Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: ISIS destroys a Christian monastery, the Anglican Communion suspends the Episcopal Church, corruption in the quest for Thai Buddhism's top post, and faith in the 2016 presidential election.
AROUND THE WORLD
Is Islamic State Coming to Israel?
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21688778-israel-faces-caliphate-syria-and-sinaiand-possibly-home-islamic
ISIS has yet to attack Israel and its main forces in southern Syria are about 80 kilometres from Israel’s borders. Last month, IS released a recording, purporting to be of Mr Baghdadi, saying that “with the help of Allah, we are getting closer to you every day. The Israelis will soon see us in Palestine”. On Monday Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot, the chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, warned that “the success against IS raises the probability we will see them turning their gun-barrels towards us and also the Jordanians”.
ISIS Has Destroyed Iraq’s Oldest Christian Monastery
by Steven Lee Meyers
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/world/middleeast/isis-iraq-st-elijahs-monastery.html?ref=world&_r=0
Islamic State militants have destroyed the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq, the latest in a growing list of ancient monuments and artifacts that have been looted and destroyed by the group. Satellite images obtained by The Associated Press show that St. Elijah’s Monastery has been razed to rubble, probably between August and September 2014.
Report: Kurds Displacing Arabs in Iraq in What Could be ‘War Crimes’
by Loveday Morris
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/report-kurds-displacing-arabs-in-iraq-in-what-could-be-war-crimes/2016/01/19/d864e87c-bee9-11e5-98c8-7fab78677d51_story.html
Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, close partners of the United States, have burned and bulldozed the homes of Arab families in actions that may constitute war crimes, Amnesty International alleged in a new report.
Jail to Jihad: Indonesian Prisons a Breeding Ground for Militancy
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2016/01/18/jail-to-jihad-indonesian-prisons-a-breeding-ground-for-militancy/
Afif was an inmate in a high-security Indonesian jail when he transformed from aspiring radical Islamist to soldier for Islamic State, ready to sacrifice his life for a group based thousands of miles away in the Middle East. Afif’s graduation from jailbird to jihadi shines a light on a prison system where staff shortages, overcrowding and corruption have allowed extremists to mingle and emerge as determined killers in the name of Islam.
Episcopal Church Won’t Back Down on Gay Rights
by Kimberly Winston
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anglican-communion-episcopal-church_us_56992fe2e4b0b4eb759e331f?utm_hp_ref=religion
In July, the Episcopal Church voted to allows its clergy to perform same-sex marriage. On January 14, the Anglican Communion voted to censure its American branch and suspend the Episcopal Church from voting and decision-making for a period of three years.
Pope Francis Visits Rome Synagogue and Condemns Violence in the Name of Religion
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2016/01/18/pope-francis-visits-rome-synagogue-condemns-violence-in-name-of-religion/
Pope Francis made his first visit as pontiff to a synagogue on Sunday, where, in a reference to Islamist attacks, he condemned violence in the name of religion. “The violence of man against man is in contradiction with any religion worthy of this name, in particular the three great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam),” he said in what appeared to be a reference to attacks by Islamist militants.
Politics and Corruption Fuel Battle for Thai Buddhism’s Top Post
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2016/01/18/politics-and-corruption-fuel-battle-for-thai-buddhisms-top-post/
Political divisions and allegations of corruption are fuelling an unholy battle for the leadership of Thai Buddhism. Religion is becoming a proxy war for the color-coded politics that Thailand’s junta has quashed since taking power in 2014 in a bid to end a decade of political violence. The frontrunner for Supreme Patriarch, head of the country’s 300,000 monks, is a 90-year-old abbot who is under investigation for a tax scam involving luxury cars.
NATIONAL
Jefferson’s Heirs still find Tyranny Easier to Define than Freedom
Economist Erasmus blog
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2016/01/religious-freedom-and-america
This weekend, some Americans, at least, have been pondering the meaning of religious liberty. January 16th has been designated Religious Freedom Day because it is the anniversary of what Thomas Jefferson regarded as one of his greatest achievements, ranking with the Declaration of Independence: the approval of a statute in his native Virginia which overturned the entrenched status of the Anglican church and set all faiths on an equal footing before the law.
Vintage Photos of Jewish-Black Unity Prove the Power of Interfaith Activism
by Carol Kuruvilla
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/these-vintage-photos-of-jewish-black-unity-show-how-powerful-interfaith-activism-can-be_us_5698131ee4b0778f46f8c175?utm_hp_ref=religion
While there is some debate in the community about whether Jews are as visible in today’s #BlackLivesMatter movements as they were in civil rights issues of the past, many Jewish racial justice organizations have continued to take part in public protests and work behind the scenes towards legal reform that would ensure equality for black people.
Exodus Refugee Ship Flag Finds Safe Haven at Holocaust Museum
by Eric Lichtblau
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/us/politics/exodus-refugee-ship-flag-finds-safe-haven-at-holocaust-museum.html?ref=world
The Exodus, a castoff of the United States fleet, set sail on a rescue mission from the United States with a crew of volunteer Jewish-American sailors, then took on the 4,500 refugees in France en route to Palestine, where they hoped to live. They were refused entry there and were ultimately forced to debark in a British-controlled zone in Germany, and were then put back in captivity in displaced persons camps.
Even in Less Evangelical New Hampshire, Ted Cruz Sticking to Religion
Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20160118-even-in-less-evangelical-new-hampshire-cruz-sticking-to-religion.ece
The Texas senator and son of a Carrollton pastor is sticking to religion, even in New Hampshire. The voting population there is heavy with libertarians and is not as influenced by evangelicals as the small towns in Iowa, where Cruz has had success in the polls.
This is How Science Lost God: Atheism, Evolution and the Long Road to Richard Dawkins’ latest Twitter Controversy
by Bill Mesler and H. James Cleaves II
Salon
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/17/this_is_how_science_lost_god_atheism_evolution_and_the_long_road_to_richard_dawkins_latest_twitter_controversy/
The roots of today's battles over atheism, science, religion and climate change actually date back centuries. [A long excerpt from H. James Cleaves II new book A Brief History of Creation: Science and the Search for the Origin of Life.]
Opens in a new window