Azerbaijan Tightens Control Of Religious Activities

Forum 18 reports that on December 12, Azerbaijan's president signed into law amendments to the country's Criminal Code and Administrative Code that  increase the penalties for violation of various religious censorship laws and add new restrictions on religious practices. Distributing religious literature that has not been cleared by the state is now punishable by up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to the equivalent of $8900 (US). Distribution of religious literature by foreigners has now been outlawed, as has sending citizens abroad to study religion without permission of the state. A new provision in the Administrative Code prohibits citizens who have gained their religious education outside of Azerbaijan from carrying out religious rituals and ceremonies of Islam. Numerous other changes are included in the new amendments as well. These changes are the 14th set of amendments to the religion laws in Azerbaijan since 2001.

Today Is Bill of Rights Day and Human Rights Week

Today is Bill of Rights Day, celebrating the 220th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights-- including the First Amendment.  President Obama last week issued a Proclamation marking the occasion.    This week is also Human Rights Week, and Dec. 10 was Human Rights Day-- both marking the adoption in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The President also issued a Proclamation last week marking these observances.

State Department Hosts Conference On Implementing U.N. Freedom of Religion Resolution

As previously reported, in March the United Nations Human Rights Council, in a major policy shift encouraged by Western nations, unanimously adopted Resolution 16/18 on Freedom of Religion or Belief which omits any reference to the concept of "defamation of religion" and instead focuses on the individual's right to freedom of belief. On Monday, the U.S. State Department followed up on this by hosting the first implementation meeting of the Istanbul Process for Combating Intolerance and Discrimination based on Religion or Belief. (State Dept. Press Release). Speaking on the opening day of the 3-day meeting (full text of remarks), Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook said in part:

We know that some people distort various religious doctrines to justify intolerance, foment violence, or create strife that serves their narrow political purposes. We must denounce offensive speech whenever we encounter it – but our commitment to universal principles makes clear that faith must never be a crime and religion must never be used as an excuse to stifle freedom of expression.

The meeting has been strongly criticized by some, such as this American Thinker article and this op-ed by Jonathan Turley, fearing it will further the "defamation of religion" agenda of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton responded to this criticism in part of her remarks at the State Department implementation meeting yesterday (full text):

Now I know that some in my country and elsewhere have criticized this meeting and our work with all of you. But I want to make clear that I am proud of this work, and I am proud to be working with every one of you. And I believe that this work is an affirmation of America’s values, but equally important an affirmation of universal values. Because we nor – no country individually has a monopoly on the truth, and we will do better when we live in peace with each other, when we live with respect and humility, and listen to each other. And it is important that we recognize what we accomplished when this resolution ended 10 years of divisive debate where people were not listening to each other anymore.

Now we are. We’re talking. We have to get past the idea that we can suppress religious minorities, that we can restrict speech, that we are smart enough that we can substitute our judgment for God’s and determine who is or is not blaspheming. And by bringing countries from around the world here, we are affirming our common humanity and our common commitment to defend and promote fundamental rights.

USCIRF Releases Report On Human Rights Violations In Sudan

Yesterday the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released a report (full text) on the Sudanese government's violations of international human rights law in the Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states that border the Republic of South Sudan.  Speaking at a press conference (full text of remarks), USCIRF Chairman Leonard Leo said that even after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that led to the creation of South Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir is continuing to target people based on religion and ethnicity.

Court Says Defendant's Marijuana Use Was Not Religiously Motivated

In State of Idaho v. White, (ID App., Dec. 14, 2011), an Idaho state appeals court rejected defendant Cary White's claim that his marijuana use is protected by the Idaho Free Exercise of Religion Protected Act.  White's extensive testimony at an initial trial before a magistrate revealed both religious and non-religious reasons for his marijuana use. The magistrate concluded that; "White’s use of marijuana is more a matter of his belief in freedom, rather than a tenet of his religion." Reviewing that finding, the Court of Appeals concluded that:

there was substantial evidence for the magistrate to determine that, while White may have testified in a manner to link his marijuana use to legitimate religious beliefs and practices, this was more of an instance where he has utilized parts of various recognized religions “to meld into a justification for his use of marijuana” and did not ... establish a link between any recognized religious beliefs he may have and his marijuana use. Therefore, we conclude there was substantial and competent evidence to support the magistrate’s findings of fact that White’s marijuana use is not substantially motivated by a religious belief....

 Today's Idaho Statesman reports on the decision.

Florida Court Says Religious Freedom Amendment Ballot Language Is Misleading

Yesterday, a Leon County, Florida trial judge ruled off the 2012 ballot, at least temporarily, Florida's Amendment 7, the Religious Freedom Amendment.  In Shapiro v. Browning, (Cir. Ct. Leon Co. FL, Dec. 13, 2011), the court held that the a portion of the ballot summary language is ambiguous and misleading. The Amendment would repeal Florida's Blaine Amendment language that bars state aid to religious institutions and instead would permit religious institutions to participate in state programs on an equal basis with others. (See prior posting.) The language that the court found objectionable was the statement in the ballot summary that the amendment provides for participation in state programs by religious groups "consistent with the United States Constitution". In fact the amendment provides that the government may not deny participation to religious institutions "except to the extent required by the First Amendment."

The court's ruling however is subject to statutory mandate given to the state Attorney General to submit corrected revised ballot language within 10 days. (FL Stat. Sec. 101.161.)  The court upheld the constitutionality of the delegation of this authority to the Attorney General.  Yesterday's Palm Beach Post reports on the decision. [Thanks to FlaglerLive for the link to the decision.]

Scottish Parliament Passes Ban on Religious Hate Crimes and On Incitements At Football Matches

Yesterday Scotland's Parliament passed the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill by a vote of 64-57, according to BBC News.  As explained yesterday by The Guardian, the new law follows a series of sectarian threats and football-related violence earlier this year.

The full text of the final version of the new law is available online. It creates two new offenses.  First it bans incitement of public disorder based on hatred of a religious or racial group or on hatred relating to sexual orientation, nationality or disability. It covers such conduct at or while traveling to or from football matches.

Secondly, the new law more broadly bans threats of serious violence, or other threatening communications by a person intending to stir up hatred on religious grounds, whether or not related to football matches. However, a section designed to protect freedom of expression provides:

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in section 5(5) prohibits or restricts— (a) discussion or criticism of religions or the beliefs or practices of adherents of religions, (b) expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse towards those matters, (c) proselytising, or (d) urging of adherents of religions to cease practising their religions.

[Updated]

Reporter Follows Koshering of White House Kitchen For Hanukkah Reception

The Dining section of today's New York Times features an article titled Overnight Makeover for a Kosher First Kitchen. It reports on the several-hour frenzy of making the White House kitchen kosher so that food for the President's annual Hanukkah reception could be prepared there last week. (See prior related posting.) The article describes a "Lubavitch SWAT team of three rabbis and an intern."  At one point during the process, one of the rabbis "reviews a Hebrew passage from Shulchan Aruch, the venerable code of Jewish law. He finds it on his iPad."

Gingrich Iowa Staffer Resigns Over His Remarks About Mormonism

Yesterday's Des Moines Register reports that less than a week after he was hired, Newt Gingrich's political director for his Iowa campaign was forced to resign because of remarks he made about Mormons during a focus group in which he participated a day before he was hired. Craig Bergman told a focus group last Wednesday: "A lot of the evangelicals believe God would give us four more years of Obama just for the opportunity to expose the cult of Mormon. There’s a thousand pastors ready to do that." Both Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are Mormons.

Saudis Execute Woman Convicted of Sorcery

On Monday, according to an AP report, Saudi Arabia executed a woman who had been convicted of practicing magic and sorcery. Chief of the religious police, Abdullah al-Mohsen, said the woman had tricked people into thinking she could treat illnesses. She charged $800 per session for her services. (See prior related posting.)

Dutch Senate Unlikely To Concur In Ban On Halal and Kosher Slaughter

Last June, the lower house of Netherlands' parliament overwhelmingly passed a bill that effectively would ban kosher and halal slaughter of animals. The bill did so by eliminating a provision in current law that exempts ritual slaughter from the requirement that animals be stunned before they are killed. (See prior posting.) While at that time it appeared that the Dutch Senate would go along with the lower house, now, according to an AP report, support of several parties, including Netherlands' two largest, seems to have disappeared.  While the Senate vote on the bill will not take place until Dec. 20, yesterday the Senate debated the bill.  Senator Nico Schrijver said the Labour party now has "many questions," and suggested that animal welfare could better be improved by aiming at conditions in large-scale industrial slaughter houses rather than at the small number of  ritual slaughterers. The VVD party which holds the largest number of seats in Parliament also now seems unlikely to support the proposal. VVD senator Sybe Schaap argued that the bill reflects "ethical absolutism".

Suit Challenges Crosses On Public Property of Tennessee Town

The Freedom From Religion Foundation announced last week that it has filed a federal lawsuit against the town of Whiteville, Tennessee and its mayor, James Bellar, challenging under the Establishment Clause several crosses put up on public property. The complaint (full text) in Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Town of Whiteville, Tennessee, (WD TN, filed 12/9/2011), recounts the sequence of events.  Initially FFRF complained about a cross that had been displayed on the town's water tower.  The mayor responded by merely removing one arm of the cross. (See prior posting.) At about the same time, the city installed two crosses in front of city hall and decorated them with Christmas wreaths. Also a cross was installed on a public sidewalk in front of the mayor's insurance company. Yesterday, Whiteville's mayor issued a statement (full text) criticizing the lawsuit. The mayor comments in part: "What is even more puzzling about this latest lawsuit is that this foreign company and its Nashville law firm have filed it in the federal court in Jackson, Tennessee, which abuts a public sidewalk on which sits government-owned light posts that, as we speak, are decorated by colorful banners depicting Christmas trees."

Mosque Dispute Dismissed Without Invoking Islamic Law

Last March, a Florida state circuit court judge issued a controversial order providing that Islamic law would be used in deciding whether to enforce an arbitration award between a mosque and certain trustees of the mosque who had been removed from office. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Tampa Bay Times reports that now the same judge has dismissed the lawsuit on different grounds.  Circuit Judge Richard Nielsen held that the court cannot intervene in an internal church governance dispute. Underlying the mosque dispute is control over $2.2 million that the mosque received when some of its property was taken by the state for a road project.

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the court's opinion as well as of the parties' motions and arguments relating to dismissal of the suit. [Thanks to Volokh Conspiracy for the documents.]

Muslim Women Must Remove Veil For Canadian Citizenship Oath

The Vancouver Sun reports that Canada's Immigration Minister Jason Kenney last week announced a new rule that requires those being naturalized as Canadian citizens to show their faces while taking the citizenship oath.  This means that Muslim women will be required to remove full face veils during the naturalization ceremony.  Kenney explained the reasons for the new rule, which is effective immediately:

Requiring that all candidates show their faces while reciting the oath allows judges, and everyone present to share in the ceremony, to ensure that all citizenship candidates are, in fact, taking the oath as required by law. This is not simply a practical measure. It is a matter of deep principle that goes to the heart of our identity and our values of openness and equality.

EEOC Sues Nursing Home For Failing To Accommodate Jehovah's Witness Employee

The EEOC announced last week that it has filed a federal lawsuit against an Ann Arbor, Michigan nursing home, Whitehall Healthcare for failing to accommodate the religious needs of a Jehovah's Witness nursing assistant. The nursing home terminated the employee because of her need to have Wednesdays and Sundays off to attend religious services. The suit seeking damages and an injunction alleges that the nursing home violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Challenge To Governor's Day of Prayer Proclamation Dismissed On Standing Grounds

In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Brewer, (D AZ, Dec. 12, 2011), an Arizona federal district court dismissed an Establishment Clause challenge to the Arizona governor's proclaiming a "Day of Prayer."  The court held that plaintiffs lacked standing because they were not injured by the governor's proclamation, saying:

Plaintiffs provide affidavits to establish they turned off the television and altered conversational habits to avoid the topic of religion or the day of prayer....  Plaintiffs, however, do not explain why their alleged injury is different than injuries in other Establishment Clause cases in which the plaintiffs did not have standing, such as the President’s day of prayer proclamation. Essentially, Plaintiffs seek a ruling obliquely holding that injury sufficient to confer standing exists under the Establishment Clause where government action is covered in the news or the subject of a social conversation. The Court declines to depart from Establishment Clause case law on this ground. Plaintiffs have not shown injury beyond “stigmatic injury” or feeling like an “outsider.”

The East Valley Tribune reports on the decision.

Colorado Park District Bars Menorah, But Not Christmas Tree

The Evergreen, Colorado Park and Recreation District manages Lake House, a popular community gathering place on Evergreen Lake.  Lake House property however is owned by the city and county of Denver. A large evergreen tree outside Lake House had traditionally been decorated with Christmas lights. From 2005 to 2009, a Hanukkah Menorah was displayed in back of Lake House by a Jewish group. However, according to yesterday's Denver Post, this year the Recreation District has ruled that the Menorah may not be put up, invoking a rule of the Denver Parks and Recreation Department that bars religious decorations on public property. Under Supreme Court precedents, a Menorah is considered religious, while a Christmas tree is not. [Thanks to Patrick Gillette for the lead.]

North Korea Warns South Against Christmas Tree Towers At Border

BBC News reported Sunday that Christmas tree shaped towers have become the latest point of contention between North and South Korea. A tree shaped 30 meter high steel structure illuminated by thousands of small lights had traditionally been set up by South Korea on Aegibong hill, two miles from the North Korean border. However when relations between the two Koreas began to thaw in 2003, the tradition was ended.  Tensions between North and South began to grow again last year, and last December South Korea again lit the tree amidst tight security.  This year, South Korea plans to again light the tree shaped tower and to also allow Christian organizations to light two additional towers along other parts of the border. However a North Korean state-run website warns the South of "unexpected consequences" if it goes through with the planned Dec. 23 tree lightings.  North Korea said the trees would amount to a form of psychological warfare.

White House Website Announces Holiday Theme For 2011

The White House website now includes a 2011 Holidays at the White House page featuring photos of White House holiday decorations and blog posts relating to the holiday season. The introductory paragraph reports:

Our theme for this 2011 holiday season is "Shine, Give, Share," which offers an opportunity to pay tribute to our troops, veterans, and their families throughout the White House. This year, the official tour features 37 Christmas trees, 30 are natural trees and 7 are made from paper, felt or aluminum; a gingerbread model of the White House made of 400 pounds of gingerbread, white chocolate and marzipan plus 5 different representations of First Dog Bo Obama. Volunteers from 36 states plus the District of Columbia worked for days to get everything ready.

The White House announced that last week it had sponsored a special holiday "tweetup" for 150 followers of the White House Twitter feed from around the country. The group tweeted during the tour, sharing what they saw and heard.

Texas Approves Christian Themed Specialty License Plate

According to the Austin (TX) American-Statesman, on Thursday the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles governing board, by a vote of 4-3, approved a specialty license plate displaying 3 Christian crosses on a hill and the motto "One State Under God."  A portion of the fees from the specialty plate will go to a Nacogdoches (TX) ministry to support a youth ministry program. In a press release Thursday, the Texas Freedom Network (TFN) criticized the Department's approval of the new "Calvary Hill" specialty plate. Rev. Dr. Larry Bethune, a TFN board member, said that the design trivializes the Christian faith by turning it into "slogans and symbols on the back of a bumper." [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]