Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: attacks in Jerusalem, ISIS, and the cause of the Arab Spring.
AROUND THE WORLD
In Jerusalem’s ‘War of Neighbors,’ the Differences Are Not Negotiable
by Jodi Rudoren
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/world/middleeast/in-jerusalem-war-of-neighbors-the-differences-are-not-negotiable.html?_r=0
Amid the condemnations from all corners of Tuesday’s deadly attack at a Jerusalem synagogue, there were also disturbing signs of celebration.
How Jerusalem’s Synagogue Attacks Introduced a Dangerous New Enemy: Lone-Wolf Terrorism
by Terrence McCoy
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/19/jerusalem-synagogue-attack-signals-a-chilling-new-reality-lone-wolf-terrorists-in-the-holy-land/?tid=hp_mm
Entrenched terrorist networks such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad may no longer be the greatest concern when diffuse Palestinian fury can quickly solidify into violence.
Indonesian Capital Gets a Christian Governor
Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/indonesian-capital-gets-a-christian-governor/2014/11/19/d4260026-6fc0-11e4-a2c2-478179fd0489_story.html
The first Christian governor of Indonesia’s capital in 50 years was sworn in Wednesday despite loud protests from Islamic hard-liners who insisted Jakarta’s top political job should go to a Muslim.
UN Urges Arab World to Denounce Islamic State
by Somini Sengupta
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/world/middleeast/arab-world-is-called-upon-to-denounce-islamic-state-.html?ref=world
The United Nations’ top human rights official called on the Muslim world to denounce the “monstrous” crimes of the extremist group that seeks to establish an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, calling its actions both a violation of international law and Islamic tenets.
Law to Declare Israel the Jewish Nation-State Hits Hurdle
by Jeffrey Heller
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/18/law-to-declare-israel-the-jewish-nation-state-hits-hurdle/
Divisions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition have delayed a preliminary vote on a proposed law to declare Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people.
Christians and Muslims Have Co-Existed Peacefully Before and Must Do So Again
by Fuad Nahdi
Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2014/nov/18/christians-muslims-co-existed-general-synod-religions-allies
For centuries the two faith communities have managed to co-exist peacefully in almost all countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Did Dubai Do It?
by Thomas Friedman
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/opinion/thomas-friedman-did-dubai-do-it.html?ref=opinion
Did Dubai cause the Arab awakening? When Dubai showed that Arabs could build a Singapore, where young Arabs could realize their potential, Dubai became politically subversive. Across the region, you heard the question: “Even if we can’t have democracy, why can’t we at least have Dubai?”
The French Jihadi
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2014/11/french-jihadi?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/EnfantdelaPatrie
Home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority, France has been concerned for months about the growing number of jihadist recruits heading to Syria and Iraq.
How Tunisia Will Succeed
by Rachid Ghannouchi
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/opinion/rachid-ghannouchi-how-tunisia-will-succeed.html
The fundamental choice facing the citizens living through this tumultuous period in Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Libya is not between Islamism and secularism, but between democracy and despotism.
Cyprus’s Greek and Turkish Foes Unite to Save Ancient Religious Site
by Michele Kambas
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/18/cypruss-greek-and-turkish-foes-unite-to-save-ancient-religious-site/
Every day for the next 16 months, Greek and Turkish Cypriots will be working on the Apostolos Andreas monastery, an imposing two-story sandstone structure dedicated to St Andrew and built atop jutting rocks at the pinnacle of a needle-shaped peninsula.
DOMESTIC
Vatican’s New Tone Gains a Voice in Chicago as Blase Cupich Becomes Archbishop
by Laurie Goodstein
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/us/vaticans-new-direction-gains-a-voice-in-chicago.html
In Pope Francis’ most significant move yet to reshape the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, Blase J. Cupich took his seat in Chicago on Tuesday as archbishop of the nation’s third-largest Catholic archdiocese and called on the church not to be afraid of change.
In Jerusalem’s ‘War of Neighbors,’ the Differences Are Not Negotiable
by Jodi Rudoren
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/world/middleeast/in-jerusalem-war-of-neighbors-the-differences-are-not-negotiable.html?_r=0
Amid the condemnations from all corners of Tuesday’s deadly attack at a Jerusalem synagogue, there were also disturbing signs of celebration.
How Jerusalem’s Synagogue Attacks Introduced a Dangerous New Enemy: Lone-Wolf Terrorism
by Terrence McCoy
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/19/jerusalem-synagogue-attack-signals-a-chilling-new-reality-lone-wolf-terrorists-in-the-holy-land/?tid=hp_mm
Entrenched terrorist networks such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad may no longer be the greatest concern when diffuse Palestinian fury can quickly solidify into violence.
Indonesian Capital Gets a Christian Governor
Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/indonesian-capital-gets-a-christian-governor/2014/11/19/d4260026-6fc0-11e4-a2c2-478179fd0489_story.html
The first Christian governor of Indonesia’s capital in 50 years was sworn in Wednesday despite loud protests from Islamic hard-liners who insisted Jakarta’s top political job should go to a Muslim.
UN Urges Arab World to Denounce Islamic State
by Somini Sengupta
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/world/middleeast/arab-world-is-called-upon-to-denounce-islamic-state-.html?ref=world
The United Nations’ top human rights official called on the Muslim world to denounce the “monstrous” crimes of the extremist group that seeks to establish an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, calling its actions both a violation of international law and Islamic tenets.
Law to Declare Israel the Jewish Nation-State Hits Hurdle
by Jeffrey Heller
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/18/law-to-declare-israel-the-jewish-nation-state-hits-hurdle/
Divisions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition have delayed a preliminary vote on a proposed law to declare Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people.
Christians and Muslims Have Co-Existed Peacefully Before and Must Do So Again
by Fuad Nahdi
Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2014/nov/18/christians-muslims-co-existed-general-synod-religions-allies
For centuries the two faith communities have managed to co-exist peacefully in almost all countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Did Dubai Do It?
by Thomas Friedman
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/opinion/thomas-friedman-did-dubai-do-it.html?ref=opinion
Did Dubai cause the Arab awakening? When Dubai showed that Arabs could build a Singapore, where young Arabs could realize their potential, Dubai became politically subversive. Across the region, you heard the question: “Even if we can’t have democracy, why can’t we at least have Dubai?”
The French Jihadi
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2014/11/french-jihadi?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/EnfantdelaPatrie
Home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority, France has been concerned for months about the growing number of jihadist recruits heading to Syria and Iraq.
How Tunisia Will Succeed
by Rachid Ghannouchi
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/opinion/rachid-ghannouchi-how-tunisia-will-succeed.html
The fundamental choice facing the citizens living through this tumultuous period in Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Libya is not between Islamism and secularism, but between democracy and despotism.
Cyprus’s Greek and Turkish Foes Unite to Save Ancient Religious Site
by Michele Kambas
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/18/cypruss-greek-and-turkish-foes-unite-to-save-ancient-religious-site/
Every day for the next 16 months, Greek and Turkish Cypriots will be working on the Apostolos Andreas monastery, an imposing two-story sandstone structure dedicated to St Andrew and built atop jutting rocks at the pinnacle of a needle-shaped peninsula.
DOMESTIC
Vatican’s New Tone Gains a Voice in Chicago as Blase Cupich Becomes Archbishop
by Laurie Goodstein
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/us/vaticans-new-direction-gains-a-voice-in-chicago.html
In Pope Francis’ most significant move yet to reshape the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, Blase J. Cupich took his seat in Chicago on Tuesday as archbishop of the nation’s third-largest Catholic archdiocese and called on the church not to be afraid of change.
Opens in a new window