Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: sanitation, ISIS, Asia Bibi, Israel-Palestine, Iranian nuclear policy, anti-Semitism in Germany, and the Anglican Communion.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Mobilizing for Toilets
by Katherine Marshall
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/mobilizing-for-toilets_b_6185292.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
November 19 is World Toilet Day: a day established last year by no less than the United Nations General Assembly. It is marked because there are few topics that are as tightly linked to human welfare and human dignity as sanitation. Poor sanitation spreads disease. Women creep out at night out of modesty and risk assault and death. The filth of flying toilets is a reminder of a grim face of poverty.
AROUND THE WORLD
More Than a Battle, Kobani Is a Publicity War
by Tim Arango
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/world/middleeast/more-than-a-battle-kobani-is-a-publicity-war-.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
But of all those with an interest in Kobani, there is arguably no party as invested as the fractious Kurdish diaspora, which has pulled together in the hope of creating a homeland among the rolling farms and pistachio orchards that are still technically part of Syria.
The Struggle to Erase Saudi Extremism
by Janet Breslin Smith and Caryle Murphy
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/opinion/the-struggle-to-erase-saudi-extremism.html?ref=opinion
Almost a decade later, it is apparent that, however laudable, Saudi reforms have not gone far enough. More critically, it is clear that fighting extremism through education reform is insufficient. More needs to be done to confront the Islamic State — a clear and present danger to the country’s survival as well as to its assertion that Islam is a compassionate and peaceful faith.
Please Don’t Abandon Me
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times op-ed
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/?module=BlogMain&action=Click®ion=Header&pgtype=Blogs&version=Blog%20Post&contentCollection=Opinion
Asia Bibi, a Christian Pakistani woman, was sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam in 2010. Asia is currently in prison waiting to be hanged after losing an appeal on Oct. 16. Below is an open letter by her husband, Ashiq Masih, addressed to the world community.
Bahraini Moral Clarity and the Al-Asqa in Danger’ Myth
by Evelyn Gordon
Commentary
http://thebulletin.org/how-does-religion-really-influence-iranian-nuclear-policy7820
The most surprising response to yesterday’s deadly attack on worshippers at a Jerusalem synagogue came from the Bahraini foreign minister. “It is forbidden to react to the crimes of the Israeli occupation against our brothers in Palestine by killing innocents in a house of prayer,” Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa reportedly wrote on his Arabic-language Twitter feed. “Those who will pay the price for the crime of killing innocents in a Jewish synagogue and for welcoming the crime are the Palestinian people.”
How Does Religion Really Influence Iranian Nuclear Policy?
by Ariane Tabatabai
Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences opinion
http://thebulletin.org/how-does-religion-really-influence-iranian-nuclear-policy7820
A careful and more nuanced look at the role of religion in Iranian decision-making, though, debunks the idea that martyrdom rules in Tehran, and gives a much more realistic basis for understanding the regime’s behavior.
Christian Sworn in as Jakarta Governor After Hardline Muslim Protests
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/19/christian-sworn-in-as-jakarta-governor-after-hardline-muslim-protests/
Jakarta’s first Christian governor in nearly 50 years was sworn in on Wednesday in the face of protests from religious hardliners opposed to a non-Muslim taking over one of Indonesia’s most powerful political jobs.
Muslim, Christian, Jewish Leaders Unite to Condemn Jihadi Violence
by Michael Shields
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/19/muslim-christian-jewish-leaders-unite-to-condemn-jihadi-violence/
Senior Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders condemned violence by jihadi militants such as Islamic State (IS) at a Saudi-backed conference on Wednesday in a rare display of interfaith unity aimed at promoting tolerance and diversity.
Germany Warns Anti-Semitism Is Rising on the Back of Middle East Violence
by Stephen Brown
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/18/germany-warns-anti-semitism-is-rising-on-the-back-of-middle-east-violence/
Germany’s foreign minister said at an international conference on anti-Semitism that “hatred of Jews” was on the rise once more in his country and across Europe, fuelled by spiralling violence in the Middle East.
Hello Ladies, Goodbye Communion?
by B.C.
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/11/anglicanism-and-women-bishops
Amid loud sighs of relief in many quarters, and muffled moans from a traditionalist minority, the Church of England has cleared the last procedural obstacle to the appointment of women bishops. At a meeting on Monday of the church's General Synod, only around 30 of the 480 people present raised their hands against the necessary change in canon law.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
Fear of Deadly ‘Religious War’ Between Jews and Muslims Raised After Synagogue Attack
by William Booth and Ruth Eglash
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/worshipers-return-to-synagogue-israel-begins-razing-homes/2014/11/19/b26b6d1e-6f7e-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html
Israelis and Palestinians expressed fear Wednesday that their decades-old conflict was moving beyond the traditional nationalist struggle between two peoples fighting for their homelands and spiraling into a raw and far-reaching religious confrontation between Jews and Muslims.
Israeli and Palestinian Leaders Know What They Need To Do To Stop a ‘Third Intifada’
Washington Post editorial
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/israeli-and-palestinian-leaders-know-what-they-need-to-do-to-stop-a-third-intifada/2014/11/19/20d12a30-7026-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html
Palestinian leaders, as much as their Israeli counterparts, should have no interest in a “third intifada,” or popular uprising, in Jerusalem or the West Bank. Yet a series of violent incidents in Jerusalem — capped by a horrific attack on a Jewish synagogue Tuesday — have raised the prospect of the snowballing of communal bloodshed.
Christian, Muslim and Jewish Clergy Plead For Interfaith Tolerance In Jerusalem
Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/19/clergy-interfaith-jerusalem-_n_6185968.html?utm_hp_ref=religionClergy representing Christians, Jews and Muslims met Wednesday near the Jerusalem synagogue where five people died in a grisly Palestinian attack to plead for tolerance amid spiking regional tensions.
Mobilizing for Toilets
by Katherine Marshall
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/mobilizing-for-toilets_b_6185292.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
November 19 is World Toilet Day: a day established last year by no less than the United Nations General Assembly. It is marked because there are few topics that are as tightly linked to human welfare and human dignity as sanitation. Poor sanitation spreads disease. Women creep out at night out of modesty and risk assault and death. The filth of flying toilets is a reminder of a grim face of poverty.
AROUND THE WORLD
More Than a Battle, Kobani Is a Publicity War
by Tim Arango
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/world/middleeast/more-than-a-battle-kobani-is-a-publicity-war-.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
But of all those with an interest in Kobani, there is arguably no party as invested as the fractious Kurdish diaspora, which has pulled together in the hope of creating a homeland among the rolling farms and pistachio orchards that are still technically part of Syria.
The Struggle to Erase Saudi Extremism
by Janet Breslin Smith and Caryle Murphy
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/opinion/the-struggle-to-erase-saudi-extremism.html?ref=opinion
Almost a decade later, it is apparent that, however laudable, Saudi reforms have not gone far enough. More critically, it is clear that fighting extremism through education reform is insufficient. More needs to be done to confront the Islamic State — a clear and present danger to the country’s survival as well as to its assertion that Islam is a compassionate and peaceful faith.
Please Don’t Abandon Me
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times op-ed
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/?module=BlogMain&action=Click®ion=Header&pgtype=Blogs&version=Blog%20Post&contentCollection=Opinion
Asia Bibi, a Christian Pakistani woman, was sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam in 2010. Asia is currently in prison waiting to be hanged after losing an appeal on Oct. 16. Below is an open letter by her husband, Ashiq Masih, addressed to the world community.
Bahraini Moral Clarity and the Al-Asqa in Danger’ Myth
by Evelyn Gordon
Commentary
http://thebulletin.org/how-does-religion-really-influence-iranian-nuclear-policy7820
The most surprising response to yesterday’s deadly attack on worshippers at a Jerusalem synagogue came from the Bahraini foreign minister. “It is forbidden to react to the crimes of the Israeli occupation against our brothers in Palestine by killing innocents in a house of prayer,” Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa reportedly wrote on his Arabic-language Twitter feed. “Those who will pay the price for the crime of killing innocents in a Jewish synagogue and for welcoming the crime are the Palestinian people.”
How Does Religion Really Influence Iranian Nuclear Policy?
by Ariane Tabatabai
Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences opinion
http://thebulletin.org/how-does-religion-really-influence-iranian-nuclear-policy7820
A careful and more nuanced look at the role of religion in Iranian decision-making, though, debunks the idea that martyrdom rules in Tehran, and gives a much more realistic basis for understanding the regime’s behavior.
Christian Sworn in as Jakarta Governor After Hardline Muslim Protests
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/19/christian-sworn-in-as-jakarta-governor-after-hardline-muslim-protests/
Jakarta’s first Christian governor in nearly 50 years was sworn in on Wednesday in the face of protests from religious hardliners opposed to a non-Muslim taking over one of Indonesia’s most powerful political jobs.
Muslim, Christian, Jewish Leaders Unite to Condemn Jihadi Violence
by Michael Shields
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/19/muslim-christian-jewish-leaders-unite-to-condemn-jihadi-violence/
Senior Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders condemned violence by jihadi militants such as Islamic State (IS) at a Saudi-backed conference on Wednesday in a rare display of interfaith unity aimed at promoting tolerance and diversity.
Germany Warns Anti-Semitism Is Rising on the Back of Middle East Violence
by Stephen Brown
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/18/germany-warns-anti-semitism-is-rising-on-the-back-of-middle-east-violence/
Germany’s foreign minister said at an international conference on anti-Semitism that “hatred of Jews” was on the rise once more in his country and across Europe, fuelled by spiralling violence in the Middle East.
Hello Ladies, Goodbye Communion?
by B.C.
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/11/anglicanism-and-women-bishops
Amid loud sighs of relief in many quarters, and muffled moans from a traditionalist minority, the Church of England has cleared the last procedural obstacle to the appointment of women bishops. At a meeting on Monday of the church's General Synod, only around 30 of the 480 people present raised their hands against the necessary change in canon law.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
Fear of Deadly ‘Religious War’ Between Jews and Muslims Raised After Synagogue Attack
by William Booth and Ruth Eglash
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/worshipers-return-to-synagogue-israel-begins-razing-homes/2014/11/19/b26b6d1e-6f7e-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html
Israelis and Palestinians expressed fear Wednesday that their decades-old conflict was moving beyond the traditional nationalist struggle between two peoples fighting for their homelands and spiraling into a raw and far-reaching religious confrontation between Jews and Muslims.
Israeli and Palestinian Leaders Know What They Need To Do To Stop a ‘Third Intifada’
Washington Post editorial
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/israeli-and-palestinian-leaders-know-what-they-need-to-do-to-stop-a-third-intifada/2014/11/19/20d12a30-7026-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html
Palestinian leaders, as much as their Israeli counterparts, should have no interest in a “third intifada,” or popular uprising, in Jerusalem or the West Bank. Yet a series of violent incidents in Jerusalem — capped by a horrific attack on a Jewish synagogue Tuesday — have raised the prospect of the snowballing of communal bloodshed.
Christian, Muslim and Jewish Clergy Plead For Interfaith Tolerance In Jerusalem
Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/19/clergy-interfaith-jerusalem-_n_6185968.html?utm_hp_ref=religionClergy representing Christians, Jews and Muslims met Wednesday near the Jerusalem synagogue where five people died in a grisly Palestinian attack to plead for tolerance amid spiking regional tensions.
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