Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and
around the globe: persecution of athiests in Egypt, Yemen's political collapse, and the difficulty of wearing a turban in America.
AROUND THE WORLD
Egypt’s War on Atheism
by Mona Eltahawy
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/opinion/mona-eltahawy-egypts-war-on-atheism.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
After a report published in October saying that Egypt had the highest number of atheists in the Middle East, the pro-government media and religious officials are waging a “war on atheism.” Atheists are described alternately as threats to national security or as carriers of a dangerously contagious virus. Despite the clampdown, atheists are openly challenging such hypocrisy.
Jewish Leaders in Argentina Boycott Holocaust Ceremony
by Joshua Partlow
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/27/jewish-leaders-in-argentina-angry-with-government/
Argentina has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, at roughly a quarter-million people. But when the Foreign Ministry holds its annual Holocaust commemoration ceremonyTuesday evening, the country’s most important Jewish organization will not be in attendance.
Michelle Obama Forgoes a Headscarf and Sparks a Backlash in Saudi Arabia
by Adam Taylor
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/27/michelle-obama-forgoes-a-headscarf-and-sparks-a-backlash-in-saudi-arabia/
Social media exploded when Michelle Obama appeared without a headscarf or veil on Tuesdayon a visit to pay his respects to the late Saudi King Abdullah. The Obamas' trip to Saudi Arabia comes at a time of remarkable international criticism of Saudi Arabia's human rights record. The trip was apparently designed to be apolitical but in Saudi Arabia, the simple act of not covering your head can be political, intentionally or not.
The Surprising Alliance That Explains Yemen’s Political Collapse
by Peter Salisbury
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/28/the-surprising-alliance-that-explains-yemens-political-collapse/
The Houthis, a onetime religious revivalist movement-turned-well-organized armed group, are cooperating with their onetime nemesis, Saleh, to defeat the conservative Sunni faction that split from the Saleh regime in 2011. But there are deep disagreements between the Houthis and Saleh about what Yemen’s future leadership should look like.
Is the Jordanian Pilot Still Alive?
by Elias Groll
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/28/jordan-calls-islamic-states-bluff-on-captured-pilot/
Faced with a deadline less than a day away, the Jordanian government is considering the Islamic State’s demand for the return of a convicted terrorist on death row in exchange for a recently captured Jordanian pilot. A volatile debate is now playing out in Jordan over whether the country should swap the terrorist for the imprisoned pilot. A lack of detail and uncertainty over the health of the pilot complicate the issue.
DOMESTIC
The Trouble with Wearing Turbans in America
by Emma Green
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/01/the-trouble-with-wearing-turbans-in-america/384832/
Given the general suspicion Americans feel toward Muslims, the National Sikh Campaign is working to create a distinctive sense of identity among a younger generation of American Sikhs in an effort to distance Sikhism from Islam and everything it represents in contemporary politics. But that in itself might be evidence of a deeper pathology, one spread far beyond the Sikh community: trying to appear more fully American by standing apart from a culture Americans fear.
States Renew Fight to Stop Same-Sex Marriage
by Richard Fausset and Alan Blinder
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/us/battles-over-same-sex-marriage-roil-statehouses-ahead-of-supreme-courts-decision.html?ref=us
Republican state legislators in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas have introduced bills this year that would prohibit state or local government employees from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, despite federal court rulings declaring bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in those states and questions about the constitutionality of the proposed state laws.
Egypt’s War on Atheism
by Mona Eltahawy
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/opinion/mona-eltahawy-egypts-war-on-atheism.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
After a report published in October saying that Egypt had the highest number of atheists in the Middle East, the pro-government media and religious officials are waging a “war on atheism.” Atheists are described alternately as threats to national security or as carriers of a dangerously contagious virus. Despite the clampdown, atheists are openly challenging such hypocrisy.
Jewish Leaders in Argentina Boycott Holocaust Ceremony
by Joshua Partlow
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/27/jewish-leaders-in-argentina-angry-with-government/
Argentina has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, at roughly a quarter-million people. But when the Foreign Ministry holds its annual Holocaust commemoration ceremonyTuesday evening, the country’s most important Jewish organization will not be in attendance.
Michelle Obama Forgoes a Headscarf and Sparks a Backlash in Saudi Arabia
by Adam Taylor
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/27/michelle-obama-forgoes-a-headscarf-and-sparks-a-backlash-in-saudi-arabia/
Social media exploded when Michelle Obama appeared without a headscarf or veil on Tuesdayon a visit to pay his respects to the late Saudi King Abdullah. The Obamas' trip to Saudi Arabia comes at a time of remarkable international criticism of Saudi Arabia's human rights record. The trip was apparently designed to be apolitical but in Saudi Arabia, the simple act of not covering your head can be political, intentionally or not.
The Surprising Alliance That Explains Yemen’s Political Collapse
by Peter Salisbury
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/28/the-surprising-alliance-that-explains-yemens-political-collapse/
The Houthis, a onetime religious revivalist movement-turned-well-organized armed group, are cooperating with their onetime nemesis, Saleh, to defeat the conservative Sunni faction that split from the Saleh regime in 2011. But there are deep disagreements between the Houthis and Saleh about what Yemen’s future leadership should look like.
Is the Jordanian Pilot Still Alive?
by Elias Groll
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/28/jordan-calls-islamic-states-bluff-on-captured-pilot/
Faced with a deadline less than a day away, the Jordanian government is considering the Islamic State’s demand for the return of a convicted terrorist on death row in exchange for a recently captured Jordanian pilot. A volatile debate is now playing out in Jordan over whether the country should swap the terrorist for the imprisoned pilot. A lack of detail and uncertainty over the health of the pilot complicate the issue.
DOMESTIC
The Trouble with Wearing Turbans in America
by Emma Green
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/01/the-trouble-with-wearing-turbans-in-america/384832/
Given the general suspicion Americans feel toward Muslims, the National Sikh Campaign is working to create a distinctive sense of identity among a younger generation of American Sikhs in an effort to distance Sikhism from Islam and everything it represents in contemporary politics. But that in itself might be evidence of a deeper pathology, one spread far beyond the Sikh community: trying to appear more fully American by standing apart from a culture Americans fear.
States Renew Fight to Stop Same-Sex Marriage
by Richard Fausset and Alan Blinder
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/us/battles-over-same-sex-marriage-roil-statehouses-ahead-of-supreme-courts-decision.html?ref=us
Republican state legislators in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas have introduced bills this year that would prohibit state or local government employees from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, despite federal court rulings declaring bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in those states and questions about the constitutionality of the proposed state laws.
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