Religious Law

State Takes Custody of 416 Children in Raid on Polygamist Ranch

Updated: In what is apparently the largest child abuse case in state history, officials in Texas have taken custody of 416 children from a Texas ranch run by followers of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leader of a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy. “Officials have completed removing all 416 children…

Apr 8, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Ranch Run by Warren Jeffs Followers Raided in Texas Child Abuse Probe

In what may be the largest child abuse investigation in Texas history, state workers have removed nearly 200 children and a number of women from a ranch run by followers of Warren Jeffs, a leader of a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy. The ongoing operation, which began Thursday evening,…

Apr 7, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Building the Road Less Traveled

Alabama solo puts practice on hold to answer military’s call to Afghanistan

Apr 1, 2008 3:16 PM CDT

Vatican Supplements 7 Sins List

Updated: While serious sins used to be a matter of individual misbehavior, in a global world they are often more political in nature and thus can affect large numbers of people, a top Vatican official says. Among the misconduct that Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti denounces as “violations of the fundamental rights…

Mar 10, 2008 6:58 PM CDT

Practicing on Faith

In an unassuming office park in a quiet Chicago suburb, six lawyers are planning a revolution. The six are American women of the Muslim faith, and they have started what they believe is a first-of-its-kind law firm. They hope to change the way others think about their religion and culture,…

Mar 1, 2008 9:14 AM CST

Meaning of Court Cases on Muslims Open to Interpretation

An analyst with a Washington research group has scoured 888 court decisions involving Muslims and discerned the trends. The United States is winning many terrorism-related prosecutions against religiously inspired defendants. And Muslims frequently lose civil lawsuits. What’s not clear is what the numbers mean. Jeffrey Breinholt, who is on leave…

Feb 19, 2008 7:25 PM CST

Cultural Clash Pits Islamic Law Against Canadian & U.K. Traditions

In yet another example of a growing cultural clash between local practices and the religious rights of Muslim immigrants that has become a hot-button issue in a number of non-Islamic countries, a Canadian newspaper has stepped to the fore. It says statutory law in the province of Ontario seems to…

Feb 14, 2008 1:27 AM CST

Judges Increasingly Asked to Weigh Religion in Custody Battles

Child custody disputes involving religion are increasing, creating quandaries for judges who don’t want to favor one faith over another. Ronald William Nelson, chair of the ABA Family Law Section’s Custody Committee, told the New York Times the increase correlates with a hike in contentious custody battles. Parents involved in…

Feb 13, 2008 6:45 PM CST

Archbishop Ignites U.K. Firestorm With Support of Islamic Religious Law

Updated: The Archbishop of Canterbury is front-page news throughout the United Kingdom today, facing a firestorm of criticism even from his own bishops following his reported call for Britain, at least to some extent, to recognize Islamic religious law based on the Koran. Now, however, Dr. Rowan Williams is saying…

Feb 8, 2008 4:46 PM CST

Muslim Prisoner Loses Suit Based on High Court Interpretation of ‘Any’

Federal corrections officers cannot be sued for losing an inmate’s property, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The 5-4 ruling held that the officers have immunity under the Federal Tort Claims Act, SCOTUSblog reports. The swing voter in the case was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who joined the majority opinion…

Jan 22, 2008 7:12 PM CST

Law Grad Writes Book on Fellow Muslims

Individuals Melody Moezzi contacted about publishing her first book wanted the Emory University law graduate to interview a terrorist. But for Moezzi, that was just one more reason to write the book she wanted to write, about ordinary young Muslims like herself for whom their religion is not and has…

Jan 18, 2008 6:12 PM CST

Jeffs Prison Sentence: Five-to-Life x 2

The controversial leader of a fringe Mormon sect in Utah that advocates polygamy was sentenced today to two consecutive terms of five years to life, following his conviction earlier this year for accomplice rape. That means that Warren Jeffs, 51,will have to serve at least 10 years before he is…

Nov 20, 2007 10:32 PM CST

Phone Transcripts Released in Jeffs Case

Formerly sealed documents detailing jailhouse phone calls made by the leader of a controversial fringe sect of the Mormon church that advocates polygamy were released Tuesday by a Utah court. A lawyer for Warren Jeffs, 51, who has since been convicted of accomplice rape for pressuring a 14-year-old church member…

Nov 1, 2007 7:33 PM CDT

Ohio Dowry Ruling is Appealed; Important Muslim Marriage Issue

In a case that has attracted national interest, an Ohio woman is appealing a court ruling that her ex-husband doesn’t have to pay the dowry she is guaranteed in her Muslim marriage contract. Although courts in other states reportedly have enforced similar religious marriage contracts, the judge in Raghad Alwattar’s…

Nov 1, 2007 4:21 PM CDT

Guilty Verdict in Church Leader Trial

Updated: A Utah jury has reached a guilty verdict in the case of a controversial church leader accused of accomplice rape for using his religious influence to pressure a 14-year-old into a marriage she didn’t want. Despite the removal of one juror and the addition of an alternate earlier today,…

Sep 25, 2007 9:47 PM CDT