus, for failure to exhaust administrative remedies and because of lack of support on the merits for his equal protection claim.

In Hallford v. California Department of Corrections, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5984 (ED CA, Jan. 20, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing an action by a Buddhist inmate complaining of a two-year delay in being approved to receive a religiously required vegetarian diet. The court found that none of the three defendants was sufficiently involved in the claimed deprivation to be liable.

In McDaniels v. Sherman, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6365 (WD WA, Jan. 21, 2011), a Washington federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140316, Sept. 28, 2010) and dismissed a number of claims by Nation of Islam inmates regarding participation in Ramadan meals and forcing plaintiffs to participate in "orthodox" Muslim services. All but one claim was dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The claim regarding denial of attendance at the 2009 Eid was dismissed on the merits.

In Kynwulf v. Sheets, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6861 (SD OH, Jan. 25, 2011), an Ohio federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140403, Dec. 9, 2010) and dismissed claims by a prisoner of the Asatru faith that he was kept in administrative detention for 3 weeks and berated about his faith in retaliation for his participation in lawsuits seeking accommodation of Asatru practices.

In Mubashshir v. Moore, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6917 (ND OH, Jan. 25, 2011), an Ohio federal district court dismissed a Muslim inmate's complaint that prison officials failed to provide him regular nutritious meals consistent with his religious beliefs.

In Allah v. Virginia, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6979 (D VA, Jan. 24, 2011), a Virginia federal district court rejected the state's claim that plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies before suing to obtain prison recognition of Nations of Gods and Earth as a religious group.

In Ross v. Hedgepeth, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7454 (ED CA, Jan. 26, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge permitted a Muslim inmate to proceed with his 1st Amendment and RLUIPA claims against the warden complaining about prison policy that required prayer oil to be tested before it was distributed to inmates. His equal protection and Establishment Clause claims were dismissed without prejudice.

In Klein v. Department of Corrections, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7457 (ED WA, Jan. 20, 2011), a Washington federal district court dismissed as moot an inmate's complaint seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent him from being required to participate in the Right Living program, which plaintiff claimed was religious-based. On Dec. 31 the program was eliminated for budgetary reasons.

India's Supreme Court Upholds Haj Subsidies Against Constitutional Attack

In Goradia v. Union of India, (India Sup. Ct., Jan. 28, 2011), India's Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to India's Haj Committee Act of 2002 under which the government provides air fare subsidies for Haj pilgrims.   The suit was brought by Praful Goradia, a former member of Parliament from the Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party. He argued that the subsidy violates Article 27 of the India's Constitution that provides: "No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes, the proceeds of which are specifically appropriated in the payment of expanses for the promotion and maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination."  The Court held that the constitutional provision is violated only where a substantial part of a tax is utilized for a particular religion. It wrote: "In our opinion, if only a relatively small part of any tax collected is utilised for providing some conveniences or facilities or concessions to any religious denomination, that would not be violative of Article 27 of the constitution." The Court also rejected claims that the Act violated the equal protection and anti-discrimination provisions of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, pointing out that India's central government and state governments also spend money on other religions. In reaching its conclusions, the court quoted precedent from the United States Supreme Court, as well as from Australia, all suggesting that constitutional provisions should not be read too literally. Sify News reports on the decision.

British Appellate Court Says EU Employment Discrimination Directives Do Not Cover Volunteers

In an important ruling in X v. Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau, (EWCA, Jan. 26, 2011), the England and Wales Court of Appeal held that volunteers are not covered by the EU directives requiring equal treatment in employment and occupation.  In a release supporting the result, the Christian Institute (which had intervened in the case) said that the decision protects churches that use volunteers from being "forced to navigate a minefield of equality laws that threaten religious liberty."

Hawaii Senators Move To Voluntary Pre-Session Prayer

Last week, the Hawaii state Senate, after receiving a complaint from the ACLU voted to end the practice of opening Senate sessions with a prayer. (AP 1/21). However, on Wednesday a group of nine Senators held hands, bowed their heads and prayed on the Senate chamber floor before the day's legislative session formally convened. According to the AP, Senate president Shan Tsutsui supported the right of the senators to do this, saying it is a matter of free speech.

US Calls For Afghanistan To Release Two Facing Possible Death Penalty For Apostasy

The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that the U.S. government, along with some international Christian organizations, is calling on the government of Afghanistan to release two men who have been arrested on apostasy charges and could face the death penalty. Said Musa, a physical therapist, converted from Islam to Christianity nine years ago. He has worked for 15 years for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Shoaib Assadullah Musawi was arrested in November in northern Afghanistan after giving a copy of the New Testament to a friend who reported him.  A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul says that the U.S. has called on Afghanistan to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and continues frequently to call for release of the men. However the chief of staff of Afghanistan's Justice Ministry says that there are no exceptions to the death penalty for apostasy and that the sentence is needed to serve as a lesson for others.

Bill Would Create Special Envoy for Religious Minorities in Near East and South Central Asia

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) announced this week that he, along with 7 co-sponsors, has introduced H.R. 440, a bipartisan bill to provide for the establishment of the Special State Department Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. In introducing the bill, Wolf emphasized recent attacks on and arrests of Christians in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Egypt. He also pointed out that other religious minorities in the region-- such as the Ahmadis, Baha’is, Zoroastrians and Jews-- are under pressure as well. He added:

In the wake of these devastating attacks on religious freedom, which in some cases are so severe that they literally threaten to wipe these ancient indigenous communities from the lands they've inhabited for centuries, it is clear that more must be done. Sadly, against the backdrop of these attacks, the post of Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom at the State Department has been vacant for two years.