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It's been a lovely morning working from home. With the plumber. Fixing the leak in the basement. The leak of sewage. So yeah, there's commentary—but it's not on religion, and you don't want to hear it. Meanwhile, here's today's religion news links.

Religious speech:

• Police to probe pastor's Islam outburst | Police today launched an investigation into comments by a Norwich religious leader branding Islam "an evil religion" (Evening News, Norwich, England)
• Also: Police probe pastor's BNP comments | Police are to investigate the comments of a Norfolk religious leader who branded Islam evil (EDP24, Norfolk)
• Federal judge blesses couple's religious tiles | Court rules Arizona school district unfairly restricted Paul and Ann Seidman's religious speech by not allowing them to use words 'God bless' on commemorative tiles (Associated Press)

Too loud churches:

• Church concedes to worship less loudly | Leaders of a Kalihi church say their 5 a.m. worship service six days a week reflects the congregation's Korean culture, which has a tradition of early-morning worship. Some neighbors, however, say the joyful noise is a nuisance so early in the morning (Honolulu Advertiser)
• Police ticket church after noise gripes | Elgin police ticketed a pastor at the Mision Apostolica Church for violating the city's noise ordinance during Sunday afternoon services (Chicago Sun-Times)

Banning home worship:

• Worship conflict heats up | The banning of a worship group from the Savanna Club is a violation of federal fair housing rules, a lawyer representing the worshippers said (Stuart News, Fla.)
• Worshipers complain to U.S. about Savanna Club board | About 100 residents of the Savanna Club retirement community in Port St. Lucie have filed federal complaints against the homeowners association's board of directors, claiming the board violated the Fair Housing Act when members voted last month to ban religious services in the community's common areas (Palm Beach Post)
• Earlier: PSL community bans religious services | The Savanna Club Homeowners Association board may have voted to ban religious services within the large adult community, but the ruling has done nothing to dampen the resolve of the Savanna Club Worship Service's pastor to continue his weekly gatherings (Palm Beach Post)

Persecution:

• Persecuted for their faith -- and ignored by the U.S. | If Bush truly believes religion is the "first freedom of the human soul," why isn't his administration pressuring countries that persecute people for their beliefs? (Judd Legum, Salon.com)
• Three Chinese Christians jailed | A Chinese court has sentenced three Christians to up to three years in jail for leaking state secrets (BBC)
• Also: Chinese sentences 3 activists to prison | A Chinese court on Friday sentenced three activists in the independent Protestant church to up to three years in prison for leaking state secrets, a court official and overseas church activist said (Associated Press)
• Supreme Court to determine constitutionality of Bill today | 21 petitioners challenge Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Bill (Daily News, Sri Lanka)

Iraq:

• A church rocked to its ancient foundations | George W. Bush and Tony Blair claim to have made the world a safer place by invading and occupying Iraq. Whether they have remains to be seen. What is certain is that they have rendered Iraq far, far more unsafe for the average Iraqi, and my own Christian relatives in particular (Leilah Nadir, The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
• City cleric caught in Baghdad bomb horror | Canon Andrew White, director of international ministry at Coventry Cathedral, was conducting a service at St George's Church in Baghdad on Sunday when four bombs went off near churches in the capital and one in the northern city of Mosul (Coventry Observer, England)

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August (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48