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

• Boko Haram’s leader has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a new audio message, according to a group that monitors extremist activity. This pledge adds to a growing number of jihadist groups that have pledged allegiance or support to the Islamic State.
• The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals found the Missouri House of Worship Protection Act, a law prohibiting “profane,” “rude” and “indecent” protests outside churches, synagogues and mosques, violates the First Amendment because it seeks to restrict the content of the protesters’ speech.
• Philadelphia’s transit system has been ordered by a federal judge to accept provocative ads that include a 1941 photograph of Hitler with a former Arab leader and the tagline: “Jew Hatred: It’s in the Quran.” The judge ruled in favor of a pro-Israel group’s free-speech lawsuit finding that the transit authority’s “anti-disparagement” policy, while well-intentioned, was not clearly defined and therefore potentially discriminatory.
• Critics warn that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper could be taking Canada along a turbulent course with political and legal battles against the niqab (an Islamic face covering for women with openings only at the eyes) and stricter versions of the Muslim faith.
• Utah legislators passed a “landmark” anti-discrimination bill, with the backing of the Mormon Church, that will purportedly prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation while also protecting religious freedom.
• The Archbishop of Canterbury addressed leaders from most of the major religious communities in the UK and said that Britain’s religious communities must do more to provide an alternative to extremism which gives young people a “purpose in life.”
• A group of Hasidic Jews filed a class action lawsuit in a New York federal district court against the Sullivan County Board of Elections for religious discrimination in canceling their voter registrations.
• A federal judge in Oklahoma City dismissed a lawsuit filed by American Atheists seeking to have a Ten Commandments monument removed from state Capitol grounds, finding the plaintiff lacked standing.
  • Read the decision here, in which the court finds that the plaintiff visited the monument only after filing the complaint.
• Young Tibetan monks in the Qinghai Province are being blocked by Chinese authorities from returning to their monasteries after visiting their families for the Tibetan New Year. It is believed that China’s efforts are focused on reducing the influence of Tibetan monasteries by controlling their size.
• The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill that would eliminate state-issued marriage licenses. The law would leave marriage within the control of clergy, requiring court clerks to issue only certificates of marriage signed by ordained clergy or affidavits of common-law marriage.
• A sheriff in a North Carolina county told sex offenders they can’t attend church services where children may be present, citing a state law meant to keep them from day care centers and schools. He invited them to attend church service at the county jail.