Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and
around the globe: the Pope in Africa, religion in the US elections, and World AIDS Day.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
World AIDS Day Religious Challenges
by Katherine Marshall
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/world-aids-day-religious_b_8687340.html
The AIDS pandemic challenges many religious beliefs about health (and vice versa). It has changed the ways many public health and development specialists see religious leaders and institutions and their health roles.
AROUND THE WORLD
Muslims Are Far More Likely to Face Racism Than Others, Australian Study Finds
by Ishaan Tharoor
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/12/01/muslims-are-far-more-likely-to-face-rac...
A survey of Muslims living in Sydney, Australia's most populous city, found that a considerable majority -- 57 percent -- had experienced some form of bigotry or racism. According to researchers, that incidence rates for such anti-Muslim prejudice were three to five times the national average.
Netanyahu and Abbas Shake Hands for the First Time in 5 years — Then Try to Take it Back
by William Booth
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/30/netanyahu-and-abbas-shake-hands-for-the...
On Monday at the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas shook hands -- for the first time in five years.
Iceland: New Religion Aims to Cut Church-State Ties
BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-34974395
In recent weeks hundreds of people have registered as Zuist, a relatively new religion based on ancient Sumerian beliefs, the Iceland Monitor website reports. While it is officially recognised as a religious organisation in Iceland, its main aim is to achieve a legislative change - to abolish state funding for religious groups, apportioned from citizens' income taxes and known as parish fees.
Pope Francis: The World is Near ‘Suicide’ on Climate Change; ‘it’s Now or Never’
by Niraj Chokshi
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/30/pope-francis-the-world-is-near-suicide-...
Environmental negotiators meeting in Paris should strike a climate change deal to save a world "at the limits of suicide," Pope Francis said on Monday.
Pope Francis Ends African Trip With Visit to a Mosque
by Somini Sengupta
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/world/africa/pope-francis-ends-african-trip-with-visit-to-a-mosque...
On his maiden visit to Africa, Pope Francis went where most other dignitaries would not — and he went in ways that won him applause from ordinary people.
#PopeInAfrica: Did Francis Tackle All the Right Issues?
by Thomas Page
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/01/africa/message-to-the-pope-african-tour/index.html
Pope Francis received a warm welcome in Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic on his whistle-stop tour of the three African nations. A man not known to pull his punches, he was on a mission to address some of the hard-hitting issues affecting the region. But did he cover them all?
As a Muslim Woman I Was Never Fearful in Britain. But Today I’m Afraid
by Masuma Rahim
Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/01/muslim-woman-britain-paris-attacks
I am terrified for the world my sister’s children are going to have to live in; for all those at the mercy of people who spread hate and promote aggression. I wish that Isis were the only enemy in that regard. Sadly, Isis is simply the tip of the iceberg, which is showing no sign of shrinking.
Israel’s Ban of an Islamic Group Carries Risk
by Diaa Hadid
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/world/middleeast/israels-ban-of-an-islamic-group-carries-risk.html...
Last month, Israel outlawed the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement and shuttered 17 affiliated charities for what the authorities said was fomenting a wave of Palestinian attacks on Jews visiting a contested Jerusalem holy site.
DOMESTIC
Fear, Faith and the Rise of Ben Carson
by Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fear-faith-and-the-rise-of-ben-carson/2015/11/30/3a94c1d2-93...
To some, Carson is the only candidate who fully grasps what they see as the one reality that matters most — that America has fallen away from God. And while other Republican contenders express some version of that sentiment, Toni says it is Carson who seems both the closest to God and the furthest from Obama, who troubles her deeply.
World AIDS Day Religious Challenges
by Katherine Marshall
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/world-aids-day-religious_b_8687340.html
The AIDS pandemic challenges many religious beliefs about health (and vice versa). It has changed the ways many public health and development specialists see religious leaders and institutions and their health roles.
AROUND THE WORLD
Muslims Are Far More Likely to Face Racism Than Others, Australian Study Finds
by Ishaan Tharoor
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/12/01/muslims-are-far-more-likely-to-face-rac...
A survey of Muslims living in Sydney, Australia's most populous city, found that a considerable majority -- 57 percent -- had experienced some form of bigotry or racism. According to researchers, that incidence rates for such anti-Muslim prejudice were three to five times the national average.
Netanyahu and Abbas Shake Hands for the First Time in 5 years — Then Try to Take it Back
by William Booth
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/30/netanyahu-and-abbas-shake-hands-for-the...
On Monday at the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas shook hands -- for the first time in five years.
Iceland: New Religion Aims to Cut Church-State Ties
BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-34974395
In recent weeks hundreds of people have registered as Zuist, a relatively new religion based on ancient Sumerian beliefs, the Iceland Monitor website reports. While it is officially recognised as a religious organisation in Iceland, its main aim is to achieve a legislative change - to abolish state funding for religious groups, apportioned from citizens' income taxes and known as parish fees.
Pope Francis: The World is Near ‘Suicide’ on Climate Change; ‘it’s Now or Never’
by Niraj Chokshi
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/30/pope-francis-the-world-is-near-suicide-...
Environmental negotiators meeting in Paris should strike a climate change deal to save a world "at the limits of suicide," Pope Francis said on Monday.
Pope Francis Ends African Trip With Visit to a Mosque
by Somini Sengupta
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/world/africa/pope-francis-ends-african-trip-with-visit-to-a-mosque...
On his maiden visit to Africa, Pope Francis went where most other dignitaries would not — and he went in ways that won him applause from ordinary people.
#PopeInAfrica: Did Francis Tackle All the Right Issues?
by Thomas Page
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/01/africa/message-to-the-pope-african-tour/index.html
Pope Francis received a warm welcome in Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic on his whistle-stop tour of the three African nations. A man not known to pull his punches, he was on a mission to address some of the hard-hitting issues affecting the region. But did he cover them all?
As a Muslim Woman I Was Never Fearful in Britain. But Today I’m Afraid
by Masuma Rahim
Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/01/muslim-woman-britain-paris-attacks
I am terrified for the world my sister’s children are going to have to live in; for all those at the mercy of people who spread hate and promote aggression. I wish that Isis were the only enemy in that regard. Sadly, Isis is simply the tip of the iceberg, which is showing no sign of shrinking.
Israel’s Ban of an Islamic Group Carries Risk
by Diaa Hadid
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/world/middleeast/israels-ban-of-an-islamic-group-carries-risk.html...
Last month, Israel outlawed the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement and shuttered 17 affiliated charities for what the authorities said was fomenting a wave of Palestinian attacks on Jews visiting a contested Jerusalem holy site.
DOMESTIC
Fear, Faith and the Rise of Ben Carson
by Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fear-faith-and-the-rise-of-ben-carson/2015/11/30/3a94c1d2-93...
To some, Carson is the only candidate who fully grasps what they see as the one reality that matters most — that America has fallen away from God. And while other Republican contenders express some version of that sentiment, Toni says it is Carson who seems both the closest to God and the furthest from Obama, who troubles her deeply.
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