In the News, November 16, 2015

November 16, 2015

Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: the Paris attacks, Boko Haram, and the refugee crisis.

PARIS ISIS ATTACKS
Live Updates: Attacks in Paris
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews-live/liveblog/live-updates-attacks-in-paris/?hpid=hp...
Continuously updated stream of the latest developments following the November 13 attacks including reactions on the ground, Europe wide manhunt for eighth suspect, and French military action against ISIS target in Syria.

Fearing Fear Itself
By Paul Krugman
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/16/opinion/fearing-fear-itself.html?ref=opinion
Again, the goal of terrorists is to inspire terror, because that’s all they’re capable of. And the most important thing our societies can do in response is to refuse to give in to fear.
 
The Islamic State’s Trap for Europe
by Harleen Gambhir
Washington Post op-ed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hating-muslim-refugees-is-exactly-what-the-islamic-state-wan...
Europe and the United States must accept the reality that protracted sectarian warfare in the Middle East is a clear and present danger to their safety and security at home.
 
What Paris’s Night of Horror Means for Europe
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/21678511-how-europe-has-become-more-vulnerable-terrorist-attacks-what-...
It is an understandable fear that among the many refugees flocking to Europe from Syria are some experienced fighters who mean to do harm when the opportunity arises. The attack will also exacerbate the anxiety about an “enemy within” that is at war with both the West’s cultural mores and foreign policies that are perceived as “anti-Islam”. Anti-radicalisation programmes that almost every country in Europe with a significant Muslim population has a version of are well-meaning, but of dubious effectiveness. Across Europe, there is no shortage of populist politicians who are only too happy to exploit the fallout from what happened last night.

No European Democracy has the Perfect Way to Handle Islam
Economist op-ed
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/11/europe-and-islam
Even before the latest attacks, it was clear that the leading governments of Europe faced broadly the same dilemma. Within the large and growing Muslim communities which every European state now hosts, a minority is attracted by the cause of violent extremism, at home or abroad.

French Come Together to Support Muslims After Attacks
by Jaweed Kaleem and Antonia Blumberg
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paris-muslims-interfaith_5648d60be4b045bf3def8a7e?utm_hp_ref=rel...
As the Islamic State cheers and takes credit for one of the most deadly terrorist attacks in modern France, emotions are running high in the nation -- especially among its 5 million-strong Muslim population, which is accustomed to being under watch and threat after extremists who also call themselves Muslims wreak havoc. At the same time, some French citizens -- banned by police order from demonstrations in Paris until Thursday -- were expressing their support for French Muslims and Muslims worldwide on social media and organizing interfaith gatherings.

Related | Beirut, Also the Site of Deadly Attacks, Feels Forgotten
by Anne Barnard
New  York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/16/world/middleeast/beirut-lebanon-attacks-paris.html?action=click&co...
“When my people died, no country bothered to light up its landmarks in the colors of their flag,” Elie Fares, a Lebanese doctor, wrote on his blog.  The implication, numerous Lebanese commentators complained, was that Arab lives mattered less. Either that, or that their country — relatively calm despite the war next door — was perceived as a place where carnage is the norm, an undifferentiated corner of a basket-case region.

AROUND THE WORLD
Boko Haram Attacks Persist, but Nigerian Officials Say Group is Loosing Ground
By Dionne Searcey
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/16/world/africa/boko-haram-attacks-persist-but-nigerian-officials-say...
Boko Haram has lost significant ground in northern Nigeria, according to some of the region’s top officials and international security experts, dealing a setback to a group that for years has menaced the nation with murder, abductions and other violence. But while officials say Boko Haram’s capacity to seize and hold entire towns is weakened, the group is still carrying out suicide bombings and other targeted attacks throughout the region, a staple of the militants’ strategy for years.

An Afghan Women’s Radio Station Becomes a Taliban Casualty
by Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/an-afghan-womens-radio-station-becomes-a-taliban-c...
When the Taliban briefly ruled this northeastern city last month, they not only targeted government officials and buildings. They also sought to reverse the hard-fought gains won by Afghan women since the austere Islamist regime was ousted 14 years ago after the 9/11 attacks. In doing so, they were trying to undermine the wider American and Western effort to foster gender equality in Afghanistan.

Myanmar’s Persecuted Rohingya See Glimmer of Hope in Aung San Suu Kyi’s Victory
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/11/13/myanmars-persecuted-rohingya-see-glimmer-of-hope-in-a...
Stripped of their right to cast ballots by the current government, many Rohingya now hope that, with the National League for Democracy able to rule largely on its own, a Suu Kyi-led government will work to restore their lives and many of the rights they have lost. Dealing with the Rohingya will be one of the most controversial – and unavoidable – of a long list of issues Suu Kyi will inherit from the current government.

NATIONAL
Obama Chides Republicans Who Want to Screen Muslim Refugees
By Michael D. Shear
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/world/europe/obama-says-paris-attacks-have-stiffened-resolve-to-cr...
President Obama on Monday lashed out at Republican presidential candidates who suggested that religious tests be given to refugees seeking to enter the United States out of a fear of letting terrorists into the country. “That’s not American. That’s not who we are,” Mr. Obama said during a news conference at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Turkey. “We don’t have religious tests to our compassion.”

Governors of Michigan, Alabama Reject Resettlement of Syrian Refugees in Their States
By Yanan Wang
New York Times
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/16/governors-of-michigan-alabama-reject-r...
The terrorist attacks in Paris have prompted two governors to announce that Syrian refugees will not be allowed to resettle in their states. Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan and Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama, both Republicans, issued individual statements Sunday declaring that their states would not be open to refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.
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