Religion News in Brief

A lawsuit filed by a federal agency claims Somali Muslim workers at a meatpacking plant in Nebraska were denied prayer time and faced harassment and even termination for asking to pray.

The lawsuit was filed Monday by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf on more than 80 Somali Muslims. It claims JBS Swift & Co. has failed to make reasonable religious accommodations, violating the workers' civil rights, since at least December 2007.

Plant supervisors and non-Somali employees also harassed the Muslim workers, "interrupted their prayers, refused to let them pray, threw meat at them, called them names," among other things, the lawsuit says.

A message left Monday at JBS Swift's U.S. headquarters in Greeley, Colo., wasn't immediately returned.

The tensions over prayer time at the Grand Island plant have been building since 2007, when East Africans began filling the gaps left after a 2006 immigration raid cleared illegal Hispanic workers from the plant.

The lawsuit seeks an order requiring JBS Swift to provide prayer time and to refrain from retaliating against workers who ask to pray. It also seeks monetary compensation for fired workers.

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US court rules security interests trump orthodox Jew who wanted to grow a beard in NH prison

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that inmates have no First Amendment rights to grow a beard, rejecting the claim of an orthodox Jew who said a prison limit on facial hair violated his constitutional rights.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Steven McAuliffe ruled in the suit brought by Albert Kuperman that prison officials' concerns about hygiene and security trump inmates' free expression and religious rights.

McAuliffe acknowledged that Kuperman's religion "requires men to refrain from trimming their beards." But, he ruled, prison officials have valid reasons for requiring that beards be kept to a maximum length of a quarter-inch.

"That length allows correctional officers to identify inmates easily, prevents inmates from hiding contraband and weapons in beards and minimizes the risk that an escaped inmate could quickly change his appearance after an escape," McAuliffe wrote in his ruling last Friday.

Kuperman, 25, is serving 3 1/2 to 7 years behind bars for sexually molesting a minor in 2002. He is eligible for parole in January.

He lost a court challenge last year over kosher diets. He claimed his constitutional rights were violated when he was removed from a kosher diet plan after twice being caught eating non-kosher foods. Corrections spokesman Jim Lyons said prison policy has since been changed to permit an inmate three lapses before withholding a religious diet.

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Advocacy group sues after Illinois State Police revoke first Muslim chaplain's appointment

CHICAGO (AP) — A Muslim advocacy group filed a federal discrimination lawsuit Monday over an Illinois State Police decision to revoke the appointment of the agency's first Muslim chaplain.

Kifah Mustapha, a Chicago-area imam, was named a chaplain last December along with chaplains of other faiths. He underwent training, passed a background check and was issued state identification. But shortly after, the appointment was criticized by the Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism, which said Mustapha was a "radical fundraiser" and alleged he had links to Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Mustapha hasn't been charged with any crimes and denied wrongdoing.

According to the lawsuit filed on his behalf by the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Chicago office, Mustapha was then told by Illinois State Police that he had passed only a preliminary background check and another should have been conducted before the training.

In June, the police department revoked his appointment, citing only information revealed during a background check.

According to the lawsuit, Mustapha was told by a police employee that articles by the investigative think tank prompted the second background check.

The lawsuit claims the think tank is known for "anti-Muslim views" and alleges religious, national origin and racial discrimination on the part of police. The lawsuit seeks damages, attorneys fees and the reinstatement of Mustapha to the chaplain post.

Police spokesman Master Sgt. Isaiah Vega said the agency had not been served with the lawsuit and would not comment on pending litigation.

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Ex-Tony Alamo church members sue other members

TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — Six former members of convicted preacher Tony Alamo's church are now suing other church members and church-controlled businesses.

The lawsuit filed last Friday in federal court in Texarkana claims the members knew or should have known Alamo was sexually abusing children and did nothing to stop it. It asks for at least $150,000 per plaintiff, compensation for past physical pain and suffering, past and future mental anguish and past and future medical expenses.

Alamo was convicted last year of taking underage girls across state lines for sex and sentenced to 175 years in prison. He is asking for a new trial.

Five of the six who filed the lawsuit say Alamo took them as wives and had sex with them when they were underage. The sixth says she was being groomed to be a child bride but escaped.

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Oregon faith healing couple plead not guilty to manslaughter after infant death

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon couple who belong to a church that practices faith healing have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges in the death of their infant son.

Attorneys for Dale R. Hickman and Shannon M. Hickman entered the not guilty pleas Monday during an arraignment before Clackamas County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Jones.

The judge set a tentative Nov. 19 trial date for the Hickmans, who are members of the Followers of Christ church in Oregon City.

Their son was born in September 2009, about six weeks premature. No one with medical training attended the birth, and no one called a doctor or ambulance.

An autopsy determined the infant died of staph pneumonia and complications from a premature birth, including underdeveloped lungs.