c. 2005 Religion News Service

Air Force Issues Interim Guidelines on Religion

(RNS) The Air Force has released new interim guidelines urging its military members and civilian employees to protect the free exercise of religion.

The guidelines, issued Monday (Aug. 29), were called for in a June report that investigated the religious climate at the Air Force Academy, an Air Force spokeswoman said, but affect the entire military force.

The rules direct commanders and other leaders to avoid actions and language that might lead to the impression that they are officially endorsing or disapproving of individuals’ choices regarding religion.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Washington-based Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, called the guidelines “a welcome and necessary step toward addressing the recent and troubling reports of anti-Semitism and religious discrimination within the corps.” But he added that they should be considered only a first step: “Their true value will not be realized until they are fully implemented.”

But Mikey Weinstein, an academy graduate and critic of the institution’s religious practices, said the new rules are insufficient.

“Until the Air Force begins to seriously, honestly and openly address the unconstitutional proselytizing at the academy and its bases, these guidelines are only a set of nice words,” he said in a statement. “Our airmen and women deserve action.”

The guidelines relate to issues such as religious accommodation, e-mail communication and public prayer.

“Public prayer should not usually be included in official settings such as staff meetings, office meetings, classes, or officially sanctioned activities such as sports events or practice sessions,” the guidelines read.

During special, “non-routine” ceremonies, such as changes of command, “a brief nonsectarian prayer” is permitted, the guidelines say.

The rules offer cautions for religious expression in official communications.

“It is important to avoid the reasonable perception that any official e-mail or computer posting implies that the Air Force supports any one religion over other religions, or the idea of religion over the choice of no religious affiliation,” the guidelines read.

Jennifer Stephens, a spokeswoman for the Air Force, said final guidelines are expected to be adopted in the fall after additional guidance is received from Air Force commanders.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Iraqi Religious Minorities Worry About Proposed Constitution

(RNS) Leaders of some Iraqi religious minorities say the second article in the proposed constitution, which discredits laws that contradict the laws of Islam, could endanger their autonomy.

“Who will interpret these Islamic laws?” said Dr. Suhaib Nashi of the Mandaean Association Union. “We’re putting a couple of people (in charge) who will supervise any law that will come from Parliament.”

Mandaeans, who follow John the Baptist as their prophet, represent a part of Iraq’s tapestry of religious diversity. Sects of Christianity have existed in Iraq since before the nation was formed. Iraq is also the only home to the Shabak and Yezidis, whose faiths have elements of both Christianity and Islam.

“We need some sort of secularism, which is destroyed completely in (the second article),” Nashi said. Mandaeans are not recognized in the new constitution, he said. They are also not recognized in the Quran, the holy book of Islam.

Unlike the Mandaeans, the Assyrians are recognized in the proposed constitution. But Michael Yoash, a Christian Assyrian who is a leader of the Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project, said many members of his religious community are not satisfied.

“We don’t know how strong Islam is going to be, but we think it’s going to be very strong,” said Yoash.

Representatives from minority religions intend to work with one another and “try to really express our disapproval with that type of language in the constitution,” Nashi said.

An Islamic law that applies to Jews and Christians, Dhimmi law, permits non-Muslims to practice their faiths. But these minority faiths are still subject to Islamic rule. The new constitution would rename Iraq’s Christians, identifying them by faith and not ethnicity. This, some fear, could make them subject to Islamic law.

Some non-Muslims take hope from a statement immediately following the constitution’s second article calling Islam the official religion of the state. It says that no laws shall be passed that violate the principles of democracy.

“We don’t know what it would imply. It’s vague,” said Nina Shea of Freedom House, a nonpartisan civil rights advocacy group based in Washington. “But it’s better language and probably the best we can get because it’s qualified with the principles of democracy.”

It’s an improvement and closer to the language in the temporary constitution, Shea said. “If it’s Shariah, Islamic law, that’s a problem because it would override, trump all laws.”

_ Ashtar Analeed Marcus

Muslim Group Praises Station for Firing Host, Who Then Lands New Job

WASHINGTON (RNS) The Council on American-Islamic Relations has thanked Washington radio station WMAL for firing a conservative talk show host for anti-Islamic statements during a broadcast.

But on Wednesday (Aug. 24), Michael Graham announced that he will have a new show, broadcast on the Internet, where there will be “no liberal network execs, no advertisers, not even the FCC” to stifle expression of his views.

In a broadcast July 25 on his Washington morning show, Graham made several comments that prompted criticism, including “The problem is not extremism; the problem is Islam.” He also said, “We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam.”

CAIR, a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, complained to WMAL and its advertisers. The station initially backed Graham, but two days after his broadcast WMAL’s president and general manager, Chris Berry, said the talk show host went “over the line.”

Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, praised the station.

“Just as Michael Graham has the right to hold bigoted views, so, too, does our society have the right to live free of hatred and incitement,” Awad said. “We are saddened that Michael Graham would not take responsibility (for) his hate-filled words, but we do welcome WMAL’s action as a step toward reducing the level of anti-Muslim bigotry on our nation’s airwaves.”

In a statement on his Web site, Graham said he stands by his comments and that WMAL’s decision reflected a dangerous willingness to compromise with interest groups.

“As a fan of talk radio, I find it absolutely outrageous that pressure from a special interest group like CAIR can result in the abandonment of free speech and open discourse on a talk radio show,” Graham said.

On Wednesday, Graham announced his new show, “Michael Graham, Unleashed!” which will be broadcast on Righttalk.com, where it can be downloaded to an iPod or another MP3 player.

“Rightalk.com has asked me to do this show, not because they necessarily agree with everything I say, but because they understand that free speech and open discourse are key elements in successful talk radio, not to mention successful democracies and thriving societies, too,” Graham wrote on his Web site.

_ Hugh S. Moore

Conservative Jews Endorse Roberts for Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (RNS) Judge John Roberts, President Bush’s pick to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, has been deemed “qualified to serve” by a group representing the Conservative Jewish movement.

In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, the public policy committee of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism said Roberts passes guidelines that were crafted on the basis of Jewish laws and sacred texts.

Three Conservative leaders said Roberts appears to meet general criteria that a judge be “well trained, well educated and enjoy wide respect”; that he eschews an “ideologically defined approach to judicial interpretation”; and that he has a “balanced respect” for the law in past decisions.

William Bresnick and Rabbi Jack Moline, co-chairs of the public policy committee, and Mark Waldman, director of public policy, said their seal of approval “reflects the position” of the Conservative movement, which claims more than 1 million Jews in some 700 synagogues.

The Orthodox Union has not weighed in on the Roberts nomination because it does not endorse or oppose specific judicial nominees, said its Washington director, Nathan Diament.

The Religious Action Center, which represents Reform Judaism, has taken a more cautious approach but has not endorsed or rejected Roberts. It is asking U.S. Jews to submit questions that they would like Roberts to answer before Specter’s committee during confirmation hearings next month.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Israel’s Supreme Court Approves Destruction of Synagogues

JERUSALEM (RNS) Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday (Aug. 23) that all synagogues in the now-vacated Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank should be destroyed, but that everything portable must be relocated to Israel.

The court was responding to a petition by Jewish settlers who objected to the government’s plan to destroy all Jewish religious institutions _ 30 synagogues as well as eight yeshivas and seminaries _ in Gaza. The destruction would be part of the government’s withdrawal of residents and troops from 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the northern West Bank.

Israel’s military is in the process of leveling all homes, schools and other buildings in the once-thriving settlements as part of its Disengagement Plan, which began Aug. 15. The territory is expected to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority within weeks.

The Palestinians plan to build several high-rise apartment buildings to ease some of the overcrowding in Gaza, which is home to 1.3 million Arabs. About 8,000 Jews lived nearby prior to the evacuation.

Israel’s Defense Ministry told the court that fully relocating the synagogues was not possible logistically, but that the army would do everything in its power to remove all religious objects and furniture prior to the demolitions.

The court ordered the military to transport stained-glass windows, memorial plaques and all other objects from the synagogues’ interiors, and whenever possible to do the same with exterior building stones.

The settlements’ synagogues were the center of religious and communal life in the communities, where the vast majority of residents were Orthodox Jews. Many took refuge in the houses of worship when Israeli soldiers arrived to evict them, and refused to leave voluntarily. Although some clashed violently with security forces, most left the synagogues in tears, wearing prayer shawls and carrying Torah scrolls.

An Israeli army spokesperson said that the demolitions “are a better option than the alternative: the desecration of the synagogues by Palestinians.”

_ Michele Chabin

Spain Gets First Married Catholic Priest, Despite Rules on Celibacy

(RNS) The Tenerife diocese on Spain’s Canary Islands says the ordination of a married priest is a “very special exception” that does not entail any relaxation of the Roman Catholic Church’s rules on celibacy.

Father Evans David Gliwitzki was ordained Aug. 21 with the explicit permission of John Paul II, granted shortly before the death of the late pope.

Gliwitzki, 64, was already married with two daughters when he converted to Catholicism from Anglicanism.

Gliwitzki was born in Zimbabwe, the son of a Catholic father and an Anglican mother. He worked for the country’s national railroad until 1984, when he became a minister in the Anglican church.

As an Anglican pastor, Gliwitzki participated in ecumenical encounters between Anglican and Catholic clergy.

Despite similarities between the two denominations, one key difference is that celibacy is not required of Anglican clergy, as it is for Catholic priests.

In Britain, married Anglican priests have been welcomed into Catholic dioceses. But in Spain, a predominantly Roman Catholic country, Gliwitzki’s case is the first. It follows a fierce debate over the Spanish government’s recent legalization of same-sex marriage, which divided Catholics.

In a statement, the Tenerife diocese referred to the wide coverage the ordination of Gliwitzki has generated.

“This is not an entryway to the abolition of Catholic celibacy. Rather, it is a very special exception considering his married status and his particular circumstances of coming from the Anglican Church,” the diocese said.

_ Jerome Socolovsky

Robertson’s Comments Continue to Prompt Religious Reaction

(RNS) Pat Robertson’s comments about assassinating Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez continue to reverberate, with one evangelical leader saying the religious broadcaster should retire and another considering a meeting with Chavez to make amends.

Robertson, the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, apologized Wednesday (Aug. 24) for suggesting that Chavez should be assassinated. Two days earlier, he said, “We have the ability to take him out and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability.”

The Rev. Jim Wallis, editor of the progressive evangelical magazine Sojourners, said Robertson’s apology is not enough.

“Pat Robertson is an embarrassment to the church and a danger to American politics,” Wallis wrote in a column in his publication’s weekly e-newsletter. “It’s time for Christian leaders of all stripes to call on Robertson not just to apologize but to retire.”

The Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, flew to Mexico to meet with a Chavez friend and is “one step closer” to having a meeting with the Venezuelan president, a spokeswoman said.

“If he did meet with President Chavez, he would apologize,” said Carolyn Haggard, the niece of Haggard. Haggard pastors New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.

She said the meeting was initiated by Chavez’s friend but Haggard is interested in addressing other issues, including evangelicals in the U.S. and Venezuela.

Other religious leaders, from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder of the Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH coalition to the Rev. William J. Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, have decried Robertson’s words.

“In seeking to be a patriot, the Reverend Robertson has forsaken being a priest or prophet of the Christian faith,” Shaw said in a statement.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Pakistani President to Speak to Jewish Group in New York

(RNS) In a rare appearance of a Muslim head of state before a Jewish group, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will address an invitation-only crowd of American Jewish leaders in New York City.

Between 250 and 300 leaders representing national Jewish organizations, rabbinical schools and the major streams of Judaism are expected to attend the Sept. 17 event, said David Twersky, director of the Council for World Jewry.

Musharraf will be in New York to attend the 2005 World Summit at the United Nations.

Jack Rosen, chairman of the Council for World Jewry, said he and two other council representatives extended the invitation earlier this spring during an audience with Musharraf in Islamabad.

Rosen said that he was drawn to Musharraf’s philosophy of “enlightened moderation,” which emphasizes Islamic principles of tolerance and reconciliation.

“His are exactly the kinds of words we are all searching for from leaders of Muslim world,” said Rosen.

“The Jewish community has been demonized by the Muslim world,” he said. “We hope this event will encourage other moderate leaders to speak out.”

Rosen called Musharraf’s willingness to address a Jewish audience “a bold move” at a time when the president is under attack by extremists in Pakistan and elsewhere.

A Musharraf spokesman, Gen. Shaukat Sultan, told Agence France-Presse that Musharraf’s address will be “a good opportunity to bridge the gap” and a “way to start clearing up misperceptions and misunderstandings.”

_ Andrea Useem

Falwell Displeased With Court Ruling on Web Site

(RNS) The Rev. Jerry Falwell is protesting a court ruling that says he cannot prevent the use of a misspelled version of his name by a gay activist utilizing http://www.fallwell.com as his Web site.

A three-judge appeals court panel in Richmond, Va., unanimously decided Aug. 24 to reverse an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton in Alexandria that prevented the use of the domain name http://www.fallwell.com.

Falwell sued Web site creator Christopher Lamparello in May, claiming confusion would arise between the gay activist’s site and his own, http://www.falwell.com.

Judge Diana Gribbon Motz disagreed.

“After even a quick glance at the content of the Web site at http://www.fallwell.com, no one seeking Reverend Falwell’s guidance would be misled by the domain name … into believing Reverend Falwell authorized the content of that Web site,” wrote Motz, author of the opinion. “No one would believe that Reverend Falwell sponsored a site criticizing himself, his positions and his interpretations of the Bible.”

Judges M. Blane Michael and Robert B. King joined Motz in the opinion.

Falwell feels he has experienced treatment by “an activist judge that did not rule on the merit,” said Ron Godwin, Falwell’s spokesman.

Falwell is considering his options, including taking the case to the Supreme Court, Godwin said.

In addition to a disclaimer posted on the home page advising visitors that the material is not endorsed by or affiliated with Falwell, Lamparello’s site offers a link to Falwell’s official ministry Web site.

Godwin said such action does not compensate for the use of Falwell’s name.

“This man has no other purpose in having this name other than to have people come to his site by using Reverend Falwell’s name as the attraction,” he said.

Joined by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation of Virginia, Lamparello claimed that his domain name was protected by the First Ammendment.

Lamparello first registered the domain name in 1999 after listening to an interview in which Falwell expressed opinions about gay people which Lamparello considered offensive.

“This Web site was created as a way to help people understand why we so strongly disagree with Dr. Falwell,” Lamparello’s Web site says. “This site is here to help you study the question of what the Bible really says about people who are gay, enabling you to reach your own conclusions.”

_ Jason Kane

At This British School, F-word May Be Spoken

(RNS) Pupils at a British school are being allowed to use the f-word as frequently as five times a lesson without being reprimanded, according to a London newspaper.

The Daily Mail reported that use of the profanity will be tallied on the board at the Weavers School in Wellingborough, about 70 miles northwest of London. If a class exceeds the limit, the pupils will be “spoken to” at the end of the lesson.

The policy, outlined in a letter to parents of pupils at the Weavers School, has run into criticism from parents and others.

The chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, Nick Seaton, told The Daily Mail: “In these sort of situations teachers should be setting clear principles of `do and don’t’.”

Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe, a former Home Office minister who left the Church of England over the ordination of women priests, said the policy was based on “Alice in Wonderland reasoning” and added: “You don’t improve something by allowing it. You improve something by discouraging it.”

But the policy was described as “sensible” and worth trying by a spokeswoman for the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, Eleanor Coner.

“A lot of the problems in classrooms have been from teachers overreacting to things like swearing,” she told The Scotsman.

_ Robert Nowell

Quote of the Week: Kim Clark, new president of Brigham Young University-Idaho

(RNS) “You have to appreciate what this is like. We behold him to be a prophet. Imagine yourself getting a call from Moses.”

_ Kim Clark, who left his position as dean of Harvard Business School in response to the call of Gordon Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for him to become the president of Brigham Young University-Idaho. He was quoted by the Associated Press.