In the News, December 10, 2014

December 10, 2014

Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: religious leaders condemn torture, French support for Christians in Iraq, Muslims and International Human Rights Day, and shifting perceptions of Muslims in America.
AROUND THE WORLD
Religious Leaders on Senate Torture Report: 'Complete Moral Bankruptcy'
by Carol Kuruvilla
Huffington Post Religion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/09/religious-senate-torture-report_n_6297274.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
Religious leaders have been at the forefront of the fight to end torture, and the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 500-page summary on the CIA’s treatment of terrorism suspects seems to have only added fuel to their fire. 

We’re Always Still Americans
by Thomas Friedman
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/opinion/thomas-friedman-were-always-still-americans.html?ref=opinion
The Senate committee’s torture report shows that fear after 9/11 was terribly corrosive. 

'Festival of Lights' Backs Iraqi Christians Facing ISIS Threat
by Inés San Martín
Crux
http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2014/12/06/festival-of-lights-backs-iraqi-christians-facing-isis-threat/
Lyon’s famed Festival of Lights traveled to Erbil, Iraq, to offer what organizers called “a strong sign of friendship and fraternity” to a Christian minority reeling from threats posed by the rise of the radical Islamic State. 

Celebrating Muslims on International Human Rights Day
by Engy Abdelkader
Huffington Post Religion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/engy-abdelkader/celebrating-muslims-who-p_b_6282220.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
This piece profiles Muslims striving to realize the ideal of “Human Rights 365,” or every day of the year. It does so by design. 

DOMESTIC
‘Serial’ Whodunit Shows How Perceptions of Muslims Have Changed
by Hussein Rashid
Religion News Service op-ed
http://www.religionnews.com/2014/12/03/serial-whodunit-shows-perceptions-muslims-changed-commentary/
At one point in our history, a prosecutor could argue that an outwardly observant Muslim was unlikely to kill someone. Changing political realities have altered that logic.
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