Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and
around the globe: International Women's Day, the Kurds' stand against ISIS, and American evangelicals prepare for the 2016 election.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Religion and Women's Rights: International Women's Day in Israel
by Katherine Marshall
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/religion-and-womens-right_b_6873986.html
I celebrated International Women's Day 2015 in Baqa al Garbiyya, Israel, with a remarkable group of mostly Muslim women from universities and local community and rights associations from across Israel. The theme of the event, organized by Al Qasemi College of Engineering and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), was women, faith, and development in a time of upheaval. The often unheard voices of women like those I met there, who take much inspiration from religious beliefs and communities, are too rarely part of the international conversation.
Israel's Arabs Unite Ahead of the March 17 Elections
by Drew Christiansen and Ra’fat Aldajnai
National Catholic Reporter op-ed
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/israels-arabs-unite-ahead-march-17-elections
The Joint Arab List, a four party alliance consisting mostly of Arab-backed parties, could make Israel into more of a democracy for all of its citizens through allowing minorities to actively participate in politics.
AROUND THE WORLD
The Kurds’ Heroic Stand Against ISIS
by Scott Atran and Douglas M. Stone
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/opinion/the-kurds-heroic-stand-against-isis.html
While Shiite militias and their Iranian allies fight the Islamic State ferociously, the Kurds have held a 640-mile front against the Islamic State’s advance. Their steadfastness should prompt America to rethink its alliances and interests in the region and to deepen its relationship with the Kurds—who are sometimes described as the world’s largest stateless nation.
Iran Exports the Islamic Revolution
by Tony Badran
Real Clear World op-ed
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2015/03/16/iran_exports_the_islamic_revolution_111041.html
When he talks about exporting the Islamic Revolution, Soleimani is referring to a very specific template. It's the template that the Khomeinist revolutionaries first set up in Lebanon 36 years ago by cloning the various instruments that were burgeoning in Iran as the Islamic revolutionary regime consolidated its power. Now the Islamic revolutionary model is being reproduced in Iraq, Syria and Yemen as well, by setting up those same structures.
How Iranian Women Are Using Sharia to Their Benefit
by Leila Alikarami
Al Monitor
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/iran-sharia-womens-rights-equality.html#
Islamic discourse is important for the average person who wants to marry his or her religious beliefs with a belief in human rights, equality and dignity. These people are empowered to stand behind their human rights principles, without abandoning their religious beliefs. So to build a broad movement and unite like-minded people, it is important to be able to argue that Islam and human rights are not mutually exclusive and that Islam supports human rights.
Is It Time for the Jews to Leave Europe?
by Jeffrey Goldberg
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/is-it-time-for-the-jews-to-leave-europe/386279/
For half a century, memories of the Holocaust inoculated the Continent against overt anti-Semitism. That period has ended—the recent fatal attacks in Paris and Copenhagen are merely the latest in a mounting tide. Today, right-wing fascist strains of Jew-hatred are merging with a new threat from radicalized Islamists, confronting Europe with a crisis, and its Jews with an agonizing choice.
China’s Tensions With Dalai Lama Spill Into the Afterlife
by Chris Buckley
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/world/asia/chinas-tensions-with-dalai-lama-spill-into-the-afterlife.html
Tensions over what will happen when the 14th Dalai Lama, who is 79, dies, and particularly over who decides who will succeed him as the most prominent leader in Tibetan Buddhism, have ignited at the annual gathering of China’s legislators in Beijing. Officials have amplified their argument that the Communist government is the proper guardian of the Dalai Lama’s succession through an intricate process of reincarnation that has involved lamas, or senior monks, visiting a sacred lake and divining dreams.
The Wrong Mediator to Avoid a Holy War
by David King
Washington Post letter to the editor
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-wrong-mediator-to-avoid-a-holy-war/2015/03/15/4ab59046-c735-11e4-bea5-b893e7ac3fb3_story.html
Perhaps a different group, secular humanists, would be the best mediator to prevent a holy war. Seek counsel from those who have abandoned superstition and instead choose to see the humanity in everyone, those who have no need to participate in patriarchal rituals or fight on the battlefield and in the legislature in support of codes of living written thousands of years ago.
related | The Man Who Could Help Prevent a Holy War
by Garry Wills
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/can-pope-francis-prevent-a-holy-war/2015/03/06/cceadd9a-c33f-11e4-ad5c-3b8ce89f1b89_story.html
Discussions ricochet around Pope Francis’s ability to reconcile the Catholic Church’s bureaucracy, theology and practitioners. But for a man of Francis’s scope and skill, this is too narrow an assignment. His real task, for which he is ideally situated, is to prevent the world’s descent into religious war.
Pope Francis Announces Special Catholic Church Holy Year on Theme of Mercy
by Philip Pullella
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/03/14/pope-francis-announces-special-catholic-church-holy-year-on-theme-of-mercy/
Pope Francis announced on Friday the Roman Catholic Church will mark an extraordinary Holy Year, one of its most important events, in which faithful make pilgrimages to Rome and other religious sites around the world. Making the surprise announcement in St. Peter’s Basilica on the second anniversary of his election, Francis said the Holy Year will focus on the topic of mercy, one of the most important themes of his papacy.
What Scares the New Atheists
by John Gray
Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/what-scares-the-new-atheists
Evangelical atheists today view liberal values as part of an emerging global civilisation; but not all atheists, even when they have been committed liberals, have shared this comforting conviction. Atheism comes in many irreducibly different forms, among which the variety being promoted at the present time looks strikingly banal and parochial.
DOMESTIC
A Christian Nation? Since When?
by Kevin M. Kruse
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/a-christian-nation-since-when.html?ref=todayspaper
For all our talk about separation of church and state, religious language has been written into our political culture in countless ways. It is inscribed in our pledge of patriotism, marked on our money, carved into the walls of our courts and our Capitol. Perhaps because it is everywhere, we assume it has been from the beginning. But the founding fathers didn’t create the ceremonies and slogans that come to mind when we consider whether this is a Christian nation. Our grandfathers did.
'Strong Enough to Be Self-Critical': In America and the Church
by Rachel Held Evans
CNN op-ed
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/13/living/evans-america-church/index.html
But to love something is to see it for what it is, flaws and all. To love one's country, or one's church, is to invest in making it better. Just as Americans don't have to choose between loving our country and being critical of its shortcomings, Christians don't have to choose between loving the church and working for reform.
Evangelicals Aim to Mobilize an Army for Republicans in 2016
by Jason Horowitz
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/us/evangelicals-aim-to-mobilize-an-army-for-republicans-in-2016.html?_r=0
For Mr. Lane, a onetime Bible salesman and self-described former “wild man,” connecting the pastors with two likely presidential candidates was more than a good day’s work. It was part of what he sees as his mission, which is to make evangelical Christians a decisive power in the Republican Party. His hope is that the politicized pastors will help mobilize congregations that have been disheartened by the repeated failure of socially conservative candidates, and by a party that has softened its opposition to same-sex marriage.
Religion and Women's Rights: International Women's Day in Israel
by Katherine Marshall
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/religion-and-womens-right_b_6873986.html
I celebrated International Women's Day 2015 in Baqa al Garbiyya, Israel, with a remarkable group of mostly Muslim women from universities and local community and rights associations from across Israel. The theme of the event, organized by Al Qasemi College of Engineering and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), was women, faith, and development in a time of upheaval. The often unheard voices of women like those I met there, who take much inspiration from religious beliefs and communities, are too rarely part of the international conversation.
Israel's Arabs Unite Ahead of the March 17 Elections
by Drew Christiansen and Ra’fat Aldajnai
National Catholic Reporter op-ed
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/israels-arabs-unite-ahead-march-17-elections
The Joint Arab List, a four party alliance consisting mostly of Arab-backed parties, could make Israel into more of a democracy for all of its citizens through allowing minorities to actively participate in politics.
AROUND THE WORLD
The Kurds’ Heroic Stand Against ISIS
by Scott Atran and Douglas M. Stone
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/opinion/the-kurds-heroic-stand-against-isis.html
While Shiite militias and their Iranian allies fight the Islamic State ferociously, the Kurds have held a 640-mile front against the Islamic State’s advance. Their steadfastness should prompt America to rethink its alliances and interests in the region and to deepen its relationship with the Kurds—who are sometimes described as the world’s largest stateless nation.
Iran Exports the Islamic Revolution
by Tony Badran
Real Clear World op-ed
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2015/03/16/iran_exports_the_islamic_revolution_111041.html
When he talks about exporting the Islamic Revolution, Soleimani is referring to a very specific template. It's the template that the Khomeinist revolutionaries first set up in Lebanon 36 years ago by cloning the various instruments that were burgeoning in Iran as the Islamic revolutionary regime consolidated its power. Now the Islamic revolutionary model is being reproduced in Iraq, Syria and Yemen as well, by setting up those same structures.
How Iranian Women Are Using Sharia to Their Benefit
by Leila Alikarami
Al Monitor
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/iran-sharia-womens-rights-equality.html#
Islamic discourse is important for the average person who wants to marry his or her religious beliefs with a belief in human rights, equality and dignity. These people are empowered to stand behind their human rights principles, without abandoning their religious beliefs. So to build a broad movement and unite like-minded people, it is important to be able to argue that Islam and human rights are not mutually exclusive and that Islam supports human rights.
Is It Time for the Jews to Leave Europe?
by Jeffrey Goldberg
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/is-it-time-for-the-jews-to-leave-europe/386279/
For half a century, memories of the Holocaust inoculated the Continent against overt anti-Semitism. That period has ended—the recent fatal attacks in Paris and Copenhagen are merely the latest in a mounting tide. Today, right-wing fascist strains of Jew-hatred are merging with a new threat from radicalized Islamists, confronting Europe with a crisis, and its Jews with an agonizing choice.
China’s Tensions With Dalai Lama Spill Into the Afterlife
by Chris Buckley
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/world/asia/chinas-tensions-with-dalai-lama-spill-into-the-afterlife.html
Tensions over what will happen when the 14th Dalai Lama, who is 79, dies, and particularly over who decides who will succeed him as the most prominent leader in Tibetan Buddhism, have ignited at the annual gathering of China’s legislators in Beijing. Officials have amplified their argument that the Communist government is the proper guardian of the Dalai Lama’s succession through an intricate process of reincarnation that has involved lamas, or senior monks, visiting a sacred lake and divining dreams.
The Wrong Mediator to Avoid a Holy War
by David King
Washington Post letter to the editor
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-wrong-mediator-to-avoid-a-holy-war/2015/03/15/4ab59046-c735-11e4-bea5-b893e7ac3fb3_story.html
Perhaps a different group, secular humanists, would be the best mediator to prevent a holy war. Seek counsel from those who have abandoned superstition and instead choose to see the humanity in everyone, those who have no need to participate in patriarchal rituals or fight on the battlefield and in the legislature in support of codes of living written thousands of years ago.
related | The Man Who Could Help Prevent a Holy War
by Garry Wills
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/can-pope-francis-prevent-a-holy-war/2015/03/06/cceadd9a-c33f-11e4-ad5c-3b8ce89f1b89_story.html
Discussions ricochet around Pope Francis’s ability to reconcile the Catholic Church’s bureaucracy, theology and practitioners. But for a man of Francis’s scope and skill, this is too narrow an assignment. His real task, for which he is ideally situated, is to prevent the world’s descent into religious war.
Pope Francis Announces Special Catholic Church Holy Year on Theme of Mercy
by Philip Pullella
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/03/14/pope-francis-announces-special-catholic-church-holy-year-on-theme-of-mercy/
Pope Francis announced on Friday the Roman Catholic Church will mark an extraordinary Holy Year, one of its most important events, in which faithful make pilgrimages to Rome and other religious sites around the world. Making the surprise announcement in St. Peter’s Basilica on the second anniversary of his election, Francis said the Holy Year will focus on the topic of mercy, one of the most important themes of his papacy.
What Scares the New Atheists
by John Gray
Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/what-scares-the-new-atheists
Evangelical atheists today view liberal values as part of an emerging global civilisation; but not all atheists, even when they have been committed liberals, have shared this comforting conviction. Atheism comes in many irreducibly different forms, among which the variety being promoted at the present time looks strikingly banal and parochial.
DOMESTIC
A Christian Nation? Since When?
by Kevin M. Kruse
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/a-christian-nation-since-when.html?ref=todayspaper
For all our talk about separation of church and state, religious language has been written into our political culture in countless ways. It is inscribed in our pledge of patriotism, marked on our money, carved into the walls of our courts and our Capitol. Perhaps because it is everywhere, we assume it has been from the beginning. But the founding fathers didn’t create the ceremonies and slogans that come to mind when we consider whether this is a Christian nation. Our grandfathers did.
'Strong Enough to Be Self-Critical': In America and the Church
by Rachel Held Evans
CNN op-ed
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/13/living/evans-america-church/index.html
But to love something is to see it for what it is, flaws and all. To love one's country, or one's church, is to invest in making it better. Just as Americans don't have to choose between loving our country and being critical of its shortcomings, Christians don't have to choose between loving the church and working for reform.
Evangelicals Aim to Mobilize an Army for Republicans in 2016
by Jason Horowitz
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/us/evangelicals-aim-to-mobilize-an-army-for-republicans-in-2016.html?_r=0
For Mr. Lane, a onetime Bible salesman and self-described former “wild man,” connecting the pastors with two likely presidential candidates was more than a good day’s work. It was part of what he sees as his mission, which is to make evangelical Christians a decisive power in the Republican Party. His hope is that the politicized pastors will help mobilize congregations that have been disheartened by the repeated failure of socially conservative candidates, and by a party that has softened its opposition to same-sex marriage.
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