Religious Discrimination

04/16/2012

A Look at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

By Dena Sher, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:31pm

In 1998, Congress created the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to draw attention to violations of religious freedom in other countries. The commissioners vote annually to list countries that are of particular concern or place others on a watch list of countries that should be monitored closely for religious freedom violations.

But, since its inception, the commission's been beset by controversy. People who watch the commission closely say it was created to satisfy special interests, which has led to bias in the commission's work. Past commissioners and staff have reported that the commission is "rife, behind-the-scenes, with ideology and tribalism." They've said that commissioners focus "on pet projects that are often based on their own religious background." In particular, past commissioners and staff reported "an anti-Muslim bias runs through the Commission's work."

03/30/2012

This Week in Civil Liberties

This Week in Civil Liberties (3/30/2012)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 7:01pm

In which state did doctors try to force a pregnant woman to have a c-section against her wishes?

What group can no longer be held in solitary confinement in Mississippi?

How many cells compose a person according to Personhood USA's definition?

How many states oppose a national ID card?

Which federal agency illegally gathers intelligence on innocent American Muslims?

Your Body, Your Decisions — This Means You, Moms!
Recently, a mother in South Carolina reached out to the ACLU for help. She was pregnant, and although she had had two prior cesarean surgeries, she wished to attempt a "trial of labor," that is, to give birth naturally, rather than having a scheduled cesarean surgery. The mother's wish made sense in light of her medical history, and according to professional standards set by obstetricians.

03/27/2012

Religious Discrimination

FBI FOIA Docs Show Use of "Mosque Outreach" for Illegal Intel Gathering

By Nusrat Choudhury, Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project at 11:38am

This type of secret intelligence gathering is an affront to religious liberty and the right to equal protection of the law.

03/09/2012

NYPD Muslim Surveillance

FBI Official Agrees with ACLU: Suspicionless Surveillance is Ineffective and Counterproductive

By Michael German, Senior Policy Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:11pm

This week a high-level FBI official made some welcome comments on the NYPD's spying on New York City's Muslim communities and organizations that mirror the ACLU's own position on the suspicionless surveillance.

As you know, we at the ACLU we have long raised concerns about increasing levels of suspicionless surveillance by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, whether enabled though legislation, like the Patriot Act, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendm ents Act, or proposed cybersecurity bills; or though policy and programs, like the amendments to Attorney General Guidelines (AGG) governing the FBI, state and local intelligence fusion centers, and "suspicious activity reporting" programs, to name but a few.

02/27/2012

NYPD Muslim Surveillance

NYPD Used White House Funds to Spy on Muslims

By Ateqah Khaki at 5:19pm

The ACLU and New York Civil Liberties Union are calling for a federal investigation into the reported use of White House funds by the NYPD for its religious and racial profiling activities.

09/15/2011

Sharia

Oklahoma Seeks to "Save" Itself from the Requirements of the U.S. Constitution

By Chandra Bhatnagar, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU Human Rights Program at 5:17pm

On Monday, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument in Awad v. Ziriax, a legal challenge to Oklahoma's proposed "Save our State Amendment", which would prohibit Oklahoma state judges from considering international law, foreign law, or Sharia (Islamic law).

While the proposed amendment is clearly intended to demonize American Muslims and limit their religious freedom and access to Oklahoma's legal system, there is another equally troubling and unconstitutional element to its character — the amendment would prevent Oklahoma's judges from appropriately considering international law, including treaties that the United States has ratified.

09/15/2011

FBI

9/11's Legacy of Religious Discrimination

By Heather L. Weaver, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 4:23pm

It's no secret that, after 9/11, a wave of anti-Muslim bigotry washed over the country. The intensity of that prejudice has sustained it for a decade, and, in many ways, anti-Muslim sentiment and fear of Islam seem even stronger and more deeply rooted today than in the months and years after the attack. In the last few years, for instance, a number Muslims or people perceived to be Muslims have been violently assaulted; and scores of mosques and Islamic Centers have been vandalized, with attacks ranging from racist and anti-Muslim graffiti to arson and firebombing.

09/13/2011

Sharia

Defending the Indefensible: Oklahoma Struggles to Salvage Its Unconstitutional Sharia Ban

By Daniel Mach at 2:06pm

Are all faiths equal under the law? Does the fundamental right to worship in this country depend on approval of the majority? These questions lie at the heart of a legal challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations to Oklahoma's "Save Our State Amendment," which bars state courts from applying — or even considering — Islamic "Sharia law" and "international law."

08/09/2011

Disability Rights

A Day in Court for Civil Rights Claims: The Supreme Court Tackles the Ministerial Exception

By Daniel Mach at 3:44pm

Do religious institutions get a categorical free pass to discriminate against certain employees, regardless of the reason? That issue lies at the heart of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed today by the ACLU, the ACLU of Michigan, and a coalition of religious liberty organizations, we argue that the answer must be a resounding "no."

07/18/2011

Religious Discrimination

Obama Administration Can't Make the Case for Religious Discrimination

By Dena Sher, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 4:38pm

What a disappointing, and frankly lame, response. Last month, the ACLU, along with more than 50 organizations, sent a letter to President Obama urging him to end taxpayer-funded hiring discrimination based on religion in government contracts. President George W. Bush had rolled back this civil rights protection, which was first established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1941. President Obama promised to change this policy, but so far nothing. Thus, the coalition wrote to the president to again ask him to restore the civil rights protection.

American Civil Liberties Union