Interfaith Storytelling for a More Perfect Union

August 25, 2011
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Ralph Singh, Huffington Post, Aug.25, www.huffingtonpost.com/ralph-singh/toward-a-more-perfect-uni_b_934225.html

As we approach the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, a day that called on all Americans to dig deep in their hearts and come together as one nation, it would do well for “we the people” to take an annual checkup on the state of our more perfect union.

When our Founding Fathers penned the words, “in order to form a more perfect union,” they laid a framework for democracy that would depend on an active citizenry. We had overthrown the injustice of a monarchy, and set the course for a nation that would be the city on the hill, the beacon for the tired and poor and the hope of liberty for a world buried under injustice. These were our ideals.

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Faiths challenged to face the reality of violence inside and out

August 25, 2011
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Ekklesia, Aug.25, www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15288

The historic religions are ambivalent in implementing a respect for life, and ambiguous about survival versus broader moral instincts, says a leading commentator.

Oliver McTernan, a former Roman Catholic priest and broadcaster, and author of Violence in God’s Name, was speaking at the 2011 Festival of Spirituality and Peace in Edinburgh, in conversation with historian Owen Dudley Edwards and church historian Lesley Orr.

He noted that for a century and a half in its early history, Christianity was uncompromising in its rejection of violence and war. But with Constantine and the Edict of Milan, the desire to protect a growing religiously-based empire overcame the previous pacifistic impulses.

But the majority traditions had often been permissive towards war and violence, said McTernan, who also pointed to parallel contradictions and problems within other faiths, including Hinduism and Islam.

Dr Orr amplified the theme by speaking about her research into the global phenomenon of violence against women, domestic and structural – including religiously sanctioned or permitted abuse.

Dr Dudley Edwards pointed towards Quakers as an embodiment of an alternative Christian tradition that rejects violence – and includes many Anabaptists and others.

Jesus statement that he came “not to bring peace, but a sword” was a clear reference to the social conflict leading to his violent death, not a justification of the sword, Edwards said. Indeed, the founder of the Christian movement’s last statement before his crucifixion was a demand that his followers “put away your sword”.

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Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, religion and conflict

August 25, 2011
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Hugh Goddard, Ekklesia, Aug.22, www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15275

The visit to Britain of Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, from the Cordoba Initiative in New York, resonates not just with our reflections on the impending tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, but with the continuing quest for interreligious understanding in a conflictual world.

n the lead-up to the tenth anniversary of the events of 11th September 2001 in New York and Washington DC, much attention will be focused on what is often described as the conflict between the World of Islam and the West, of which the events of that day are seen as a kind of paradigmatic example.

Just as with the conflict over the past decades in Northern Ireland, it would be foolish to see these events as having been motivated exclusively by religion, as many other factors, including the political, the economic and the ethnic, are also involved, but equally the specifically religious cannot be discounted completely.

As we approach the tenth anniversary of the events of 9/11, therefore, it is extremely important to remember the positive model of engagement between Christians and Muslims, alongside the tradition of confrontation and antagonism, whose existence cannot be denied.

Edinburgh’s Festival of Spirituality and Peace, which was established in the aftermath of the events of that day in order to promote awareness of the prominent role of religion in peace-making, to counterbalance the role that it has undoubtedly sometimes played in promoting conflict, is very pleased to be welcoming a leading representative of the inclusive tradition of Islam to the Festival this year, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf. His Cordoba Initiative, based in New York, is a leading organisation seeking to promote better mutual understanding between different cultures and faith traditions, in the tradition of that medieval attitude of convivencia which the city of Cordoba represents.

Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf will be speaking on ‘The Day the World Changed’ on Saturday 27 August 2011, from 9.30 to 10.30am. at St John’s Church, Lothian Road, Edinburgh (Festival Venue 127), and on Wednesday 31 August, from 6.30 to 8.00pm. at Wellington Church, University Avenue, Glasgow.

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My Fellow American

August 25, 2011
By

myfellowamerican.us/

You may be interested in following the link to this site.  A short video has been produced to remind us that America is inhabited by many different people.

 

Interfaith Understanding Remains Elusive 10 Years After 9/11

August 25, 2011
By

Adelle M Banks, Huffington Post, Aug.22, www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22/interfaith-understanding-911_n_933207.html?1314039616&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

In a post-9/11 bid to better relations with local Muslims, pastor Bob Roberts invited Muslims to his NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas, for Q-and-A sessions, a cooking club and to help on a few home remodeling projects.

The result: Roberts lost “a bunch of church members,” he said.

In Denver, pastor Max Frost asked volunteers from his Roots Vineyard church to help paint a local mosque. Friends and family told him it was a bad idea.

And at Hillsboro Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tenn., the Rev. Nancy McCurley started an interfaith Scripture study with local Muslims, only to be told by a critic that “in a year’s time, this church will be a mosque.”

In the 10 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks exposed the deep divide between America’s Judeo-Christian majority and American Muslims, a host of projects have tried to foster interfaith understanding.

To be sure, there have been signs of hope for the future of interfaith relations. But along with progress has come polarization: threats of Quran burnings, protests of proposed mosques, and fears of Islamic law in the U.S. legal system.

A month after the 9/11 attacks, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 47 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of Islam. By 2010, that figure had only gotten worse, dropping to 37 percent.

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Inter-faith dialogue – A letter to The Guardian

August 10, 2011
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Jeffrey Cohen, The Guardian, Aug. 8, www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/08/inter-faith-dialogue-jews-muslims

Donald Reeves describes Muslims as being the new Jews of Europe and calls for a grassroots movement across Europe to tackle the threat of Islamophobia (Face to faith, 6 August). In Nottingham, Jews and Muslims have been meeting together in a dialogue group for several years. The purpose of our group is not so much about having cosy discussions about our respective traditions and religions, interesting though that may be, but about confronting some of the more difficult issues which divide us politically and culturally. The subject of one of our first meetings was: “Why bother talking? We hate each other anyway.” We have found that although, or even because, we have not shirked contentious issues, such as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, there has developed a strong friendship and respect between us. We have had fun as well – the price of entry for one event was the telling of a Muslim or Jewish joke.

How many Jews and Muslims can count each other as friends, visit each other’s houses and places of worship or go to England v Pakistan cricket matches together as we have done?

Jeffrey Cohen

Nottingham Jewish Muslim Dialogue

This is the complete letter.

God’s Progressive Prophets

August 10, 2011
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Omar Barrar, Huffington Post, Aug. 9, www.huffingtonpost.com/omar-baddar/gods-progressive-prophets_b_920939.html

Imposing 21st century standards on social evolution from thousands of years ago, many secularist atheists and agnostics tend to regard religion with contempt, seeing it as a major source of divisiveness, superstition, and violence. But just as one would adjust for inflation when comparing the cost of certain commodities over a period of time, one ought to adjust for what is often called the Shifting Moral Zeitgeist when assessing the effects of various ideological developments throughout history. When doing so, I think there is no escaping the conclusion that religious figures like Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were in fact liberal progressives, courageously fighting against major societal injustices that were largely driven by religious fanaticism.

If one could reduce the story of Moses to its core, it would be that he overcame substantial pressures and confronted the supreme authority of his time (Pharaoh) as a false god, and fought for his people’s freedom from slavery. Jesus, too, challenged the religious authorities of his time, insisted on deemphasizing dogmatic practices and redirecting faith towards a moral core of compassion, love, and forgiveness (“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”), and universalized that message so it is no longer tribal, earning even the respect of hardline atheists like Richard Dawkins. Muhammad arrived at a place and time where widespread superstition had people worshiping idols, and engaging in all sorts of cruel and outrageous rituals. He, too, disregarded social pressures and insisted on ridiculing the worship of idols, arguing that god is this driving force behind the universe which is beyond our imagination, and fighting for social justice (against slavery, for women’s rights, etc.).

Fanaticism within the world’s most prominent religions has to be fought with the same courage and vigor that the founders of these very religions fought against the superstitious madness of their time. If Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad were to return today, there is not a doubt that they would be the first to lead that effort.

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In England, faith groups work to heal riot-scarred neighborhoods

August 10, 2011
By

Jo Siedlecka, ENInews, Aug. 9, www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5070

Many faith communities in England are working together on the front line this week after three days of rioting in which hooded youths ransacked hundreds of businesses and shops in many parts of London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Nottingham and smaller towns.

Parishes around the country have been offering support to shellshocked residents. The Anglican church of St. Mary the Virgin in Tottenham, where the unrest began on 6 August, is distributing meals, providing hot water and phone charging facilities to those left without electricity. St. Ignatius Catholic Church in nearby Stamford Hill is offering food and counselling. The Rev. Valentin Dedji of St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Tottenham is caring for the family of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old whose killing by police last week sparked a peaceful demonstration on 6 August that spiraled into violence.

On the evening of 8 August, Christians, Muslims and Jews gathered for a prayer vigil in Tottenham and more vigils are planned.

Phil Rosenberg, interfaith officer from the board of Deputies of British Jews, said seeing London’s faith communities coming together gave hope that “a city so dear to us all” could be rebuilt. “By our standing together, we have the beginnings of an answer to the challenge facing London. If people from different backgrounds, different faiths and different professions, can come together for London, we can rebuild this great city, and make it a much better city yet,” he said. He noted that 9 August is the Jewish date the 9th of Av, which marks the occurrence of “sinat chanim,” or baseless hatred.

A spokesman for the Finsbury Park Mosque said the members are very concerned about the riots and working to build peace through various initiatives. Recently they funded interactive workbooks to help local primary school children learn about the nature of anti-social behaviour and the effect it can have on communities.

Read the complete article here.

Dangers of belief-based workplace opt-outs

August 10, 2011
By

Savi Hensman, Ekklesia, Aug. 6, www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15206

The case of a Christian midwife who refused to wear trousers has again drawn attention to debates over faith in the workplace. She had been asked to leave a high dependency unit when she came in wearing her own dress rather than the scrub uniform.

In early August 2011, Hannah Adewole lost her bid for £7,000 compensation when an employment tribunal ruled that the uniform policy at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, was “legitimate and proportionate for infection control”.

The Trust had argued that her religious needs had later been met because she has been given two scrub dresses.

Adewole had reportedly claimed that “I believe that the Bible is truth and that its words should be followed wholeheartedly”, and told the tribunal that she considered wearing dresses rather than trousers “a mandatory requirement in order to adhere to the scriptures”, a reference to Deuteronomy 22.5.

Though this may well have been her sincere belief, to many Christians it will seem strange. Paul strongly warned against legalistically following such laws: “if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2.21; see also Romans 4.14). And, while Deuteronomy 22 contains some valuable principles (e.g. verses 1-3), many Christian and Jewish people today would have profound moral objections to taking the whole of it literally (e.g. verses 23-24).

She also claimed that her treatment was unfair because Muslims were allowed to wear hijabs (headscarves) and their own tops under scrub tops. But concessions to Muslims are strictly limited: for health and safety reasons, I doubt that any hospital would allow a nurse or midwife to wear a jilbab (loose full body garment).

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Conversation is the foundation of lasting peace, says bishop

August 10, 2011
By

Ekklesia, Aug. 7, www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15211

The conversation which is a cornerstone of human relationships is crucial to achieving peace in a world of conflict and injustice, Bishop Brian Smith has said.

The Episcopal Bishop of Edinburgh was speaking to a packed opening event and service for the 2011 Festival of Spirituality and Peace (FoSP), at St John’s Church in the heart of Scotland’s capital, on Sunday 7 August.

Quoting Emeritus Professor Peter Jones, giving a special lecture to mark the tercentenary of David Hume – Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist – Bishop Smith approved the definition of conversation as “a sacred and improvisatory practice in which the duty to listen precedes the right to speak.”

In certain circles, he noted, there were several topics often considered beyond the bounds of ‘polite’ conversation: namely religion, politics, sex and money.

On the contrary, “if these four are not regular features of our [global] conversation, the world will spin on some very strange axes,” the Bishop of Edinburgh suggested.

Read the complete article here.