Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: Ebola, Islamophobia, Yemen, Turkey, Syria and the Islamic State, the Vatican and divorce, Myanmar, and religious freedom in prison.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Ebola: Ten Proposals to Engage Religious Actors More Proactively
by Katherine Marshall
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/ebola-ten-proposals-to-en_b_5952808.html?utm_hp_ref...
Religious leaders and networks in the affected areas are a largely untapped asset in strategic responses to the Ebola crisis. Faith-inspired actors are at the forefront of the medical response in many areas. Further, in these highly religious societies people commonly look to religious leaders for care and guidance.
AROUND THE WORLD
The Diversity of Islam
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times op-ed http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/opinion/nicholas-kristof-the-diversity-of-islam.html?ref=todayspap...
Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry by highlighting only the horrors while neglecting the diversity of a religion with 1.6 billion adherents — including many who are champions of tolerance, modernity and human rights.
related | Bill Maher Isn’t the Only One Who Misunderstands Religion
by Reza Aslan
New York Times op-ed http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/opinion/bill-maher-isnt-the-only-one-who-misunderstands-religion.h...
Bill Maher is right to condemn religious practices that violate fundamental human rights. Religious communities must do more to counter extremist interpretations of their faith. But failing to recognize that religion is embedded in culture — and making a blanket judgment about the world’s second largest religion — is simply bigotry.
US Steps Up Fight to Block ISIS Volunteers
by Michael Schmidt
New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/world/middleeast/us-steps-up-fight-to-block-isis-volunteers.html?r...
The Justice Department says that it must focus its resources on Americans traveling abroad because they could receive training, become radicalized and then return to the United States to attack on behalf of the groups, though the government says it knows of no active plots against the United States from these organizations.
Whirlwind Ascent of Houthi Rebels in Yemen Brings Relief and Trepidation
by Shuaib Almosawa and Kareem Fahim
New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/world/middleeast/swift-ascent-of-houthis-in-yemen-brings-relief-an...
Overshadowed by the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the Houthis’ lightning advance on the capital on Sept. 21 drew little notice even as it seemed to fundamentally reshape Yemen’s politics. Facing little resistance, the rebels routed powerful political figures and the country’s most established Islamist movement, while signing a power-sharing agreement with the government that seemed to cement their status as Yemen’s most prominent opposition force.
The Iranian Sphere of Influence Expands Into Yemen
by Amal Mudallali
Foreign Policy http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/10/08/the_iranian_sphere_of_influence_expands_into_yemen_...
While the jihadists' rampage is cause for understandable concern, it has obscured a huge strategic shift in another Middle Eastern linchpin: Yemen. The takeover of Sanaa in mid-September by the Houthis, a Shiite minority group, has dire implications for Yemen's neighbors and for the American war on terror. And further escalation seems likely.
Mr. Erdogan’s Dangerous Game
New York Times editorial http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/opinion/turkeys-refusal-to-fight-isis-hurts-the-kurds.html?ref=opi...
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once aspired to lead the Muslim world. At this time of regional crisis, he has been anything but a leader. Turkish troops and tanks have been standing passively behind a chicken-wire border fence while a mile away in Syria, Islamic extremists are besieging the town of Kobani and its Kurdish population.
Why Iran, US Aren’t on Quite the Same Side in Fight Against Islamic State
by Davoud Hermidas Bavand
Reuters Faith World op-ed
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/10/08/why-iran-u-s-arent-on-quite-the-same-side-in-fight-...
It might seem counter-intuitive to think that attacking the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, would damage Iran or Shi’ite interests in the Middle East. After all, Iran shares the West’s concerns about the radical Sunni group and is in a tacit alliance with the United States when it comes to defeating their common enemy. And yet, Iran fears it might end up being the loser in this battle.
In ‘Season of Mercy,’ Will Vatican Rethink Communion for Divorcees?
by Sylvia Poggilio
NPR
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/10/08/354530800/in-this-season-of-mercy-will-vatican-rethink...
Some 200 bishops from around the world are gathered at the Vatican for a two-week assembly to discuss issues related to the family, including artificial contraception, premarital sex and ministering gay unions.
Sunni Jihadists Attack Hezbollah to Prove Themselves
Al Monitor
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/10/lebanon-under-attack-baalbek.html#
Lebanon’s presidential position has been vacant for 136 days now [as of the time of writing], and the course of events is now controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State (IS). They are delivering a daily program for the parents of abducted soldiers, indicating the steps they should take while threatening to kill their sons who are members of the army and the Internal Security Forces (ISF).
Why Islamic Financial Products Are Catching on Outside the Muslim World
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/10/economist-explains-0
Broadly, Islamic financial products comply with the system of Muslim laws and norms known as sharia. Muslims consider pork, alcohol, gambling and pornography haram, for instance, so Islamic investment vehicles must steer clear of them. But in practice it has led most Islamic financial products to eschew the payment or charging of interest, so sukuk and Islamic mortgages must be structured differently from traditional bonds and mortgages.
The Druze Dilemma
by Firas Maksad
Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142173/firas-maksad/the-druze-dilemma
Throughout Syria’s civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has for the most part managed to maintain the loyalties of the country’s various religious minorities: Christians, Alawites, and Shiite Muslims. These groups, which together amount to about one-quarter of Syria’s population, appear to prefer Assad’s authoritarianism to an uncertain future dominated by Sunni radicals.
‘We Cannot Go Back to Myanmar’
by Henry Zwartz
Foreign Policy http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/10/08/we_cannot_go_back_to_myanmar_thailand_refugees
Just eight kilometers from the Thai-Myanmar border, the camp is home to 44,000 refugees, most of them ethnic Karens, who escaped the decades-long civil war in Myanmar's Karen state.
DOMESTIC
Beards Behind Bars
Economist http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/10/religious-liberty
On October 7th the Supreme Court heard its first religious-liberty case since recognizing, in June, the right of some pious employers not to pay for some types of birth control for their staff. This time, in Holt v Hobbs, the aggrieved party is Gregory Holt, a Muslim inmate in Arkansas who says his faith requires him to wear a half-inch beard.
Ebola: Ten Proposals to Engage Religious Actors More Proactively
by Katherine Marshall
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/ebola-ten-proposals-to-en_b_5952808.html?utm_hp_ref...
Religious leaders and networks in the affected areas are a largely untapped asset in strategic responses to the Ebola crisis. Faith-inspired actors are at the forefront of the medical response in many areas. Further, in these highly religious societies people commonly look to religious leaders for care and guidance.
AROUND THE WORLD
The Diversity of Islam
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times op-ed http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/opinion/nicholas-kristof-the-diversity-of-islam.html?ref=todayspap...
Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry by highlighting only the horrors while neglecting the diversity of a religion with 1.6 billion adherents — including many who are champions of tolerance, modernity and human rights.
related | Bill Maher Isn’t the Only One Who Misunderstands Religion
by Reza Aslan
New York Times op-ed http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/opinion/bill-maher-isnt-the-only-one-who-misunderstands-religion.h...
Bill Maher is right to condemn religious practices that violate fundamental human rights. Religious communities must do more to counter extremist interpretations of their faith. But failing to recognize that religion is embedded in culture — and making a blanket judgment about the world’s second largest religion — is simply bigotry.
US Steps Up Fight to Block ISIS Volunteers
by Michael Schmidt
New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/world/middleeast/us-steps-up-fight-to-block-isis-volunteers.html?r...
The Justice Department says that it must focus its resources on Americans traveling abroad because they could receive training, become radicalized and then return to the United States to attack on behalf of the groups, though the government says it knows of no active plots against the United States from these organizations.
Whirlwind Ascent of Houthi Rebels in Yemen Brings Relief and Trepidation
by Shuaib Almosawa and Kareem Fahim
New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/world/middleeast/swift-ascent-of-houthis-in-yemen-brings-relief-an...
Overshadowed by the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the Houthis’ lightning advance on the capital on Sept. 21 drew little notice even as it seemed to fundamentally reshape Yemen’s politics. Facing little resistance, the rebels routed powerful political figures and the country’s most established Islamist movement, while signing a power-sharing agreement with the government that seemed to cement their status as Yemen’s most prominent opposition force.
The Iranian Sphere of Influence Expands Into Yemen
by Amal Mudallali
Foreign Policy http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/10/08/the_iranian_sphere_of_influence_expands_into_yemen_...
While the jihadists' rampage is cause for understandable concern, it has obscured a huge strategic shift in another Middle Eastern linchpin: Yemen. The takeover of Sanaa in mid-September by the Houthis, a Shiite minority group, has dire implications for Yemen's neighbors and for the American war on terror. And further escalation seems likely.
Mr. Erdogan’s Dangerous Game
New York Times editorial http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/opinion/turkeys-refusal-to-fight-isis-hurts-the-kurds.html?ref=opi...
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once aspired to lead the Muslim world. At this time of regional crisis, he has been anything but a leader. Turkish troops and tanks have been standing passively behind a chicken-wire border fence while a mile away in Syria, Islamic extremists are besieging the town of Kobani and its Kurdish population.
Why Iran, US Aren’t on Quite the Same Side in Fight Against Islamic State
by Davoud Hermidas Bavand
Reuters Faith World op-ed
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/10/08/why-iran-u-s-arent-on-quite-the-same-side-in-fight-...
It might seem counter-intuitive to think that attacking the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, would damage Iran or Shi’ite interests in the Middle East. After all, Iran shares the West’s concerns about the radical Sunni group and is in a tacit alliance with the United States when it comes to defeating their common enemy. And yet, Iran fears it might end up being the loser in this battle.
In ‘Season of Mercy,’ Will Vatican Rethink Communion for Divorcees?
by Sylvia Poggilio
NPR
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/10/08/354530800/in-this-season-of-mercy-will-vatican-rethink...
Some 200 bishops from around the world are gathered at the Vatican for a two-week assembly to discuss issues related to the family, including artificial contraception, premarital sex and ministering gay unions.
Sunni Jihadists Attack Hezbollah to Prove Themselves
Al Monitor
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/10/lebanon-under-attack-baalbek.html#
Lebanon’s presidential position has been vacant for 136 days now [as of the time of writing], and the course of events is now controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State (IS). They are delivering a daily program for the parents of abducted soldiers, indicating the steps they should take while threatening to kill their sons who are members of the army and the Internal Security Forces (ISF).
Why Islamic Financial Products Are Catching on Outside the Muslim World
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/10/economist-explains-0
Broadly, Islamic financial products comply with the system of Muslim laws and norms known as sharia. Muslims consider pork, alcohol, gambling and pornography haram, for instance, so Islamic investment vehicles must steer clear of them. But in practice it has led most Islamic financial products to eschew the payment or charging of interest, so sukuk and Islamic mortgages must be structured differently from traditional bonds and mortgages.
The Druze Dilemma
by Firas Maksad
Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142173/firas-maksad/the-druze-dilemma
Throughout Syria’s civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has for the most part managed to maintain the loyalties of the country’s various religious minorities: Christians, Alawites, and Shiite Muslims. These groups, which together amount to about one-quarter of Syria’s population, appear to prefer Assad’s authoritarianism to an uncertain future dominated by Sunni radicals.
‘We Cannot Go Back to Myanmar’
by Henry Zwartz
Foreign Policy http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/10/08/we_cannot_go_back_to_myanmar_thailand_refugees
Just eight kilometers from the Thai-Myanmar border, the camp is home to 44,000 refugees, most of them ethnic Karens, who escaped the decades-long civil war in Myanmar's Karen state.
DOMESTIC
Beards Behind Bars
Economist http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/10/religious-liberty
On October 7th the Supreme Court heard its first religious-liberty case since recognizing, in June, the right of some pious employers not to pay for some types of birth control for their staff. This time, in Holt v Hobbs, the aggrieved party is Gregory Holt, a Muslim inmate in Arkansas who says his faith requires him to wear a half-inch beard.
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