Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: sectarianism in Christianity and Islam, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Jerry Falwell, Jr. endorses Donald Trump for president.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Fruits of Diplomacy: Obama’s Legacy in the Middle East
by Drew Christiansen and Ra’fat Aldajani
National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/fruits-diplomacy-obamas-legacy-middle-east
[On the heals of the Iran deal,] three other developments supported the president's "fruit of diplomacy" claims. First was the release of U.S. sailors who were held by Iran after their two patrol boats had strayed into Iranian waters. This release happened within 24 hours. Second, was a major prisoner exchange between Iran and the U.S. Third was the opening of a way for talks to end the Syrian civil war. Without a peace process led by the two rival superpowers, Syria will remain a humanitarian catastrophe for its people, a fertile swamp for the growth of the ISIS monster and a security nightmare for the European Union and its member states. It will be the ultimate test of President Obama's diplomacy-first policy.
AROUND THE WORLD
The Truth About Sectarianism
by Jacob Olidort
Foreign Affairs
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2016-01-25/truth-about-sectarianism
Sectarian identities were supposedly formed in the Middle East centuries ago, and yet they seem to breed the region’s bloodiest conflicts today. But the conflict in the region is much more nuanced than a simple sectarian war.
Sectarian Splits are Widening in Islam and Lessening the Christianity
Economist Erasmus blog
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2016/01/shias-catholics-and-protestants
Among observers of the world of religion it has often been suggested that Islam’s Shia-Sunni split corresponds in certain ways with the Catholic-Protestant divide in Christendom. Of course, as with any broad generalization about religion, you can’t push it too far.
A German Muslim Female Soldier Speaks out Against Bigotry
by Ishann Thanoor
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/01/28/a-german-muslim-female-soldier-speaks-out-against-bigotry/
Nariman Reinke is a 36-year-old daughter of Moroccan immigrants. She is German, she is Muslim, and she is a soldier in the Bundeswehr, or the German army. And now she's become a public figure, taking a stand against what she perceives to be the rather toxic conversation of the moment.
France Restricts ‘Salafistes,’ Film on Islamic Radicals
by Lilla Blaise
New York Times
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/europe/france-restricts-salafistes-film-on-islamic-radicals.html?_r=1
The French Culture Ministry ruled Wednesday that a new documentary film on Islamic radicals was unsuitable for minors, saying that it offered images of violence that were “sometimes unbearable” and interviews with members of Al Qaeda and other extremist figures that provided a platform for propaganda.
Pardon Plea by Adolf Eichmann, Nazi War Criminal, Is Made Public
by Isabel Kershner
New York Times
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/middleeast/israel-adolf-eichmann-holocaust.html
After he was convicted and sentenced to death in Israel for his role in the annihilation of millions of Jews by Nazi Germany, Adolf Eichmann pleaded for his own life. The letter, handwritten by Eichmann in German, and other original documents from the case, were made public for the first time on Wednesday by Israel’s current president, Reuven Rivlin, during an event to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
related | Letter by Adolf Eichmann to President Yitzhak Ben-Ziv of Israel
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/middleeast/adolf-eichmann-letter-to-israel-president.html?ref=world
Handwritten in blue ink on lined paper, the 1962 letter from Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal who oversaw the lethal logistics of the Holocaust, to the president of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, repeats part of Eichmann’s defense from his four-month trial. The letter was written in German on the day that Eichmann’s appeal was denied by Israel’s Supreme Court. Here is an English translation.
Donald Trump is Acting like Hitler, says Stepsister of Ann Frank
by Ishaan Tharoor
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/01/28/donald-trump-is-acting-like-hitler-says-stepsister-of-anne-frank/
“I am very upset that today again so many countries are closing their borders," writes Schloss. "Fewer people would have died in the Holocaust if the world had accepted more Jewish refugees." She aims particular opprobrium at Trump, who has called for a total cessation of Muslim arrivals to the United States and the deportation of millions of Hispanics living in the country.
NATIONAL
Donald Trump Divides God’s Voters
by Sarah Posner
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/opinion/campaign-stops/donald-trump-divides-gods-voters.html?ref=opinion
Nearly four decades after his father founded the Moral Majority, Jerry Falwell Jr. is presiding over the biggest crisis the modern evangelical coalition has ever had to face. With his endorsement of Donald J. Trump for president on Tuesday, the younger Mr. Falwell has dismayed his fellow conservative evangelicals and baffled many others, who think it’s counterintuitive that Mr. Falwell would endorse this thrice-married reality television star.
related | Here’s the Backstory of why I Endorsed Donald Trump
by Jerry Falwell Jr.
Washington Post opinion
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/01/27/jerry-falwell-jr-heres-the-backstory-of-why-i-endorsed-donald-trump/
“In short,” Mr. Falwell writes, “we need someone to bring this country back from the brink and make America great again…”
Bernie Sanders Opens Up About God
by Antonia Blumberg
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders god_us_56a9123ee4b0f7179928c0dd
Sen. Bernie Sanders has mostly avoided discussing religion during his Democratic presidential campaign. Unlike some other candidates, he sticks to politics. But he offered a rare glimpse into his spiritual views in an interview with The Washington Post published Wednesday. “I think everyone believes in God in their own ways, “ said Sanders. “To me, it means that all of us are connected, all of life is connected, and that we are all tied together.” Sanders, a strong supporter of the separation of church and state, told the paper, “I think it is important that a sense of morality be part of our politics."
Hillary Clinton Talks Openly About Her Faith
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/election-2016/on-the-ground-in-iowa/hillary-clinton-talks-openly-about-her-faith
“My study of the Bible, my many conversations with people of faith, has led me to believe the most important commandment is to love the Lord with all your might and to love your neighbor as yourself. And that is what I think we are commanded by Christ to do,” Mrs. Clinton said.
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