Australia Modifies School Chaplaincy Program To Also Fund Secular Welfare Workers

In 2007, the Australian government began offering schools up to $20,000 per year to fund chaplaincy services. (See prior posting.) Around 2700 schools have received funding under the program. However,  the Australian Psychological Society argued that the program is dangerous to children's mental health because many children are seeking out chaplains rather than psychologists to deal with mental health problems. (See prior posting.)  According to today's Canberra Times, the government has now changed its guidelines so that schools can choose to use the money to employ secular welfare workers instead of chaplains-- an alternative that was previously available only if no chaplain could be found. So far of the 2512 schools that have reapplied for funding, only 8% of  have chosen this secular option, 89% are sticking with chaplains, and 3% are still deciding. Meanwhile a constitutional challenge to the entire chaplaincy program is still pending in the courts.

Vigilante Morality Police Attempt To Enforce Islamic Law In Rural Egypt

Bikya Masr reported this week that in rural towns in Egypt, vigilante gangs of conservative Salafi Muslim men have formed themselves into a Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to enforce Islamic law.  They have been harassing shop owners and women, telling stores they should stop selling "indecent" clothing and telling barbers to stop shaving Muslim men. However when the self-styled morality police rushed into a beauty salon in the town of Benha, the women patrons struck back beating the men with their own canes and kicking them out into the street. Sheiks from Cairo’s Al Azhar mosque and university have denied the legitimacy of the vigilante groups, and the al Nour Party denied that it financed the morality police groups.

Egypt Charges Wealthy Coptic Politician With Blasphemy

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that in Egypt, Naguib Sawiris, chairman of Orascom Telecom and a major shareholder in the cell phone service provider Mobinil, has been charged by prosecutors with blasphemy and insulting Islam. He is to appear in court for a hearing on Jan. 14.  Sawiris, a Coptic Christian and a billionaire, heads the secular Free Egyptians Party which is expected to end up in third place with about 10% of the seats in the new parliament.  The charges against Sawiris stem from his posting a photo depicting a bearded Mickey Mouse and a veiled Minnie Mouse on his Twitter account last June. A group of Islamist lawyers filed a civil suit against him immediately after the cartoon was published. The photo at issue was reproduced yesterday by Arutz Sheva which reports that in the tweet publishing the cartoon, Sawiris joked that these Disney characters would be forced to dress modestly if Islamists took control of Egypt.

Police Officer Fired After Religious Refusal To Get Medical Help For Wife Sues

A former Lee's Corner, Missouri police officer, Caleb Horner, last week filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the police department's refusal to allow him to return to work amounted to religious discrimination.  According to yesterday's Kansas City Star, Horner and his common-law wife, Misty, believed in a “healing process that comes from God” rather than traditional medical treatment. In Dec. 2006, Misty gave birth at home to a stillborn infant.  31 days later Misty died, never asking for medical care.  During that time, Caleb refused pleas of friends and family to get medical help for Misty, saying that Misty wanted to rely on prayer.  Immediately after Misty's death, Caleb and others who shared his religious beliefs spent 14 hours trying to raise her from the dead by prayer. The police department fired Caleb for failing to promptly call the medical examiner when Misty died. Caleb's lawsuit says that his co-workers turned on him during his wife's illness. He asks for damages of at least $25,000.

Sincerity of Religious Beliefs May Be Explored In Moorish Americans' Challenge To Firings

In Bey v. City of New York, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1743 (SD NY, Jan. 4, 2012), a New York federal district court ruled on 12 in limine motions in a case in which Moorish American plaintiffs are challenging their termination of employment by the New York Department of Corrections for filing false tax documents. Plaintiffs claim that "members of the Moorish American faith [cannot] be taxed without their voluntary consent."  Among the rulings on motions, the court held that "evidence of plaintiffs religious beliefs may be introduced. The objective truth or not of those beliefs themselves is not to be put in issue; defendants may, however, inquire into whether the beliefs are sincerely held and religious in nature." (See prior related posting.)

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Andrew M. Koppelman, Justice Stevens, Religious Enthusiast, (Northwestern University Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Mason A. Binkley, A Loss for Words: 'Religion' in the First Amendment, (University of Detroit Mercy Law Review, Vol. 88, No. 2, p. 185, 2010).
• Alexa Døving, Sidra Shami, and Tore Lindholm, Religious Commitment and Social Integration: Are there Significant Links? A Pilot Study of Muslims in the Oslo Area with a Family Background from Pakistan, (University of Oslo Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2012-01, 2012).
• John D. Inazu, Justice Ginsburg and Religious Liberty, (Hastings Law Journal, Forthcoming).

From SmartCILP:

• Shaheen Sardar Ali, Teaching and Learning Islamic law In a Globalized World: Some Reflections and Perspectives, 61 Journal of Legal Education 206-230 (2011).
• Bryna Bogoch and Yifat Holzman-Gazit, Clashing Over Conversion: "Who is a Jew" and Media Representations of an Israeli Supreme Court Decision, [Abstract], 24 International Journal for Semiotics Law 423-445 (2011).
• Christopher McCrudden, Multiculturalism, Freedom of Religion, Equality, and the British Constitution: The JFS Case Considered, 9 I.Con: International Journal of Constitutional Law 200-229 (2011).
• Iain McLean and Scot Peterson, Entrenching the Establishment and Free Exercise of Religion in the Written U.K. Constitution, [Abstract], 9 I.Con: International Journal of Constitutional Law 230-250 (2011).
• Symposium. Whom Should a Catholic Law School Honor?, 49 Journal of Catholic Legal Studies 223-292 (2010).

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Lizotte v. LeBlanc, (5th Cir., Jan 5, 2012), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed on statute of limitations grounds a religious discrimination claim by a Muslim prison who claimed that he was not allowed out of his working cell block to attend Friday Muslim prayer services, even though Christian inmates with the same custody status were allowed to gather for prayer on Sundays.

In Venega v. Swarthout, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 779 (ED CA, Jan. 3, 2012), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed a habeas corpus petition that alleged in part that the inmate petitioner's free exercise rights were violated when the California Board of Parole Hearings ordered him to attend religiously-based Alcoholics Anonymous programs in order to be found suitable for parole.

In Bradford v. Yates, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 626 (ED CA, Jan. 3, 2012), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed, with leave to amend, an inmate's religious discrimination and free exercise claims, saying that the complaint contained only vague allegations regarding the confiscation or the denial of religious materials and of name calling and harassment in general.

In Davitashvili v. Schomig, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1069 (D AZ, Jan. 4, 2012), an Arizona federal district court dismissed a Jewish inmaet's free exercise and RLUIPA complaints of problems with the kosher diet he was receiving. The court held that plaintiff had not shown a substantial burden on his religious exercise. While he received meals that did not comply with kosher requirements on some occasions during a 2-month period, these stemmed merely from periodic service-delivery related problems.

Boko Haram Muslim Sect Kills Christians In Northern Nigeria

In Nigeria, the radical Muslim Boko Haram sect has killed 44 people in the last few days after it promised to kill Christians living in the predominately Muslim north of the country. According to AP, 8 were killed Friday night in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, when gunmen attacked the Apostolic Church. Earlier Friday in the town of Mubi, 20 people who had gathered for a meeting of the Christian Igbo ethnic group were killed. On Thursday night, 8 were killed in an attack on a church in Gombe state. Attacks have also hit a beauty salon and banks.  Gov. Murtala Nyako has ordered a 24-hour curfew throughout Adamawa state.  Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said today that Christians are taking steps to defend themselves against these attacks.

Suit Challenges Interfaith Portion of Jewish Cemetery

AP reported yesterday on a case originally filed nearly a year ago involving a dispute over who can be buried in a Jewish cemetery. The case is coming up for trial next month. At issue is an interfaith section of a cemetery in Colchester, Connecticut belonging to a Conservative synagogue, Congregation Ahavath Achim.  The first, and only, person buried there so far is Juliet Steer, a Jamaican-born African American woman who was interested in the Jewish faith and liked the peacefulness of the cemetery.  In 2009, the synagogue board agreed to set aside a portion of their cemetery for interfaith couples, their non-Jewish children and other non-Jews. However synagogue member Maria Balaban has now sued claiming that creating a non-Jewish section of the cemetery violates a 1999 merger agreement between Ahavath Achim and the Colchester Jewish Aid Congregation.  The synagogue's attorney, in a court filing last month, argues that Balaban originally approved creation of the non-Jewish section and is suing now only because Steer is African-American and Balaban does not want her buried near her family's plots. After that charge of racism was made, Balaban filed an amended complaint adding a claim for damages for emotional distress, saying that she has been made to feel unwanted by members of the congregation.

82 Religious Groups Apply To Hungarian Parliament For Recognition Under New Law

As previously reported, Hungary's Parliament last month passed a new Law on Churches that requires all but 14 traditional religious faiths to apply to Parliament for registration. AP reports that as of Friday, 82 churches, congregations and religious groups have applied for official recognition. Each group will need to be approved by a two-thirds vote of Parliament in order to be able to retain special tax, labor and other privileges.  Countering claims that the new law infringes religious rights (see prior posting), a Justice Ministry spokesman last month said: "Neither communities nor individuals are under any constraints in the practice of their religion in Hungary. The real objective of this law is to regularize the system of state subsidies and tax benefits, which was being abused."

Evangelical Leaders To Meet To Seek Single Alternative To Romney

In an article titled For Evangelicals Wary of Romney, Time Runs Short, the New York Times yesterday reported that dozens of conservative Christian leaders and political strategists plan to meet in Texas next Friday and Saturday to see if they can come together on a single candidate for the Republican presidential nomination who is more acceptable to evangelicals than Mitt Romney. With evangelicals' votes dispersed among several candidates, Romney is strengthened.

Refusing Pagan Books, School System Is Reviewing Policy On Distribution of Religious Materials

In December, parent Ginger Strivelli complained to the principal at North Windy Ridge intermediate school in Buncombe County, North Carolina because her son brought home one of the Gideon Bibles that the school had made available in an office for any student who wanted to pick one up.  In response, the principal said that any other group could similarly leave material for students. However when Strivelli showed up on Wednesday with Pagan spell books, the school refused to make them available to students, saying that the school district is reviewing its policy because of the complaints it has generated. According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, a statement from the school system said no school will accept a donation of materials "that could be viewed as advocating a particular religion or belief" while the school district policy review is under way. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Rabbi Sentenced In Money Laundering Case

As previously reported, in June 2010 Rabbi Eliahu Ben Haim, former head of a prominent synagogue in Deal, New Jersey, plead guilty in a New Jersey federal district court to charges of using religious charities he controlled to launder money. Ben Haim was one of five rabbis from the Syrian Jewish community and 39 others arrested last year in a high profile federal investigation of public corruption and money laundering.  On Wednesday, according to the Asbury Park Press and a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the federal court handed down its sentence for Ben Haim-- 5 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. He has already forfeited over $700,000 in funds to the government. Another defendant, Akiva Aryeh Weiss, who plead guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business from a location in Brooklyn, was sentenced to five years probation with the special condition that he reside in a mental health facility.

Arizona Day of Prayer Proclamations Challenged In State Court Lawsuit

Last month, an Arizona federal district court dismissed on standing grounds an Establishment Clause challenge to Arizona Governor Janice Brewer's past and future declarations of an official Day of Prayer. (See prior posting.)  Refusing to give up, now the Freedom from Religion Foundation has filed a challenge to the Day of Prayer proclamations in an Arizona state court invoking the state constitution. (FFRF press release). The complaint (full text) in Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Brewer, (AZ Super. Ct. filed 1/4/2012), alleges that in making the proclamations, the governor violated two state constitutional provisions-- Art. II, Sec. 12 which bars the use of public funds for religious worship, and Art. XX, Sec. 1 that "no inhabitant of this state shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship, or lack of the same." Yesterday's Arizona Republic reported on the lawsuit.

Bankruptcy Judge Imposes Sanctions In Case Involving Anti-Catholic Statements In Legal Memo

As previously reported, last month Minnesota U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher issued show-cause orders to attorney Rebekah Nett and her client Naomi Isaacson (who is also a member of the bar) threatening to impose sanctions on them for bigoted anti-Catholic statements contained in a legal memorandum they filed with the court.  The memo was written by Isaacson and filed by Nett.  AP reports that yesterday Isaacson failed to appear for the show cause hearing, and the court ordered her jailed for contempt. She had previously been held in contempt for failing to turn over documents in the case, and the arrest order appears to relate to that since it runs until the documents are produced. (The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the arrest order was issued on Tuesday, before the Wednesday hearing, and was for failing to turn over business records.) Isaacson and Nett were each ordered to pay $5000 in penalties for the abusive legal memo, take ethics classes, and the case file was forwarded to the chief judge of the district for possible disbarment from practice before federal courts in the state. The court did not jail Nett who did appear at the hearing and told the court that the offensive document was an "emotional outburst" written by Isaacson and that Nett "wasn't trying to condone that" when she filed it on behalf of the bankrupt company headed by Isaacson.  Nett argued that contempt sanctions are designed to prevent a repeat of the conduct, and that this kind of case was unlikely to ever arise again. The bankrupt company is a subsidiary of the controversial Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology.

Court Blocks New York Housing Development Favoring Hasidic Residents Over Neighboring Blacks and Hispanics

A New York state trial court ruled yesterday in a housing discrimination case that pits the Hasidic Jewish community in the New York City neighborhood of Williamsburg against black and Hispanic residents of the neighboring Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. According to a New York Civil Liberties Union press release, the court's issuance of a preliminary injunction against proceeding with the current plans for an affordable-housing project on city-owned land in the Broadway Triangle area may have implications for all future affordable housing projects in the city. In Broadway Triangle Community Coalition v. Bloomberg, (NY Sup. Ct., Jan. 4, 2012), the court held that the housing plans would perpetuate racial discrimination and disproportionately impact minority racial groups in violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act. Current plans involved construction of low rise buildings containing numerous large apartments, instead of taller buildings containing smaller apartments.  The current plans would favor the white Hasidic Yiddish-speaking community that generally has large families, and for whom taller buildings are unattractive because of their religious need to avoid using elevators on the Sabbath. Black and Hispanic residents of the area more often need smaller apartments. Reuters reports on the decision. (See prior related posting.)

Anti-Copyright Group Recognized As A Religion In Sweden

In Sweden, the "Missionary Church of Kopimism" has, on the third try, obtained approval to register Kopimism (pronounced "copy me-ism") as one of the country's 22 recognized religions. NPR reported on the announcement yesterday. The church's central belief is in the sharing and copying of information. It is opposed to copyright laws, which it sees as limiting lives and freedom. According to Torrent Freak, file-sharing philosophy student Isak Gerson founded the Church in 2010 as an attempt to avoid persecution for file sharing. (See prior related posting.)

Indian Medicine Man Sues Claiming Tax Lien Infringes His Religious Liberty

Last month, Jonathan Smith who is a Medicine Man (i.e. spiritual leader) in the Shinnecock Indian Nation filed a federal lawsuit claiming that imposing federal income tax on him, filing a tax lien and seizing funds from his bank and brokerage accounts violated his religious liberty.  The complaint (full text) in Smith v. Elkins, (ED NY, filed 12/7/2011), claims that:

Smith's traditional spiritual activities as a Medicine Man are self-funded from Smith's own assets, including use of funds from Smith's personal and business bank accounts.... 

Smith's spiritual activities are, in part, directed at helping Shinnecock and other Indian peoples heal and overcome the personal and spiritual difficulties which have and continue to afflict them as a People due to their history at the hands of the United States Government and the British Crown over the last 400 years, a history which is passed on generation to generation through traditional oral traditions.

Smith argues that the tax assessment, the lien, and the levy, are prohibited by the free trade provision of The Fort Albany Treaty, 1664; by the Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and by Art. I, Sec. 8 of the Constitution. The Dec. 22 New York Daily News reported on the filing of the lawsuit.  In 2008, in Smith v. Everson, (ED NY, March 21, 2008), a federal district court dismissed Smith's similar challenge to the assessment of taxes and penalties on him, holding that jurisdiction over that claim lies in the Tax Court.

EEOC Charges Developer With Retaliation Against Rastafarian Security Officer

The EEOC announced yesterday that it has filed a federal lawsuit against Grand Central Partnership, Inc. for violating a prior consent decree and committing new illegal acts in firing a black Rastafarian security officer 3 months after he complained to the EEOC about threats and his supervisor's ignoring of them.  Grand Central Partnership is a non-profit developer of the area in New York City around Grand Central Terminal.  The earlier consent decree, entered in 2009, promised accommodation of religious practices of Rastafarian security officers. New allegations claim that a non-Caribbean security officer threatened to shoot and kill a group of Rastafarian officers, and a white security supervisor made light of the threat.  The officer who was fired complained about that supervisor's conduct and his past racially discriminatory threats.

Fired Muslim Bookkeeper Settles Suit Against Catholic Diocese

The Lehigh Valley Morning Call reported yesterday on the settlement of a federal lawsuit that had been filed against the Catholic Diocese of Allentown (PA) by a woman who worked as a bookkeeper at a Catholic Church in Easton (PA). Plaintiff Omayma Arafa, a Muslim from Egypt, claims she was fired from her position in retaliation for her complaining about insensitive treatment she suffered in relation to her religious beliefs after Monsignor Edward Zemanik was assigned to the church.The diocese says that Arafa's position was eliminated as a cost-savings measure. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.