Legal

Supreme Court Declares Boston City Hall Must Fly Christian Flag

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the city of Boston had violated the free speech of a Christian group by rejecting its request to fly a Christian flag at the city hall.

On May 2, the supreme court unanimously ruled that Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, has infringed on the first amendment rights of the Christian group, Camp Constitution.

French Court Rejects Government Order to Forcibly Close Mosque

On April 26, France's highest administrative court rejected the Interior Ministry's appeal to continue closing down a mosque. The Conseil d'Etat, on Tuesday, dismissed an appeal that will challenge the previous suspension of a closure order.

The Interior Ministry has been shutting down mosques all over France, citing radicalization concerns.

State-Enforced Starvation: Moroccans Arrested for Eating During Ramadan

On Wednesday, April 27, Moroccan police raided a cafe in Casablanca and arrested individuals eating and drinking during the daytime. The detained individuals were accused of breaking their fast during Ramadan.

Morocco, a Muslim-majority country, is observing the month of Ramadan, which runs from April 1 to May.

US Panel Recommends Sanctioning India Over Religious Freedom Violations

For the third year, the United States panel on international religious affairs recommended labeling India as one of the "countries of particular concern." The report accuses India and other countries of engaging or tolerating "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations" of religious rights.

India's First Openly Gay Indian Prince Fights to Ban Conversion Therapy

India's first openly-gay royalty vowed to fight conversion therapy. After surviving the horrors of conversion therapy, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil said he would work on making conversion therapy illegal in India.

Equaldex, a collaborative knowledge base for the LGBT movement, puts India in the 51st rank in their World Equality Index, including scores for legal rights and freedoms for LGBTQ+ people. Although Equaldex listed conversation therapy as banned in India, this is only valid for one state.

Atheist Adoptive Couple in Alabama Face Discrimination for Non-Belief

A private adoption agency refused a couple of adoption services in Alabama for their lack of religion. A 30-year-old librarian, Alaina Browning, and her husband were devastated to hear the news.

Family Adoption Services, a private adoption agency run by Richard and Susan Wyatt, sent the message to Browning. 

“It hurt,” Browning said, crying while reading the message on her phone.

Indian High Court Rejects Recognition of Gay Marriage; cites 'Hindu Culture

On April 14, the high court of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, India, rejected the plea of a same-sex couple to have their marriage recognized. The court ruled that the couple's marriage violates the Hindu Marriage Act of 1995.

The plea was submitted to Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav on April 7.

Indonesian Ex-Muslim Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Criticizing Islam

On April 6, a Christian Youtuber in Indonesia was sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly posting offensive videos. According to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News), prosecutors insisted on the 10-year jail sentence.

The 56-year-old Muhammad Kace, a former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity, has uploaded at least 450 videos on his Youtube channel. AS of the writing of this article, Kace’s videos are still available.

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