Posts Tagged ‘ Faith ’

Speed-faithing: speed-dating from a religious point of view

November 1, 2011
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Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune, Nov.1, www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-talk-speed-faithing-20111101,0,5799441.story

For those who want to hook up with a Hindu, there is speed-dating at an Old Town neighborhood lounge on Wednesday.

But for those who want to meet a Muslim, Buddhist, Christian or Hindu and get to know a little about their faith, there will be a speed-faithing event Tuesday at Dominican University in River Forest.

Designed by students, the event which follows a public lecture by Interfaith Youth Core founder Eboo Patel, will rotate participants through five-minute conversations about their beliefs. Long enough to establish common ground, short enough to avoid offense, said Cassie Meyer, director of content for the Interfaith Youth Core who co-teaches a course on interfaith literacy with Patel.

“You’re not trying to say everything about your religion before you switch,” she said.

Nor should you, she said. Just like speed-dating, talking about religion can be scary.

“The stereotype of speed-dating is you have two minutes to judge someone,” she said. “There’s something to be said for speaking really quickly off the cuff about something. You’ll have a chance to be thoughtful, but you don’t have a chance to obsess about it.”

Instead of seeking particulars, participants will be urged to ask more general questions: Do you think interfaith cooperation is important? What compels you to serve others? How and when do you pray, reflect or meditate?

Read the complete article here.

Shining Light on the Festival of Lights

October 23, 2011
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Padma Kuppa, Patheos, Oct.20, www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Shining-Light-on-the-Festival-of-Lights-Padma-Kuppa-10-21-2011.html

We all look the same in the dark. But it’s better to shine light on our nation of glorious differences.

My neighbor’s daughter always knows when Diwali is: it’s when my Christmas lights go up. Diwali is also known by other names, such as Deepavali, or in English, the Festival of Lights. It is a holy day for Hindus, Jains and Sikhs, with a different religious significance for each faith tradition. For ethnic Hindus, the various stories associated with it depend largely on their respective regional and cultural customs. It is celebrated across the land where it originated by almost everyone—similar to how Christmas is celebrated here in America.

Deepavali means a row of lights. Traditionally, deepa or diya, small clay lamps filled with oil, were lined up in rows in front of one’s home. Informational articles abound, such as this one from Hinduism Today. Many do not cover the myriad of stories and traditions surrounding Diwali—or only focus on one way of celebrating it, such as the understanding that the Hindu New Year is celebrated the day after Diwali, which is true only for a segment of the Hindu population. A popular story centers around the story of Rama, the avatar of Vishnu and successful hero of the epic the Ramayana, who is said to have returned from exile on this no-moon night. The light of the lamps illuminated the way for the virtuous hero to return home after he vanquished Ravana, the evil king who abducted Rama’s equally virtuous wife Sita. Rama is the Prince of Ayodhya and is perceived as the embodiment of all that is dharmic. Lighting the lamps is a metaphor for the victory of all that is good and just over all that is evil and unjust. Light is also knowledge, shining so that there is no room for the darkness of ignorance.

Read the complete article here.

What place do people of faith have at Occupy Everywhere?

October 23, 2011
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Jonathan Oskins, State of Formation, Oct.23, www.stateofformation.org/2011/10/what-place-do-people-of-faith-have-at-occupy-everywhere/

News agencies were already slow to cover the movement in New York, so it is no surprise that reporting on the involvement of religious people at Occupy Together took even longer. But the wait was worth it, with fellow State of Formation contributors having written on their personal participation: Mary Ann Kaiser wrote a great piece on her hands-on work as part of Occupy Austin and Anna DeWeese posted on her experience at Occupy Wall Street. Faith & Reason also has terrific summaries of the reasons why different faiths have become involved, including a great link to a HuffPost Religion post on an Occupy Wall Street Yom Kippur. Another HuffPost Religion post does a good job of highlighting the variety of religious groups at Occupy Wall Street, including Jumah at #OccupyDC, Occupy Torah, Occupy Judaism and Occupy Sukkot.

 

Read the complete article here.

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Turkey’s Elephant in the Room: Religious Freedom

September 30, 2011
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Susanne Gusten, New York Times, Sep.28, www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/world/europe/turkeys-elephant-in-the-room-religious-freedom.html?_r=1&ref=religionandbelief

With his triumphant tour of the countries of the Arab Spring this month, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has managed to set up Turkey on the international stage as a role model for a secular democracy in a Muslim country — as, in his words, “a secular state where all religions are equal.”

The only trouble is that he has yet to make that happen for Turkey.

The relationship between religion and the state, ever the sore spot of Turkish identity, is one of the most explosive issues of the debate on the new constitution that Mr. Erdogan has pledged to give the country in the new legislative term that opens Saturday.

That debate will have to deal with the elephant in the room: the total control that the state exerts over Islam through its Religious Affairs Department, and the lack of a legal status for all other religions in a predominantly Sunni Muslim society.

“Turkey may look like a secular state on paper, but in terms of international law it is actually a Sunni Islamic state,” Izzettin Dogan, a leader of the country’s Alevi minority, charged at a joint press conference with leaders of several other minority faiths last week in Istanbul.

Mr. Dogan is honorary president of the Federation of Alevi Foundations, which represents many of what it claims are up to 30 million adherents of the Alevi faith, an Anatolian religion close to Sufi Islam but separate and distinct in its beliefs and practices.

“The state collects taxes from all of us and spends billions on Sunni Islam alone, while millions of Alevis as well as Christians, Jews and other faiths don’t receive a penny,” Mr. Dogan said, referring to the $1.5 billion budget of the Religious Affairs Department. “What kind of secularism is that?”

Read the complete article here.

A Catholic approach to Israel and Palestine?

September 26, 2011
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Anthony Steves-Arroyo, Washington Post, Sep.21, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/catholic-america/post/a-catholic-approach-to-israel-and-palestine/2011/09/21/gIQAy4GmlK_blog.html

As the leaders of the Palestinian people prepare to petition for recognition as a nation-state at the United Nations, Catholic America can find its way though a confusing political history by following the church’s lead. As in many complicated issues, Catholic teaching is expressed in broad generalities with clear moral implications. More heat than light will likely be generated about Palestinian statehood as a political football, so here are a few yard markers to keep opinion within the boundary lines of facts.

Vatican policy is to treat both Israelis and Palestinians as equals. After terrorists raided the Israeli city of Netanya in July 2005, Benedict XVI incurred criticism from Ariel Sharon for not immediately condemning the action. But the Vatican explained: “… Attacks against Israel were sometimes followed by immediate Israeli reactions not always compatible with the norms of international law. It would, consequently, have been impossible to condemn the former and remain silent on the latter.” In May 2009, Benedict XVI visited Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and stated in Bethlehem: “The Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers, secure and at peace with its neighbors, within internationally recognized borders.” So for those faithful to the Magisterium, a two state solution is essential for peace.

Most Catholics, I think, want to have their cake and to eat it, too. That is, we want peace between the Jews and Arabs but we don’t want to be forced into taking sides in a contentious issue. So also for the Vatican,which has taken no stance on the UN vote while still holding forth for the ultimate settlement in favor two states. On this issue, look to the church for moral principles rather than for instructions on how nations should vote.

Read the complete article here.

Pope wins over German Muslims

September 26, 2011
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Tom Heneghan, Reuters, Sep.23, blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2011/09/23/pope-benedict-wins-over-german-muslims-in-first-meeting-since-regensburg-speech/

Pope Benedict told German Muslims in Berlin on Friday they can expect cooperation and support from Roman Catholics as long as they respect Germany’s constitution and the limits it sets on pluralism. Meeting representatives of the country’s four million Muslims, he said the constitution drawn up in post-war West Germany was solid enough to adapt to a pluralistic society in a globalised world and make room for new religions as well.

It sounded like the Bavarian-born pontiff was making a veiled reference to a debate in Germany over the past year over Muslim integration in Germany and whether  Muslims wanted sharia here, an issue discussed mostly on the conservative end of the political spectrum. Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Muslims last year that Islamic law had no place in Germany. “What applies here is the constitution, not sharia,” she declared. When he took office in March, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said the idea that “Islam belongs to Germany” — first mentioned by President Christian Wulff last year — “is not substantiated by history at any point.” A recent book “Richter ohne Gesetz” (Judges without Law) argues that Muslims are setting up a “parallel legal system” that is undermining German justice.

Muslim leaders didn’t hear it that way.  They  praised the pope for confirming through the meeting that Islam was now a part of German society and pointing towards new and expanded cooperation between Catholics and Muslims. But they said their loyalty to the constitution, a main point in his speech, was never in question. “As Muslims in Germany, we have always said that we see the German constitution as a good basis for peaceful life together,” Bekir Alboga, head of interreligious dialogue for the Turkish mosque association DITIB, told Reuters after meeting the pope.

Read the complete article here.

Islamic Center Near Ground Zero Opens Its Doors

September 26, 2011
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Karen Zraick and Verena Dobnik, Associated Press, Sep.21,  abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/developer-911-families-needed-role-nyc-mosque-14573200

The developer of an Islamic cultural center that opened Wednesday evening near the site of the terrorist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center says the biggest error on the project was not involving the families of 9/11 victims from the start.

People crowded into the center, where a small orchestra played traditional Middle Eastern instruments and a photo exhibit of New York children of different ethnicities lined the walls. The enthusiasm at the opening belied its troubled beginnings.

“We made incredible mistakes,” Sharif El-Gamal told The Associated Press in an earlier interview at his Manhattan office.

The building at 51 Park Place, two blocks from the World Trade Center site, includes a Muslim prayer space that has been open for two years. El-Gamal said the overall center is modeled after the Jewish Community Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where he lives.

“I wanted my daughter to learn how to swim, so I took her to the JCC,” said the Brooklyn-born Muslim. “And when I walked in, I said, ‘Wow. This is great.’”

The project has drawn criticism from opponents who say they don’t want a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The center is open to all faiths and will include a 9/11 memorial, El-Gamal said. He called opposition to the center — which prompted one of the most virulent national discussions about Islam and freedom of speech and religion since Sept. 11 — part of a “campaign against Muslims.”

Read the complete article here.

Jewish Theological Seminary Launches Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue

September 26, 2011
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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.

Jerusalem interfaith dialogue sees increased participation

September 19, 2011
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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.

Sikh Faith Often Misunderstood

September 19, 2011
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Joe DSowd, Plainview, Sep.16, plainview.patch.com/articles/sikh-faith-often-misunderstood

In the Western World, members of the Sikh faith are misunderstood, often thought of as a sect of other faiths, local members say.  To counter those misconceptions, the Sikhs are very open about their beliefs and conduct regular community outreach programs.

Read the complete article here.