Number of Violent Anti-Semitic Incidents World-Wide Drops In 2010

According to an annual report from Israel's Tel Aviv University, the number of violent anti-Semitic incidents world-wide dropped dramatically in 2010 from the prior year. Haaretz today reports that 2010 saw a 46% decline, from 1129 incidents in 2009 to 614 last year. However the drop is largely due to the high number of violent incidents in 2009 stemming from Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip. The 2010 number was still among the highest since the 1980's.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Scott Thomas Fitzgibbon, ‘That Man is You!’ The Juristic Person and Faithful Love, (International Journal of the Jurisprudence of the Family, Forthcoming).
• Alan E. Brownstein, The Religion Clauses as Mutually Reinforcing Mandates: Why the Arguments for Rigorously Enforcing the Free Exercise Clause and Establishment Clause are Stronger When Both Clauses are Taken Seriously, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 32, 2011).
• Bruce Van Baren, The Wall Comes Tumbling Down: The Establishment Clause Collides with School Choice, (April 27, 2011).
• Nico Voigtländer and Hans-Joachim Voth, Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany, (April 12, 2011).
• Jeremy Waldron, A Religious View of the Foundations of International Law, (April 26, 2011).
• Michael J. Perry, The Grounds of Human Rights, (Emory Public Law Research Paper No. 11-151, April 28, 2011).
• Michael J. Perry, What is a 'Human Right'?, (Emory Public Law Research Paper No. 11-150; San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 11-055, April 28, 2011).
• Michael J.T. McMillen, An Introduction to Shari'ah Considerations in Bankruptcy and Insolvency Contexts and Islamic Finance's First Bankruptcy (East Cameron), (April 29, 2011).
• Charlotte H. Taylor, Hate Speech and Government Speech, (University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 12, No. 4, p. 1115, April 2010).
• Eduardo Diaz, Maria Cristina Calderon Garcia, Katherine Romero Cristancho, Elana Prada Salas, and Eliane Barreto Hauzeur, Obstacles and Challenges Following the Partial Decriminalisation of Abortion in Colombia, (Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 18, No. 36, pp. 118-126, November 2010). 

Other Recent Articles:

• Peter Irons, Curing a Monumental Error: The Presumptive Unconstitutionality of Ten Commandments Displays, 63 Oklahoma Law Review 1-46 (2010).

Michigan Church's RLUIPA Claims Rejected

In Great Lakes Society v. Georgetown Charter Township, (MI App., April 28, 2011), the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected a religious organization's "equal terms" RLUIPA claim because no evidence supported the contention that plaintiff's applications for a special use permit and variance were treated differently than applications by non-religious organizations. The religious organization ministers to persons who have chemical sensitivities to common environmental pollutants. The court also rejected plaintiff's "nondiscrimination" RLUIPA claim for lack of proof. Judge Shapiro wrote a concurring opinion arguing that the court's prior decision in the case had already decided the issues posed here.

U.S. Handling Bin Laden's Body In Accordance With Islamic Tradition

President Obama announced late Sunday night that the United States had conducted an operation in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden.  A U.S. government official has told the press that the U.S. is ensuring that bin Laden's body is being handled in accordance with Islamic tradition. (Washington Post).

UPDATE: Consistent with Islamic practice of burying a body within 24 hours of death, Osama bin Laden was buried at sea, according to a Los Angeles Times report on Monday.  A senior administration official says this option was chosen because it would have been difficult to find a country willing to accept bin Laden's remains. Sea Services has the rules for burial at sea under Islamic law.

Non-Theocratic Party Formed By Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood To Contest Up To Half Of Parliament Seats

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood yesterday announced that it had formed the Freedom and Justice Party as a non-theocratic political party that will run candidates for Parliament in September's election. Egypt's constitution bans parties based on religion. According to AFP, the new party plans to contest 45% to 50% of the 508 elected seats in Parliament.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Hawkins v. Gusman, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43637 (ED LA, April 20, 2011), a Louisiana federal district court adopted a federal magistrate's recommendation (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43640, April 1, 2011) and dismissed an inmate's complaint that the Orleans Parish Prison offers no religious programs or communal services for inmates to attend.

On April 18, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari (2011 U.S. LEXIS 2997) in Riggins v. Vail, a 9th Circuit case (sub. nom. Riggins v. Clarke) that upheld a prison policy requiring an inmate's committed name be used first on incoming and outgoing mail before any other official or religious name, and which rejected plaintiff's claim that his rights were violated by the refusal to allow him to buy prayer oils. (See prior posting.)

In Couch v. Jabe, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43356 (WD VA, April 21, 2011) a Virginia federal district court upheld a prison's grooming policy over the objections of a Muslim inmate who wanted to wear a short beard for religious reasons. AP reports on the decision.

Teacher Told To End Prayer and Bible Verses In Class

The Ft. Smith, Arkansas Times Record reports that a Van Buren, Arkansas middle school teacher was told by administrators to end various religious practices she had introduced in her classes.  Teacher Jan Redden had prayed with the students before the annual Benchmark exams "for the Devil to be bound up and not to enter their brains." Redden has also given students personalized Christian Bible verses to carry in their pockets, and Bible verses were posted on her classroom wall. The school district says it follows Department of Education guidelines on religion in schools.

Oklahoma County Grants License To Perform Marriages To 3 Atheists Certified By FFRF

Today's Tulsa World reports that for the first time, the Tulsa County, Oklahoma County Court Clerk's Office has approved applications by leaders of three local atheist/ free thought organizations for licenses permitting them to perform marriages.  The three are: Bill Dusenberry, coordinator of the Tulsa Coalition of Reason; William Poire, president of the Atheist Community of Tulsa; and Randy Bradley, president of the Tulsa County chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  In what may be a stretch of the language in O.S. Sec. 43.7, the clerk's office essentially accepted the Freedom from Religion Foundation as the equivalent of an ordaining religious organization that approved the applicants. FFRF presented letters attesting that the three applicants had met its requirement for performing marriage. FFRF has developed a set of requirements that includes having read 10 books on free thought; reading a newspaper or news magazine regularly; traveling outside Oklahoma at least three times; and being in love at least three times.  FFRF also requires applicant to pass a multiple choice test.

An FFRF celebrant will only perform a marriage for a couple that are FFRF members, who are at least 25 years old or college graduates, and who promise not to allow their children to be "religiously or philosophically brainwashed."

Challenge To Zoning Denial By Interfaith Retreat Center Can Move Ahead

In a letter ruling in Oracle Institute v. Board of Supervisors of Grayson County, (VA Cir. Ct., April 26, 2011), a Virginia state trial judge rejected a number of defenses to a suit brought by an interfaith spiritual retreat center challenging the denial of a special use permit for property which it wished to develop.  The complaint (full text) claims that the denial stemmed from opposition by various clergy and their parishioners who opposed the philosophy of the Oracle Institute and its leader Laura George as being counter to the Christian beliefs of the community. The court held that plaintiffs had standing to assert a RLUIPA claim and various constitutional claims even though they do not own the property in question. It held that a private right of action lies to enforce the speech and religion guarantees set out in the Virginia constitution. It also rejected various immunity claims.  However the court did hold that one of the defendants, the county Board of Supervisors, was not a proper party under RLUIPA. The Rutherford Institute issued a press release announcing the court's ruling.

UPDATE: On Dec. 14, 2011, the Grayson County Board of Supervisors granted a permit for development of the retreat center. (AP).

Suit Challenges Arrest For Reading Bible To Californians Lined Up At Motor Vehicle Department

The Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise reports that a lawsuit was filed in federal district court in California last Tuesday by a pastor and two elders of the Hemet (CA) Calvary Chapel who were arrested for trespassing and interfering with public business for reading the Bible to a crowd lined up outside the local Department of Motor Vehicles office.  The highway patrol says it previously told church members they were not allowed to preach on DMV property without a permit. The men who had preached at parks, shopping malls and the court house in Hemet, as well as repeatedly at the DMV, were told that the permit requirement was justified because of the captive nature of their audience at the DMV.  One of the men responded: "The devil's holding everyone captive to do his will...."  The complaint (full text) in Coronado v. California Highway Patrol, (SD CA, filed 4/26/2011), contends that their arrest violated their free speech rights under the U.S. and California constitutions, violated the 4th Amendment and amounted to false imprisonment under state law. The incident is portrayed on a YouTube video.

DC Circuit Upholds Obama Administration Guidelines For Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funding

In a 2-1 decision today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated the district court's preliminary injunction that had prevented the Department of Health and Human Services from proceeding under the Obama administration's 2009 Guidelines expanding government funding for human embryonic stem cell research. The district court had found that the Guidelines likely violate the Dickey-Wicker Amendment's prohibition the use of federal funds for research in which human embryos are destroyed. (See prior posting.) The Circuit Court had already placed a stay on the preliminary injunction last September. (See prior posting.) Today in Sherley v. Sebelius, (DC Cir., April 29, 2011), the court's majority (Judge Ginsburg joined by Judge Griffith) concluded that:

Dickey-Wicker is ambiguous and the NIH seems reasonably to have concluded that, although Dickey-Wicker bars funding for the destructive act of deriving an ESC [embryonic stem cell] from an embryo, it does not prohibit funding a research project in which an ESC will be used.

Judge Henderson dissented, writing: "The majority opinion has taken a straightforward case of statutory construction and produced a result that would make Rube Goldberg tip his hat." ABC News reports on the decision.

Sunday's Beatification of John Paul Draws Criticism From Some

Today's New York Times reports on the political controversy surrounding Sunday's planned beatification of Pope John Paul II. A beatification Mass will move the popular former Pope a step further toward formal sainthood. Some critics question Pope Benedict XVI's waiver of the usual requirement that beatification cannot take place until five year's after a person's death. Others say the sex abuse crisis that surfaced during John Paul's reign should disqualify him from beatification.  John Paul's ties to Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the controversial Legionaries of Christ, have also been raised by those opposing his sainthood.  (See prior related posting.) However, particularly residents of John Paul's native Poland, revere him and admire his role in helping to bring down Communism. Andrea Riccardi, a biographer of John Paul, says: "for many Catholics he's already a saint."

Prince William and Kate Middleton Are Married At Westminster Abbey

This morning, Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton were married at Westminster Abbey. (Photos). The Official Programme containing the text of the entire wedding ceremony is available online. Wikipedia has the guest list, including the numerous religious figures in attendance. Today's London Telegraph reports that some Anglican conservatives are criticizing the Archbishop of York for backing Prince William's and Kate Middleton's decision to live together before they were married.

USCIRF Issues 2011 Annual Report-- Adds Egypt As Country of Particular Concern

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom yesterday released its 2011 Annual Report, identifying 14 nations as "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPCs)-- the worst violators of religious freedom.  Thirteen of the countries were the same as those named last year-- Burma, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. For the first time this year, USCIRF added Egypt to the list of CPCs. Last year Egypt was on the Commission's Watch List.  Explaining the new status for Egypt, USCIRF said:

Serious problems of discrimination, intolerance, and other human rights violations against members of religious minorities, as well as disfavored Muslims, remain widespread in Egypt. Violence targeting Coptic Orthodox Christians remained high during the reporting period. This high level of violence and the failure to convict those responsible – including two of the three alleged perpetrators in the 2010 Naga Hammadi attack – continued to foster a climate of impunity, making further violence more likely.

The USCIRF Report, required by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, also named 11 countries to a Watch List, concluding that they need close monitoring. Those countries-- all on last year's Watch List as well-- are: Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Venezuela. USCIRF's report is to be considered by the State Department in preparing its Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom. Also each year, the President is to revise the list of CPCs.

Arkansas High Court Upholds Parental Rights Terminations In Tony Alamo Compound Families

Yesterday, the Arkansas Supreme Court handed down decisions in five appeals by parents of children who were removed in 2008 from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound in Fouke, Arkansas. In each case, parental rights were terminated because the continued control of the compound by Tony Alamo made it an unsafe environment for children. A trial court held that parents could be reunited with their children only if they moved off church property and found jobs outside the Alamo Ministries so they are not financially dependent on it. (See prior posting.) In yesterday's decisions, the Supreme Court upheld the terminations over claims that the state's actions violated parents' right to the free exercise of religion as well as various other provisions. The cases are Myers v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, Krantz v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, Parrish v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, Reid v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, and Seago v. Arkansas Department of Human Services. AP reports on the decisions.

Muslims Groups Lose FOIA Request, But Court Complains FBI Lied To It

In 2006, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of several Muslim-American groups and mosques in southern California in order to obtain information on reported government monitoring of religious institutions. (See prior posting.) The request made its way to court, and according to an opinion issued yesterday by a California federal judge, the government, for national security reasons, provided false and misleading information to the court regarding the documents that it had found in seeking to respond to the FOIA request.  In Islamic Shura Council of Southern California v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, (CD CA, April 27, 2011), the court chastised the government, saying:

The Government’s duty of honesty to the Court can never be excused, no matter what the circumstance. The Court is charged with the humbling task of defending the Constitution and ensuring that the Government does not falsely accuse people, needlessly invade their privacy or wrongfully deprive them of their liberty. The Court simply cannot perform this important task if the Government lies to it. Deception perverts justice. Truth always promotes it.

Nevertheless, the court concluded that the government need not provide any additional records to plaintiffs because revealing even the number and nature of the relevant documents could reasonably be expected to compromise national security. AP and Main Justice both reported on the decision.

Property of Break-Away Presbyterian Congregation Belongs To PCUSA

Hope Presbyterian Church of Rogue River v. Presbyterian Church (USA), (OR App., April 27, 2011), involves a dispute over ownership of the property of a break-away congregation that left the Presbyterian Church USA in 2007 because of theological disagreements. The Oregon Court of Appeals, reversing the trial court, held that the property belongs to the national church body, concluding that: "under either the hierarchical-deference or the neutral-principles approach to the resolution of church property disputes, the record in this case is clear that Hope Presbyterian held its property in trust for the PCUSA." The Southern Oregon Mail Tribune reports on the decision.

Program Seen As Profiling Muslim Travelers Is Ended

The Department of Homeland Security filed a notice with the Federal Register yesterday (full text) effectively ending the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). According to a press release from CAIR, NSEERS has been perceived as a program that profiles individuals on the basis of religion and ethnicity. Under the program, non-immigrant men and boys traveling to the United States from 24 predominately Muslim Middle Eastern and Asian countries (as well as North Korea) have been required to be photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed. They have also been required to leave the U.S. through designated ports. DHS says that it has implemented new automated systems over the past six years that capture information on non-immigrant travelers to the U.S. so that NSEERS is no longer provides any increase in security.

Proposal In Norway Would Bring Ritual Circumcision Under Government Health System

In Norway, the Labour Party is proposing a change in the health care law so that ritual circumcisions of boys-- practiced by Jews and Muslims-- will be covered without charge as part of the public health system. Views and News From Norway reported yesterday that under the proposal, parents will be permitted to either have only a doctor present, or have an individual connected with their religion and experienced in circumcision carry out the procedure under the observation of medical professionals. Since the government ended coverage 10 years ago, practitioners from other countries without recognized qualifications are often carrying out the procedure. Many Norwegian doctors are opposed to circumcision where there is no medical reason for it. The new law, however, has no specific provision for doctors to refuse to perform the procedure for ethical reasons. Also, for older children, the boy's consent as well as that of the parents would be required. The government ombudsman for children disagrees with the proposal, instead seeking to ban circumcision for boys under 16 or 18 years of age.

Virginia Board Narrows Anti-Discrimination Provisions In Adoption Agency Standards

AP reports that the Virginia State Board of Social Services voted on April 20 to eliminate various anti-discrimination protections in proposed standards for private foster care and adoption agencies. Many of the agencies involved are faith-based. (Final Regulation Agency Background Document). The original proposal (22VAC40-131-170(B)) would have prohibited denying a child placement, or denying an individual the opportunity to become a foster or adoptive parent, on the basis of race,color, gender, national origin, age religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, disability or family status.  However, state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli advised the Board last week that it lacked authority to go beyond the anti-discrimination provisions in federal standards for adoption plans. So the Board changed the regulations to track federal law, banning only discrimination based on race, color or national origin. (42 USC 671(a)(18)). During the public comment period, the Board received 1026 comments opposing the original language, and only 33 comments supporting it. A number of faith-based organizations opposed the original language because it would have required them to place children with same-sex couples or with individuals who are gay. It also appears that the original ban on religious discrimination might have interfered with efforts of faith-based agencies to match a child's religious beliefs. Unless the comment period is reopened, the regulations will now go to the governor, who is expected to sign them.