ARAB FEST-CHRISTIANITY
Court OKs dismissal of case tied to Arab festival
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) β A federal appeals court says there was no First Amendment violation when police threatened to ticket Christian evangelists unless they left an Arab-American street festival in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2012.
Members of a group called Bible Believers were pelted with water bottles and rocks after they denounced Islam and called Muhammad a false prophet.
The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that in moving against the evangelists, sheriff’s officers were trying to maintain order, not regulate public speech.
The dissenting judge said that while the preaching was offensive, police should have tried “to control the lawlessness” of the crowd instead of stifling free speech.
The annual fair, held from 1995 to 2012, led to regular clashes between Christians and Dearborn’s large Arab and Muslim population. Lawsuits challenging efforts to restrict access mostly have ended in favor of evangelists. Dearborn paid $300,000 and apologized after missionaries were arrested in 2010.
230-v-34-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–A federal appeals court says there was no First Amendment violation when police threatened to ticket Christian evangelists unless they left an Arab-American street festival in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2012. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (27 Aug 2014)
< ISLAMIC STATE HOSTAGE-JOURNALIST Mom makes Islamic appeal for life of her journalist son MIAMI (AP) β The mother of an American journalist held hostage and threatened with death makes an Islamic appeal for his life in a video addressed to his captors. In the video aired on the Al-Arabiya television network, Shirley Sotloff says she has “learned that Islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others.” She said her son, 31-year-old Steven Sotloff, “travelled to the Middle East to cover the suffering of Muslims” and should not be punished for U.S. government actions. Steven Sotloff was last seen in August 2013 in Syria. He was threatened with death by Islamic State militants on a video unless the U.S. stopped air strikes on the group. The same video showed the beheading of fellow American journalist James Foley. Shirley Sotloff asks the militants’ leader to spare her son’s life “and to follow the example set by the Prophet Mohammad, who protected ‘People of the Book.'” Sound: 246-a-11-(Shirley Sotloff, mother of hostage Steven Sotloff, in videotaped message to the leader of the Islamic State militant group)-“sins of others”-Shirley Sotloff says killing her son as retribution for U.S. government actions would be un-Islamic. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (27 Aug 2014) < 247-a-09-(Shirley Sotloff, mother of hostage Steven Sotloff, in videotaped message to the leader of the Islamic State militant group)-“of the book”-Shirley Sotloff appeals to the Islamic State militants’ leader on her son’s behalf. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (27 Aug 2014) < 245-w-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Shirley Sotloff, mother of hostage Steven Sotloff)–The mother of an American journalist held hostage and threatened with death makes an Islamic appeal for his life in a video addressed to his captors. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (27 Aug 2014) < 179-a-15-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, at news conference)-“and trying time”-White House press secretary Josh Earnest says the mother of freelance journalist Steven Sotloff has the administration’s sympathy. ((Sotloff is pronounced SAHT’-lawf)) (27 Aug 2014) < 180-a-11-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, at news conference)-“ransom for them”-White House press secretary Josh Earnest says the U.S. is doing everything possible to obtain the release of those being held by the Islamic State group. (27 Aug 2014) < 177-a-08-(Shirley Sotloff (SAHT’-lawf), mother of hostage Steven Sotloff, in videotaped message to the leader of the Islamic State militant group)-“to hug him”-Shirley Sotloff asks the head of the Islamic State to free her son. (27 Aug 2014) < 178-a-16-(Shirley Sotloff (SAHT’-lawf), mother of hostage Steven Sotloff, in videotaped message to the leader of the Islamic State militant group)-“help the weak”-Shirley Sotloff says her son has always tried to help the weak and oppressed. (27 Aug 2014) < 176-a-11-(Shirley Sotloff (SAHT’-lawf), mother of hostage Steven Sotloff, in videotaped message to the leader of the Islamic State militant group)-“no control over”-Shirley Sotloff urges the leader of the Islamic State to free her son. (27 Aug 2014) < 175-a-14-(Shirley Sotloff (SAHT’-lawf), mother of hostage Steven Sotloff, in videotaped message to the leader of the Islamic State militant group)-“an innocent journalist”-Shirley Sotloff says that since her son’s capture, she’s learned a lot about Islam and urges that her son be freed. (27 Aug 2014) < TEN COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT Bloomfield will appeal ruling on city’s monument BLOOMFIELD, N.M. (AP) β A federal court that ruled against a Ten Commandments monument in Bloomfield, New Mexico, has agreed to put its decision on hold until an appeals court hears the case. A Ten Commandments monument is displayed on the lawn in front of Bloomfield’s City Hall. On Aug. 7, a U.S. District judge in Albuquerque ruled the monument has the “principal effect of endorsing religion” in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys notified the court Friday that Bloomfield will be appealing the case to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Two Bloomfield residents who said they are offended by the monument filed suit through their American Civil Liberties Union attorneys in 2012 in an attempt to have the monument uprooted. SISTER WIVES-POLYGAMY Final ruling against part of Utah polygamy ban SALT LAKE CITY (AP) β A federal judge in Utah has issued a final ruling that strikes down parts of the state’s anti-polygamy law, in a lawsuit filed by a family that appears on the TV show “Sister Wives.” U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in favor of the stars of the TLC reality show in December, but the decision wasn’t finalized due to unresolved, procedural issues. The ruling is a landmark decision and a victory for the Brown family. Kody Brown and his four wives sued Utah in 2011 after a county prosecutor threatened to charge them under the state’s bigamy law. Waddoups ruled that a provision in the law forbidding cohabitation violates the Browns’ freedom of religion. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in February that he intends to appeal. WINERY-POLYGAMOUS COMMUNITY Utah approves winery license in polygamous town SALT LAKE CITY (AP) β Utah’s liquor commission has approved a winemaking license for a new winery in the town of Hildale, home to a polygamous religious group. The Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission approved the license for Vintage Reserve Estates on Tuesday. Abe Kader with the state liquor department says the owners plan to sell wine through state liquor stores and apply for another license to sell the wine on their Hildale property. The twin Utah-Arizona border towns of Hildale and Colorado City, Arizona, are home to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The sect is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, which does not practice polygamy. Members of the FLDS generally drink alcohol, while members of the mainstream Mormon church do not. BRITAIN-SEX ABUSE Muslims react with outrage at UK sex abuse report LONDON (AP) β Members of Britain’s Pakistani community have expressed outrage after an independent inquiry found that police and government agencies failed to act on sex abuse cases lest they be accused of racism in the northern English town of Rotherham. Muhbeen Hussain, founder of the Rotherham Muslim Youth Group, told the Daily Mirror on Wednesday that Muslims are disgusted that justice was not done. A report Tuesday said some 1,400 children were sexually exploited over a 16-year period, mostly by ethnic Pakistani men. Hussain says “race, religion or political correctness should never provide a cloak of invisibility to such grotesque crimes.” There are calls to oust Rotherham’s police chief and others in positions of authority after a report found that “collective failures” led to inaction in the town of 250,000. ISLAMIC CENTER-LAWSUIT St. Anthony sued over rejection of Islamic center ST. ANTHONY, Minn. (AP) β The federal government is suing a Minnesota city for rejecting a proposed Islamic center in 2012. U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced the lawsuit against St. Anthony Village. The complaint alleges that the St. Anthony Village City Council treated the Muslim group’s application for a conditional use permit to assemble at the St. Anthony Business Center on less-than-equal terms as other non-religious permits. The suit contends denying the permit made it difficult for the group’s members to practice their faith. In a statement, the city says there was no discrimination. The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations had urged the federal government to investigate and said it welcomed the lawsuit. CARDINAL GEORGE Cardinal George cancels plans to travel to Rome CHICAGO (AP) β The Archdiocese of Chicago says Cardinal Francis George will not travel to Rome in October to meet with Pope Francis. Spokeswoman Colleen Dolan says the archbishop of Chicago had hoped to make that trip in mid-October but will not be able to because of medical treatment. She says the trip may be rescheduled. The 77-year-old George is undergoing treatment for a recurrence of cancer near his right kidney. Last week, the archdiocese announced he was participating in a clinical trial of an experimental drug at the University of Chicago Medicine. George said early this year that he believes the cancer eventually will take his life. He survived bladder cancer eight years ago. George has been the spiritual leader of Chicago’s more than 2 million Roman Catholics since 1997. DOMINICAN-VATICAN EX-DIPLOMAT Dominican court opens case on ex-Vatican official SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) β A court in the Dominican Republic is taking the first steps toward possible sexual abuse charges against a former Vatican ambassador to the Caribbean country. An investigative magistrate is examining allegations against Josef Wesolowski to determine if there is sufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges. The Santo Domingo prosecutor’s office announced that the case had been opened late Tuesday, a day after the Vatican said its former ambassador had lost his diplomatic immunity. The Vatican recalled Wesolowski in August 2013 after allegations emerged he had sexually molested boys there. Dominican officials say his presence is not required in the country for authorities to review the allegations and decide whether formal charges are warranted. AMISH ATTACKS Court overturns convictions in Amish hair attacks CINCINNATI (AP) β An appeals court has overturned the hate-crime convictions of 16 Amish who were found guilty in beard- and hair-cutting attacks on fellow members of their faith in Ohio. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati sided with arguments brought by attorneys for the Amish, who were found guilty two years ago in five attacks in Ohio Amish communities in 2011. The attacks were in apparent retaliation against Amish who had defied or denounced the authoritarian style of leader Sam Mullet Sr. Mullet was of accused orchestrating the cuttings in an attempt to shame mainstream members who he believed were straying from their beliefs. Prosecutors called the attacks hate crimes because religious differences brought about the attacks. The defense had said there was insufficient evidence linking Mullet to the hair-cutting. ALASKA-TRIBAL FISHING CLASH Alaska appeals court hears subsistence case BETHEL, Alaska (AP) β The Alaska Court of Appeals is considering a case involving 13 Eskimo subsistence fishermen who are appealing their convictions of illegal king salmon fishing on the Kuskokwim River in 2012. KYUK reports that attorneys argued before the appellate court in Anchorage Tuesday. The fishermen, who were convicted last year, contend the state failed to weigh their spiritual right to fish for king salmon before imposing tight restrictions. The fishermen’s attorney says the state had a duty to accommodate the fishermen’s religious beliefs. Assistant Attorney General Laura Fox, representing the state, says issuing citations for fishing during an “emergency closure” was necessary to protect king salmon. A three-judge panel is considering arguments in the case and will issue a future decision.
