Federal judges seemed dubious yesterday that Oklahoma voters had the right to ban Shariah law — and no other religious legal systems — at the ballot box last November. Meanwhile, a group of mostly (politically) conservative Muslims say they support Michigan’s efforts to ban Shariah, because they don’t want to live under Shariah, either.
Speaking of courts, U.S. sex abuse victims filed a petition in the International Criminal Court in The Hague in hopes of seeing B16 and three other top Vatican officials do a perp walk for failing to protect children from predatory priests.
A Kentucky judge sentenced nine Amish men to jail time for refusing to post bright orange safety triangles on their buggies; the men say the order “violates their religious strictures against wearing bright colors or trusting in man-made symbols for their safety.”
Over in North Carolina, the ACLU filed suit against the state for approving pro-life license plates while refusing to issue pro-choice plates.
Roseanne Barr — remember her? — is apparently teaching Jewish meditation while also running for president of the U.S. and prime minister of Israel. An (unofficial) Jewish version of Facebook allows ultra-Orthodox users kibbitz while keeping the genders separate. A rabbi who’s been talking to Mel Gibson sees a shot at redemption in Gibson’s planned Maccabees epic.
Retired Episcopal Bishop Walter Righter, whose win at a 1996 heresy trial (after he ordained an openly gay priest) opened the door for the church’s acceptance of homosexuality, died on Sunday at age 87. After seven years of failed negotiations, a panel recommended that the Presbyterian Church (USA) divest from Caterpillar for not taking steps to make sure its equipment isn’t used to bulldoze Palestinian homes.
A choir director in Arkansas thought it would be a good idea to have the fellas do a remake of Beyonce’s Single Ladies.
A top leader of the Russian Orthodox Church said if the Vatican can resolve ongoing disputes in Ukraine, the Patriarch of Moscow might see fit to grant B16 an audience. Meanwhile, European and church officials are concerned about a rise in hate crimes directed at Christians. A British bus company doesn’t want Mormon missionaries to tell fellow passengers they’ve got the wrong religion.
— Kevin Eckstrom