c. 2006 Religion News Service

Canadian Supreme Court Sides With Sikh Student Carrying Dagger

(RNS) In an important test of religious freedom, the Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday (March 2) overturned a previous ban and allowed a Sikh boy in Montreal to wear his ceremonial dagger to school.

The high court ruled 8-0 that prohibiting Gurbaj Singh from wearing his kirpan violated the teenager’s rights under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, effectively the country’s constitution.

The court rejected arguments from lawyers for the Quebec school board that originally implemented the ban. The court concluded there is no suggestion the kirpan, required to be worn at all times by baptized Sikhs, is a weapon or that Singh intended to use it as one.

The argument is “disrespectful to believers in the Sikh religion and does not take into account Canadian values based on multiculturalism,” the judges wrote.

Religious tolerance “is a very important value of Canadian society,” they added. “A total prohibition against wearing a kirpan to school undermines the value of this religious symbol and sends students the message that some religious practices do not merit the same protection as others.”

The case stems from a November 2001 incident at an elementary school in suburban Montreal. Singh’s cloth-wrapped kirpan came loose from around his waist and fell to the ground.

The school’s principal ordered the 12-year-old to leave the 4-inch kirpan at home, but the boy’s family instead enrolled him in a private school and took the matter to court.

In 2002, the Quebec Superior Court ruled Singh could carry his kirpan to school if it was sewn into a heavy cloth and placed inside a wooden sheath worn under his clothing.

The Quebec government appealed and in 2004, the Quebec Court of Appeal struck down the decision, ruling the kirpan had the makings of a weapon and was dangerous.

Throughout the legal hearings, the family’s lawyer argued that there has never been a school assault committed with a kirpan anywhere in Canada.

Canada’s highest court ruled that if the kirpan is kept inside clothing, the risk of it being used for violent purposes or of being grabbed by other students is very low.

“There are many objects in schools that could be used to commit violent acts and that are much more easily obtained by students, such as scissors, pencils and baseball bats.”

The Supreme Court decision is limited to schools.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, kirpans have been banned from all Canadian airlines.

They are allowed, however, in schools in other provinces, in Parliament and in the Supreme Court itself.

_ Ron Csillag

Senator Compares Arab Country to `Devil,’ Civil Rights Group Complains

WASHINGTON (RNS) An Arab-American civil rights group has accused Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., of making racist comments when he mentioned “the devil” while condemning the takeover of U.S. port operations by a United Arab Emirates-owned company.

Lautenberg denied the accusation, calling it a “bum rap.”

At a Port Newark, N.J., rally on Monday (Feb. 27), Lautenberg raised questions about the homeland security threat posed by turning over port terminals in Newark and five other cities to Dubai Ports World.

“We wouldn’t transfer the title to the devil; we’re not going to transfer it to Dubai,” Lautenberg said.

The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee said in a statement that it “values honest and fair debate, and fully supports all measures to keep our country safe.” But the group said Lautenberg’s “comparison of Dubai to the devil is unacceptable.”

“His comments compound paranoia and outright racism in order to make otherwise unsubstantiated points,” said the group. The statement added that Lautenberg’s remarks are “part of a larger trend of bias rhetoric and backlash surrounding the debate over port security.”

Lautenberg said that any Arab group that knows his history is aware he is not biased. “It wasn’t meant as an insult at all,’ said Lautenberg.

He said he promoted funds for the Palestinian Authority during the Clinton administration after an agreement was signed with Israel, and went to the Gaza Strip to celebrate the opening of a new airport.

“I didn’t call Arabs the devil. I said I won’t do business with the devil and I won’t do business with Dubai,” said Lautenberg.

The New Jersey Democrat said from his viewpoint, “the devil is in the details.” And he said the facts show a long history of activities by the UAE that are worrisome, including its past dealings with Osama bin Laden.

_ Robert Cohen

Citing Theology, Anglicans Bar Unitarians From British Cathedral

(RNS) British Unitarians have been barred from holding a service in Chester Cathedral during their upcoming general assembly in April _ despite previous use of the space three times since 2001.

The Anglican cathedral statutes specify that worship must be in accordance with the doctrines of the Church of England _ and Unitarians, as their name implies, do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity. Unitarians also do not accept the fall of man and original sin.

Officials said the bishop of Chester, the Rev. Peter Forster, received a complaint about the Unitarians and, after an investigation, rescinded the invitation.

“We are very disappointed,” said Unitarian spokesman Howard Hague. “They had been extremely generous and kind to us when we had been there before.”

But diocesan spokesman Stephen Regan was quite emphatic about the rescinded invitation. “They are not an orthodox Christian church and so can’t use it (the cathedral).”

Unitarians have been able to use at least one other Church of England cathedral _ Guildford, in 1987.

Unitarianism emerged from the upheaval of the Reformation. The beginnings of English Unitarianism are traced to the work of John Biddle in the 17th century. British Unitarians now number about 6,500.

_ Robert Nowell

Charity Official Denies that `Jabez’ Author Left `in a Huff’

(RNS) “Prayer of Jabez” author Bruce Wilkinson quit the AIDS-fighting African charity he founded because God told him to come home, a ministry official said in an interview.

He did not leave “in a huff,” as reported by a major newspaper, said Janine Maxwell, a spokeswoman for the newly renamed Heart for Africa ministry.

“There’s nothing in his fiber, there’s nothing in his being, that he would ever leave anywhere in a huff,” Maxwell, wife of Wilkinson’s chosen successor, Ian Maxwell, told Religion News Service.

The Wall Street Journal reported in a front-page story Dec. 19 that Wilkinson, whose self-help prayer book sold millions of copies, “resigned in a huff” from the charity, formerly called Dream for Africa.

“He abandoned his plan to house 10,000 children in a facility that was to be an orphanage, bed-and-breakfast, game reserve, Bible college, industrial park and Disneyesque tourist destination in the tiny kingdom of Swaziland,” the Journal reported.

The Journal quoted Wilkinson as saying, “I’ll put it down as one of the disappointments of my career.”

But Janine Maxwell said Wilkinson’s Dream House idea was just part of his vision for Africa. She said Wilkinson, a Georgia preacher who four years ago moved to Africa and announced his intention to save 1 million children left orphaned by the AIDS epidemic, actually made important strides in Africa.

In the last two years, the charity recruited 3,500 people to join in short-term missions to Africa, and those volunteers planted more than 500,000 gardens on a continent where an estimated 30,000 children die daily from hunger, she said.

“That’s truly miraculous,” Janine Maxwell said.

Asked why Wilkinson was retiring at age 58, she said, “The Lord said, `Come home.” She added, “It’s a huge success.”

In a statement earlier this month, the organization said the name change from Dream for Africa to Heart for Africa reflected the charity’s “true vision while clearly describing all whose hearts God has called to `go’ and serve in Africa.”

In a Jan. 29 ceremony at Unionville Alliance church north of Toronto, Wilkinson blessed the new director, Ian Maxwell. The charity’s statement said, “It has been clear to many that God has handpicked Ian Maxwell to move this missions movement forward.”

_ Bobby Ross Jr.

Foreign Policy Think Tank Begins New Initiative on Religion

(RNS) With help from a former secretary of state, an influential think tank focusing on foreign relations has launched a new initiative that will study and explain the role religion plays in foreign policy.

The Council on Foreign Relations, with offices in New York City and Washington, designed the plan to expand on its existing foreign policy and religion lectures and roundtable talks. Workshops are being developed to bring religious figures together with influential foreign policy thinkers.

The effort’s advisory committee includes former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The initiative comes at a time when religion is playing a major role in the decisions of diplomats throughout the world. In recent weeks, tensions rose worldwide after Danish political cartoons lampooned the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, and conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims is having a profound impact on U.S. foreign policy in Iraq.

“My sense is that the timing for this educational initiative is just right,” said Luis E. Lugo, director of the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, and a member of the advisory committee. “It’s time for foreign policy leaders to recognize the positives and negatives associated with involving religion in foreign policy and to acknowledge the growing interest in the topic, to generate public conversation.”

Programs supported by the Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative, introduced Feb. 6, will include a fellowship to a religious leader who will work closely with the council, as well as teleconferencing council meetings to a variety of religious figures.

The council also plans to expand the reaches of its Academic Conference Call Series to professors and students in higher education who focus on religion.

The Council was established in 1921 and is regarded as one of the most powerful organizations regarding American foreign policy. Its membership of more than 4,000 includes a diverse group of politicians, including former U.S. presidents, as well as media and other interested citizens. Past directors have included George H.W. Bush and Henry Kissinger. The council publishes Foreign Affairs magazine.

_ Nathan Herpich

Quote of the Day: Southern Baptist Seminary Dean Russell D. Moore

(RNS) “The World Council of Churches has long been a boutique of paganism in Christian garb. This year’s assembly happenings, including the recognition of `the Holy Spirit’ working in non-Christian world religions, only continues the downgrade.”

_ Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., commenting on the Feb. 14-23 World Council of Churches assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He was quoted by Baptist Press.

MO/PH END RNS