Muslim convention vows to press civil rights

Philadelphia — Leaders at a convention of about 15,000 American Muslims said they hope to rally millions of fellow believers to oppose the federal Patriot Act and the order forcing recent immigrant men from Muslim nations to register with the government.

The conference, which concluded Sunday, was co-sponsored by the Islamic Circle of North America, based in New York City, and the Virginia-based Muslim American Society.

Hundreds of participants stood near Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and read aloud the Bill of Rights to rally support and remind passers-by that Muslims also have rights.

About 144,000 men either living in, or arriving in, the United States from targeted countries have registered, said the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Enforcement, formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service. More than 13,000 have had deportation procedures started against them.

Baptism of lesbians’ son divides Lutheran church

Durango, Colo. — A dispute over the baptism of a lesbian couple’s son has divided a Lutheran congregation and prompted departures of 60 members from both sides.

The conflict erupted last summer after the Rev. Darin Johnson, associate pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church, baptized the boy. Critics felt Johnson’s reference to the couple as the boy’s parents violated the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s teaching against homosexual activity.

Johnson said members who objected to the baptism disagreed more with the congregation’s view that the Bible is not infallible than its policy on homosexuality.

Retailer to accommodate Sunday observers

Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer Inc., the Michigan-based discount retail chain, has agreed to accommodate employees’ religious practices after settling a lawsuit by a Christian Reformed Church member who was fired for refusing to work Sundays.

In a settlement filed in federal court, Meijer agreed to train supervisors to avoid religious discrimination and allow shift swaps, The Grand Rapids Press reported. Personnel managers will settle conflicts, not an employee’s immediate boss.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Meijer on behalf of Debra Kerkstra of Allegan, a cake decorator fired in 2001 after refusing a Sunday shift at a store in Plainwell.

Kerkstra said she lined up a replacement but the store would not allow the switch.

Hindu nationalists decry Pope’s views on new laws

Kanyakumari, India — A militant Hindu group associated with India’s main governing party Sunday demanded that the government protest statements by Pope John Paul II criticizing new anti-conversion laws passed by six Indian states.

Last month, the pope told visiting Indian bishops that authorities in some Indian states — yielding to Hindu extremists — had violated religious freedom by passing laws prohibiting people from being forced or induced to convert to Christianity.