Some interesting law & religion stories from around the web this week:
- In his annual Easter message, Prime Minister David Cameron urged churches in Britain to do more to draw attention to the suffering of Christians around the world. The Prime Minister also wrote about the importance of Christian identity in an increasingly secular Britain.
- World leaders and Jewish groups condemned a leaflet handed out in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, telling Jews to “register” with the pro-Russian militants. The militants deny any involvement in the circulation of the flyers.
- Across the Middle East, intolerant and extremist governments are waging a war on Christians
- Februniye Akyol, a Syriac Christian, has been elected co-mayor of the southeastern Turkish city of Mardin. She is the first Christian woman to govern a metropolitan city in the predominantly Muslim republic.
- A new court ruling in Egypt prohibits members of the Muslim Brotherhood from running in upcoming elections.
- First Things discusses the role of the Orthodox Church in Russian society.
- The Federal Government United States will defend against efforts to remove a large cross atop a war memorial in San Diego.
- The WSJ reports on current litigation involving crosses on public property.
- New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio reversed the city’s policy of excluding religious groups that engage in “worship” from the use of public school classrooms.
- The New York City Police Department abandoned a program that dispatched plainclothes detectives to gather information in Muslim neighborhoods.
- Proposals to legalize the marriage of 9-year-old Iraqi girls are unlikely to become law, but indicate the growing role of religion in the country, Reuters reports.
- A British prisoner who claims to be a practicing Jedi says he faces persecution from authorities unwilling to recognize the Star Wars religion.
- Taxi drivers operating out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport have notified their companies that they don’t want to drive the cabs for religious reasons, citing rooftop placards advertising the upcoming Gay Games.
- Eugene Volokh considers whether the state should get out of the marriage business.
- Doug Bandow addresses the persecution of religious minorities in Iran, and says ruling elites should demonstrate commitment to reform by respecting religious liberty.
- Rabia Chaudry argues that a new Muslim Renaissance is occurring in the United States.