Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: the future of the Middle East, Islam and democracy, and the legacy of the Catholic Church's influence on society.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Remembering the Future: the Continuing Legacy of Vatican II
Vatican Radio
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/05/14/remembering_the_future_the_continuing_legacy_of_vatican_i...
Gerard Mannion says there are lots of conferences commemorating the Council, but the organisers of this event were looking for something with an enduring legacy beyond the cycle of commemorative events. They decided to explore perspectives on the way the Council affected other churches and other faith communities, as well as secular thinking, to reflect the opening that Pope John XXIII encouraged beyond the walls of the Catholic Church.
Whither the Middle East?
by Drew Christiansen and Ra'fat Aldajani
National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/whither-middle-east
The old order, unnaturally born from the Sykes-Picot Agreement 100 years ago, is coming to an end, dealt a death blow by the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and alternative visions for the region have proved misguided. Six ideas offer lessons for the future.
AROUND THE WORLD
Malaysia Ordered Navy, Coast Guard to Rescue Rohingyas at Sea
by Scott Neumann
NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/05/21/408457733/malaysia-orders-navy-coast-guard-to-resc...
Malaysia's prime minister has ordered the navy and coast guard to search for stranded Rohingya migrants in the Andaman Sea, a day after Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta agreed to take boatloads of desperate refugees who have been in limbo for weeks since fleeing persecution in Myanmar.
A Tragic Replay in Ramadi
by David Ignatius
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-replay-in-ramadi/2015/05/19/58dc25b0-fe5b-11e4-805c-c3f40...
The Ramadi defeat by ISIS exposed the sectarian tensions that underlie this war. Among the urgent questions: Are Shiite regular army troops ready to fight and die to protect Sunnis, or will their lines collapse in Sunni areas, as happened in Mosul and now Ramadi? If the tougher Iranian-backed Shiite militias are sent instead to do the job, will the Sunni population see them as a Shiite occupation army — setting the stage for a generation of sectarian revenge killing?
Bin Laden's Odd Religious Library
by Benjamin Soloway
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/20/bin-ladens-odd-religious-library/
The trove of new documents seized from the former terror leader’s compound in Abbottabad in 2011 and released on Wednesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence included a number of books and pamphlets about Islam that were surprisingly basic, including several texts seemingly intended for novices. Some additional texts may not have been declassified yet.
The Power of Hope
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/opinion/nicholas-kristof-the-power-of-hope-is-real.html?ref=opinio...
Could hopelessness and stress create a “poverty trap” — abroad or here in the U.S. — in which people surrender to a kind of whirlpool of despair? Some economists and psychologists are finding evidence to support that theory, and experiments are underway to see if raising spirits can lift economic outcomes. (...) Researchers are now studying whether exposure to religion might have a similar effect, improving economic outcomes.
Helping Tunisia Realize its Democratic Promise
by Barack Obama and Béji Caïd Essebsi
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-helping-tunisia-to-make-sure-democracy-delivers/2015/05/20...
Today’s national unity government includes secularists and Islamists, proving that democracy and Islam can thrive together. (...) Our two nations now have an unprecedented opportunity to forge an enduring partnership based on shared interests and values.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Gets a Facelift
by Eric Trager and Marina Shalabi
Foreign Affairs
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/egypt/2015-05-20/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-gets-facelift
The Brotherhood’s youthful leadership and its adoption of revolutionary methods may succeed in reintegrating its youth cadres, who largely view “anticoup” violence as legitimate and believe that the Brotherhood should work with other opposition movements in these efforts. But it won’t help the Brotherhood achieve its ultimate goal of returning to power in Egypt.
Why One of the World's Most Catholic Countries Might Approve Gay Marriage
by Mo Moulton
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/05/why-one-of-the-worlds-most-catholic-countri...
Pressure from Europe helped start the revolution in Ireland’s approach to homosexuality. But in recent years, the country has developed its own distinctive approach to gay rights, unique in the world for its simultaneous embrace of sexual diversity and emphasis on family and community. A rejection of Church authority but not of many Catholic ideals, it could offer global Catholicism itself a way forward.
Remembering the Future: the Continuing Legacy of Vatican II
Vatican Radio
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/05/14/remembering_the_future_the_continuing_legacy_of_vatican_i...
Gerard Mannion says there are lots of conferences commemorating the Council, but the organisers of this event were looking for something with an enduring legacy beyond the cycle of commemorative events. They decided to explore perspectives on the way the Council affected other churches and other faith communities, as well as secular thinking, to reflect the opening that Pope John XXIII encouraged beyond the walls of the Catholic Church.
Whither the Middle East?
by Drew Christiansen and Ra'fat Aldajani
National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/whither-middle-east
The old order, unnaturally born from the Sykes-Picot Agreement 100 years ago, is coming to an end, dealt a death blow by the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and alternative visions for the region have proved misguided. Six ideas offer lessons for the future.
AROUND THE WORLD
Malaysia Ordered Navy, Coast Guard to Rescue Rohingyas at Sea
by Scott Neumann
NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/05/21/408457733/malaysia-orders-navy-coast-guard-to-resc...
Malaysia's prime minister has ordered the navy and coast guard to search for stranded Rohingya migrants in the Andaman Sea, a day after Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta agreed to take boatloads of desperate refugees who have been in limbo for weeks since fleeing persecution in Myanmar.
A Tragic Replay in Ramadi
by David Ignatius
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-replay-in-ramadi/2015/05/19/58dc25b0-fe5b-11e4-805c-c3f40...
The Ramadi defeat by ISIS exposed the sectarian tensions that underlie this war. Among the urgent questions: Are Shiite regular army troops ready to fight and die to protect Sunnis, or will their lines collapse in Sunni areas, as happened in Mosul and now Ramadi? If the tougher Iranian-backed Shiite militias are sent instead to do the job, will the Sunni population see them as a Shiite occupation army — setting the stage for a generation of sectarian revenge killing?
Bin Laden's Odd Religious Library
by Benjamin Soloway
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/20/bin-ladens-odd-religious-library/
The trove of new documents seized from the former terror leader’s compound in Abbottabad in 2011 and released on Wednesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence included a number of books and pamphlets about Islam that were surprisingly basic, including several texts seemingly intended for novices. Some additional texts may not have been declassified yet.
The Power of Hope
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/opinion/nicholas-kristof-the-power-of-hope-is-real.html?ref=opinio...
Could hopelessness and stress create a “poverty trap” — abroad or here in the U.S. — in which people surrender to a kind of whirlpool of despair? Some economists and psychologists are finding evidence to support that theory, and experiments are underway to see if raising spirits can lift economic outcomes. (...) Researchers are now studying whether exposure to religion might have a similar effect, improving economic outcomes.
Helping Tunisia Realize its Democratic Promise
by Barack Obama and Béji Caïd Essebsi
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-helping-tunisia-to-make-sure-democracy-delivers/2015/05/20...
Today’s national unity government includes secularists and Islamists, proving that democracy and Islam can thrive together. (...) Our two nations now have an unprecedented opportunity to forge an enduring partnership based on shared interests and values.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Gets a Facelift
by Eric Trager and Marina Shalabi
Foreign Affairs
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/egypt/2015-05-20/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-gets-facelift
The Brotherhood’s youthful leadership and its adoption of revolutionary methods may succeed in reintegrating its youth cadres, who largely view “anticoup” violence as legitimate and believe that the Brotherhood should work with other opposition movements in these efforts. But it won’t help the Brotherhood achieve its ultimate goal of returning to power in Egypt.
Why One of the World's Most Catholic Countries Might Approve Gay Marriage
by Mo Moulton
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/05/why-one-of-the-worlds-most-catholic-countri...
Pressure from Europe helped start the revolution in Ireland’s approach to homosexuality. But in recent years, the country has developed its own distinctive approach to gay rights, unique in the world for its simultaneous embrace of sexual diversity and emphasis on family and community. A rejection of Church authority but not of many Catholic ideals, it could offer global Catholicism itself a way forward.
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