Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and
around the globe: ISIS destroys ancient art, charting religious freedom around the world, and Americans see fighting climate change as a moral duty.
AROUND THE WORLD
ISIS Onslaught Engulfs Assyrian Christians as Militants Destroy Ancient Art
by Anne Barnard
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/world/middleeast/more-assyrian-christians-captured-as-isis-attacks-villages-in-syria.html?ref=todayspaper
The militants have prosecuted a relentless campaign in Iraq and Syria against what have historically been religiously and ethnically diverse areas with traces of civilizations dating to ancient Mesopotamia. The latest to face the militants’ onslaught are the Assyrian Christians of northeastern Syria, one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, some speaking a modern version of Aramaic, the language of Jesus.
The Trials of Jihadi John
Wall Street Journal editorial
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-trials-of-jihadi-john-1425250650
But the deeper error of the grievance theory of Islamic radicalization is that it denies Muslims the moral agency of their actions, as if they are incapable of knowing the rights and wrongs of taking human life or can be turned into killers from slights to their person or perceived insults to their beliefs. Such dehumanizing excuses are a greater insult to Muslims than anything a wary MI5 investigator has ever done.
The Twilight of Middle Eastern Christianity
by Hisham Melhem
Al Arabiya op-ed
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/02/28/The-twilight-of-Middle-Eastern-Christianity-.html
ISIS is not only waging war on the pre-Islamic history of the Fertile Crescent, or only engaging in the ethnic cleansing of ancient peoples, and religious and ethnic minorities that preceded the advent of Arabs and Islam, ISIS is also waging war on humanity’s heritage and on the modern world, since all of us are the inheritors of the splendor of the Fertile Crescent.
An Ideological War America Must Watch, Not Fight
by Fareed Zakaria
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/an-ideological-war-america-must-watch-not-fight/2015/02/26/6290938c-bdf8-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html
Because the ideas at stake are potentially seductive only to Muslims, the ideological war today is really a struggle within Islam. It’s a cultural war that has to be waged by Muslims. If outsiders such as the United States want to play a role, they should listen to and support Muslims fighting the good fight.
The Divine Purposes of America and Russia
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/02/exceptionalism
America and Russia don't agree on many things these days, but on both sides of the old (and re-emerging) cold-war divide, you can hear a common concern, one that smaller countries sometimes find hard to understand. It is summed up by the word "exceptionalism." In both Washington and Moscow, those who hold or seek power like to speculate out loud on whether their country's very existence serves a higher, divine purpose.
Chart: The Sad State of Religious Freedom Around the World
by Adam Taylor
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/27/chart-the-sad-state-of-religious-freedom-around-the-world/
More than three-quarters of the world's population lived in countries with "high" or "very high" levels of restriction on religion in 2013, according to a new Pew Research Center report titled "Latest Trends in Religious Restrictions and Hostilities."
Religious Violence?: The Politics of a Higher Law
by Ted A. Smith
Christian Century op-ed
http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2015-02/religious-violence
From crusaders to colonizers to bombers of abortion clinics to revolutionaries of many kinds, people who declare their loyalty to a higher law have been responsible for terrible violence. To justify their actions, they may appeal to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or other religious traditions or to traditions that are not usually identified as religious. What they share is a commitment to some code that stands above the established laws of the land.
Allah Versus KFC
by Mokhtar Awad and Samuel Tadros
Foreign Policy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/27/allah-versus-kfc-egypt-arab-spring-terrorism/
Little-known Islamist groups in Egypt are being influenced by an American ideologue named Shahid King Bolsen, whose influence stems from his innovative efforts to fuse early-twenty-first-century anti-capitalist ideology with the tenets of ultra-conservative Salafi Islam.
DOMESTIC
Scott Walker and Judging the Faith of Another
by Michael Gerson
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/scott-walkers-amazing-disgrace/2015/02/26/5029f60a-bddc-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html
Questioning this affirmation involves a serious charge—an accusation of the worst sort of cynicism. And it is simply not the role of a Christian layman to publicly dispute the self-identification of other Christians, especially in a political context. It is a practice that can lead down ugly alleys of sectarianism.
A Death Row Inmate Finds Common Ground With Theologians
by Mark Oppenheimer
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/us/a-death-row-inmate-finds-common-ground-with-theologians.html?_r=0
Kelly Renee Gissendaner, a convicted death row inmate scheduled to be put to death in Georgiaon Monday, became pen pals with one of the world’s most prominent theologians. Those who support her say that her experience is not just jailhouse religion but a sincere devotion to God.
Most Americans See Combating Climate Change as a Moral Duty
by Bruce Wallace
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/27/us-usa-climate-poll-idUSKBN0LV0CV20150227
A significant majority of Americans say combating climate change is a moral issue that obligates them—and world leaders—to reduce carbon emissions, a Reuters/IPSOS poll has found. The result of the poll suggests that appeals based on ethics could be key to shifting the debate over climate change in the United States, where those demanding action to reduce carbon emissions and those who resist it are often at loggerheads
ISIS Onslaught Engulfs Assyrian Christians as Militants Destroy Ancient Art
by Anne Barnard
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/world/middleeast/more-assyrian-christians-captured-as-isis-attacks-villages-in-syria.html?ref=todayspaper
The militants have prosecuted a relentless campaign in Iraq and Syria against what have historically been religiously and ethnically diverse areas with traces of civilizations dating to ancient Mesopotamia. The latest to face the militants’ onslaught are the Assyrian Christians of northeastern Syria, one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, some speaking a modern version of Aramaic, the language of Jesus.
The Trials of Jihadi John
Wall Street Journal editorial
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-trials-of-jihadi-john-1425250650
But the deeper error of the grievance theory of Islamic radicalization is that it denies Muslims the moral agency of their actions, as if they are incapable of knowing the rights and wrongs of taking human life or can be turned into killers from slights to their person or perceived insults to their beliefs. Such dehumanizing excuses are a greater insult to Muslims than anything a wary MI5 investigator has ever done.
The Twilight of Middle Eastern Christianity
by Hisham Melhem
Al Arabiya op-ed
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/02/28/The-twilight-of-Middle-Eastern-Christianity-.html
ISIS is not only waging war on the pre-Islamic history of the Fertile Crescent, or only engaging in the ethnic cleansing of ancient peoples, and religious and ethnic minorities that preceded the advent of Arabs and Islam, ISIS is also waging war on humanity’s heritage and on the modern world, since all of us are the inheritors of the splendor of the Fertile Crescent.
An Ideological War America Must Watch, Not Fight
by Fareed Zakaria
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/an-ideological-war-america-must-watch-not-fight/2015/02/26/6290938c-bdf8-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html
Because the ideas at stake are potentially seductive only to Muslims, the ideological war today is really a struggle within Islam. It’s a cultural war that has to be waged by Muslims. If outsiders such as the United States want to play a role, they should listen to and support Muslims fighting the good fight.
The Divine Purposes of America and Russia
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/02/exceptionalism
America and Russia don't agree on many things these days, but on both sides of the old (and re-emerging) cold-war divide, you can hear a common concern, one that smaller countries sometimes find hard to understand. It is summed up by the word "exceptionalism." In both Washington and Moscow, those who hold or seek power like to speculate out loud on whether their country's very existence serves a higher, divine purpose.
Chart: The Sad State of Religious Freedom Around the World
by Adam Taylor
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/27/chart-the-sad-state-of-religious-freedom-around-the-world/
More than three-quarters of the world's population lived in countries with "high" or "very high" levels of restriction on religion in 2013, according to a new Pew Research Center report titled "Latest Trends in Religious Restrictions and Hostilities."
Religious Violence?: The Politics of a Higher Law
by Ted A. Smith
Christian Century op-ed
http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2015-02/religious-violence
From crusaders to colonizers to bombers of abortion clinics to revolutionaries of many kinds, people who declare their loyalty to a higher law have been responsible for terrible violence. To justify their actions, they may appeal to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or other religious traditions or to traditions that are not usually identified as religious. What they share is a commitment to some code that stands above the established laws of the land.
Allah Versus KFC
by Mokhtar Awad and Samuel Tadros
Foreign Policy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/27/allah-versus-kfc-egypt-arab-spring-terrorism/
Little-known Islamist groups in Egypt are being influenced by an American ideologue named Shahid King Bolsen, whose influence stems from his innovative efforts to fuse early-twenty-first-century anti-capitalist ideology with the tenets of ultra-conservative Salafi Islam.
DOMESTIC
Scott Walker and Judging the Faith of Another
by Michael Gerson
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/scott-walkers-amazing-disgrace/2015/02/26/5029f60a-bddc-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html
Questioning this affirmation involves a serious charge—an accusation of the worst sort of cynicism. And it is simply not the role of a Christian layman to publicly dispute the self-identification of other Christians, especially in a political context. It is a practice that can lead down ugly alleys of sectarianism.
A Death Row Inmate Finds Common Ground With Theologians
by Mark Oppenheimer
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/us/a-death-row-inmate-finds-common-ground-with-theologians.html?_r=0
Kelly Renee Gissendaner, a convicted death row inmate scheduled to be put to death in Georgiaon Monday, became pen pals with one of the world’s most prominent theologians. Those who support her say that her experience is not just jailhouse religion but a sincere devotion to God.
Most Americans See Combating Climate Change as a Moral Duty
by Bruce Wallace
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/27/us-usa-climate-poll-idUSKBN0LV0CV20150227
A significant majority of Americans say combating climate change is a moral issue that obligates them—and world leaders—to reduce carbon emissions, a Reuters/IPSOS poll has found. The result of the poll suggests that appeals based on ethics could be key to shifting the debate over climate change in the United States, where those demanding action to reduce carbon emissions and those who resist it are often at loggerheads
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