In the News, December 10-11, 2015

December 11, 2015

Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: Donald Trump's proposed ban on immigration to the United States by Muslims, Christian minorities in the Middle East, and US religiously affiliated colleges receive federal civil rights protections exemptions.

BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
What Is Islamophobia? The History And Definition Of Anti-Muslim Discrimination In The US
by Elizabeth Whitman
International Business Times
http://www.ibtimes.com/what-islamophobia-history-definition-anti-muslim-discrimination-us-2218446
Jocelyne Cesari described Islamophobia as a term used to "address the discriminations faced by Muslims that could not be explained by their race, class or immigration status" and added that the most recent wave of anti-Muslim and anti-Islam sentiments have grown out of perceived threats to security and safety. 

The Slippery Slope to Trump’s Proposed Ban on Muslims
by E.J. Dionne Jr.
Washington Post op-ed   
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-slippery-slope-to-trumpism/2015/12/09/68ce6b8e-9eb7-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html
You can’t be “just a little” intolerant of Muslims, any more than you can be “just a little” prejudiced against Catholics or Jews. Once the door to bigotry is opened, it is very hard to shut. 

AROUND THE WORLD
Meet the Christian Minorities of the Middle East
by Lucia De Stefani
TIME
http://time.com/4076766/meet-the-christian-minorities-middle-east/
Two Italian reporters traveled nine countries in four years, tracing the most ancient Christian communities in the world. 

Netanyahu to Meet Donald Trump in Israel This Month
by William Booth
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/netanyahu-to-meet-donald-trump-in-israel-this-month/2015/12/09/59601348-9e74-11e5-a3c5-c77f2cc5a43c_story.html
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Donald Trump when the Republican presidential front-runner arrives in Israel later this month, Israeli officials said Wednesday. 

Netanyahu Wants Palestinian Violence Linked to ‘Radical Islam’
by William Booth
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/netanyahu-wants-palestinian-violence-linked-to-radical-islam/2015/12/10/6a62d522-9d07-11e5-9ad2-568d814bbf3b_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-more-top-stories_netanyahu-130am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stepped up his rhetorical campaign to convince the world that the surge in Palestinian violence here is not born of frustration against Israel’s decades-long military occupation, but is instead the work of radical Islam. 

The Words that Killed Medieval Jews
by Sara Lipton
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/opinion/the-words-that-killed-medieval-jews.html
No historian can claim to have insight into the motives of living individuals. But history does show that a heightening of rhetoric against a certain group can incite violence against that group, even when no violence is called for. When a group is labeled hostile and brutal, its members are more likely to be treated with hostility and brutality. Visual images are particularly powerful, spurring actions that may well be unintended by the images’ creators.  

DOMESTIC
Americans are Twice as Willing to Distance Christian Extremists From Their Religion as Muslims
by Philip Bump
Washington Post          
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/10/to-many-christian-terrorists-arent-true-christians-but-muslim-terrorists-are-true-muslims/
A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute released Thursday shows a sharp increase in the number of Americans who are actively worried about terrorism. 

Why Franklin Graham Says Donald Trump is Right About Stopping Muslim Immigration
by Sarah Larimer
Washington Post          
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/10/why-franklin-graham-says-donald-trump-is-right-about-stopping-muslim-immigration/
Amid an outcry over Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the country, prominent evangelist Franklin Graham has come out in support of the Republican presidential candidate’s plan, saying that he has been advocating a similar stance for months. 

Muslim Americans Search for Political Voice in U.S.
by Byron Tau and Louise Radnofsky
Wall Street Journal
http://www.wsj.com/articles/muslim-americans-search-for-political-voice-in-u-s-1449743400
Muslim Americans are enduring some of the sharpest attacks on their faith in recent memory, and they find themselves without a strong political voice to counter them. 

Donald Trump’s Words Have Added Sting for 2 Muslims in Congress
by Emmarie Heutteman
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/us/politics/donald-trumps-words-have-added-sting-for-2-muslims-in-congress.html?ref=us
“It would be unacceptable and even un-American for me to not speak up and fight back,” said Representative André Carson of Donald J. Trump’s call to bar members of his faith from entering the United States. 

I am a Muslim. But Trump’s View Appall Me because I am an American
by Fareed Zakaria
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-am-a-muslim-but-trumps-views-appall-me-because-i-am-an-american/2015/12/10
This is the real danger of Trump’s rhetoric: It forces people who want to assimilate, who see themselves as having multiple identities, into a single box. The effects of his rhetoric have already poisoned the atmosphere. Muslim Americans are more fearful and will isolate themselves more. The broader community will know them less and trust them less. A downward spiral of segregation will set in. 

Trump’s Anti-Muslim Plans Scramble Republican Appeals to Jewish Voters
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/12/10/trumps-anti-muslim-plans-scramble-republican-appeals-to-jewish-voters/
For the Republican Party, a tough job just got a little tougher thanks to Donald Trump. For years, Republicans, backed by some influential donors, have carefully cultivated the vote of Jewish-Americans who regard the security of Israel their top concern. Less than a week ago, a bevy of presidential candidates stood before a group of Jewish conservatives in Washington, asking for their support and declaring their solidarity with the Jewish state.
 

Religious Colleges Obtain Waivers to Anti-Discrimination Law
by Liam Stack
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/us/religious-colleges-obtain-waivers-to-anti-discrimination-law.html?_r=0
More than two dozen religiously affiliated colleges and universities across the United States have received exemptions from the federal civil rights protections provided under Title IX since 2014, documents show, waivers that activists said allow them to discriminate against students and employees on the basis of categories like sexual orientation and gender identity.
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