Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: threats to religious freedom in Southwest Asia, Islamic-Christian conflict in the Central African Republic, and Black Hebrew-Israelites make a bid to enter the Jewish mainstream.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Modern Liberals Like Christian Fundamentalists, Panelists Agree
Fox News/Christian Post
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/29/modern-liberals-like-christian-fundamentalists-panelists-russell-moore-kirsten/
The trend of illiberal liberals shutting down open debate is similar to certain forms of religious zealotry, a diverse set of panelists argued. Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore compared liberals' growing intolerance toward religious views on college campuses to certain fundamentalist Christians' dissent of heretics. Though representing diverse political and theological viewpoints, the other panelists made similar arguments. The panel was hosted by the Berkley Center’s Religious Freedom Project. The center’s director Timothy Shah moderated.
Panel Talks Religious Rights
by Christian Paz
Hoya
http://www.thehoya.com/panel-talks-religious-rights/
The Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs hosted a panel discussion Tuesday with media figures and experts on religious freedom about the increased intolerance toward religion-based and conservative viewpoints on college campuses.
AROUND THE WORLD
In Indonesia, Minorities Under Threat from Muslim Hardliners
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/10/29/in-indonesia-minorities-under-threat-from-muslim-hardliners/
When a mob of Muslims swooped on a little church deep in rural Aceh in Indonesia this month, the local police were nowhere to be seen, although they had received warnings of a possible attack. When they did arrive, the police were mostly unarmed and outnumbered by hundreds of activists from the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) group and others who burned the rickety church down.
Bangladesh Pushes Back as Warnings of ISIS Expansion Gather Steam
by Ellen Barry
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/world/asia/bangladesh-isis-terrorism-warnings.html?ref=world&_r=0
Even as foreign embassies informed their citizens that they could become terrorist targets, Bangladeshi officials have insisted that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, does not exist in their country. Instead, prime minister, Sheikh Hasina has described the recent wave of terrorist attacks as a conspiracy by domestic opposition leaders to tarnish her government’s reputation.
They Burn Witches Here
by Kent Russell
Huffington Post feature
http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/they-burn-witches-here/
Witch hunts, which had been a part of many if not all traditional Papua New Guinean cultures, are now commonplace throughout the villages, townships and small cities dotting the country. Mobs are publicly humiliating and brutally torturing neighbors, family members, friends—often but not always women—and then murdering them, or else forcing them out of their communities, which in a deeply tribal society like Papua New Guinea amounts to much the same thing.
“One Day, We Will Start a Big War”
by Ty McCormick
Foreign Policy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/28/one-day-we-will-start-a-big-war-central-african-republic-un-violence/
The east bank of the Ouaka River, which runs through a town called Bambari, is controlled by remnants of the Seleka, a largely Muslim rebel coalition that pillaged and raped its way across Central African Republic before seizing power over the country for a brief period in 2013. The west bank belongs to the anti-Balaka, the knife- and machete-wielding Christian self-defense militias. Bambari’s stark divisions mirror those in the rest of the CAR.
Palestinian Uprising Shifts to West Bank City of Hebron
by Diaa Hadid and Rami Nazzal
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/world/middleeast/palestinian-uprising-shifts-to-west-bank-city-of-hebron.html?ref=world
The unrest that started with a wave of knife attacks in Jerusalem has shifted some 18 miles south to the West Bank’s largest city.
Iran Accuses Saudi Arabia of Kidnapping Officials in Chaos of Hajj Stampede
by Thomas Erdbrink
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/world/middleeast/iran-saudi-arabia-hajj-stampede.html?ref=world
A month after hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Muslims died in a stampede during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Iranian authorities are accusing the Saudis of having exploited the chaos to kidnap Iranian officials, using them as hostages in the increasing war of words between both countries.
Sentenced to Be Crucified
by Nicolas Kristof
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/opinion/sentenced-to-be-crucified.html?ref=opinion
It’s time for a frank discussion about our ally Saudi Arabia and its role legitimizing fundamentalism and intolerance in the Islamic world. Western governments have tended to bite their tongues because they see Saudi Arabia as a pillar of stability in a turbulent region.
Polish Vote Marks Resurgence of Conservative Catholic Values
by Tom Heneghan
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/10/29/polish-vote-marks-resurgence-of-conservative-catholic-values/
Poland remains one of Europe’s most Catholic nations, with about 90 percent of citizens declaring allegiance to the church. Yet the clergy’s sway over the heart and soul of policymakers and regular churchgoers had been waning. That may change when the staunchly Eurosceptic PiS, with a brand of patriotism infused with Catholic piety, takes over from the more secular-minded liberal Civic Platform which led the country for the last eight years.
NATIONAL
An Illustrated Guide to the 613 Jewish Commandments
by Mark Oppenheimer
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/us/an-illustrated-guide-to-the-613-jewish-commandments.html?ref=us
The painter Archie Rand likes to work big. He tackles big themes, like jazz in American culture and the history of the Jews. But nothing prepared the art world for “The 613,” his series, completed in 2008, of 613 paintings, one for each Jewish commandment.
The World’s Largest Christian University Relaxes Some Rules for Students
by Valerie Strauss
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/10/30/the-worlds-largest-christian-university-relaxes-some-rules-for-students/
Liberty, the largest Christian university in the world, has relaxed its rules this semester to give its students more freedom. The university has simplified the Liberty Way, its code of conduct, dropping outdated rules. Witchcraft, for instance, “or other satanic or demonic activity,” no longer risks a $500 fine and possible administrative withdrawal, a change from the 2014 edition of the Liberty Way.
With New Chief Rabbi, Black Hebrew-Israelites Make Bid to Enter the Jewish Mainstream
by Sam Kestenbaum
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/10/30/with-new-chief-rabbi-black-hebrew-israelites-bid-to-enter-the-jewish-mainstream/
The Hebrew-Israelites, whose practice of Judaism draws from early black nationalism and its message of empowerment, have lived for nearly a century on the fringes of the Jewish world. There have only been two other chief rabbis in this group’s history; the last died in 1999. Capers C. Funnye Jr. has been installed as the new chief rabbi. “My blackness and my Jewishness, they synthesize,” said Funnye on the day of his installation as chief rabbi last weekend.
Modern Liberals Like Christian Fundamentalists, Panelists Agree
Fox News/Christian Post
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/29/modern-liberals-like-christian-fundamentalists-panelists-russell-moore-kirsten/
The trend of illiberal liberals shutting down open debate is similar to certain forms of religious zealotry, a diverse set of panelists argued. Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore compared liberals' growing intolerance toward religious views on college campuses to certain fundamentalist Christians' dissent of heretics. Though representing diverse political and theological viewpoints, the other panelists made similar arguments. The panel was hosted by the Berkley Center’s Religious Freedom Project. The center’s director Timothy Shah moderated.
Panel Talks Religious Rights
by Christian Paz
Hoya
http://www.thehoya.com/panel-talks-religious-rights/
The Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs hosted a panel discussion Tuesday with media figures and experts on religious freedom about the increased intolerance toward religion-based and conservative viewpoints on college campuses.
AROUND THE WORLD
In Indonesia, Minorities Under Threat from Muslim Hardliners
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/10/29/in-indonesia-minorities-under-threat-from-muslim-hardliners/
When a mob of Muslims swooped on a little church deep in rural Aceh in Indonesia this month, the local police were nowhere to be seen, although they had received warnings of a possible attack. When they did arrive, the police were mostly unarmed and outnumbered by hundreds of activists from the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) group and others who burned the rickety church down.
Bangladesh Pushes Back as Warnings of ISIS Expansion Gather Steam
by Ellen Barry
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/world/asia/bangladesh-isis-terrorism-warnings.html?ref=world&_r=0
Even as foreign embassies informed their citizens that they could become terrorist targets, Bangladeshi officials have insisted that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, does not exist in their country. Instead, prime minister, Sheikh Hasina has described the recent wave of terrorist attacks as a conspiracy by domestic opposition leaders to tarnish her government’s reputation.
They Burn Witches Here
by Kent Russell
Huffington Post feature
http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/they-burn-witches-here/
Witch hunts, which had been a part of many if not all traditional Papua New Guinean cultures, are now commonplace throughout the villages, townships and small cities dotting the country. Mobs are publicly humiliating and brutally torturing neighbors, family members, friends—often but not always women—and then murdering them, or else forcing them out of their communities, which in a deeply tribal society like Papua New Guinea amounts to much the same thing.
“One Day, We Will Start a Big War”
by Ty McCormick
Foreign Policy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/28/one-day-we-will-start-a-big-war-central-african-republic-un-violence/
The east bank of the Ouaka River, which runs through a town called Bambari, is controlled by remnants of the Seleka, a largely Muslim rebel coalition that pillaged and raped its way across Central African Republic before seizing power over the country for a brief period in 2013. The west bank belongs to the anti-Balaka, the knife- and machete-wielding Christian self-defense militias. Bambari’s stark divisions mirror those in the rest of the CAR.
Palestinian Uprising Shifts to West Bank City of Hebron
by Diaa Hadid and Rami Nazzal
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/world/middleeast/palestinian-uprising-shifts-to-west-bank-city-of-hebron.html?ref=world
The unrest that started with a wave of knife attacks in Jerusalem has shifted some 18 miles south to the West Bank’s largest city.
Iran Accuses Saudi Arabia of Kidnapping Officials in Chaos of Hajj Stampede
by Thomas Erdbrink
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/world/middleeast/iran-saudi-arabia-hajj-stampede.html?ref=world
A month after hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Muslims died in a stampede during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Iranian authorities are accusing the Saudis of having exploited the chaos to kidnap Iranian officials, using them as hostages in the increasing war of words between both countries.
Sentenced to Be Crucified
by Nicolas Kristof
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/opinion/sentenced-to-be-crucified.html?ref=opinion
It’s time for a frank discussion about our ally Saudi Arabia and its role legitimizing fundamentalism and intolerance in the Islamic world. Western governments have tended to bite their tongues because they see Saudi Arabia as a pillar of stability in a turbulent region.
Polish Vote Marks Resurgence of Conservative Catholic Values
by Tom Heneghan
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/10/29/polish-vote-marks-resurgence-of-conservative-catholic-values/
Poland remains one of Europe’s most Catholic nations, with about 90 percent of citizens declaring allegiance to the church. Yet the clergy’s sway over the heart and soul of policymakers and regular churchgoers had been waning. That may change when the staunchly Eurosceptic PiS, with a brand of patriotism infused with Catholic piety, takes over from the more secular-minded liberal Civic Platform which led the country for the last eight years.
NATIONAL
An Illustrated Guide to the 613 Jewish Commandments
by Mark Oppenheimer
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/us/an-illustrated-guide-to-the-613-jewish-commandments.html?ref=us
The painter Archie Rand likes to work big. He tackles big themes, like jazz in American culture and the history of the Jews. But nothing prepared the art world for “The 613,” his series, completed in 2008, of 613 paintings, one for each Jewish commandment.
The World’s Largest Christian University Relaxes Some Rules for Students
by Valerie Strauss
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/10/30/the-worlds-largest-christian-university-relaxes-some-rules-for-students/
Liberty, the largest Christian university in the world, has relaxed its rules this semester to give its students more freedom. The university has simplified the Liberty Way, its code of conduct, dropping outdated rules. Witchcraft, for instance, “or other satanic or demonic activity,” no longer risks a $500 fine and possible administrative withdrawal, a change from the 2014 edition of the Liberty Way.
With New Chief Rabbi, Black Hebrew-Israelites Make Bid to Enter the Jewish Mainstream
by Sam Kestenbaum
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/10/30/with-new-chief-rabbi-black-hebrew-israelites-bid-to-enter-the-jewish-mainstream/
The Hebrew-Israelites, whose practice of Judaism draws from early black nationalism and its message of empowerment, have lived for nearly a century on the fringes of the Jewish world. There have only been two other chief rabbis in this group’s history; the last died in 1999. Capers C. Funnye Jr. has been installed as the new chief rabbi. “My blackness and my Jewishness, they synthesize,” said Funnye on the day of his installation as chief rabbi last weekend.
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