c. 2006 Religion News Service
Malaysian Fatwa Says No Botox for Muslims
(RNS) A council of Muslim clerics in Malaysia has issued an order banning the use of the popular Botox injections for wrinkles, citing the use of pig-derived materials in the treatment, The New Straits Times reported.
The declaration by the National Fatwa Council does not carry the weight of law, though it would be considered sinful for Muslims _ a majority in Malaysia _ to violate the order. The fatwa allows an exception for medical uses, such as relieving pain associated with cerebral palsy.
Botox, which is made from the toxin botulin, paralyzes facial muscles to get rid of wrinkles; it can also be used to stop small muscle spasms.
The New Straits Times said many people in Malaysia may go to other countries for their Botox injections anyway, and doctors in the country indicated that Muslims make up only a minority of their patients who come for the remedy.
_ Peter Sachs
Indian Religious Leaders Appeal for End to Conversion Laws
CHENNAI, India (RNS) Religious leaders in India have appealed to President Abdul Kalam to help repeal the so-called “Freedom of Religion” laws passed by a half-dozen states that they say restrict the ability of citizens to convert to non-Hindu faiths.
In a joint July 20 statement, the interfaith coalition of clergy called the laws “superfluous” and said they “serve only to intimidate religious minorities and to obstruct freedom of faith.”
Among the more than 100 signers of the statement are the presidents of the All India Catholic Union and the All India Christian Council, and the General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India. Other signers from the Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist faiths include lawyers, academics and civil society activists.
A pro-Hindu ruling party in some northern and western states has brought forward legislation to restrict what it characterizes as forced Christian conversions that disrupt national harmony. The move has prompted an outcry from Christian leaders, who deny forcing any conversions. They also say such laws violate religious freedom and human rights laws.
“Five states in India have already enacted legislation which restricts or impairs the right of citizens to freely convert from one religion to another. As the Rajasthan government introduces its own law, we believe that we must raise our voice,” the clerics said.
“Furthermore, we believe these laws deepen and worsen religious divisions, conflicts and violence instead of enhancing the search for religious tolerance, harmony and mutual respect,” they said.
The statement urged the six state governments to “repeal these unjust laws. … We call for a new climate of equal rights, religious freedom and harmony based on mutual respect for one another as human beings.”
In the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, lawmakers recently revised a 1968 law that says those wishing to convert _ and the clergy presiding at such ceremonies _ must give advance notice to local authorities. Violators face imprisonment and a fine.
_ Achal Narayanan
Salvation Army Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $385,000
NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) For an employee at the Salvation Army, a charity that prides itself on “Doing the Most Good,” Leroy Brown was, well, quite bad.
For seven years, Brown, a financial manager at the organization’s Newark office, secretly stole money that was supposed to be used to subsidize rent for AIDS patients and the poor.
At a hearing Wednesday (July 26) in federal court, Brown admitted to cutting 585 checks worth more than $385,000, then passing them to a friend who cashed them and split the proceeds.
Standing before U.S. District Judge Joseph Greenaway, Brown pleaded guilty to conspiring to embezzle and to tax evasion. He faces between 30 and 37 months in prison.
“It’s deplorable conduct,” U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said in a statement. “He deserves a long prison sentence for stealing from the needy individuals for whom that money was intended.”
Brown, 60, has since moved to North Carolina and didn’t offer an explanation for his actions during the court proceeding. He declined to comment as he left, as did his attorney.
The case stunned prosecutors and officials at the Salvation Army, where Brown had worked since at least 1994. “I’m not used to this kind of trauma,” Col. Charles Kelly of the Salvation Army said as he left the hearing, declining to say more.
The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley Harsch, said investigators didn’t recover wads of money or other evidence that Brown was living lavishly off the scheme. He said Brown was basically “living hand to mouth.”
Prosecutors said he covered his tracks by drafting invoices of checks he claimed were for needy beneficiaries. But the names were fictitious, and the checks typically went instead to Brown’s friend, Susan Bigelow, who cashed them at local stores. Bigelow has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and faces sentencing in September.
Todd Wilson, an attorney for the Salvation Army, said the losses were covered by insurance. “There was no impact on their ability to provide services to people,” Wilson said.
_ John P. Martin
Alabama Church Hit in String of Arson Fires Starts to Rebuild
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) A small wooden cross and a small U.S. flag sit atop the new sanctuary of Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church, which has been quickly rising from the ashes since arsonists set fire to five area churches Feb. 3.
Pleasant Sabine Baptist, one of three Bibb County churches burned to the ground, was the first to begin construction on its new building. The sanctuary is about halfway done and could be completed by mid-September, said the Rev. Robert E. Murphy Sr., the church’s pastor.
“We’re doing our plumbing and electrical work,” he said. “We’ve ordered our pews.”
The church received $53,000 earlier this month from a fund administered by Birmingham-Southern College, where the three accused arsonists met as students.
Murphy said his church’s insurance did not cover the expected costs of rebuilding. The church had $100,000 worth of insurance and the cost to rebuild will be about $375,000. But donations have come from throughout the country.
The Southern Baptist-affiliated Alabama Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist churches have contributed more than $20,000 since the fire, Murphy said. “They’ve been very generous,” said Terry Bell, chairman of construction for the church.
Carol Williams, outreach assistant at the Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Advent, said her church collected $24,819 in donations, including money from other Episcopal churches around Alabama. “We have partnered with them to get as many materials donated as possible,” she said.
Pleasant Sabine received very few donations directly, Murphy said. “We haven’t collected that much,” he said. The church hopes to fund its building project without borrowing.
“We don’t know whether it will be enough or not,” Murphy said. “We hope it will.”
Ben Moseley, Russell DeBusk and Matthew Cloyd, arrested March 8, are still being held on charges related to the burning of nine churches. Their attorneys have been working with prosecutors on a possible plea agreement.
_ Greg Garrison
Quote of the Day: Stephen McNallen, director of the Asatru Folk Assembly
(RNS) “There is just not justification for what he did. Like any other group, we expect the holy powers to be honored. Clearly, when someone does something that is just plain wrong, just plain evil, obviously it hurts us. It hurts us in the same way that the lunatic-fringe Muslims hurt Islam. It is an embarrassment.”
_ Stephen McNallen, director of the Asatru Folk Assembly, about Michael Lenz, who was executed in Virginia on Thursday (July 27) for a jailhouse murder. Lenz’s belief in Asatru, a religion that worships figures from Norse mythology, played a role in the murder, his lawyer told The Washington Post. The lawyer and McNallen were quoted in the Post before the execution.
KRE/PH END RNS
