November 20, 2015 - LAW AND RELIGION FORUM

Posted on November 20, 2015July 26, 2016 by

Around the Web This Week

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

The House voted overwhelmingly, with Democratic support, to tighten screening procedures on refugees from Syria.
At least 32 are dead and about 80 hurt after an explosion in Yola, Nigeria believed to be the work of Boko Haram, which has killed thousands in attempts to promote Islamic law in Nigeria.
Congress passed a revised version of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, including a provision encouraging religious diversity in the U.S. military.
A federal judge found that discrimination claims against Facebook filed by the Sikhs for Justice human rights group are precluded under the Communications Decency Act, which bars courts from treating service providers like Facebook as the publishers or speakers of speech created by others.
The Australian Muslim Party, Australia’s first Islamic faith political party, launches days after the Paris attacks, insisting there has never been a more critical time for the Muslim community to have a political voice in Australia.
After a law suit, a Massachusetts public library has changed its meeting room policy, eliminating restrictions against religious or political expression in that space.
A Brooklyn man was sentenced to four years in jail for using violent and illegal means to coerce recalcitrant Jewish husbands into giving their wives a “get,” a religious bill of divorce required to release an Orthodox Jewish woman from her marriage.
The Senegalese government is considering plans to prohibit women from wearing full-body veils amid growing security concerns that the veils are used to hide explosives.
An Italian investigative journalist and author of a book with the title, “Avarice,” spoke out against a 2013 Vatican law that might result in a jail sentence of up to eight years for publishing confidential Holy See documents.
A Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles decision to forbid a “Pastafarian” from wearing a colander on her head in her driving licence photo was overturned on appeal.

Posted on November 20, 2015July 26, 2016 by Christina Vlahos

“Religious Responses to Violence” (ed. Wilde)

In December, the University of Notre Dame Press will release “Religious Responses to Violence: Human Rights in Latin America Past and Present,” edited by Alexander Wilde (American University). The publisher’s description follows:

During the past half century, Latin America has evolved from a region of political instability and frequent dictatorships into one of elected p03204 governments. Although its societies and economies have undergone sweeping changes, high levels of violence have remained a persistent problem. Religious Responses to Violence: Human Rights in Latin America Past and Present offers rich resources to understand how religion has perceived and addressed different forms of violence, from the political and state violence of the 1970s and 1980s to the drug traffickers and youth gangs of today. The contributors offer many fresh insights into contemporary criminal violence and reconsider past interpretations of political violence, liberation theology, and human rights in light of new questions and evidence.

In contrast to many other studies of violence, this book explores its moral dimensions—up close in lived experience—and the real consequences of human agency. Alexander Wilde provides a thoughtful substantive introduction, followed by thematic chapters on “rights,” “violence,” and case studies of ten countries throughout the region. The book breaks new ground examining common responses as well as differences between Catholic and Evangelical pastoral accompaniment. These new studies focus on the specifically religious character of their responses—how they relate their mission and faith to violence in different contexts—to better understand how and why they have taken action.

Posted on November 20, 2015July 26, 2016 by Christina Vlahos

Pupcenoks, “Western Muslims and Conflicts Abroad”

In December, Routledge will release “Western Muslims and Conflicts Abroad: Conflict Spillovers to Diasporas,” by Juris Pupcenoks (Marist College). The publisher’s description follows:

This book explains why reactive conflict spillovers (political violence in response to conflicts abroad) occur in some migrant-background 9781138915527 communities in the West. Based on survey data, statistical datasets, more than sixty interviews with Muslim community leaders and activists, ethnographic research in London and Detroit, and open-source data, this book develops a theoretical explanation for how both differences in government policies and features of migrant-background communities interact to influence the nature of foreign-policy focused activism in migrant communities. Utilizing rigorous, mixed-methods case study analysis, the author comparatively analyses the reactions of the Pakistani community in London and the Arab Muslim community in Detroit to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq during the decade following 9/11. Both communities are politically mobilized and active. However, while London has experienced reactive conflict spillover, Detroit has remained largely peaceful.

The key findings show that, with regards to activism in response to foreign policy events, Western Muslim communities primarily politically mobilize on the basis of their ethnic divisions. Nevertheless, one notable exception is the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is viewed through the Islamic lenses; and the common Islamic identity is important in driving mobilization domestically in response to Islamophobia, and counterterrorism policies and practices perceived to be discriminatory. Certain organizational arrangements involving minority community leaders, law enforcement, and government officials help to effectively contain excitable youth who may otherwise engage in deviant behavior. Overall, the following factors contribute to the creation of an environment where reactive conflict spillover is more likely to occur: policies allowing immigration of violent radicals, poor economic integration without extensive civil society inter-group ties, the presence of radical groups, and connections with radical networks abroad.