Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: sectarian tensions in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon's Jewish community, Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem, Nigerian megachurches, and Islam in the United States.
AROUND THE WORLD
Common Enemy Brings Iran, Saudi Arabia Closer
by Ali Mamouir
Al Monitor op-ed
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/yemen-houthis-relations-saudi-arabia-iran.html
The appearance of a common enemy, offer a Saudi-Iranian rapprochement a great opportunity to evolve. Such a development would also represent a chance for the easing of sectarian tensions that have been boiling over for years in the region.
The State That Didn’t Fail—Yet
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21623778-its-surprising-resilience-now-under-st...
Lebanon is, like other Arab states, a sectarian patchwork. Its Sunnis share the fury of their Syrian co-religionists against the regime of President Bashar Assad; and its Shia share the fears of the minorities that support Syria’s government. Yet Lebanon did not fall into the abyss when Hizbullah, the Shia party-cum-militia, entered the war to prop up Mr Assad.
Lebanon’s Jewish Renaissance
by Adam Rasmi
Foreign Affairs http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142184/adam-rasmi/lebanons-jewish-renaissance
But some Lebanese are now hoping this trend can be reversed -- and there is cause for cautious optimism. In a posh but heavily guarded area of downtown Beirut, a symbol of religious coexistence seems poised to gain new life. The Maghen Abraham Synagogue, the only Jewish religious temple left in the capital, is set to reopen after over three decades of ruin.
Saudi Arabia: Cleric Sentenced to Death
Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-cleric-sentenced-to-death.html?ref=t...
A widely revered Shiite Muslim cleric was convicted Wednesday of sedition and other charges and sentenced to death, raising fears of renewed unrest from his supporters in the kingdom and neighboring Bahrain.
A House by House Struggle for Control of a Jerusalem Neighborhood
by Isabel Kershner
New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/world/middleeast/a-house-by-house-struggle-for-control-of-a-jerusa...
In the dark of night, under the protection of Israeli security forces, Jewish settlers took possession of some 25 housing units in six locations around the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem late last month, sending out shock waves that were felt in Washington and still reverberate in the neighborhood. Many of the properties had been rented out, but they were strangely empty when the settlers arrived.
Nigeria’s Megachurches: A Hidden Pillar of Africa’s Top Economy
by Tim Cocks
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/10/15/nigerias-megachurches-a-hidden-pillar-of-africas-top-...
Hundreds of millions of dollars change hands each year in these popular Pentecostal houses of worship in Nigeria, which are modeled on their counterparts in the United States. Some of the churches can hold more than 200,000 worshippers and, with their attendant business empires, they constitute a significant section of the economy, employing tens of thousands of people and raking in tourist dollars, as well as exporting Christianity globally.
DOMESTIC
Islam in America: Do Unto Others
Economist http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/10/islam-america
America’s history with acceptance of Judaism suggests that America will inevitably reach the same accommodation with Islam that it has reached with Judaism. It will take time, of course—most American Muslims are foreign-born, so are in roughly the same xenophobia-provoking demographic position as American Jews were three generations ago.
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