Posts Tagged ‘ Muslim ’

Distinctive Mission for Muslims’ Conference: Remembering the Holocaust

September 26, 2011
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Samuel Freedman, New York Times, Sep.23, www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/us/distinctive-mission-for-muslims-conference-remembering-the-holocaust.html?_r=1&ref=religionandbelief

One afternoon this week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran addressed the United Nations General Assembly, once again casting doubt that the Holocaust had occurred. Almost exactly 24 hours earlier, an otherwise obscure college student in Morocco named Elmehdi Boudra was convening a conference devoted not to denying the Holocaust but to remembering it.

Mr. Ahmadinejad’s speech, not surprisingly, made major news around the world, as had his similar pronouncements in earlier years and his Tehran convention of Holocaust deniers. Mr. Boudra’s conference, meanwhile, attracted virtually no media attention of any kind.

Yet it should have been trumpeted, all the more for its coincidental timing. While Holocaust denial or denigration in the Muslim world is a sadly familiar phenomenon, hardly news at all, the conference put together by Mr. Boudra and several dozen classmates, all of them Muslim, may well have been the first of its kind in an Arab or Muslim nation, and a sign of historical truth triumphing over conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic dogma.

Read the complete article here.

German Jews praise Pope but warn on Pius XII and Holocaust

September 26, 2011
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Tom Heneghan, Reuters, Sep.21, www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/22/us-pope-germany-jews-idUSTRE78L50L20110922

Germany’s small Jewish community praised Pope Benedict on Thursday for stressing the common roots of Christianity and Judaism but warned him it would be hurt if he honors wartime Pope Pius XII, who it said was silent during the Holocaust.

Dieter Graumann, secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, also said Jews were hurt by his support for an ultra-traditionalist Catholic group they consider bigoted against Jews, Muslims, gays, women and Protestants.

The close friendship that has developed between Christians and Jews “must put up with others saying things that hurt,” he told Reuters after he and other Jewish leaders met the pope and Catholic prelates for about 25 minutes.

“A possible beatification of Pius XII would hurt us,” said Graumann, referring to efforts to put the late pope on the path to sainthood. “For us he is the pope who kept his silence too coldly and loudly during the Holocaust.”

Despite these differences, the Jewish leader stressed that the closed-door meeting was friendly and moving for him.

“This is an impulse for new closeness, for a deeper and even better relationship,” he said.

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
By

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.

French court hands down first “burqa ban” fines

September 26, 2011
By

Pauline Mevel, Reuters, Sep.22, af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE78L2QK20110922

A French court fined two Muslim women on Thursday for wearing full-face veils in public, the first time a judge has imposed punishment under a “burqa ban” law that has become a legal and cultural battleground across Europe.

One of the women pledged immediately to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to overturn the ban, which President Nicolas Sarkozy says protects women and guarantees equality but opponents argue violates human rights and panders to xenophobia.

Only a tiny percentage of French Muslim women wear full-face veils. But the law, which took effect in April, has become a focus of debate in mainly-secular Europe, where right-wing parties hostile to Muslim immigration are gaining support.

Read the complete article here.

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.

Muslims helping to rebuild Christian school in Kashmir

September 23, 2011
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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.

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.

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.

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.