November 4, 2016 - LAW AND RELIGION FORUM

Posted on November 4, 2016November 7, 2016 by Jason Mansmann

Around the Web This Week

Here is a look at some noteworthy law and religion news stories from around the web this week:

In Auburn, Kentucky, members of the Amish community are fighting against an ordinance requiring large animals to wear collection bags, claiming that the law was designed to unfairly target their community.
Despite opposition from religious groups, the Washington D.C. City Council voted to pass a bill allowing terminally ill-patients to make a request for medically assisted suicide.
Conservative groups in Indiana are challenging the constitutionality of a “fix” to the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
In Massachusetts, the Roman Catholic Church is leading the fight against a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana.
Interfaith leaders signed a letter asking a Massachusetts synagogue to revoke a speaking invitation to three controversial anti-Islamic speakers.
A report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette details how abandoned houses of worship have been left to deteriorate in the wake of declining church participation.
The Trinity Western University Law School was victorious before the British Columbia Court of Appeals. The court affirmed a judgment that prevented the Law Society of British Columbia from denying accreditation to the school’s future alumni.
A protest of non-Orthodox rabbis over equal Jewish prayer rights at the Western Wall in Jerusalem turned violent as protesters and security officials clashed.
A report from World Watch Monitor discusses how Alqosh, the last Christian town in Iraq, was able to survive the onslaught of ISIS.

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Jason Mansmann

Last month, Policy Press released Islamophobia: Lived Experiences of Online and Offline Victimisation by Dr. Irene Zempi (Nottingham Trent University) and Imran Awan (Birmingham City University). The publisher’s description follows:

Islamophobia examines the online and offline experiences of hate crime against Muslims, and the impact upon victims, their families and wider communities. Based on the first national hate crime study to examine the nature, extent and determinants of Muslim victims of hate crime in the virtual and physical worlds, it highlights the multidimensional relationship between online and offline anti-Muslim attacks, especially in a global context. It includes the voices of victims themselves which leads to a more nuanced understanding of anti-Muslim hate crime and prevention of future anti-Muslim hate crime as well as strategies for future prevention.

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Jason Mansmann

Gragg, “My Brother’s Keeper”

Last month, Hachette Book Group released My Brother’s Keeper: Christians Who Risked All to Protect Jewish Targets of the Nazi Holocaust by Rod Gragg (Coastal Carolina University). The publisher’s description follows:

Thirty captivating profiles of Christians who risked everything to rescue their Jewish neighbors from Nazi terror during the Holocaust.

MY BROTHER’S KEEPER unfolds powerful stories of Christians from across denominations who gave everything they had to save the Jewish people from the evils of the Holocaust. This unlikely group of believers, later honored by the nation of Israel as “The Righteous Among the Nations,” includes ordinary teenage girls, pastors, priests, a German army officer, a former Italian fascist, an international spy, and even a princess.

In one gripping profile after another, these extraordinary historical accounts offer stories of steadfast believers who together helped thousands of Jewish individuals and families to safety. Many of these everyday heroes perished alongside the very people they were trying to protect. There is no doubt that all of their stories showcase the best of humanity–even in the face of unthinkable evil.