Samoan Time Change Poses Sabbath Observance Problems

As has been widely reported, last week the Pacific island nation of Samoa (and its neighboring island, Tokelau) effectively moved to the other side of the International Date Line by aligning their official time with Australia and New Zealand. These countries are Samoa's most important trading partners and emigration destinations.  Samoa and Tokelau carried out the change by moving immediately from Thursday Dec. 29 to Saturday Dec. 31-- skipping Friday.  According to JTA this move has posed a unique problem for Seventh Day Adventists and Jews. When should they celebrate the Sabbath on Samoa?  Most Seventh Day Adventist churches have decided to now adopt Sunday as the day of rest.  Apparently there is only one permanent Jewish resident in Samoa, and two Jewish Peace Corps volunteers.  Nevertheless, a Baltimore rabbi, Dovid Herber, who is an expert on Jewish law and astronomy, has written a two-page halachic (Jewish legal) opinion on the issue. He concludes that it has always been questionable when to observe the Sabbath on Samoa, so Jews should keep the Sabbath for 49 hours to make sure they have the correct day. Before the Date Line change, that meant from sunset Thursday to when it became dark on Saturday. After the change, this should move to begin the 49 hours at sundown on Friday and end Sunday night. Voz Is Neias? has more detailed information on Rabbi Heber's opinion, as well as on conflicting opinions of other rabbis who say the Sabbath should be observed on whatever day the local population calls Saturday. In 1997, Rabbi Heber wrote a longer article on halachic issues posed by the International Date Line.

ACLU Sues Library Over Internet Filter That Excludes Minority Religious Beliefs

The ACLU announced yesterday that it has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a library patron against the Salem, Missouri Public Library for unconstitutionally blocking Internet access to websites that discuss minority religious beliefs. The complaint (full text) in Hunter v. City of Salem Missouri, (ED MO, filed 1/3/2012), alleges that the library subscribes to an Internet filtering service that allows the library to choose categories of websites to which it wishes to deny access on its publicly available computers.  The library included the "occult" category in its filter profile, even though that category includes "numerous websites discussing minority religions, religious practices, and beliefs from a positive or neutral viewpoint." The library also blocks the "criminal skills" category, even though that includes websites "related to Native American cultural and religious history and the Wiccan Church."  Plaintiff alleges that this practice violates her 1st Amendment right of access to speech and violates the Establishment Clause by favoring some religious viewpoints over others. AP reports on the lawsuit.

Suit Challenges Denial of Charter School Application By Minister

The Orange County Register last month, in an editorial, reported on a lawsuit filed on Dec. 9 against the Compton (CA Unified School District challenging its two denials of a charter school application filed by a Christian minister.  The application by Charles Patrick, pastor of Sunago Christian Fellowship Church, was rejected because of Patrick's religious leadership position in the community. Apparently the school district relied on provisions in California's constitution (Art. IX, Sec. 8) that bar spending of public funds to support any sectarian school. Patrick, however, says he was not applying on behalf of his church. He says he wants to run a non-religious charter school at a safe location in the city. The lawsuit claims that the school board's action violates the 1st Amendment by denying funding intended to be used for a secular purpose merely because of the applicant's religious affiliation.

Goldman Sachs Enters Islamic Finance Market Amid Some Criticism

Reuters yesterday reported on controversy that is being caused by the entry of the large U.S. investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs, into the Islamic finance market. In an attempt to bring greater sophistication to the sukuk market, Goldman created a Cayman Islands entity that will issue financial instruments based on a cost plus profit arrangement to avoid payment of interest.  The sukuk program has been registered for trading on the Irish Stock Exchange. An Islamic finance analyst in Saudi Arabia, however, has raised concern that Goldman might use proceeds of its sukuk program to fund its conventional banking activities or that the sukuk might trade on the Irish Stock Exchange at other than par value-- which would be in violation of sharia law. The managing director of an Islamic finance advisory firm rejects this speculative criticism as groundless.

Saudis Will Enforce Ban On Salesmen In Women's Apparel Shops, Despite Clerical Objections

According to AP, Saudi Arabia yesterday said it will begin to enforce a 2006 law that bars men from working in women's apparel and cosmetics shops. The law has not been enforced up to now because Muslim clerics oppose women working in places where men and women congregate, such as malls.  Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric said: "a woman standing face to face with a man selling to him without modesty or shame can lead to wrongdoing."  However Saudi women, unhappy about having to buy lingerie from men, have pressured the government to place women in these stores.  The new enforcement will begin Thursday and will cost thousands of men their sales jobs. Their positions will be taken largely by female South Asian migrants. Over 28,000 female workers have applied for the new positions.

ACLU Complains About Christian Athlete Speakers At Schools

Sunday's Kansas City Star reports that the ACLU is raising questions with the St. Joseph, Missouri school district about the religious content of presentations made by motivational speakers in the schools. The speakers were arranged through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which says it is careful not to cross the line in church-state matters. The ACLU's letter to the district attorney complaining about the situation focuses particularly on religious motivations reflected in various e-mails from Cindy Crouse, the school district's coordinator of guidance and counseling. For example, in describing a mother's complaints about the speakers, Crouse said: "Satan was at work today."  The ACLU is also concerned about use of the school assemblies to promote religious events taking place elsewhere. The school district's attorney says that the school has followed the law, and that it will remind those involved with programs that they cannot let their personal faith interfere with their job duties.

Indian Government Sets New OBC Sub-Quota In Bid For Muslim Votes

Over the last ten days, the press in India has been filled with commentary on the Indian government's December 22 decision (CNN) to create a 4.5% sub-quota for economically and socially disadvantaged non-Hindu minorities-- Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians-- within the existing 27% Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota. The quotas create access to government jobs and education. Many more Muslims are designated as OBCs than are members of the other non-Hindu religious minorities.  In December 2009, the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities submitted a report to Parliament recommending a 10% quota for Muslims, along with 5% for other minorities. (See prior posting.) The government's December decision to set a new sub-quota is widely seen as an attempt to attract Muslim votes in legislative assembly elections to be held in February in the state of Uttar Pradesh. An example of reaction to the new quota, however, is a Jan. 1 article from the Times of India that contends the new rules will hurt Muslims.  It quotes the founder of the All-India Muslim OBC Organisation, who says:

Besides pitting minority OBCs against Hindu OBCs, the educationally and socially weak Muslim OBCs will not be able to compete with Sikh and Christian OBCs in the race to grab jobs and admissions. The advantage of being part of the general OBCs is that you remain invisible and get some benefits. But here, the competition will be tougher as the share has reduced.

Israel High Court Refuses To Create General Procedure To Change Status To "No Religion"

As previously reported, in Israel last September a Tel Aviv District Court granted a petition by author Yorum Kaniuk, ordering the Interior Ministry to allow Kaniuk to change his status on the country's population registry from "Jewish" to "no religion." (See prior posting.)  Kaniuk then petitioned the High Court of Justice asking it to provide a method for citizens who want to be listed as having "no religion" to be able to do so without having to go to court in each case. The Jerusalem Post reports that in an opinion released Saturday night, a 3-judge panel of the High Court of Justice dismissed Kaniuk's petition, saying that it presents a "general topic that does not address any specific individual or any specific difficulty and which therefore cannot be addressed effectively [by the court]."

In India, Conversion Law Is Used By Hindu Family To Oppose Daughter's Marriage

The Times of India on Saturday reported on a case in which parents in Ahmedabad (in Gujarat state in India), unhappy with their daughter's choice of husbands, are attempting to use Gujarat's Freedom of Religion Act that aims at coerced conversions to undo or undercut the marriage.  The bride, from a Hindu family, converted to Islam before her marriage last October to her Muslim husband.  In November, the bride's mother filed a complaint with the police claiming that her daughter did not obtain the required permission from the district collector to convert to another religious faith.  On Dec. 22, the daughter and the Muslim scholar who converted her were arrested, placed in custody and denied bail.  A hearing in the case is scheduled for today in the city sessions court. The daughter claims she filed an affidavit before the marriage stating she was not forced into conversion. She plans to challenge the Religious Freedom Act's provisions on conversion. (See prior related posting.)

Israeli Legal Decisions Fail To Solve Disputed Ownership of Church of Holy Sepulchre Chamber

On Friday, Haaretz reported on an inconclusive decision by an Israeli magistrate's court last month in a battle over ownership of a small chamber in the basement of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.  The case began in 1996 when employees of a grocery store in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem discovered that Coptic monks were removing soil from an area under the grocery. The Coptic monks had reached the chamber through a horizontal tunnel from their chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  A vertical entry connects the grocery store-- which rents from a Muslim religious trust that owns the building-- to the same chamber. After a stabbing and kidnapping over the dispute, the Muslim Budri family religious trust took the Coptic Church to court to settle ownership rights. During the 15 years of litigation, the court has had to examine numerous obscure historical documents.  Also, the case at one point made it up to the High Court of Justice which ordered the Prime Minister's Office to determine whether the disputed basement is a holy site.  A law still in force from the British Mandate period prohibits courts from deciding that issue.  Last month two rulings came down. The Prime Minister's Office ruled that the basement is not a holy site, and Jerusalem Magistrate's Court Judge Oded Shaham ruled that neither side had proved ownership of the basement, saying that the parties' rights are "inherently unclear."  Both sides plan to appeal the judge's ruling, and the Coptic Church is considering appealing the ruling by the Prime Minister's Office.

Hungary Again Passes Restrictive Religion Law

According to Focus News Agency, Hungary's Parliament last Friday passed a restrictive new Law on Churches which recognizes only 14 religious faiths (the so-called traditional faiths), instead of the 300 that have previously been recognized.  Faiths not specified in the new law are permitted to apply to Parliament for recognition if they have been operating in Hungary for at least 20 years. Two-thirds approval of Parliament is required for recognition. All Islamic, Buddhist and Hindu congregations will be required to apply under this provision. Hungary's Constitutional Court struck down an earlier version of the law last month, but did so only on procedural grounds. (See prior posting.)

A Bibliography Plus Forthcoming Books of Interest

The Association of American Law Schools Section on Law and Religion has issued its Annual Newsletter for 2011, containing an extensive bibliography of law-and-religion books and articles published during 2011, as well as a listing of relevant blogs.

Here are some just-published and forthcoming books that may be of interest to Religion Clause readers:

• John M. Barry, Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State and the Birth of Liberty, (Viking Adult, Jan. 5, 2012), reviewed by the New York Times.
• Katherine Stewart, The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children,(Public Affairs Books, Jan. 24, 2012).
• John D. Brewer, Gareth I. Higgins & Francis Teeney, Religion, Civil Society, and Peace in Northern Ireland, (Oxford Univ. Press, Dec. 2011).
• Jeremy Waldron, The Harm in Hate Speech, (Harvard Univ. Press, May 2012).
• Michael P. Winship, Godly Republicanism: Puritans, Pilgrims, and a City on a Hill, (Harvard Univ. Press, April 2012).
• Melanie Heath, One Marriage under God: The Campaign to Promote Marriage in America, (NYU Press, April 2012).
• Yunas Samad, The Pakistan-US Conundrum: Jihadists, the Military and the People–The Struggle for Control, (Columbia Univ. Press, Dec. 2011).
• Amanda Porterfield, Conceived in Doubt: Religion and Politics in the New American Nation, (Univ. of Chicago Press, May 2012),

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Shaw v. Parker, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148286 (D DE, Dec. 27, 2011), a Delaware federal district court dismissed an inmate's complaint that his rosary beads had been confiscated, finding that the strength of the cord posed a security threat. They were returned and then retaken. The court ordered plaintiff why the complaint about this should not be dismissed for non-prosecution.

In Hennis v. Tedrow, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148316 (WD PA, Dec. 27, 2011), a Pennsylvania federal district court dismissed 8th Amendment and equal protection claims by a Rastafarian inmate who claims he was ordered to cut his dreadlocks and that he was denied religiously-mandated vegetarian meals during a 2-day lock down.

In Johnson v. Williams, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148445 (D OR, Dec. 22, 2011), an Oregon federal district court rejected an inmate's claim that the Establishment clause was violated by prison authorities' refusal to recognize Satanism as a religion. It also rejected a claim that his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA were infringed when he was not permitted to possess The Satanic Bible. The court also upheld disciplining plaintiff for sending out White supremacist Nazi drawings.

In Smith v. Mohr, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148579 (ND OH, Dec. 21, 2011), plaintiff is a Jewish prisoner who has purchased kosher meals from the commissary because he dislikes the prison's kosher meals. An Ohio federal district court rejected his claims that his rights were infringed when, after he was sent to the segregation unit for conduct offenses, he was denied access to the commissary or food stored in his cell and was limited to the prison's kosher meals.

In Abdul-Aziz v. Ricci, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149163 (D NJ, Dec. 28, 2011), a New Jersey federal district court rejected an inmate's complaint that his rights were violated when prison authorities did not accept donated Halal meals with meat, and did not allow Islamic inmates to retain prayer oils in their cells. The court also found no evidence that the prison's vegetarian meals are contaminated with meat products.

Efforts Continue To Get Public Display of Washington's Letter To Newport Hebrew Congregation

The Forward last week reported on efforts to restore to public view an important document in the history of religious freedom in the United States-- George Washington's Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. In the 1790  letter, Washington says:

It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

The letter is owned by the Morris Morgenstern Foundation which is controlled by reclusive private collector Richard Morgenstern.  Until 2002, the letter was displayed, on long-term loan, at the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.  That museum closed in 2002 and its contents-- apparently including the famous letter-- were placed in storage.  The National Museum of American Jewish History and the Library of Congress have both tried to persuade Morgenstern to again place the letter on public display. Apparently the Library of Congress is still negotiating on the matter.

TRO Denied To Churches Planning To Deny Use For Civil Unions-- Claim Is Non-Justiciable

In Emmanuel Temple v. Abercrombie, (D HI, Dec. 30, 2011), an Hawaii federal district court denied a temporary restraining order to prevent enforcement against two churches of Hawaii's public accommodation anti-discrimination laws. Plaintiffs feared enforcement based on their planned refusal to make their facilities available to those who might seek to use them for celebrating civil unions under Hawaii's civil union law that is effective on Jan. 1.  The court concluded that the churches' claim is not justiciable because their plans to violate the anti-discrimination law in the future are vague and any threat of enforcement of the law against them is highly speculative. (See prior related posting.) The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Honolulu Civil Beat report on the decision.

Happy New Year 2012 To Religion Clause Readers!

Dear Religion Clause Readers:

Happy New Year! As we enter 2012, I want to again thank all of you who read Religion Clause-- both long time followers (some of you have been with me since the beginning), as well as those who have discovered the blog more recently. And thanks to all of you who send me leads to new developments or who alert me to needed corrections or to your concerns about coverage of particular developments. Your input is important in maintaining completeness and accuracy. I read all of your e-mails and appreciate receiving them, even though time constraints often prevent me from replying individually. Normally when I blog on a story sent to me by a reader, I mention the sender. If you do not want mentioned, I will be happy to honor that request if you let me know when sending me information.

It has been a good year for Religion Clause blog. It was nominated by the American Bar Association as one of the top 100 legal blogs in 2011—the fourth time in five years it has made the list.  The site meter shows that the blog has attracted over 1,143,000 visits since I created it in 2005. Approximately 226,000 of these visits were registered in 2011. This is a decrease of a bit over 7%  compared to 2010.  That decline in visits appears to stem from changes that Google made to its Blog Search page, which no longer includes for everyone visiting it featured postings from popular blogs.  When Google included that in its design, Religion Clause often benefitted from the algorithm it used to select stories that would be featured.

Interested readers continue to have several ways to access Religion Clause—by directly connecting to the home page, connecting through a mobile device to a version formatted for Smart phones, subscribing to the RSS feed through any of the popular RSS readers, through e-mail subscriptions, on Kindle, through Twitter, through Facebook and on Newstex sources such as Lexis.  The Religion Clause sidebar has further information on these alternatives.

Religion Clause's established format of neutrality, broad coverage and links to extensive primary source material has made it a widely-recognized authoritative source for keeping up on church-state and religious liberty developments around the world. I am pleased that my regular readers span the political and religious spectrum and include a large number of individuals working professionally dealing with church-state relations and religious liberty concerns.  I was approached twice this year by well-respected portals that wanted me to move Religion Clause to their sites.  Ultimately I decided against doing so in order to maintain Religion Clause’s unique identity.

I continue to be amazed that there is never a day when I am lacking for developments to report. I try to keep the mix interesting and relevant.  I urge you to continue to recommend Religion Clause to your friends and colleagues, and to share posts you like on Facebook and on other social media sites.  This can be done easily by opening the relevant post and clicking on the “Share” button at the bottom of the post.  If you have any general comments or suggestions for Religion Clause's upcoming year, feel free to e-mail me at religionclause@gmail.com.

Best wishes for 2012!

Howard M. Friedman

Maldives Government Response To Islamic Demands Has Complex Background

As previously reported, the government of the Maldives has responded to a December 23 Islamist protest led by opposition parties by ordering all hotel spas closed. Here is more information on the complicated religious-political-economic background and developments in this Island chain that is a popular high end tourist destination.

In 2008, Mohamed Nasheed became the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, defeating long-time President Abdul Gayoom in a run-off election. (Background.) In June 2010, thirteen members of Nasheed’s cabinet resigned en masse, protesting Parliament’s undercutting of government policies. On the same day, police arrested two members of Parliament on bribery charges. They were former President Gayoom’s half-brother. The other was Gasim Ibrahim, head of the Jumhooree Party and owner of a number of tourist resorts. Among the six opposition political parties supporting the pro-Islam demonstration last week was the Jumhooree Party. (Minivan News).

Responding to the demonstrations, the government initially ordered spas at 5 resorts owned by Gasim Ibrahim to close down on the ground that they were in fact engaged in prostitution. (Background). Gasim promptly sued, claiming that the order was issued without any investigation. The court cancelled the closure order while the case was pending. A government spokesman says Gasim is pretending to be a victim for political gain. (Minivan News.) Meanwhile the government expanded the closure order to include all spas and massage parlors, saying it did not know how to differentiate those that were prostitution fronts from those that were not. (Minivan News.) Now the government says it is also considering a ban the sale of alcohol and pork at tourist  resorts, both of which were also demands of the demonstrators. (Minivan News). Apparently alcohol sales are permitted now through the government declaring portions of inhabited islands to be "uninhabited". (Haveeru.) Those sales bring in substantial revenue to the government through its goods and services tax. (Dhonisaurus.) [Thanks to Bill Poser for part of the lead.]

Maldives Orders Resort Spas Closed After Islamic Protests

In the wake of protests last week in the Maldives by the opposition Adhaalat Party seeking an end to "anti-Islamic" activities (see prior posting), the Maldives government yesterday ordered hundreds of luxury hotels to close their spas.  On Islam reports on developments. The tourism industry is a vital part of the Maldives economy, drawing some 850,000 tourists each year to the islands whose total population is under 400,000.  High end resorts on secluded islands can cost tourists up to $12,000 per day.

Russian Orthodox Church Joins Those Critical of Russia's Parliamentary Elections

The New York Times reported yesterday that in Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church has surprisingly joined those that are critical of the recent parliamentary elections. The Church has generally been an ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, but now Church leader Patriarch Kirill I, as well as prominent priests, are speaking out.

Suit Challenges Investigations Into Church Refusals To Host Civil Union Ceremonies

Hawaii's civil union law, permitting same-sex civil unions, enacted in February 2011 (see prior posting) takes effect January 1, 2012. On Wednesday, two Christian churches filed a lawsuit in Hawaii federal district court claiming that individuals who are planning civil union ceremonies have already filed complaints with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission against churches that refuse to rent their facilities for same-sex civil union and marriage ceremonies. The complaint (full text) in Emmanuel Temple, The House of Praise v. Abercrombie, (D HI, filed 12/28/2011) claims that investigations launched by the Civil Rights Commission have a chilling effect on plaintiffs' free exercise of religion. HRS Sec. 489-3 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in places of public accommodation. Courthouse News Service reports on the filing of the lawsuit.