c. 2007 Religion News Service

Government Rescinds Fine Against Baptist Group

WASHINGTON (RNS) A moderate Baptist group will not have to pay a fine related to alleged violations by members of affiliated churches who traveled to Cuba, the Treasury Department has decided.

In 2006, the Washington-based Alliance of Baptists received a notice that it could be fined $34,000 because the itineraries of five churches that used its travel license “did not reflect a program of full-time religious activity.”

In a May 17 “warning letter,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control informed the alliance that “after a careful review of the entire file, OFAC has decided to withdraw the notice.”

But Elton A. Ellison, OFAC’s assistant director for civil penalties, noted that the alliance should be aware that any action by the alliance or its affiliates that violates the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba “may result in the imposition of criminal and/or civil penalties.”

The Rev. Stan Hastey, executive director of the alliance, said he was “gratified and grateful” that the issue has been resolved. The alliance had appealed the fine notice.

“According to our attorney … the determination was made that all five of these groups had been well-intentioned,” Hastey said. There may have been “some inadvertent technical violation” of policies, he said, but they were “incidental” to the overall activities of the groups.

The OFAC letter cited itineraries that indicated some persons who traveled under the alliance’s license had spent a “significant portion of their time” in tourist activities. The alliance has denied that.

Hastey said the alliance no longer has a license to travel to Cuba and does not have plans to apply for one. He traveled to the communist island nation last November under a license obtained by his Washington congregation.

The alliance and other religious groups have been affected by regulation changes by the Treasury office that have reduced or halted their ability to travel to Cuba.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Mosque Sues to Oust Imam It Says Is Too Fundamentalist

TRENTON, N.J. (RNS) Founding members of a Trenton mosque have asked a judge to oust their leader because he is taking the congregation in a fundamentalist direction.

In recent years, the imam, Sabur Abdul Hakim, has adopted stricter views of Islam and his aides plan to link the mosque with others of a conservative sect in Saudi Arabia, beaming in lectures via satellite links, according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, the International Muslim Brotherhood Inc., which owns the mosque, and founding members Rahman Khan, Salim Baig and Mubin Kathrada contend that the imam began changing religious practices at their mosque, Masjid As-Saffat, three years ago.

In the suit, the members say Hakim appointed his son-in-law, Shalby Akbar Shalby, as “ameer” last August, without an election by the congregants.

Hakim and his lawyer declined to comment about the lawsuit.

Since its founding in 1981, the mosque had been open to Muslims of all sects, the suit said.

“It was the policy not to discriminate based on sect and to allow various religious ideas to be heard,” the suit said. “In that vein the board of trustees would select a rotating slate of educated individuals to give the weekly Friday Khutbah (sermon),” the suit said.

But in 2004, Hakim decided that he alone would decide who gave the Friday sermon. “For the last three years, Hakim and a small group of congregants of the mosque began having more rigid views of Islam,” the suit said.

“They decided that they wanted the mosque to follow the Salafi doctrine. Adherents of Salafi Islam believe that there is only one true way of worshipping Islam and are totally intolerant of other moderate sects of Islam,” according to the lawsuit.

Peter Golden, a Rutgers University history professor who specializes in Middle East and Islamic history, said the Salafi is a form of Islam associated with the Wahhabi movement in Saudi Arabia. Practitioners consider themselves reformers but others think of them as reactionary, Golden said.

The change toward Salafism has driven away many of the more moderate members at Masjid As-Saffat, and its religious school closed last year, the suit said.

In addition to asking the court to remove the imam and ameer, the suit asks for an accounting of how funds have been spent and for an election of a new board of trustees by the congregants.

_ Linda Stein

Men’s Groups to Mark 10th Anniversary of D.C. Rally

WASHINGTON (RNS) Leaders of a network of Christian men’s ministries have announced plans to hold a 10th anniversary gathering of men on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

“Stand in the Gap 2007” is being sponsored by leaders of the Washington Area Coalition of Men’s Ministries and the National Coalition of Men’s Ministries. It is set to take place Oct. 6, a decade after Promise Keepers, an evangelical Christian men’s ministry, brought tens of thousands of men to the National Mall.

“Today we’re offering a fresh perspective on the issues that are facing men, while holding firmly to the roots of our faith grounded in the Holy Scriptures,” said the Rev. Marty Granger, executive director of Stand in the Gap 2007, in announcing the event.

“We’re calling upon men of all ages … to come together in one place on one day with full regard and respect for racial, ethnic, denominational and political diversity to declare to each other … the works of God, the purpose of God and the plan of God for their generation.”

Granger is the founder of Faith in the Family International, a Springfield, Va., nonprofit, and the co-founder of the Washington Area Coalition of Men’s Ministries.

The Rev. Rick Kingham, president of the Redmond, Wash.-based National Coalition of Men’s Ministries, called the 1997 event a “once-in-a-lifetime experience,” but he said he hopes those who attended it and those who did not both will be drawn to the gathering this fall.

Organizers said they have Promise Keepers’ endorsement but that group is not able to sponsor a 10th anniversary event. A Promise Keepers’ spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kingham and Granger said they expect the fall event to cost about $2.5 million. They did not disclose how much they have received in donations but said they have a “significant amount” of “seed money.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Former President Jimmy Carter

(RNS) “As a traditional Baptist, I’ve always believed in separation of church and state and honored that premise when I was president, and so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one.”

_ Former President Jimmy Carter speaking of current President George W. Bush. He was quoted by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

KRE/RB END RNS