c. 2005 Religion News Service
Air Force Issues Interim Guidelines on Religion
(RNS) The Air Force has released new interim guidelines urging its military members and civilian employees to protect the free exercise of religion.
The guidelines, issued Monday (Aug. 29), were called for in a June report that investigated the religious climate at the Air Force Academy, an Air Force spokeswoman said, but affect the entire military force.
The rules direct commanders and other leaders to avoid actions and language that might lead to the impression that they are officially endorsing or disapproving of individuals’ choices regarding religion.
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Washington-based Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, called the guidelines “a welcome and necessary step toward addressing the recent and troubling reports of anti-Semitism and religious discrimination within the corps.” But he added that they should be considered only a first step: “Their true value will not be realized until they are fully implemented.”
But Mikey Weinstein, an academy graduate and critic of the institution’s religious practices, said the new rules are insufficient.
“Until the Air Force begins to seriously, honestly and openly address the unconstitutional proselytizing at the academy and its bases, these guidelines are only a set of nice words,” he said in a statement. “Our airmen and women deserve action.”
The guidelines relate to issues such as religious accommodation, e-mail communication and public prayer.
“Public prayer should not usually be included in official settings such as staff meetings, office meetings, classes, or officially sanctioned activities such as sports events or practice sessions,” the guidelines read.
During special, “non-routine” ceremonies, such as changes of command, “a brief nonsectarian prayer” is permitted, the guidelines say.
The rules offer cautions for religious expression in official communications.
“It is important to avoid the reasonable perception that any official e-mail or computer posting implies that the Air Force supports any one religion over other religions, or the idea of religion over the choice of no religious affiliation,” the guidelines read.
Jennifer Stephens, a spokeswoman for the Air Force, said final guidelines are expected to be adopted in the fall after additional guidance is received from Air Force commanders.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Pakistani President to Speak to Jewish Group in New York
(RNS) In a rare appearance of a Muslim head of state before a Jewish group, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will address an invitation-only crowd of American Jewish leaders in New York City.
Between 250 and 300 leaders representing national Jewish organizations, rabbinical schools and the major streams of Judaism are expected to attend the Sept. 17 event, said David Twersky, director of the Council for World Jewry.
Musharraf will be in New York to attend the 2005 World Summit at the United Nations.
Jack Rosen, chairman of the Council for World Jewry, said he and two other council representatives extended the invitation earlier this spring during an audience with Musharraf in Islamabad.
Rosen said that he was drawn to Musharraf’s philosophy of “enlightened moderation,” which emphasizes Islamic principles of tolerance and reconciliation.
“His are exactly the kinds of words we are all searching for from leaders of Muslim world,” said Rosen.
“The Jewish community has been demonized by the Muslim world,” he said. “We hope this event will encourage other moderate leaders to speak out.”
Rosen called Musharraf’s willingness to address a Jewish audience “a bold move” at a time when the president is under attack by extremists in Pakistan and elsewhere.
A Musharraf spokesman, Gen. Shaukat Sultan, told Agence France-Presse that Musharraf’s address will be “a good opportunity to bridge the gap” and a “way to start clearing up misperceptions and misunderstandings.”
Such a strategy may not sit well with Islamic extremists. In September 2003, Osama bin Laden’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called for Muslims to overthrow Musharraf, whom he described as a “traitor.”
Musharraf first introduced his philosophy of “enlightened moderation” at a 2003 summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conferences (OIC) in Malaysia.
Writing in the Washington Post last June, Musharraf described enlightened moderation as a two-pronged strategy.
“The first part is for the Muslim world to shun militancy and extremism and adopt the path of socioeconomic uplift,” he wrote.
“The second is for the West, and the United States in particular, to seek to resolve all political disputes with justice and to aid in the socioeconomic betterment of the deprived Muslim world.”
_ Andrea Useem
Falwell Displeased With Court Ruling on Web Site
(RNS) The Rev. Jerry Falwell is protesting a court ruling that says he cannot prevent the use of a misspelled version of his name by a gay activist utilizing http://www.fallwell.com as his Web site.
A three-judge appeals court panel in Richmond, Va., unanimously decided Aug. 24 to reverse an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton in Alexandria that prevented the use of the domain name http://www.fallwell.com.
Falwell sued Web site creator Christopher Lamparello in May, claiming confusion would arise between the gay activist’s site and his own, http://www.falwell.com.
Judge Diana Gribbon Motz disagreed.
“After even a quick glance at the content of the Web site at http://www.fallwell.com, no one seeking Reverend Falwell’s guidance would be misled by the domain name … into believing Reverend Falwell authorized the content of that Web site,” wrote Motz, author of the opinion. “No one would believe that Reverend Falwell sponsored a site criticizing himself, his positions and his interpretations of the Bible.”
Judges M. Blane Michael and Robert B. King joined Motz in the opinion.
Falwell feels he has experienced treatment by “an activist judge that did not rule on the merit,” said Ron Godwin, Falwell’s spokesman.
Falwell is considering his options, including taking the case to the Supreme Court, Godwin said.
In addition to a disclaimer posted on the home page advising visitors that the material is not endorsed by or affiliated with Falwell, Lamparello’s site offers a link to Falwell’s official ministry Web site.
Godwin said such action does not compensate for the use of Falwell’s name.
“This man has no other purpose in having this name other than to have people come to his site by using Reverend Falwell’s name as the attraction,” he said.
Joined by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation of Virginia, Lamparello claimed that his domain name was protected by the First Ammendment.
Lamparello first registered the domain name in 1999 after listening to an interview in which Falwell expressed opinions about gay people which Lamparello considered offensive.
“This Web site was created as a way to help people understand why we so strongly disagree with Dr. Falwell,” Lamparello’s Web site says. “This site is here to help you study the question of what the Bible really says about people who are gay, enabling you to reach your own conclusions.”
_ Jason Kane
At This British School, F-word May Be Spoken
(RNS) Pupils at a British school are being allowed to use the f-word as frequently as five times a lesson without being reprimanded, according to a London newspaper.
The Daily Mail reported that use of the profanity will be tallied on the board at the Weavers School in Wellingborough, about 70 miles northwest of London. If a class exceeds the limit, the pupils will be “spoken to” at the end of the lesson.
The policy, outlined in a letter to parents of pupils at the Weavers School, has run into criticism from parents and others.
The chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, Nick Seaton, told The Daily Mail: “In these sort of situations teachers should be setting clear principles of `do and don’t’.”
Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe, a former Home Office minister who left the Church of England over the ordination of women priests, said the policy was based on “Alice in Wonderland reasoning” and added: “You don’t improve something by allowing it. You improve something by discouraging it.”
But the policy was described as “sensible” and worth trying by a spokeswoman for the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, Eleanor Coner.
“A lot of the problems in classrooms have been from teachers overreacting to things like swearing,” she told The Scotsman.
_ Robert Nowell
Quote of the Day: Former Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina
(RNS) “I reject that criticism because this is indeed another kind of holocaust, by another name. At last count, more than 40 million unborn children have been deliberately, intentionally destroyed. What word adequately defines the scope of such slaughter?”
_ Former Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., defending his comparisons of abortion to the Holocaust in his new memoir, “Here’s Where I Stand.” He was quoted by the Associated Press.
MO/PH END RNS
