National Day of Prayer goes on despite ruling

Washington (News Today) - The 59th annual National Day of Prayer was held Thursday against a backdrop of controversy and growing doubts about the future of the event, which a federal judge recently declared unconstitutional.

President Truman signed a bill establishing an official National Day of Prayer in 1952, but U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb in Wisconsin ruled April 15 that the law violates the ban on government-backed religion.

The Justice Department is appealing the case on behalf of the White House. An injunction against the National Day of Prayer will not take effect until all government appeals have been exhausted.

Several events to mark the day were scheduled Thursday across Washington, including services at the Pentagon, the Cannon House Office Building and on the steps of the Capitol.

"America was birthed in prayer and founded on the God of the Bible, on his biblical principles and on his moral values," Day of Prayer organizer Shirley Dobson said.

Dobson blamed the controversy on a "small band of self-proclaimed atheists and agnostics" determined to "take down this magnificent day."

Dobson is married to Focus on the Family founder James Dobson -- a popular evangelical broadcaster and one of the country's most powerful conservative Christian leaders.

The Rev. Franklin Graham, addressing one of the events near Capitol Hill, bemoaned what he characterized as a decay in moral values across America.

The evangelist highlighted the removal of classroom prayer from public schools, arguing that many "young people today don't understand what's right or wrong."

The Army recently rescinded its invitation to Graham to participate in the Pentagon's Day of Prayer event after he made controversial remarks about Islam.

"True Islam cannot be practiced in this country," he told CNN's Campbell Brown in December. "You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they've committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries."

Shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, Graham -- son of famed evangelist Billy Graham -- called Islam a "very evil and wicked religion."

President Obama issued his proclamation for this year's observance less than three weeks after Crabb's ruling that the event was unconstitutional, but he had no plans to take part in any specific events.

"I call upon the citizens of our nation to pray, or otherwise give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I invite all people of faith to join me in asking for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection as we meet the challenges before us," Obama said in his official proclamation.

The administration toned down White House participation in the observance last year, deciding against holding a public ceremony.

During George W. Bush's administration, the White House hosted an interfaith service each year, inviting Protestant, Catholic and Jewish leaders for an event at the East Room. Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush also marked the day with a White House observance.

In ruling that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, Crabb wrote its "sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function. ... In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience."

Source : CNN

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Graham disinvited from prayer event over Islam comments

Washington (News Terupdate) - The Army rescinded its invitation to evangelist Franklin Graham for the upcoming National Day of Prayer at the Pentagon over controversial remarks he made about Islam.

"True Islam cannot be practiced in this country," he told CNN's Campbell Brown last December. "You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they've committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries."

Graham later tried to temper his remarks by saying that he had Muslim friends. However, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham has a history of comments that bothered the Pentagon. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 2001, for instance, Graham called Islam a "very evil and wicked religion."

Graham, who said a prayer at the inauguration of President George W. Bush, said he regretted the Army's decision but stood by his comments.

"I don't like the way they treat women, the way they treat minorities. I just find it horrific. But I love the people of Islam," he said, adding some of his work has been in Muslim nations. For instance, Samaritan's Purse, the international charity that he heads, works with Iraqi refugees in Jordan.

"It's a part of the world I love very much," Graham said. "And I understand it. But I certainly disagree with their teaching."

"I want to express my strong support for the United States military and all our troops," he said. "I'm very proud of them and it's just unfortunate that I won't be able to participate on May 6th."

The Army, which oversees the National Day of Prayer ceremonies at the Pentagon, feared that if Graham spoke at the Pentagon, Islamic militants would publicize his comments, potentially fueling tensions in Muslim nations like Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are deployed.

Concerns about Graham were flagged by the watchdog group Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which also raised objections that the Pentagon prayer ceremony had become a fundamentalist Christian event.

The group penned a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on behalf of Muslim military members and defense department employees. It said that Franklin's remarks had sparked outrage.

"Mr. Graham has never retracted or apologized for these statements," the letter said.

But Graham's supporters disagreed with the Army's decision.

"What are they afraid Franklin Graham is going to say?" said Rep. Randy Forbes of Virginia. "I think again we are getting to the point in the country where we are trying to exclude everybody from speaking if I disagree with what they are going to say."

Graham's invitation was not the only controversy swirling about the National Day of Prayer this year. Last week, a federal judge struck down as unconstitutional the 1952 law that established the day, saying it violated the ban on government-backed religion.

On Thursday, the Justice Department informed a federal appeals court that the Obama administration will appeal that decision.

Source : CNN

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Does Facebook user pray for Obama's death?

(News Terupdate) - What do President Barack Obama, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have in common?

They all have been the subject of a snide "prayer" circulating that seemingly calls for their deaths. A recently created Facebook page reads, "Dear Lord, this year you took my favorite actor, Patrick Swayzie (sic). You took my favorite actress, Farah (sic) Fawcett. You took my favorite singer, Michael Jackson. I just wanted to let you know, my favorite president is Barack Obama. Amen."

The page has received more than 600,000 "thumbs-up" messages of approval since it was posted April 10. But its owner, who does not disclose his or her identity on the popular social media site, wrote, "We are not really praying for the death of Obama. It is just some humor to show our disapproval of our current president."

Similar imprecations were circulating online last year. But Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said that "while it may be considered distasteful and objectionable to some," the page doesn't violate the company's content policies.

"We're sensitive to content that includes pornography, bullying, hate speech, and actionable threats of violence, and we react quickly to remove content that violates our policies when it is reported to us," Noyes said in a written statement.

"Facebook is highly self-regulating and leverages its more than 400 million users to keep an eye out for offensive content," he added. "We encourage users to report such content, and we have a large team of professional reviewers who evaluate these reports and take action per our policies."

Variations on the jab have circulated in New Jersey, where teacher's union officials apologized for a nearly identical memo that substituted Gov. Chris Christie for Obama earlier this month. Christie is locked in a bitter struggle with the New Jersey Education Association over funding for state schools, but union President Barbara Keshishian said, "Language such as that has no place in civil discourse."

And in January, hackers posted a similar message on Ahmadinejad's Web site.

"Dear God, In 2009 you took my favorite singer -- Michael Jackson, my favorite actress -- Farrah Fawcett, my favorite actor -- Patrick Swayze, my favorite voice -- Neda," the hackers wrote, the last entry a reference to a young Iranian woman shot and killed during protests over last June's disputed presidential election. "Please, please, don't forget my favorite politician -- Ahmadinejad -- and my favorite dictator -- Khamenei -- in the year 2010."

Source : CNN

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