Some interesting law & religion stories from around the web this week:

• On Thursday, four female lawmakers walked into Turkey’s parliament wearing headscarves, marking an end to the ban on the Muslim symbol in the chamber. The restrictions on headscarves in government buildings were loosened as part of reforms aimed at boosting democracy
• Secular and moderately religious residents of Beit Shemesh, Israel are arranging large demonstrations against a recently-elected ultra-Orthodox mayor, demanding a new vote and even suggesting the city be split in two
• A New Jersey school district has banned religious holiday songs at winter concerts, saying “religious music should not be part of the elementary program”
• Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, has urged young Saudis to refrain from fighting in Syria
• The Supreme Court of India is weighing whether yoga has a religious element as it decides if public schools may teach the ancient discipline in the country where it originated
• On Wednesday, the Hawaii State Senate passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. The House Majority Leader said the bill will likely be amended in the House to change religious exemptions
• The Tennessee judge who ordered a baby’s name changed from Messiah to Martin, saying the former was reserved for Jesus Christ, has been cited by a court panel for an inappropriate religious bias in violation of the state judicial code of conduct
• A planned concert by US pop star Kesha has been banned by Malaysian authorities, who say it would hurt cultural and religious sensitivities
• Islamic conservatives in Kuwait are denouncing mixed-gender smoking cafes, claiming they are a “moral menace” because they allow young men and women to mix freely
• The Beijing police have arrested five people in connection with the Tiananmen car crash, saying they are radical Islamists who were planning a holy war
• In eastern Turkey, ethnic cleansing and forced migration drove Syriac Christians out of the area, but Prime Minister Erdogan’s policies have drawn a number of them back
• Studying the Talmud, the book of Jewish law, is growing in popularity with contemporary Jews