Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: whether the Islamic State qualifies as apostate, Christians in Nepal, politics and Islam, and Obama visits a Baltimore mosque.
AROUND THE WORLD
The Difference between What Makes People Happy in the United States and the Rest of the World
by Ana Swanson
Washington Post
Washington Post
Georgetown Professor Becky Hsu and her colleagues are carrying out their own happiness survey in China, with the hope of learning how to better measure happiness not just in China, but in other countries, as well. Their survey focuses on three dimensions of happiness — a good mood, a good life and a sense of whether one’s life has meaning.
by Adam Taylor
Washington Post
Kerryclearly seems to be attempting to distance the Islamic State from mainstream Muslims, a reasonable and perhaps even honorable reaction to the more inflammatory comments by some of his peers. (...) However, important religious bodies like the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo have stopped short of labeling the group apostates – perhaps aware of the weight the word carries.
by Isabel Kershner
New York Times
Why Nepal Has One Of The World's Fastest-Growing Christian Populations
by Danielle Priess
NPR
by Danielle Priess
NPR
Much of this growth can be attributed to Nepal's internal changes. Before 1950, Nepal was closed to foreigners. Mountain climbing changed that. And starting with the Maoist Civil War of the 1990s and culminating with the end of the monarchy in 2008, the country has transitioned from a Hindu kingdom to a communist-led secular republic with greater freedom of religion. Encouraging someone to convert to another religion was always illegal, but as Nepal eased away from its official Hindu status, the rules lightened up.
To End Syria’s War, Help Assad’s Officers Defect
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/03/opinion/to-end-syrias-war-help-assads-officers-defect.html?_r=0
Discontent among Alawites — the minority sect that forms the regime’s core constituency — as well as Druse and other religious minorities is at its highest since 2012, when dozens of Mr. Assad’s senior military and security officials left the government. (...) If Syrian minorities abandon Mr. Assad in greater numbers, the conflict would lose much of its dangerous sectarian tenor. And chances for a stable political transition would increase.
ISIS, but Buddhist
by Nick Danforth
Atlantic
by Nick Danforth
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/02/ungern-sternberg-buddhist-isis/459327/?utm_source=atl-daily-newsletter
The forgotten tale of a bloody Russian baron shows what’s new, and what isn’t, about the Islamic State.
The forgotten tale of a bloody Russian baron shows what’s new, and what isn’t, about the Islamic State.
by Mohammed Alla Ghanem
New York Times op-edhttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/03/opinion/to-end-syrias-war-help-assads-officers-defect.html?_r=0
Discontent among Alawites — the minority sect that forms the regime’s core constituency — as well as Druse and other religious minorities is at its highest since 2012, when dozens of Mr. Assad’s senior military and security officials left the government. (...) If Syrian minorities abandon Mr. Assad in greater numbers, the conflict would lose much of its dangerous sectarian tenor. And chances for a stable political transition would increase.
How Politics Has Poisoned Islam
by Mustafa Akyol
International New York Times op-ed
International New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/04/opinion/how-politics-haspoisoned-islam.html?ref=international
We Muslims like to believe that ours is “a religion of peace,” but today Islam looks more like a religion of conflict and bloodshed. From the civil wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen to internal tensions in Lebanon and Bahrain, to the dangerous rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Middle East is plagued by intra-Muslim strife that seems to go back to the ancient Sunni-Shiite rivalry. Religion is not actually at the heart of these conflicts — invariably, politics is to blame.
We Muslims like to believe that ours is “a religion of peace,” but today Islam looks more like a religion of conflict and bloodshed. From the civil wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen to internal tensions in Lebanon and Bahrain, to the dangerous rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Middle East is plagued by intra-Muslim strife that seems to go back to the ancient Sunni-Shiite rivalry. Religion is not actually at the heart of these conflicts — invariably, politics is to blame.
DOMESTIC
At Baltimore Mosque, President Obama Encourages U.S. Muslims: “You fit in here”by Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/02/03/president-obamas-mosque-visit-will-spotlight-a-new-generation-of-muslim-americans/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlinesObama has multiple times, including in the last few months, spoke out against anti-Muslim rhetoric. However Wednesday’s visit was the longest and most direct such effort, framed as an intimate conversation between he and American Muslims, between a faith community and a president who has at times seemed to be a bit at arm’s length. It had the feeling of a pep talk and was interrupted many times by fervent applause. The speech was one of several almost back-to-back, high-profile Obama addresses to U.S. faith communities, talks he seems to be using to focus on religious tolerance during an election season where faith often comes up in fiery contexts. One week ago he spoke at the Israeli Embassy, saying the impulse to stigmatize people of other faiths is “deep within us.” On Thursday he will address one of the most high-profile evangelical events, the National Prayer Breakfast.
related | Obama Visits U.S. Mosque, a Mere 15 Years After Bush Did
by Benjamin Soloway
Foreign Policy
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