Religious Tension Leads to Clashes in Jerusalem (From Al Jazeera English)

Tension over Religious Sites Leaves Dozens Hurt in Jerusalem Clashes

EXCERPT from BBC News (link below):

Palestinians and Israeli police have clashed near the Jerusalem compound housing the al-Aqsa mosque, leaving dozens of people injured. A large group of Palestinians left Friday prayers and began marching to the mosque, carrying banners and waving green flags, witnesses and police said. Police tried to disperse the crowd – some of whom were throwing stones – using stun grenades and tear gas. It is the latest in a series of clashes amid tensions over religious sites.

The Jerusalem complex is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, and has long been contested. The recent violence has been triggered by Israel’s decision to add two shrines in the occupied West Bank to its list of national heritage sites.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8552569.stm

The Winter Olympics and Inequality in Global Athletics

In high school, the only sports I played to any significant extent were soccer and basketball. A lot of my friends went snowboarding or skiing, but it was a long drive to the mountains and I could not really afford all the equipment, which cost hundreds of dollars. So I never spent much time on the slopes. However, I have always been fascinated by winter sports. The Winter Olympics in Vancouver was the first of two major international sporting events this year, the other being the soccer World Cup, to be held in South Africa in June. Both events feature the best athletes in the world in their respective sports and enthrall millions across the globe.

However, after watching the Germans steer their bobsleds, the Russians twist and turn in figure skating, and the French ski down steep mountain slopes, I began to realize that the true reason that many athletes from cold-weather countries succeed in this frosty quadrennial competition is not climate or topography or even, dare I say it, talent, but rather privilege, economics, and wealth. Of all the stunning statistics that were tossed around during the fortnight of games in British Columbia, one stat was not mentioned, although its omission is hardly surprising. Of the 238 total medals that were up for grab in Vancouver, over 50 percent were won by eight of the world’s wealthiest nations. The United States, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, and Italy—industrialized market economies, who together make up the world’s main economic council of wealthy nations, the exclusive Group of Eight, or G8—took home 130 medals and nearly half of the first-place finishes. In addition to the success of the G8 nations, China, widely considered the second wealthiest nation in the world after the U.S., and South Korea, another powerhouse economy in Asia, took home just under 10 percent of remaining medals. It is also worth mentioning that Norway, which the International Monetary Fund places three positions higher than the United States in GDP at purchasing power parity per capita, and Switzerland, which also ranks in the top ten and is just one place behind the U.S., brought home approximately 9 percent and 3 percent of the Winter Olympics medals respectively. If you are doing the math, that means that 72 percent, nearly three-fourths, of all the medals in Vancouver were won by twelve incredibly wealthy nations. While similar patterns were displayed in Beijing and other summer Olympic games, one must remember that the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were a competition where poorer nations like Ethiopia, Romania, Jamaica, Kenya, and Ukraine walked away with a half-dozen gold medals each. With the exception of Austria, hardly a nation of impoverished citizens, and Yugoslavia, the Winter Olympics has never been held outside of these twelve countries since the competition began nearly ninety years ago.

The lack of success among underdeveloped nations in the Winter Olympics is not for want of trying. Take, for instance, the story of Tugba Karademir, the young figure skater from Turkey, where the capital city Ankara has the country’s only real ice rink. Karademir’s father and mother, who is a certified aerospace engineer, immigrated to Canada and accepted jobs doing menial labor just so their daughter could have a chance to compete in the Olympic Games. While geography could be considered a significant challenge to athletes wanting to ski in the Pacific islands or snowboard in the heart of Africa, a large number of events occur indoors or on manmade ramps and tracks, and more often than not, poorer countries do not compete because they lack the finances to compete in sports that require such a large amount of equipment. Is it surprising that most kids in Brazil have never played ice hockey but are always seen with a soccer ball at their feet? Or that children in Cuba play baseball with a simple wooden bat instead of curling? Or that the best skiers in your dorm usually come from the most privileged families? Understand that I am not insinuating that there is a vast conspiracy in winter sports against poorer nations, but that among all of the athletic competitions in the world, it is the most inherently unequal. While I enjoyed watching ice hockey and the rest of the winter games, as a liberal and a lover of equality, they pale in comparison to the World Cup, where 32 nations from across the globe compete on a much more equal playing field in a truly international competition, where success is determined not by how much equipment you or your country can afford, but by your skill kicking a ball on a field of grass.

Martin Surridge is the associate editor of Religious Liberty TV and a freelance journalist who writes for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. He is currently working on his M.A. in Teaching at Walla Walla University.

RLTV PODCAST: Jason Hines on The Church, Same-Sex Marriage, and Public Policy

Michael Peabody interviews Jason Hines, attorney and Andrews University seminary student, about the topic of same-sex marriage and why religious groups need to be careful to protect liberty of conscience in their advocacy on this issue.

UN condemns Gaddafi jihad call

EXCERPT from Al Jazeera English (link below):

The United Nations and European Union have condemned a call from Libya’s leader for Muslims to carry out jihad against Switzerland over a recent vote to ban the construction of minarets in the European country.

Gaddafi said: “Any Muslim around the world who has dealings with Switzerland is an infidel [and is] against Islam, against Mohammed, against God, against the Quran.”

“Let us fight against Switzerland, Zionism and foreign aggression,” he said in a speech broadcast live on television.

Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the UN director-general in Geneva, said the call by Muammar Gaddafi on Friday was “inadmissible”.

Read the full article at http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/02/2010226124744420153.html

God’s Counterterrorism in a ‘24′ World

God’s Counterterrorism in a ‘24′ World from Ryan Bell on Vimeo.

Ryan Bell, the pastor Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church, gave this presentation at La Sierra University on January 28, 2010.

The European Attack on Religious Liberty

By Martin Surridge -

As the nation of Haiti continues to suffer through one of the worst natural disasters in recent years, and the chaos and desperation that followed the earthquake, an incredible amount of material and financial relief has flooded into the former French colony. While Haiti may seem like another world for many people, what many do not realize is that Haiti lies only 681 miles off the coast of Miami, and that many American cities have substantial populations of Haitian-Americans. In addition, the United States government estimated that several thousand Americans were likely killed in the earthquake. Haiti, it turns out, is not as far away as we had previously thought. Sadly, the fact of the matter is that concerned citizens and other individuals tend to pay a little closer to attention to a global problem when the effects can be keenly felt in their own homes.  

While they have been easy to miss, the news has been peppered recently with stories of serious threats to religious liberty not in the developing world, war-torn regions in the Middle East, or third-world countries struck by natural disasters, but in Europe, our own geopolitical backyard. In the modern era, Europe has been a beacon for personal liberty and religious tolerance, with religion playing a seemingly minor role in most of the continent’s wars and conflicts. However, one does not need an advanced degree in history to know that Europe has also been a bastion of religious persecution, a trait that has reared its ugly head in recent weeks, mostly as the continent struggles to define itself against growing waves of Muslim immigrants.

Radical, or at least conservative, Islam was seen as the enemy in the legislative decision made in Switzerland recently, when the Alpine nation banned the construction of minarets on Muslim places of worship. Not only is Switzerland a famously tolerant nation, it is also a nation with a grand total of four such minarets. The campaign that advocated for the ban preyed on people’s fears of Islamic terrorism and resorted to despicable tactics, including a poster that featured minarets rising skyward like nuclear missiles.

Perhaps less surprising that the minaret ban in Switzerland, but just as concerning, was a recent incident on the Greek isle of Crete when the only synagogue on the island was attacked by arsonists twice last month, which destroyed thousands of books, two offices and part of the historic building’s roof. Anti-Semitism is hardly new in Greece, but neither is the peaceful coexistence of Jewish and Christian communities in a country where some Jewish congregations can trace back their roots hundreds of years. 

Religious liberty is also under threat in France, where parliament is expected to enact a law that will require dozens of conservative Muslim women to cease wearing the controversial burqa, the face-covering full length veils. Arguments abound on both sides of the debate. Those opposed to the veil argue that it degrades women, is an affront to gender equality, insinuates that men are incapable of controlling their lust, and is a threat to public security. Those who contend that such a law would infringe upon freedom of speech and religion claim that it unfairly targets Islam and have pointed to the fact that conservative nuns expose little more than their hands and face in their own full length dresses with similar head scarves. Regardless of political affiliation or personal opinions on the burqa, it is hard to deny that if such a law were passed it would amount to government interference in religion. 

If this pattern of religious liberty infringements were anything to go by, the United States may not be far behind. Connections between North America and Europe run deep and while there may be several key differences between the two continents, religious intolerance seems to be an emerging, unifying theme. These incidents display a disturbing trend that scholars of religion and sufferers of anti-Semitism have known for a long time: laws prohibiting the free practice of religion are just the first in a series of slippery steps toward widespread intolerance and institutionalized discrimination. It is time that the Europe, and the other nations of the west, show the developing world that religious liberty is not optional, but rather a fundamental and guaranteed principle of our society.

Calif. Initiative Round-up – Outlawing Divorce, Legalizing Pot, and Christmas Music

In California, voters are allowed to promote ballot initiatives on almost any subject, including those that can fundamentally change the state constitution.  Here are some initatives that are currently in circulation as of November 18, 2009.  Only a few will make it to the ballot, but it is interesting to see what changes some want to see in the law. 

Here’s what your neighbors may be voting on in the next election if the promoters of these initatives gather enough signatures.  Can you trust the voters with your rights? The “power of the majority” can cut both ways, which is why I believe that there are certain rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution which the “majority” cannot touch.   However, given the recent California Supreme Court decision on the marriage cases, every right is apparently up for grabs, including, ironically, the right to divorce.  Editor

The links are to the Secretary of State’s website where you can download the full text of the proposed initatives.

1364. (09-0011)

Reinstates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Summary Date: 06/22/09 Circulation Deadline: 11/19/09 Signatures Required: 694,354

Proponent: Charles Lowe (800) 778-2998

Repeals the current provision in California’s Constitution that states only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Provides that the initiative is not intended, and shall not be interpreted, to modify or change the curriculum in any school. Clarifies that the initiative is not intended, and shall not be interpreted, to mandate or require clergy of any church or religious institution to perform a service or duty inconsistent with his or her faith. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Over the long run, this measure would likely have little fiscal impact on state and local governments. (09-0011.) (Full Text)

1367. (09-0014)

Mandatory Drug and Alcohol Testing for Members of the Legislature. Initiative Statute.
Summary Date: 07/13/09 Circulation Deadline: 12/10/09 Signatures Required: 433,971

Proponents: Dorothy Cummings and Gary Ellis

Requires all legislators elected subsequent to passage of this initiative to be tested for the illegal use of drugs and the “habitual use of alcohol.” Prevents a legislator who tests positive from performing his or her official duties or from getting paid until that legislator completes a substance abuse program at his or her own expense. Requires a legislator to permanently forfeit his or her office upon a second positive test. Provides exception for use of medicinal marijuana under a doctor’s care. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Probably no significant change in state costs in most years. (09-0014.) (Full Text)

1374. (09-0022)

Changes California Law to Legalize, Regulate, and Tax Marijuana. Initiative Statute.
Summary Date: 09/08/09 Circulation Deadline: 02/05/10 Signatures Required: 433,971

Proponent: Joe Rogoway, Omar Figueroa, and James J. Clark (415) 946-5591

Repeals state laws that make it a crime for people 21 years old or older to use, possess, sell, cultivate, or transport marijuana or industrial hemp, except laws that make it a crime to drive while impaired or to contribute to the delinquency of a minor. Expunges state convictions based on the repealed marijuana-related laws. Requires state and local governments to regulate and tax commercial production and sale of marijuana. Requires taxes to be spent on education, healthcare, environmental programs, public works, and state parks. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Savings in the several tens of millions of dollars annually to state and local governments on the costs of incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. Unknown but potentially major new excise, income, and sales tax revenues related to the production and sale of marijuana products. (09-0022.) (Full Text)

1379. (09-0026)

Eliminates the Law Allowing Married Couples to Divorce. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Summary Date: 10/23/09 Circulation Deadline: 03/22/10 Signatures Required: 694,354

Proponent: John Marcotte

Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the ability of married couples to get divorced in California. Preserves the ability of married couples to seek an annulment. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Savings to the state of up to hundreds of millions of dollars annually for support of the court system due to the elimination of divorce proceedings. (09-0026.) (Full Text)

1383. (09-0030)

Requires Public Schools to Offer Christmas Music. Initiative Statute.
Summary Date: 10/30/09 Circulation Deadline: 03/29/10 Signatures Required: 433,971
Proponents: Merry Susan Hyatt and David Joseph Hyatt

Requires public schools to offer an opportunity for students to listen to or perform Christmas music during the holiday season. Requires schools to notify students’ parents or guardians twenty-one days before the music will be played or performed so that students can opt-out of listening to or performing the music. Provides that a civil lawsuit may be brought to enforce these requirements. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Probably minor annual costs to school districts. (09-0030.) (Full Text)

Washington DC – New Turn in Debate Over Law on Marriage (The New York Times)

EXCERPT from New York Times: New Turn in Debate Over Law on Marriage By IAN URBINA Published: November 12, 2009

WASHINGTON — The fight over a proposed same-sex marriage law here heated up this week as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said that if the law passed, the church would cut its social service programs that help residents with adoption, homelessness and health care.
…
“Religious organizations and individuals are at risk of legal action for refusing to promote and support same-sex marriages in a host of settings where it would compromise their religious beliefs,” Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said in a statement. “This includes employee benefits, adoption services and even the use of a church hall for non-wedding events for same-sex married couples.”
…

“The Catholic Church hierarchy is at a crossroads,” said the Rev. Dennis W. Wiley, the co-chairman of Clergy United for Marriage Equality and the pastor of Covenant Baptist Church. “They must decide whether they are in the charity business for charity’s sake, or if imposing their will on the D.C. City Council and the citizens of the district is their primary interest.”

Read the full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/us/13marriage.html

House Healthcare Vote – A Huge Triumph for the Catholic Church (America Magazine)

EXCERPTS from America Magazine Blog – 11/8/09

The House Vote: A Huge Triumph for the Church

It is difficult to over-estimate the degree to which last night’s vote in the House, passing a comprehensive health care reform bill, was a huge victory for the Catholic Church. Yes, for the USCCB, but also for a view of the world that the Church, at times alone, has sustained in the face of the radical individualism of American culture. The belief that heath care is a right, not a privilege, took a giant step towards legislative enactment last night.

…

The happy result last night was a long time coming. The staff at the USCCB and the Catholic Health Association have been teaching, and learning, about health care reform for decades. They have been getting to know members of Congress for decades. They have been heavily involved in negotiations over the past weeks and months, but work on the current bill would not have come to fruition unless over the decades past, these staffs had not learned about the needs of members of Congress, the forks in the legislative road, which allies could be counted on, and all the accumulated knowledge that comes from years of engagement, oftentimes frustrating, with the political process. I was not sure two days ago that they could pull off passing a pro-life health care bill but they did. The entire Catholic Church owes them a debt of gratitude.

Read the full article at http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&id=42470797-3048-741E-9592106822199832

Next Page »