La. school prayer law tossed by court
AP (12.12.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (17.12.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out Louisiana's school prayer law, which evolved from allowing a moment of silent meditation in 1976 to permitting spoken prayer in public classrooms.
On a 3-0 vote, a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge who declared the 1999 law unconstitutional. State attorneys had asked the 5th Circuit to reinstate the law.
Twenty-five years ago, the Legislature voted to allow a moment of silent meditation for students. A 1992 amendment allowed silent prayer. In 1999, the word "silent" was dropped from the law.
In a historic 1961 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said that official school prayers represent a state-sanctioned religion, violating religious minorities' rights and the constitutional separation of church and state.
Religious groups have long contended that the ban violates the First Amendment rights of students who want to pray.
In other rulings, the court has struck down voluntary prayer, saying that religious minorities are under pressure and can be harassed if they choose not to participate.
The suit against the Louisiana law was filed by a parent in Ouachita Parish, identified only as Jane Doe, who alleged that her son and another boy were called "atheist" and "devil worshipper" after they refused to participate in a prayer.
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, one of the groups that filed suit on behalf of the parent, called the decision "a victory for the schoolchildren of Louisiana and for the principle of religious freedom."
"Public schools are supposed to teach, not preach," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, the group's executive director. "It's up to parents to decide what religious instruction their children receive."
Pam Laborde, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general, said the agency had not had a chance to study the ruling and decide what its next step would be. The state could appeal directly to the Supreme Court or ask the full 5th Circuit to hear the case, she said.
In striking down the law, U.S. District Judge Robert James of Monroe rejected the state's contention that the statute is "neutral" towards religion and does not have a secular purpose - two of the standards used by the Supreme Court in weighing such disputes.
The 5th Circuit agreed and also rejected the state's contention that the complaining parent did not have legal standing to pursue the suit because the family did not suffer a direct injury from the law.
"The plain language and nature of the 1999 amendment as well as the legislators' contemporaneous statements demonstrate that the sole purpose of the amendment was to return verbal prayer to the public schools," the 5th Circuit said.
The 5th Circuit also rejected the state's contention that the complaining parent did not have legal standing to pursue the lawsuit.
A week after James' ruling, the Ouachita Parish School Board voted to stop student-led prayers over the intercom at West Monroe High in a settlement reached with the American Civil Liberties Union.
Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana American Civil Liberties, which joined Americans United in the lawsuit, said the ACLU testified before a legislative committee in 1999 that the law would be unconstitutional.
"Once again, the Louisiana Legislature has passed an unconstitutional law, resulting in local governments, in this case a school board, spending money that could have been better used to educate our children," Cook said in an interview Tuesday. "The purpose of the Legislature was to defy Supreme Court rulings of long standing."
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U.S. freezes Aum Shinrikyo's assets
The Japan Times (04.11.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (06.11.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The U.S. administration on Friday added 22 groups, including Japan's Aum Shinrikyo cult, to a list of foreign terrorist organizations whose assets in the United States have been frozen.
"Listing these organizations under the Sept. 24 terrorist financing executive order underscores the administration's objectives to disrupt the financial base of terrorists," the Treasury Department said in a statement.
The executive order, signed by President George W. Bush, enabled the administration to freeze the assets of designated terrorist groups in the U.S.
The administration can also freeze assets or close branches if foreign financial institutions operating in the U.S. do not comply with the executive order.
The 22 entities include the Real IRA, an offshoot of the Irish Republican Army, and Islamic fundamentalist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah in addition to Aum, which carried out a fatal sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995.
The 22 are all on a list of 28 foreign terrorist organizations issued Oct. 5 by the State Department.
Six entities, including the al-Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., had already been subject to the asset freeze.
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AP (29.10.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (30.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - An employee fired after giving Bibles to co-workers and praying with them lost his religious harassment case before the Supreme Court, but justices refused Monday to block a trial on the termination.
Conservative groups wanted the court to use the case to provide guidelines for workplace "witnessing". The court declined, without comment.
Kenneth Weiss offered a Bible to a Muslim co-worker at a Florida medical lab and called a lesbian colleague's attention to Scripture that describes homosexuality as "vile" and "unseemly." The born again Christian also "laid hands" on ill co-workers and prayed over a malfunctioning machine.
An appeals court said the behavior was not prudent, but determined that a jury should decide if he was guilty of harassing colleagues and deserved to be fired.
Weiss claims he was the one being harassed, for practicing his religion. He sued under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bans on-the-job discrimination because of someone's religion, gender or race.
The act "was intended to protect religious expression in the workplace, not stifle it," Weiss told the Supreme Court. He said the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling "leaves religious employees with little choice but to completely refrain from offering religious literature to others in the workplace, for fear of being terminated for harassment."
Neither Weiss nor his employer, REN Laboratories of Florida Inc., was satisfied with the appeals court ruling. The Supreme Court turned back appeals from both, which sends the case back to Florida for a trial.
Weiss was hired in 1992 as a medical technician at a Fort Lauderdale lab and promoted to night shift supervisor later that year. He was fired in 1993, after talking to a new employee about the importance of attending church.
He is described as a mild-mannered worker who openly discussed his faith. Weiss said he did not intentionally offend anyone.
The appeals court said he should have known that a Muslim would not want a copy of the Bible and that it was not prudent to initiate prayer sessions at work with colleagues.
He had been reprimanded for other things, including getting the wrong results in an AIDS test.
Lawyers for REN Laboratories told the Supreme Court that the company had the "legal duty to keep its workplace free of religious harassment." His behavior put the company "in a position of possibly losing employees to resignation or, worse, being sued by employees for tolerating a religiously hostile work environment," the attorneys said.
A Florida jury determined that he was wrongly terminated, but the judge in the case threw out the verdict. The appeals court ordered a second trial in the case.
Weiss asked the Supreme Court to clarify "where protected religious observance and practice leave off and unprotected harassment begins." He was represented by the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based conservative group that defends claims of religious discrimination.
His suit claims that federal law protects religious expressions and that the appeals court decision "effectively chills innocuous religious speech and conduct in the workplace."
The cases are Weiss v. REN Laboratories of Florida, 01-317 and REN Laboratories v. Weiss, 01-292.
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Court refuses to review Silence Law
by Anne Geran
AP (29.10.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (30.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The Supreme Court rejected a challenge Monday to a state law requiring schoolchildren to observe a daily minute of silence.
The court did not comment in turning down an appeal from opponents who claim Virginia's minute of silence is an unconstitutional government encouragement of classroom prayer in public schools.
The state says the minute of silence does not violate the separation of church and state, because children may meditate or stare out the window for 60 seconds if they choose, so long as they are quiet.
The court's action means the daily minute of silence will continue, and opponents are left with no immediate options to challenge it.
In other action Monday, the court:
-Agreed to hear the case of a man who was denied an oil refinery job because of a disability that his own doctor said could kill him.
-Assured that Washington politicians don't have to worry about their paychecks. The court turned back a constitutional challenge to congressional salary increases dating back a decade.
-Refused to revive an Indianapolis law requiring parental consent before children may play violent arcade games, which a lower court struck down as an unconstitutional damper on free speech.
For the first time since the Supreme Court building was completed 66 years ago, the justices convened at another location - a U.S. district court - because of concern over possible mailed anthrax contamination.
The minute-of-silence law, enacted in 2000 makes the minute of silence mandatory for Virginia's 1 million public school pupils, and specifically lists prayer as one silent activity they might choose.
The law's preamble states its purpose as assuring that ``free exercise of religion be guaranteed within the schools.''
The American Civil Liberties Union wrote:
``Although the statute permits students to engage in other forms of silent or meditative activity during the time period set aside in the classroom, the statute was enacted specifically to facilitate and encourage school prayer at that fixed time.''
The ACLU argued that the appeals court ruling cannot be reconciled with a 1985 Supreme Court case, which struck down a similar moment of silence law in Alabama. In that case, the high court found that the state was placing an official imprimatur on classroom prayer.
At least four other states have laws like Virginia's, which both require the silence and link it to prayer or religious observance. The others are Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee and West Virginia. Several other states have laws mandating schoolday silence but without an express mention of prayer.
In Virginia, the ACLU's lawsuit on behalf of seven students and their parents failed in lower federal courts. A divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the law constitutional because students may choose for themselves how to spend the silent time.
Opponents also lost a last-minute attempt to block the law from being enforced this school year.
The appeals court ``found ample evidence that ... (the Virginia law) has a clear secular purpose, namely, to provide a moment for quiet reflection in the wake of high-profile instances of violence in our public schools,'' Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote in rejecting that request last month.
``The act does not require students to do anything or say anything or hear anything,'' Virginia Attorney General Randolph A. Beales wrote in asking the court to reject the ACLU's broader appeal.
``It does not require them to make any gesture or acknowledgment. It only requires them to stay in their seats, to remain silent and not to distract their classmates.''
The Virginia law replaced one in place since 1976 that allowed schools to observe silence if they choose. Fewer than 20 schools districts statewide did so.
The First Amendment guarantees both that government will not promote or ``establish'' religion, and that Americans may exercise their chosen religion freely. In practice, that has meant shifting standards for what is allowed in public places such as schools.
The justices banned organized prayer during class hours in the 1960s, and classroom display of the Ten Commandments in 1980. In the past decade the court has banned clergy-led prayer at high school graduation ceremonies and student-led prayer at football games.
But the court also ruled in 1993 that a public school must let a religious group show Christian movies in the building, and ruled in 1995 that a public university could not deny funding to a Christian publication.
The justices have also allowed taxpayer-funded computers and remedial help by public school teachers at religious schools.
In June, the court ruled that if the Boy Scouts and 4-H can use a public school as a meeting hall, a children's Bible study class can, too.
The court has agreed to decide next year whether taxpayer money may go to underwrite tuition at religious schools.
The Virginia case is Brown v. Gilmore, 01-384.
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Fuller churches and public prayer -- could a renewal be near?
Zenit (27.10.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (30.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - In the wake of the terror attacks in America, many people have found solace in prayer and an expressed desire for traditional values. Media reports testify to the increased numbers in churches and a strengthening of family ties.
Even some atheists seem to have found God. According to a report in the National Catholic Register on Sept. 30, one atheist stood outside the doors of a New York church on Sept. 13 inviting people to come in.
The Wall Street Journal noted Oct. 10 that ratings for religious programs on television have soared in the aftermath of the attacks. Ratings doubled for James Robison's "Life Today" on the Trinity Broadcasting Network during the two weeks beginning Sept. 16, compared with the two weeks before the attack. Viewership for a news program by "prophecy expert" Hal Lindsey jumped 60% during the same period.
As for church attendance, numbers at the 36,000 Methodist churches in the United States have more than doubled since the attacks, the Journal reported Oct. 5. According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted Sept. 21-22, 47% of those surveyed said they had attended church or synagogue during the previous seven days, up 6% from the spring.
The upsurge in religious fervor has not been limited to the United States. In Britain, the Guardian newspaper on Oct. 11 reported that a month after the tragedy St. Paul's Cathedral was still printing 200 extra service sheets every Sunday. And the American Church in London is at double attendance.
In England, demand for copies of both the Koran and the Bible have outstripped supply. Oxford University Press is rushing through a reprint of its "Introduction to the Koran" after copies sold at four times their usual rate.
The Times on Oct. 13 also affirmed an increase in church attendance. More than 800 people went to evensong at Exeter Cathedral in the previous week, compared with the usual congregation of 150. And Winchester Cathedral reported a 60% rise in the number of faithful.
Church-state division
The renewed fervor for religion has sparked off conflicts in America over the division between church and state. During the first weeks, the long-running battle over prayer in schools and public places ran overwhelmingly in favor of those who wanted more space for prayer. But as the weeks go by, more protests have been raised by groups who argue for a ban on all religious expression in events taking place on government property.
The New York Times reported Oct. 23 on a prayer circle formed by the players at a public school football game that appeared to defy the most recent Supreme Court ruling banning prayer at school events over a public address system.
And in South Carolina, according to the Times, state legislators are proposing a bill to transform the moment of silence that begins each school day into a moment of prayer, though such moments of prayer were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Wallace v. Jaffree in 1985.
Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said he did not believe that courts were about to reverse earlier decisions on prayer. Moreover, he warned that the new practices pushing the limits of Supreme Court rulings would prove costly to communities forced to defend them in court. "The Constitution has not been suspended since Sept. 11," Lynn said.
But Texas Governor Rick Perry said last Monday that he sees no problem with ignoring the U.S. Supreme Court ban on organized school prayer "at this very crisis moment in our history." Perry defended a decision to have a Protestant minister open an East Texas middle school assembly with prayer last week.
"Any time you have a crisis that faces you either in your personal life or as we have now in our country, reaching out to a supreme being is a very normal act," said the Republican governor, according to the Dallas Morning News on Oct. 23.
Perry told reporters that he is ready to make school prayer a campaign issue as he seeks election next year to a full four-year term as governor.
The Christian Science Monitor on Oct. 25 observed that while school-sponsored prayer has been struck down repeatedly by the court, the issue is murkier within government, where there has never been a clear ruling. In fact across the country, many city councils, state legislatures -- and even the U.S. Congress -- open their meetings with a prayer.
And in many towns local officials are pushing the limits between church and state. Ringgold, Georgia, for example, is one of the many towns that have brought Christianity into city hall since Sept. 11.
Three public buildings are now adorned with framed copies of the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments. Another empty frame hangs nearby, "for those who believe in nothing."
Cultural renewal
Legal battles aside, one of the consequences of Sept. 11 could be a move toward a renewal of Western culture. This was the hope expressed by Toms Halk, a professor at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.
In National Review Online on Oct. 5, Halk argued that the attacks destroyed the hope that the ideals of an open democratic society are so attractive that the whole world will sooner or later accept them, just as it has embraced Western technology.
But he appealed for a response based "not on a spirit of revenge which will prevent us from escaping a downward spiral of fear and violence." Rather, Halk favors a "new moral ecology" that fosters values.
This environment of values would reject the fantasy world created by the entertainment industry in which the glorification of violence "may well have become the most popular psychological drug for suppressing the deeper anxieties of civilization."
Another value that needs to be promoted is life. A lack of a respect for life, especially in its most fragile forms, and a willingness to abuse medical inventions to manipulate human beings and the essence of life itself for commercial purposes, "render us less able to struggle with violence and death," commented Halk.
John Paul II also appealed for a renewal of faith. In his general audience just a day after the attacks, the Pope observed that the events constituted "a dark day in the history of humanity, a terrible affront to human dignity."
But, he continued, "faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail. Christ's word is the only one that can give a response to the questions which trouble our spirit. Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say. Christian hope is based on this truth; at this time our prayerful trust draws strength from it." After Sept. 11, the West seems to be listening.
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U.S. Office of Information of JW (16.10.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (22.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The First Amendment right to free speech has been challenged for some time now in the village of Stratton, Ohio. In the early 1980s, a village policeman chased a group of Jehovahs Witnesses out of town when they were performing their hallmark door-to-door ministry, telling them, I could care less about your rights.
Early in 1998, three women who were Jehovahs Witnesses were in the village to continue discussions with individuals who had previously shown an interest in their Bible message. When they had completed their visits and were driving away from the village, the local mayor stopped them and told them that they were not allowed to be in the village and that if they had been men, he would have taken them and put them in jail. He said that people had moved to the village with the understanding that they would not be bothered by Jehovahs Witnesses. The congregation and the legal representatives of Watchtower saw the implications of these actions and filed suit against the village contesting the requirement that individuals need a permit to engage in door-to-door activity. Both the District Court and the Court of Appeals upheld the village requirement. On Monday, October 15, 2001, the United States Supreme Court granted Watchtowers request for review. The Court will hear oral arguments in the February Term.
The events in Stratton might raise some concern to any who recall the harsher denials of civil liberties and the persecution against some Christians that occurred in the midst of wartime fever decades ago in this country. Then, in some places opposition to the work of Jehovahs Witnesses escalated, and they were run out of town, sometimes after being beaten, tarred and feathered. It took court cases in one place after another to define, clarify and protect the freedom of speech that the Bill of Rights assured.
Last year Shawn Francis Peters was interviewed on the topic of his book Judging Jehovahs Witnesses, which outlines specifics of many of the cases and surrounding events. In one response he stated, What struck me about the story of the Witnesses was that these outsiders had such a positive impact on how the Constitution has been interpreted over the past half-century.
Freedom of speech is a fundamental right that every citizen of the United States should cherish, commented Paul Polidoro, legal representative for Jehovahs Witnesses. When you dont have the freedom to knock on your neighbors door to talk about a matter without the permission of the town, then everyone should worry.
Court cases involving Jehovahs Witnesses make up a significant portion of U.S. and Canadian law relating to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. These cases have done much to preserve the liberties of people in general. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Jehovahs Witnesses in 47 cases.
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Ambassador for religious liberty named
by Larry Witham
Washington Times (27.09.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (01.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The White House yesterday nominated John V. Hanford, a longtime foreign affairs aide to Sen. Richard G. Lugar, Indiana Republican, to be U.S. ambassador at large for international religious liberty.
"I'm tremendously honored by the president's intention to nominate me," Mr. Hanford said in an interview. "I look forward to the confirmation process." If confirmed, Mr. Hanford will fill a post left vacant for a year. He said he is eager to work "on the vital issue of human rights."
The announcement comes a week after Mr. Bush appointed three new members to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. That filled all the commission's nine slots and allowed it on Monday to elect a chairman.
"We're now ready to carry out our work, and the recent [terrorist] events will only make religious liberty more important in foreign policy," commission spokesman Lawrence J. Goodrich said. The commission elected Michael K. Young, dean of the George Washington University Law School, as chairman. The nine-member panel serves through May 2003.
Under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, which established the commission and the ambassador's post, Mr. Hanford's confirmation would give him the 10th vote on commission policies.
The White House yesterday said Mr. Hanford was the "lead architect" of the 1998 law and noted his work since 1987 with Mr. Lugar, who has been chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Mr. Hanford is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. The post of ambassador at large was held in its first two years by Robert Seiple, former head of the World Vision relief agency, but has been vacant for a year.
The ambassador oversees an annual report on religious liberty abroad - the most recent of which soon will be released - and recommends to the secretary of state possible sanctions against nations that are the worst offenders against religious freedom.
The nine-member commission also issues a report and, being independent, can be critical of both administration policy and foreign countries with horrific human rights records. The new Bush appointments to the religious freedom commission are Leila Nadya Sadat, a Muslim law professor; the Rev. Richard Land, head of religious liberty for the Southern Baptist Convention; and New York Catholic Bishop William F. Murphy.
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Schools try to protect Arab and Muslim students and teach others about tolerance
by Greg Toppo
AP (20.09.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (24.09.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - At a school in Connecticut, a second-grader threatens a turban-wearing Sikh classmate, telling him, "You better watch out -- you're going to get beat up." She later explains to the principal, "He looks just like the guys they said did it on TV."
A note found at a California high school says the World Trade Center attacks will be avenged in a massacre of Muslims, with the names of five students listed beneath. They are sent home for their safety.
In the days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Arab-American and Islamic groups have reported hundreds of cases of harassment, intimidation and violence, including a few at schools. While no violence against Arab and Muslim students has been reported, schools across the country are struggling to assure parents they'll protect children while teaching classmates about tolerance.
The incidents have prompted Education Secretary Rod Paige to send a rare "dear colleague" letter to educators, urging that classroom discussions and assemblies honoring victims not inadvertently "foster the targeting of Arab-American students for harassment or blame."
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, which claimed more than 5,000 lives, reports of hate crimes and harassment against Arab-Americans have flooded advocates' offices. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee this week said it had compiled a list of more than 200 incidents. The Council of American-Islamic Relations reported more than 400, including yelling, spitting, extensive vandalism and assaults.
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee spokesman Hussein Ibish said fear of reprisal has scared many parents into temporarily keeping their children home from both public and private schools.
Muslim private schools across the country canceled classes for a few days last week. In other schools, such as the Muslim Educational Trust School in Portland, Ore., parents were asked to walk the grounds during school hours, keeping an eye out for retaliation.
"It's a tough time for the whole community at large," said Wajdi Said, the trust's executive director. "We've really felt a sadness and a sorrow."
In a Palmdale, Calif., public high school, several students stayed home after they were named in a list saying the World Trade Center attacks would be avenged with a Tuesday "massacre," according to one of those on the list.
"I was just shocked and scared," said Abdul Bachmid, 15, who saw the list outside the school Monday and reported it to school officials. He and brother Hanif, 18, were two of three Muslim students named.
"Our religion, they don't allow killing like that," Hanif said of the attacks. "They consider it a huge sin."
Their mother, Aisha Attamimi, called the list "sickening."
"Even now, I cannot believe it," she said. "I think this is the most peaceful country in the world."
The family hails from Indonesia and has lived in the United States for 11 years. Until this week, Attamimi said, they had never experienced discrimination or harassment.
Police are investigating the incident. Principal Michael Vierra said he sent notices to students and staff discouraging them from laying the blame for the attacks on any ethnic group.
Nan Horstman, principal of Delta Center Elementary School in Grand Ledge, Mich., said conversations taking place in classrooms this week sound similar to those about bullying, which got widespread attention after school shootings last spring.
Horstman said she goes out of her way to discipline students caught harassing schoolmates over religion or ethnicity.
"I put on a big show," she said. "I pound the desk and let them know in no uncertain terms that, as long as they're here, they will not behave in that way."
Still, she said, one Saudi family kept their children home last week.
Ibish said mistreatment of Arab-American students isn't surprising, given what he called unrelenting negative stereotyping in American television and movies.
Most Americans deserve credit for rising above stereotypes, he said, but added that the aftermath of the attacks won't be easy.
"It's going to be tough for our community," Ibish said. "We know that, in spite of the support we're receiving."
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U.S. Sikhs find themselves targeted
By Deborah Kong
The Associated Press (18.09.01)/ HRWF International Secretariat (18.09.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Gurdarshan Singh was on his way to donate blood for the victims of the terrorist attacks on America when a man in a van pulled up alongside him and began shouting.
Minutes later, a second man pulled up on the other side and gave him a vulgar gesture. The men followed him for several minutes, said Singh, a Sikh minister who lives in Rockville,Md.
Like Singh, members of the Sikh religious community in the United States have been threatened, beaten and in some cases killed in the past week - simply because of their appearance.
Sikhism is a completely distinct religion from Islam, and yet some members are being mistaken for Arabs or Muslims because they wear turbans and have beards.
``I can see the emotions are so high and the people are looking at turbans and thinking I might be connected somehow with (Osama) bin Laden and his followers,'' Singh said. ``Unfortunately the ignorance is so much, and people use their eyes, they don't use their heads.''
Although the number of backlash crimes will not be tallied for quite some time, anecdotes of attacks on Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs have frightened many Americans.
The New York-based United Sikhs in Service of America lists some 196 backlash hate crimes on its Web site as of Tuesday morning. There are an estimated 500,000 Sikhs in North America.
In Mesa, Ariz., Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh, was shot and killed outside his gas station Saturday ``for no other apparent reason than that he was dark-skinned and wore a turban,'' Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said.
His alleged attacker, Frank Silva Roque, 42, was charged Monday with first-degree murder. ``I'm an American. Arrest me. Let those terrorists run wild,'' Roque was quoted as saying in a police report.
Male Sikhs, who are neither Arab nor Muslim, wear untrimmed beards and turbans that cover their uncut hair for religious reasons. The religion was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak, who preached tolerance, the worship of one god and equality for all humans.
Over the weekend, a 54-year-old California woman was arrested in Oregon after attempting to pull a turban off the head of a Sikh near Eugene. She believed he was an Islamic extremist.
The arrest was the second incident of backlash in Oregon. A 33-year-old man was arrested last week after making a threatening phone call to the Islamic Cultural Center in Eugene.
In Youngstown, Ohio, Tejinder Singh, a Sikh, said someone made rude comments to him as he stood in a parking lot. Someone also set fire to a hedge outside his brother's gas station in Cortland, Ohio, he said.
Both President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft denounced the backlash Monday. Those who reach out in anger ``represent the worst of humankind and they should be ashamed of their behavior,'' Bush said as he visited the Washington Islamic Center.
``People in the Sikh community want to go and help - to give blood and clear rubble from the World Trade Center and serve meals. And we are doing that,'' said Harpreet Singh, a spokesman for the New York-based United Sikhs in Service of America. ``But some are too afraid to go.''
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Area Muslims hear, see hateful words
By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times (13.09.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (14.09.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Threats against local mosques and vandalism at a Lynnwood place of worship are stoking fears of retaliation among Seattle-area Muslims.
Along with prayers, churches here are offering safe havens and round-the-clock security to Muslim counterparts after speculation that Islamic fundamentalists were responsible for the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
The first worshippers to arrive at the Masjid Dar al-Arqam mosque in Lynnwood on Tuesday found a wooden sign out front vandalized with black paint.
Naser, a mosque board member who didn't want to give his last name, began listening to messages on the mosque answering machine. The first one, left at 8:58 a.m., was from a woman whose voice trembled with anger: "It's time for you people to get out of this country now!" she said.
"I feel sorry that people still don't understand what Islam is all about," said Naser, adding many of the messages were supportive of mosque members.
"Love is the best answer," said Kathy Thorsen of Edmonds who, like others, brought flowers to the mosque yesterday.
Members of the Church Council of Greater Seattle met last night to condemn threats against mosques and offer to act as safety patrols "and be a presence of non-retaliation," said executive director Alice Woldt.
Though grateful for the outpouring of support, Hisham Farajallah blamed "finger pointing by the sensational media" which "automatically attached" the actions of individuals to an entire religion.
"Nobody knows who is responsible," said Farajallah, director of operations at the Sheihk Idriss Mosque in Northgate. "We must wait for the facts because this speculation is hurting our community."
While men gathered inside the mosque for late prayers Tuesday night, Chris Nnabue circled outside, a Bible clutched to her chest.
"I think the Lord would be very offended if anyone tried to hurt these people in his name," said Nnabue, a member of Bothell's Cedar Park Assembly of God Church. "There are a lot of beautiful people who don't deserve to be lumped together with a homicidal maniac."
In Bellevue, the president of the Islamic Center of Eastside, who asked that his name not be used, said many of his members were shaken by threats they'd received. "You will all die," "Get out of this country," and "You will be treated like the Japanese were during Pearl Harbor" were among the abusive messages left on the center's answering machine, he said. "But we've had people call who've offered their homes if we need safe havens if we come under attack."
Hateful comments on the Internet and on talk-radio stations have furthered fears of retaliation among the state's 40,000 Muslims.
"We must not hurt or terrorize Americans of Arab descent or Islamic faith," Gov. Gary Locke said yesterday during a memorial service at the Puyallup Fair.
Television reports of the terrorist attacks led to a brawl between two inmates at the McNeil Island Corrections Center. One man was in critical condition after he was tossed to the cement floor for making "loud and obnoxious comments about Muslims," said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Dave Hall.
The injured inmate, suffering a cranial hemorrhage, was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center, Hall said.
The Islamic School of Seattle, a private elementary school on Capitol Hill, canceled classes for the week Tuesday fearing for student safety.
King County sheriff's deputies went to the Sea-Tac Mosque twice yesterday, once "to show our colors, so to speak" and again to urge Muslims to report any threats or violence, said spokesman John Urquhart.
Illinois Passes Halal Food Act
American Muslim Council (28.08.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (30.08.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Governor George Ryan signed Senate Bill 750 on August 21, 2001, which passed the Halal Food Act fulfilling the dietary requirements of America Muslims. The bill clearly states that nobody would be allowed to sell meat, or poultry products that are falsely labeled as halal. The Halal Food Act will require the Department of Agriculture to ensure that all food labeled halal is prepared according to Islamic Law.
Muslims are valued members of our communities and this official recognition by the state reflects Illinois commitment to supporting the interests of all citizens, Governor Ryan said. This law will give Muslims in Illinois confidence that the Halal food products they buy are indeed prepared according to Islamic law.
Effective January 1, 2002, violating the Halal Food Act will be a Class B misdemeanor. Penalties will be enforced for any person making deceptive statements or falsely representing that a non-Halal food product is Halal.
This bill passed through both Houses of State Legislature due to the cooperative relationship between legislators and Muslims who emphasized the importance of halal food. Muslims feel proud of the unanimous bipartisan support of the Halal Food Act, and see it as an historical manifestation of the public and political recognition of the Muslim community in Illinois, which numbers around 450,000, said Dr. Sabri Samirah, president of United Muslim Americans Association (UMMA) of Chicago.
The halal legislation campaign has gained momentum since the enactment of the first halal bill (A 1919) of New Jersey in July 2000.
At the American Muslim Councils 10th Annual Convention, halal legislation workshop brought together Muslim community leaders from New Jersey, Illinois and Minnesota. AMC Minnesota Chapter recently introduced a similar bill in its State Assembly.
Halal legislation at state level is now a reality just as the Eid Stamp. This success adds to our communitys recognition and empowerment, said Aly Abuzaakouk, Executive Director of AMC.
Contact: Farkhunda Ali, Communications Director (202) 789-2262,
farkhunda@amconline.org
https://opaline.site-secure.net/halfpricedomain/memform.htm
THE AMERICAN MUSLIM COUNCIL
1212 NEW YORK AVENUE, NW, SUITE 400
WASHINGTON, DC 20005
PHONE : (202) 789-2262
FAX : (202) 789-2550
E-MAIL : amc@amconline.org
Congress holds first ever faith-based summit
WRNS (26.04.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (27.04.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Members of the House and Senate Wednesday along with religious parishioners and leaders held what was billed as the first ever "House-Senate Majority Faith-Based Summit" to discuss how the public and private sectors can work together in hopes of getting faith-based services to the poor and needy of America. Most of the events were closed to the media. However, several lawmakers addressed a gathering of participants at the Library of Congress. They called on participants to support President Bush's faith-based initiatives and legislation introduced by Reps. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) and Tony Hall (D-Ohio) which would allocate funds to religious entities offering programs to combat social ills like alcohol and drug abuse, illiteracy and teen pregnancy.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) told the conference, "Congress and the president recognize the good works of these groups, and we want to work with you to do more good. That's why we've developed legislation that will create public/private partnerships to equip and empower these organizations and help provide more resources to serve more people in need."
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) has introduced similar legislation in the Senate. He has picked up seven co-sponsors.
House Republican Whip Tom DeLay said, "If religious groups can deliver services effectively, they should be able to compete for federal funding with secular organizations. It's wrong for government to discriminate against organizations that can effectively provide services just because those organizations are religious."
However, a group calling itself the "Coalition Against Religious Discrimination" took out a two page ad in Wednesday's edition of "The Hill," a Capitol Hill publication to print "An Open Letter to President Bush" to express opposition to Bush's faith-based initiatives and the congressional legislation.
"Such new legislation is not necessary. For decades many houses of worship have set up separately religiously affiliated institutions to perform government-related social services, a system that has protected both the autonomy of houses of worship and the integrity of government programs," the Coalition said in the ad.
The Coalition added, "Partnerships between religion and government must be undertaken with great caution so as not to undermine the very integrity and freedom that allows both the followers and the institutions of religion to practice and keep faith in our nation. We urge you to protect the sacred role of religion in our nation by rejecting this avenue of infusing government funds into America's religious institutions."
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Battle over religion plan fired up on Capitol Hill
WRNS (25.04.2001) HRWF International Secretariat (26.04.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Congress began wading through the tricky details of sending tax dollars to religious groups this week, as supporters and opponents of the plan stepped up their lobbying efforts.
Republican backers of President Bush's plan were meeting with hand-picked supporters from around the country in a closed-door "summit" Wednesday meant to plot strategy and fire up the troops. And private, anonymous donors are pledging $250,000 for a lobbying campaign including a new TV commercial supporting the plan.
A day earlier, opponents delivered a petition signed by 850 religious leaders arguing against mixing church and state.
"These provisions would entangle religion and government in an unprecedented and perilous way," the petition said. "The flow of government dollars and the accountability for how those funds are used will inevitably undermine the independence and integrity of houses of worship."
The heart of the Bush plan would expand "charitable choice," a provision that allows religious groups that run both secular and religious programs to compete for government grants. It's already law for welfare, drug treatment and community development programs, and Bush wants to extend it to programs across government.
The effort is rolling in the House, where a Judiciary subcommittee held the first hearing on the issue Tuesday.
The deep divisions on the matter were plain from the start, when the panel's chairman, Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, asserted that every returning member of the subcommittee had voted for charitable choice in the past. Several Democrats immediately objected, saying that the issue had been buried inside larger pieces of legislation.
"I have grave concerns about the constitutionality of charitable choice," said Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. "Religion has never needed government, and it doesn't need it now."
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., a longtime opponent of charitable choice, asked a series of questions to a pair of witnesses testifying about welfare programs their churches run. It soon appeared clear that these programs could qualify for government money even without charitable choice, because neither one incorporates religion into its core.
This is one of the many issues on the table: Should government simply allow churches to run the same sort of programs that secular groups run? Or, should government-funded programs be allowed to incorporate overtly religious teachings? Should groups that accept government money be allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion when they hire workers? More broadly, should they be allowed to consider an applicant's religious practices?
This last question is among the thorniest, and the White House has yet to decide if it can support discrimination based on religious practice, which is allowed under the House bill sponsored by Reps. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., and Tony Hall, D-Ohio.
Opponents argue that this would allow government grantees to reject applicants who are gay or who drink alcohol on their off hours or do anything else some religion might object to. And Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., the plan's top Democratic supporter, says he doubts he could support that provision.
"It's very hard to justify creating a lower standard of civil rights protection in a religious group when they receive federal funding," he said in an interview Monday.
Others disagree. On Tuesday, the Rev. Donna Lawrence Jones, pastor of Cookman United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, told the House panel that while her church's program does not discriminate in hiring, she would not object if others did.
"It's related to maintaining the integrity of the organization," she said.
But Lieberman's concerns have slowed the entire initiative in the Senate, and there's no sign that legislation will be introduced there any time soon on charitable choice.
DiIulio, who is on leave from the University of Pennsylvania, professes no concern, saying that he teaches his government students that the Senate always moves more slowly than the House. "If they did it otherwise," he said, "I would have to revise my teaching."
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Atheists just want freedom from religion
by Richard A. Busemeyer
WRNS (23.04.2001) HRWF International Secretariat (24.04.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Before attending the annual American Atheist convention, which was held over the Easter weekend in Orlando, I had occasion to mention that fact to a couple of groups. The response from them was: "How many will be there - four?"
The fact of the matter was there were 200 or more.
This, however, typifies most people's conception of atheists. This country is so Christianized that there is little -- and most of the time no -- consideration given to atheists and what they stand for.
The atheist does not believe in a higher power, a supreme being or in a God and all that goes with those beliefs. We do believe that we are entitled to "freedom from religion" and that all others are entitled to their own expression of whatever they may or may not believe, as long as those beliefs do not impinge on our freedoms.
Such is not the case, however, and we are increasingly concerned over the loss of more and more of our freedoms, imposed on our legislators by the religious right.
Our currency once read "e pluribus unum," but now reads "in God we trust." The Pledge of Allegiance has been altered to read "one nation under God," totally ignoring the fact that all citizens do not believe in a God or in the same God.
We are required to swear on a Bible that we do not subscribe to. The Congress of the United States opens its sessions with a prayer to some God. Some of our "equal justice for all" courthouses have plaques or monuments listing the Ten Commandments.
Religious institutions are exempt from taxation, which requires all of us to pick up additional taxation for what they do not pay. Vouchers are becoming more prevalent in granting government dollars to individuals so that they might attend religious schools.
And increased efforts are under way to provide federal dollars to support so-called "faith-based" institutions and to reintroduce school prayer in the classrooms of our public schools.
On the prayer issue, there is nothing to prevent any student, any teacher, any administrator or anyone at all from saying a private prayer before class, before an examination, before an athletic event, at a graduation ceremony or at any other event. The Christian right is not satisfied with that, however, and wants a teacher- or student-conducted prayer.
The atheists object to not having a voice in these matters and we object to being discriminated against along with gays, blacks, Jews, women and many others. We are constantly attempting to have our voice heard.
And we have much difficulty understanding why the vast majority of Americans never come to the place where they question the religious dogma that they were born into.
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Falun Gong Supporters March in New York Chinatown
WRNS (23.04.2001) HRWF International Secretariat (24.04.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - About 500 Falun Gong follower marched through New York's Chinatown for two hours on Saturday to commemorate their fellow supporters of the spiritual doctrine whom they say have died at the hands of the Chinese government.
The march also drew a number of counter-marchers who shouted slogans against Falun Gong, which China has banned as an "evil cult".
Tuesday will mark the second anniversary of the gathering of about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners in front of Zhongnanhai, Beijing's equivalent of the White House, that led to the practice being banned in China in October 1999.
Spokesmen said Falun Gong was marching for human rights in China at an important time, just days after a United Nations commission voted not to debate China's human rights record further this year.
Falun Gong marchers, whose practice combines meditation and exercise with a doctrine loosely rooted in Buddhist and Taoist teachings, said Falun Gong was reaching out in Chinatown to counter Chinese government propaganda against their leader Li Hongzhi, now in exile in New York.
"We're here to help raise awareness in Chinatown so that people see the truth about Falun Gong. Many people here are threatened with loss of their jobs by their employers and the Chinese consulate for practicing," said Xingqi Qin, 31, of New York.
Men, women, and children -- most of Chinese origin -- wore yellow t-shirts emblazoned in red with the Chinese characters for Falun Gong and Falun Dafa, as it is also known. Many also carried banners reading "China: Stop the Persecution," in English and Chinese. Some banners listed the alleged death toll of Falun Gong followers in China -- 193.
As the parade wound slowly through Chinatown's narrow streets to Chinese music and amplified exercise instructions, it was met at each street corner by about 100 Chinese counter-marchers shouting "Save yourselves!" in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Some counter-marchers tried to drown out the Falun Gong music using megaphones to shout slogans against Li Hongzhi.
Others waved fire extinguishers in a taunt designed to remind onlookers of the five people who set fire to themselves in Beijing's Tiananmen square earlier this year who are alleged to have been Falun Gong followers.
"We can't stop them from marching, but we're here to tell them they're crazy for joining," said Steven Wong, 45, a freelance interpreter and member of the United Chinese Association of New York, the group that paid for the anti-Falun Gong literature being handed out.
Falun Gong plans to hold a conference at New York's Sheraton Hotel on Sunday, and an all-night vigil on Tuesday in front of the Chinese Consulate.
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ADL Audit: Anti-Semitic incidents rise slightly in U.S.
2000 increase linked to Mideast Conflict
U.S. Newswire (21.03.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (23.03.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The resort to violence in the Middle East following the breakdown of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process may have contributed to
a slight increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in the United States during the year 2000. The Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, issued today, reflects a 4 percent increase in the number of attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions in the U.S. The 2000 ADL Audit recorded 1,606 anti-Semitic incidents in 44
states and the District of Columbia, representing a slight increase over the 1,547 incidents reported in 1999.
Vandalism, harassment and other expressions of hatred against Jewish individuals and property climbed with the renewal of tensions in the Middle East, reaching a high point in October as the events there spilled over into nations with large Jewish communities. According to the ADL Audit, there were 259 anti-Semitic incidents reported in October across the United States, more than in any other month of the 2000 calendar year.
"When the crisis in the Middle East reached a fever pitch, Jews around the world and in the United States became targets for random acts of aggression and violence," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director. "While we historically expect an increase in anti-Semitic incidents during the Jewish High Holy Days period, the statistics this year illustrate a spillover impact from the escalation of violence and vandalism as the Palestinians renewed their campaign of violence against Israel. Many random acts of violence or harassment were acted out by sympathizers of the Palestinian cause. Fortunately this phenomenon was apparently a unique, one-time occurrence."
The incidents reported in the ADL Audit are gathered using combined data from the League's 30 regional offices and law enforcement. As in the past, harassment and assaults directed at individuals and institutions made up more than half of all the incidents reported. The Audit categorizes the incidents as follows:
-- 877 acts of harassment, including verbal intimidation, threats and physical assault;
-- 729 acts of vandalism, including property damage, arson and cemetery desecration.
A total of 69 anti-Jewish incidents were reported on college campuses nationwide, a 15 percent increase from 1999 and the reversal of a five-year decline.
"In the 22 years that ADL has been conducting the Audit, we have seen ups and downs," Foxman said. "While 2000 saw a slight increase, we still believe that through education and the diligent work of law enforcement, these kinds of incidents can decrease in the future."
The targeting of individuals continued to be a concern. Among the Anti-Semitic incidents reported during the year 2000 were several life-threatening criminal acts. In the most violent incident, Richard Baumhammers allegedly killed a Jewish neighbor in his suburban Pittsburgh neighborhood and set her house on fire as part of a two-county shooting rampage on April 29. It was the first murder with an anti-Semitic underpinning since 1994, when Ari Halberstam, a Hasidic youth, was murdered on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Baumhammers, 35, who had allegedly created an anti-immigrant party and who appeared to target religious and ethnic minorities in his shooting spree, is accused of killing five people and firing shots into two synagogues during the violent episode. He allegedly painted a swastika on one of the synagogues targeted during the rampage.
In the West Rogers Park section of suburban Chicago, a rabbi was targeted by gunfire on October 12. He escaped injury, although police were unable to identify the assailant. That same night in the same predominantly Jewish neighborhood, two men were attacked by a group of Palestinian-Americans in separate incidents that police say were tied to the Mideast conflict.
The Internet continued to play a substantial role in the dissemination of anti-Semitic hate literature through hundreds of sites on the World Wide Web and through bulletin boards, chat rooms and e-mail messages. Attacks against several Web sites operated by major American Jewish organizations were also reported -- these, too, apparently stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.
The numbers by region
Ranked by region, the East experienced the most anti-Jewish incidents (60 percent) followed by the West, Midwest and South.
-- Among the 11 states of the East region and the District of Columbia reporting, there were 952 incidents. New York had the most (481, up from 365 in 1999), followed by New Jersey (213, down from 226), Massachusetts (128, up from 111), Pennsylvania (72, down from 82), Connecticut (32, down from 79), Maryland (6, down from 17), the District of Columbia (6, down from 17), New Hampshire (5, down from 6), Vermont (4, up from 1), Rhode Island (3, up from 2), Maine (2, down from 3), and Delaware (0, down from 3).
-- Among the 13 Western states, 293 incidents were reported. California ranked first, with 257 (down from 275 in 1999), followed by Colorado (13, same as last year), New Mexico (8, down from 12), Arizona (5, same as last year), Nevada (3, down from 12), Washington (3, down from 6), Utah (1,down from 6), Hawaii (1, same as last year), Wyoming (1, up from 0), Montana (1, up from 0), and Idaho (0, down from 2). No incidents were reported in Alaska or Oregon in 2000 or 1999.
-- Among the 14 states of the Midwest region, 179 incidents were reported Ohio had the most, with 44 (up from 22 in 1999), followed by Illinois (41, up from 31), Minnesota (32, up from 14), Michigan (22, down from 32), Wisconsin (16, up from 8), Missouri (9, down from 11), Kansas (4, up from 0), Nebraska (3, up from 2), Indiana (3, down from 4), Iowa (3, up from 1), Kentucky (1, up from 0), North Dakota (1, up from 0), West Virginia (0, down from 1). No incidents were reported in South Dakota in 2000 or 1999.
-- Among the 12 Southern states, 182 incidents were reported. Florida reported the most 81 (down from 88 in 1999), followed by Texas (40, upfrom 28), North Carolina (19, same as last year), Virginia (15, down from 18), Georgia (14, down from 25), Louisiana (6, down from 7), Tennessee (2, same as last year), Arkansas (1, down from 3), Oklahoma (1, up from 0), South Carolina (1, up from 0), and Alabama (1, up from 0), Mississippi (1, same as last year).
About the ADL Audit
The Audit identifies both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of hate propaganda, threats and slurs. Compiled using official crime statistics, as well as information provided to ADL's 30 regional offices by victims, law enforcement officers and community leaders, the Audit aims to provide an annual snapshot of a nationwide problem while identifying possible trends or changes in the types of activity reported. Prepared annually since 1979 by the Research Department of ADL's Civil Rights Division, the Audit includes charts, graphs, photographs and other pertinent materials.
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Bodies identified as those of atheist O'Hair and Kin
By Ross E. Milloy
WRNS (16.03.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (16.03.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The five-year hunt for the atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair is over, a forensics expert hired by the government said today, confirming that bones dug up at a remote ranch were those of Ms. O'Hair and two of her family members.
Ms. O'Hair, 76, who played an important role in one of two 1960's United States Supreme Court decisions banning mandatory prayer in public schools, disappeared in 1995 with her son Jon Garth Murray, 40, and her granddaughter, Robin Murray O'Hair, 30.
Officials said they believed the three were killed and dismembered in an Austin storage locker and their bodies dumped at a remote ranch in Real County, 90 miles west of San Antonio. One of the men suspected of involvement in the case, David R. Waters, 53, accompanied the authorities to the grave site in January as part of a plea bargain.
At a news conference today at the United States attorney's office here, David M. Glassman, chairman of the anthropology department at Southwest Texas State University, described a grisly scene at the ranch, with bodies burned and stacked haphazardly across each other after the legs had been removed. Based on anthropological, medical and dental studies of those remains, he said, Ms. O'Hair and her family members had been identified.
"Three of the skeletons have been analyzed and a recommendation has been made to the judge of Real County that death certificates be issued for these three individuals," Dr. Glassman said.
A severed head and hands from a fourth body found at the ranch have not been identified, he said.
How Ms. O'Hair and her granddaughter died could not be determined, Dr. Glassman said, but Mr. Murray, who was found with his arms tied and a plastic bag around his head, showed signs of blunt force trauma to the skull that might have led to his death.
No one has yet been charged directly in the killings, but in June, Gary Paul Karr, 52, a handyman from Novi, Mich., was found guilty of extortion and other charges related to the case. He was found not guilty of kidnapping charges.
Evidence presented at his trial indicated that the authorities believed Mr. Karr, Mr. Waters and a third man, Danny Fry, kidnapped Ms. O'Hair and her family in September 1995 and extorted $610,000 from them over a month before they were killed.
Officials said they believed that Mr. Fry was later killed by Mr.Karr and Mr. Waters, his head and hands severed to prevent identification, and his body left beside the Trinity River near Dallas in October 1995.
Mr. Waters, who has a long criminal record including murder, was an office manager for Ms. O'Hair's American Atheists organization in 1993 and was fired for stealing $54,000 from the group.
He pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy charges and agreed to lead investigators to the bodies, officials said. As part of his plea bargain, Mr. Waters will reportedly get immunity for his role in the killings but receive a 20-year sentence for the conspiracy charges.
He is already serving a 60-year state sentence for probation violations and an eight-year federal sentence for weapons violations.
"This certainly brings some closure," Roderick L. Beverly, an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said today.
After Ms. O'Hair's disappearance in 1995, some wondered whether she had fled with money from her group or whether the woman whom Life magazine had called the most hated woman in America had drifted away to die where Christians would not pray over her.
Born in Pittsburgh on April 13, 1919, to a contractor, John I. Mays, and his wife, Lena, Ms. O'Hair was baptized a Presbyterian, but, she said, came to atheism early. In World War II, she served in the Women's Army Corps and later earned a law degree, but it was her involvement in the legal fight that led to the Supreme Court ruling on school prayer that made her a national figure.
In Italy, during World War II, Ms. O'Hair, married to a steelworker at the time, met William Murray Jr., an officer who was also married. She had a son by him, William Murray III, who said he was named after his father. She divorced her husband, and took Murray's name but never married him.
After she had enrolled her son William in a Baltimore public school in 1959, she sued to end the mandatory classroom prayer and Bible reading held there. The case reached the Supreme Court, where the justices joined it to a similar one, rendering their landmark decision under the name of the other case, Abington v. Schempp, in 1963.
Still, Ms. O'Hair, an outspoken and provocative proponent of atheism, achieved a lightning rod status in the church-state debates of that era.
Being a focus of controversy suited her temperament. "I love a good fight," she said. "I guess fighting God and God's spokesmen is sort of the ultimate, isn't it?" Still, she also said that she became a target of harassment and death threats.
After the decision, Ms. O'Hair moved to Austin, where she founded American Atheists, wrote books with her son Jon and granddaughter, Robin, and continued to fight against school prayer and for legalized abortion, among other issues. She also married Richard O'Hair.
Her combative style alienated even many who agreed with her, while giving critics a foil against which to express their outrage. She was past the peak of her influence by the time she disappeared.
William, her surviving child, became a Christian evangelist.
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