Older IRENICA (Archived)

Articles in this category were in Latest IRENICA but are now no longer current news.

Jesus would support Palestinian statehood bid

September 26, 2011
By

Carl Mederaris, CNN, Sep.21, religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/21/my-take-jesus-would-support-palestinian-statehood-bid/

This week at the United Nations, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to ask for recognition of a Palestinian state. If he does, the United States will veto. Why?

Largely because of something we’ll call Christian Zionism, an American theological movement that preaches a Christian obligation to help Jews reclaim the biblical Promised Land.

I travel constantly, speaking about the Middle East to evangelical Christians across America and Europe. I lived in Lebanon for 12 years and churches invite me to talk about how to love their Muslim neighbors.

Often before I get invited to speak at churches and Christian conferences, I go through an awkward period of questioning, an interview that feels more like an interrogation.

Pastors and conference leaders want to size me up to make sure I’m “safe” for Christian audiences. The interrogation usually goes something like this:

“Carl, we love your books and your message. You have a lot of insight on how Christians can be more Jesus-like to our Middle Eastern neighbors. We hope you’ll talk a lot about that!”

Translation: Please, for the love of God, don’t say anything controversial about Israel or the Palestinians.

Though they are too polite to ask, what those pastors and conference leaders want to know is what is my position on Israel. For them, the modern Jewish state is a direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy, the catalyst for a series of events that will culminate in the return of Jesus.

As the Palestinians press ahead in their bid for statehood, prepare to hear from this crowd. These Christians number in the tens of millions and they go into a state of frenzy every time a politician so much as winks at the idea of Israel giving up a few settlements or withdrawing to pre-1967 borders.

People ask me all the time what I think about Israel and end-times theology, and how the Palestinians factor into that.
Here’s my answer: If your end-times theology trumps the clear commands in Scripture to love neighbors and enemies, then its time to rethink your theology.

Read the complete article here.

Jewish Theological Seminary Launches Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue

September 26, 2011
By

JTS of NY, Sep.6, www.jtsa.edu/News/Press_Releases/JTS_Launches_Milstein_Center_for_Interreligious_Dialogue.xml

The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) announced the establishment of the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue(MCID), funded with a $2 million gift from New York philanthropist Howard Milstein and the Paul Milstein family. The Milsteins have a long history of engagement with JTS. Irma Milstein chaired the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education and served on the JTS Board of Trustees. The gift from her family marks the second generation of relationship between the Milsteins and JTS.

The Milstein Center’s invitation-only inaugural event will take place at JTS on Monday, October 31, 2011, with His Eminence Kurt Cardinal Koch as the guest of honor. Cardinal Koch is visiting from the Vatican, where he is the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which includes the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. This is Cardinal Koch’s first trip to New York City in that capacity.

“The new center will expand the long commitment of JTS to interreligious dialogue and partnership and enable us to highlight an annual schedule of distinct programs that range in complexity and content,” said Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, who will be director of the Milstein Center. Rabbi Visotzky is the Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at JTS. He has been active in interreligious dialogue for more than three decades in the United States and internationally.

Howard Milstein added, “This is a good time to build on 50 years of Jewish-Christian dialogue and expand it to all of the Abrahamic religions. At a time when religion-based antagonism is one of the greatest threats to world peace, JTS has a pivotal role in educating the next generation of religious leaders to promote mutual respect among all faiths.”

Read the complete article here.

Muslims helping to rebuild Christian school in Kashmir

September 23, 2011
By

Anto Akkara, ENInews, Sep.20, www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5155

Muslims in Kashmir, in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, are supporting the re-building of a Christian school that was destroyed by fire during anti-Christian violence one year ago.

“What happened here is certainly wrong and it should not have happened. I can assure you that our people will not allow it to happen again,” Munshi Mukhtar Ahmed, a Muslim teacher in a government school in the town of Tangmarg.

On 13 September, 2010, the Tyndale Biscoe School was the target of Muslims protesting a reported desecration of the Quran in the U.S. that marked the ninth anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks. The school is in the town of Phulwama and is run by the Church of North India (CNI), the dominant Protestant denomination in North India.

Two dozen Muslim protesters were killed by security forces and over 100 injured. There are about four million Muslims in Kashmir and 5,000 Christians.

“The burning of the school was a big loss for the local (Muslim) community and they are still feeling the pinch of it,” said Ahmed. The church-run school has about 450 students, almost all of them Muslims.

Read the complete article here.

What One Palestinian Learned From Gandhi

September 19, 2011
By

Sami Awad, Huffington Post, Sep.19,, www.huffingtonpost.com/sami-awad/what-one-palestinian-lear_b_966053.html

I was 12 years old when I was introduced to Gandhi. My uncle Mubarak returned from India with four big heavy boxes filled with books. All same size and shape with warn-out green covers. These books included all the writings of Gandhi. They filled two book shelves, double the space taken by the Encyclopedia Britannica. What attracted me in the boxes was a comic book of the story of Gandhi from his childhood to his death. I read the comic book over and over. At a young age, Gandhi became a comic book hero.

Gandhi became a real hero through the work of Mubarak, who started the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence in Jerusalem. Mubarak traveled from one Palestinian village to the other promoting nonviolence in the same way Gandhi did in India. As he spoke of Gandhi, he never said we need to do what Gandhi did; he emphasized the uniqueness of our own heritage, culture and condition under Israeli occupation and how we were to develop our own approaches to nonviolence and not copy others. In 1988 Mubarak Awad, who became known as the “Palestinian Gandhi,” was arrested and deported by the Israeli authorities.

One important lesson was in seeing nonviolence not only as a tactical and pragmatic tool of resistance but also as a holistic and spiritual approach to life and living. Gandhi was not only passionate about ending the British colonial rule of India, he was also passionate about uprooting the cause of violence in every aspect of one’s life and relations. This is not easy for people who live under daily suffering and oppression.

Another important lesson I learned was in understanding that nonviolence is not mere passivity, and it is not surrendering to the powers that be. “Nonviolence is the most active force in the world.” For Gandhi, nonviolence is bravery — that “no matter how weak a person is in body, if it is a shame, he will stand his ground and die at his post. This would be nonviolence and bravery.”

Another important lesson I learned from Gandhi is that nonviolence is the expression of the power of love and compassion. He said that “it is nonviolence only when we love those that hate us. This is the grand law of love.” If my engagement as a Palestinian in nonviolence does not have in it the expression of love to those that hate and persecute me, then I cannot call such actions “nonviolent.”

Gandhi was not a saint; he experienced daily struggles and challenges in his work and life. He probably made more mistakes than any other leader of his time, but he woke every day fully committed to ending violence and bringing about real peace.

Read the complete article here.

Religious Leaders in Dachau Join in Opposing War

September 19, 2011
By

Chiara Santomiero, Zenit, Sep.15, www.zenit.org/article-33448?l=english

From Romania, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine, from Italy and Russia, religious leaders convoked by the Catholic lay Community of Sant’Egidio arrived together to Bunker 28 in Dachau.

The group was part of the interreligious meeting held last Sunday through Tuesday in Munich, with the theme: “Bound to Live Together. Religions and Cultures in Dialogue.”

Catholic priests and Protestant pastors were held at Dachau, men who expressed in their churches opposition to the Nazi regime or helped to hide Jews and other persecuted people. From 1933 to 1945, some 3,000 priests were kept there, from 134 dioceses and 24 countries.

Very many died. “Dachau was not an extermination camp; its objective was ‘re-education’ through forced labor; however, as regards the 42,000 deaths among the 200,000 inmates during 12 years, there certainly can be no talk of natural deaths,” explained the guide.

The religious leaders from all over the world — Christians, Muslims, Jews and representatives of the religions of Asia — met Tuesday in Dachau for a commemorative ceremony, which highlighted, once again, the desire of religions for peace and reconciliation.

Read the complete article here.

Palestinian, Israeli students use art to bridge differences

September 19, 2011
By

Judith Sudilovsky, ENInews, Sep.19, www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5153

Though their leaders may be at political odds with each other, a group of Israeli and Palestinian students learned that they can communicate through art.

“Before I saw art as a hobby, now I see that art can even connect between people who have preconceived ideas and prejudices against one another,” said Israeli student Noga Zer, 14.

Zer was among 50 eighth and ninth graders at the Israeli Hebrew University High School, the Palestinian Al-Quds High School for Girls and the Ibn Khaldoun Junior High School for Boys who participated in the two-year “Through the Window” project.   The group met twice a month at the Israel Museum and their creations are now on exhibit at the Jerusalem Center for Ethics at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, an international culture and conference center, from 11-30 September.

Read the complete article here.

Jerusalem interfaith dialogue sees increased participation

September 19, 2011
By

Judith Sudilovsky, ENInews, Sep.14, www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5146

Religious leaders in Jerusalem are more willing than ever before to take part in dialogue with members of other faiths despite growing political turmoil in the region, said Daniel Milo, the director of the Jerusalem Center for Ethics, prior to the start of the third annual Interfaith and Ethics Symposium on 14 September.

Religious leaders now realized “that the alternative to dialogue is not acceptable,” Milo said, noting that attendance at the annual symposium, which delves into interfaith challenges, has grown over the past three years. Still, he admitted, some Palestinian religious leaders from East Jerusalem declined an invitation this year, largely due to internal community pressures.

The modern global era is forcing religious leaders to face challenges in maintaining influence on their followers, Milo said. “Religious leaders can’t keep their communities closed in anymore” and people are exposed to different views and ideas, he said.

Read the complete article here.

France bans street prayers

September 19, 2011
By

Nicholas Vinocur, Reuters, Sep.19, www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/19/uk-france-muslims-idUSLNE78I01020110919

A French ban on praying in the street came into force on Friday, driving thousands of Muslim worshippers in northern Paris into a makeshift prayer site in a disused fire brigade barracks, angering a small but vocal minority.

The street-prayer ban has highlighted France’s problems assimilating its 5-million-strong Muslim community, which lacks prayer space, and follows a long-running controversy, fanned by far-right leader Marine Le Pen, over Muslims forced to lay their prayer mats on the streets in big cities.

In France, where a strict separation of church and state has been in force for a century, public displays of religious activity are frowned upon.  Yet efforts by Sarkozy’s conservative government to restrict religious displays, such as a ban on full-face veils, have drawn criticism as empty measures that unfairly single out Muslims.

France counts the largest Muslim minority of any European country. But only a portion — about 10 percent, or the same proportion as among Catholics — are practising, according to Muslim associations.

As a rule, radical Muslim voices in France are rare, but Friday’s prayers in northern Paris drew a small but angry protest from a radical minority more often seen in online posts. An hour before the first prayer young men with beards, green headbands and banners gathered on rue Myrha to discourage worshippers from moving to the new site.

“No system in the universe can control us aside from Allah,” shouted one young man. “There is more dignity in praying in the grass than in their false mosque,” said another.

Read the complete article here.

UK risks rift with US by backing Palestinian state

September 19, 2011
By

Tim Shipman, Daily Mail, Sep.17,  www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2038290/UK-risks-rift-US-backing-Palestinian-state.html

Britain is prepared to recognise Palestine as a state next week, putting the UK on a collision course with Israel and America.  Senior officials say the UK is happy for the Palestinians to be given the same ‘non-member state’ status at the United Nations as the Vatican.

This would give them greater rights at the UN than they currently enjoy as an observer.   In return, Britain will call on Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to drop his bid to demand full statehood at the UN Security Council next week.  Yesterday Mr Abbas said he would demand full statehood – which Britain regards as potentially ‘catastrophic’ for the future of the peace process.

President Barack Obama has vowed to veto that move and withdraw funding from the Palestinian Authority if Mr Abbas carries out his pledge to take his bid to the Security Council.

Read the complete article here.

Islamophobia: The new anti-Semitism

September 19, 2011
By

Haroon Siddiqui, The Toronto Star,Sep.16, www.thestar.com/news/article/1055298

One byproduct of 9/11 has been Islamophobia — fear of Islam and its adherents, Muslims. Rather than recede with time, it has been growing in the United States and Europe, while Canada has not been immune to it.

Hardly a month goes by without some controversy over hijab, niqab, “honour killings,” polygamy, “forced marriages,” “sharia,” prayers in public places, such as at Valley Park Middle School in Toronto, or over how far free speech may be invoked to disproportionately demonize Muslims and Islam without running afoul of Canadian and European anti-hate laws.

Read the complete article here.