Participants agreed that to develop critical thinking skills, students must know about religions in a balanced way, neither emphasizing negative features nor promoting the religion in a devotional style more appropriate to a mosque or church setting.
Saturday, May 10, 2008 By Spero News
The Mid-Atlantic Muslim Catholic Dialogue met on April 23-24 in Washington DC and looked at inter-religious education in the United States.
The meeting, which was convened by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and Catholic representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, explored teaching about different religions in private and public institutions. Discussion was guided by the experiences of the Institute on Religion and Civic Values, represented by Shabbir Mansuri and Munir Shaikh.
The discussion follows upon a meeting in 2007 where Safaa Zarzour described the development of a Muslim-Catholic educational exchange by the Council of Islamic Societies of Greater Chicago and the Archdiocese of Chicago. Zarzour chaired a panel of Muslim representatives at the April 23-24 meeting.
Mansuri, Shaikh and Zarzour noted there already is consensus on the need to educate about world religions in public schools, thanks to the work of the First Amendment Center in Washington DC. Discussion at the April meeting focused on the many audiences for inter-religious education: seminarians, university students, school teachers, public and religious school children.
Sandra Keating PhD related the discussion to theological and pedagogical principles. From a pedagogical perspective participants looked at effective ways to educate about other religions, and said the most effective approach should not only provide basic information but also draw attention to the spiritual values of a religion. They said maintaining a positive tone in curriculum content can help correct a bias against religion that exists in some educational and political environments.
Participants also agreed that to develop critical thinking skills students need to know the story of religions in a balanced way, neither emphasizing negative features nor promoting the religion in a devotional style more appropriate to a mosque or church setting. Participants also noted that sensitivity in how one communicates and works with other traditions should be part of any program and stressed particular attention to the training of religious leaders and school teachers for all school systems.
Rev. Gregory Fairbanks presented a curriculum for ecumenical and inter-religious training required by Catholic seminaries and recommended for clergy and lay leaders. He cited documents of the Second Vatican Council and other more recent church documents. He highlighted U.S. pastoral concerns, including inter-religious marriages, social justice cooperation or tensions, and educating non-Catholic children in parochial schools.
Imam Ahmed Nezar Kobeisy offered reflections on the training of imams for U.S. mosques. He highlighted efforts, such as psychological and marriage counseling, that would not be so urgently required of imams in majority-Muslim countries.
In other remarks, Bishop Dennis Madden, co-chair, recalled the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI. He reminded participants of the pope’s call to achieve what the pope called the "truth of peace" while maintaining "a clear exposition of our respective religious tenets."
The next meeting of this round will be in May, 2009, and focus on “Developing a Strategic Plan on Interreligious Education.” In the coming months, a survey on inter-religious education will be sent to Muslim and Catholic educators.
The coauthor of a new Gallup analysis of public opinion in the Muslim world said that based on its findings, conflict between Muslims and the West is not inevitable.
"Most Muslims like and admire much about the West, from our democracy to our technology," said Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and coauthor of a new Gallup book, "Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think."
The book, which Mogahed wrote with John L. Esposito, professor of religion and Islamic studies at Georgetown University, is based on 50,000 interviews by Gallup in 40 countries with predominantly Muslim populations or significant Muslim minorities. The interviews were conducted between 2001 and 2007, and the book was published this spring.
Among the findings:
Muslims around the world do not view the West as monolithic.
Muslims are as likely as Americans to reject attacks on civilians as morally unjustified.
Muslims say the West can best improve relations with the Muslim world by respecting Islam.
Just inside Rabat's walled medina - with its market stalls selling fake Gucci sunglasses and bzeghir, traditional Moroccan pancakes - stands the Dar al-Hadith al-Hassania, an octagonal building resplendent with bougainvillaea and a fountain. This is the seminary where a revolution is under way. Two hundred student imams sit in long rows in disciplined silence as their tutor, Hussein Ait Said, addresses them. All the students are wearing robes and have a copy of the Koran on their desk, but 50 of them also have handbags and, more surprising still, a pair of white slingbacks is just visible in the fifth row. These are the women who are training to be mourchidat - female priests - the second intake at the seminary.
The mourchidat (meaning 'female guide') first made news in April 2006 when the Moroccan government announced with great fanfare that the first 50 had graduated. Funded by the government, the initiative is part of a wave of liberal reform begun by King Mohammed VI in 2004. 'This is a rare experiment in the Muslim world,' Muhammad Mahfudh, the centre's director, says. The mourchidat will help women with religious questions, with their education and give support in schools and prisons. The long-term hope is that by working face-to-face with the community, they will help foster a more moderate Islam.
In the Dar al-Hadith al-Hassania, the female student priests are taking a morning break. More than 400 women applied for the 50 places. The prerequisites are an exam, an interview and a BA. Candidates are also required to have a life grounded in the Koran, by which is meant memorising it, and an understanding of tajwid, the art of Koranic recital. Men have to know the entire text by heart; women, half of it. Once accepted on the course, students are given a grant of 4,000 dirhams (£360) a month. To rent a room in a shared house, as many students do, costs about a quarter of that. The youngest woman on the course is 22 - 'baby mourchidat!' - the oldest nearly 40. Lessons include Islamic studies, psychology, sociology, computer skills, economy, law and business management, plus three hours of homework a day.
The seminary where the mourchidat are taught is inside Rabat's walled medina Men and women learn side by side, but only men will be able to lead prayers. Does she mind? 'No, because it is from our religion,' Haddad replies. 'We are not shocked or belittled by this.' How do the men treat you? 'There is distance, manners in our relationship.' Any criticism? 'If there is, they don't say it to our face…' She pauses and smiles, 'so perhaps…'
Women have come a long way since pre-independence days, but Morocco is still a divided society: one where some women are modern, educated and forging ahead in high positions in politics, business, medicine, law - about 25 per cent of professionals are women; yet nearly 70 per cent of women are illiterate (89 per cent in rural areas) compared with 41 per cent of men, according to 1999 government figures.
In some rural areas, a woman who is beaten or abandoned by her husband with no means of livelihood has only one course of action: words 'of spiritual impact' to her husband are written on a piece of paper by the local imam. The woman then keeps the piece of paper, hoping it will somehow change her husband's behaviour.
The idea for the mourchidat was first discussed in 2003, but its roots go back to 1999, when Mohammed VI came to the throne. He promised a new era of openness and democracy after the 38-year repressive dictatorship of his father, Hassan II. First to go was the palace harem - some 40 women. Next was the interior minister, Driss Basri, who had run Hassan's security system for 20 years, and was feared and detested like no other. The king also remodelled himself as a champion of women's rights, approving modifications to the Moudawana, the family code, in 2004, including raising the age of marriage from 15 to 17.
But the landmark event that paved the way for the mourchidat took place in 2003. In a radical break with tradition, the king invited a woman - el Mekkaoui - to give the Ramadan lecture at the royal palace in Rabat, attended by members of the government, high-ranking military officials and foreign ambassadors. It was the first time a woman had even been allowed to enter the room, let alone permitted to speak.
But in Morocco the monarchy has all the power, and the parliament plays a marginal role. The true power is in the hands of the people close to Mohammed VI. And the two other people instrumental in the formation of the mourchidat are senior advisers to the king: Professor Abdelhadi Boutaleb, a well-known Islamic authority; and Ahmed Toufiq, the minister of Islamic affairs. Boutaleb publicly stated his support of women's rights soon after Mohammed VI came to power in late 1999. Islam, he noted at a public meeting of the Woman's Network, a coalition of some 200 volunteer organisations, was a 'message of renewal and reform', and he cited verses that demonstrated that Islam advocated the equality of men and women - 'It is true that a bird needs two wings to fly.'
On graduation, each mourchidat is assigned a mosque, which can be anywhere in Morocco, although the ministry in charge aims to find somewhere close to their families. The mourchidat offer spiritual advice and teach women the Koran, but also discuss more contentious gender-related issues - about sex, women's health, what to do if your husband beats you - issues that women would not dream of asking an imam. They are paid 5,000 dirhams (£420) a month, and work long hours, both in and outside the mosque.
Since the introduction of the mourchidat, Turkey has also challenged traditional Islamic gender roles with the appointment of 450 women as preachers - or vaize. The Diyanet, or Directorate of Religious Affairs, which controls the Islamic faith in Turkey but also tries to improve women's rights, sees the appointment of female vaize as a crucial step forward.
But many Moroccans see the mourchidat as 'government propaganda', particularly those from one Islamic movement, the Justice and Charity Association. There are two main political Islamic organisations in Morocco: the Justice and Development Party (PJD), which takes part in elections; and the Justice and Charity Association, which is tolerated by the government but banned from mainstream politics because of its open hostility to the monarchy. (Both these groups have publicly condemned violence and castigated terrorists who attacked the World Trade Centre. But just as forcibly, the two organisations condemn 'American terrorism'.) Marvine Howe, the author of Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Conflicts, points out that the Justice and Charity Association, 'is of overwhelming importance. It's the strongest party in the country, even though it isn't actually a party.'
Justice and Charity supports feminist ideals (its spokesman is the charismatic activist Nadia Yassine), seeing Muslim women as being liberated through the original teachings of the Prophet, and not by imitating a Western model of emancipation.
'We've been carrying out a programme of education and training for women in Morocco for more than 20 years in mosques,' argues Maryem Yafont, 37, the head of Justice and Charity's women's section, who says that her party has long had women acting as informal mourchidat.
To the great embarrassment of the government, several mourchidat from the first intake to graduate turned out to be supporters of Justice and Charity. 'Now the ministry carries out inquiries to find out if they [students] belong to our movement or not,' Yafont says, 'so they have to keep it secret.'
Back in the Dar al-Hadith al-Hassania, Zakia Haddad is about to resume morning lessons. Haddad is to be tested on three verses from the Koran, in front of a large group of male students. But she is not nervous. 'There is a big difference between an imam and a mourchidat,' she says. 'Women have more patience,' she laughs, 'they are more generous, and because women are mothers they are more nurturing, more giving - like a mother among people, that is what our role is from God.'
Page one of two. Please click on "external link" for entire article
PARIS (Reuters) - France's Muslim minority, the largest in Europe, is becoming increasingly more observant, with more of them saying daily prayers, visiting mosques and fasting during Ramadan, a new survey said on Thursday.
This appeared to reflect in part a reaction to discrimination against Muslims in France, and a growing number of new mosques being built in the country.
Thirty-nine percent of Muslims surveyed by the polling group IFOP said they observed Islam's five prayers daily, a steady rise from 31 percent in 1994, according to the study published in the Catholic daily La Croix.
Mosque attendance for Friday prayers has risen to 23 percent, up from 16 percent in 1994, while Ramadan observance has reached 70 percent compared to 60 percent in 1994, it said.
Drinking alcohol, which Islam forbids, has also declined to 34 percent from 39 percent in 1994, according to the survey of 537 people of Muslim origin.
There was strong progression among Muslims under 25 for both mosque attandence and Ramadan observance. "There is a general tendency among the young to reaffirm their (Islamic) identity," Islam expert Franck Fregosi told La Croix.
He said this was partly a reaction to discrimination against France's Muslim minority, at five million the largest in Europe: "This 'Islam as a refuge' can be a way to respond to an environment that is not favourable to young Muslims."
Part of the growth could also have come because it is easier to practice Islam in France thanks to many new mosques that have been constructed over the years, he added. Continued...
Survey: 'Unchurched' Americans say church is 'full of hypocrites'
Compiled by Tribune wire services Article Last Updated: 01/11/2008
Almost three-quarters of Americans who haven't darkened the door of a church in the past six months think it is ''full of hypocrites,'' and even more of them consider Christianity to be more about organized religion than about loving God and people, according to a new survey.
Almost half those surveyed - 44 percent - agreed that ''Christians get on my nerves.''
But the survey of ''unchurched'' Americans by LifeWay Research also found that some 78 percent said they would be willing to listen to someone who wanted to tell them about his or her Christian beliefs. Researchers, affiliated with the Southern Baptists' LifeWay Christian Resources, defined ''unchurched'' as Christians who haven't attended church in six months as well as non-Christians such as Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists.
The findings echoed a previous study by The Barna Group that found the vast majority of young non-Christians view Christianity as anti-gay, judgmental and hypocritical.
The study was based on an overall sample of 1,402 adults who were interviewed by phone in 2007, including 900 ages 18-29 and 502 age 30 and older. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Islam’s Forsaken Renaissance by Mahathir bin Mohamad
According to the Koran, a Muslim is anyone who bears witness that “there is no God (Allah) but Allah, and that Muhammad is his Rasul (Messenger).” If no other qualification is added, then all those who subscribe to these precepts must be regarded as Muslims. But because we Muslims like to add qualifications that often derive from sources other than the Koran, our religion’s unity has been broken.
But perhaps the greatest problem is the progressive isolation of Islamic scholarship – and much of Islamic life – from the rest of the modern world. We live in an age of science in which people can see around corners, hear and see things happening in outer space, and clone animals. And all of these things seem to contradict our belief in the Koran.
This is so because those who interpret the Koran are learned only in religion, in its laws and practices, and thus are usually unable to understand today’s scientific miracles. The fatwas (legal opinions concerning Islamic law) that they issue appear unreasonable and cannot be accepted by those with scientific knowledge.
One learned religious teacher, for example, refused to believe that a man had landed on the moon. Others assert that the world was created 2,000 years ago. The age of the universe and its size measured in light years – these are things that the purely religiously trained ulamas cannot comprehend.
So what do we need to do? In the past, Muslims were strong because they were learned. Muhammad’s injunction was to read, but the Koran does not say what to read. Indeed, there was no “Muslim scholarship” at the time, so to read meant to read whatever was available. The early Muslims read the works of the great Greek scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers. They also studied the works of the Persians, the Indians, and the Chinese.
The result was a flowering of science and mathematics. Muslim scholars added to the body of knowledge and developed new disciplines, such as astronomy, geography, and new branches of mathematics. They introduced numerals, enabling simple and limitless calculations.
But around the fifteenth century, the learned in Islam began to curb scientific study. They began to study religion alone, insisting that only those who study religion – particularly Islamic jurisprudence – gain merit in the afterlife. The result was intellectual regression at the very moment that Europe began embracing scientific and mathematical knowledge.
And so, as Muslims were intellectually regressing, Europeans began their renaissance, developing improved ways of meeting their needs, including the manufacture of weapons that eventually allowed them to dominate the world.
By contrast, Muslims fatally weakened their ability to defend themselves by neglecting, even rejecting, the study of allegedly secular science and mathematics, and this myopia remains a fundamental source of the oppression suffered by Muslims today. Many Muslims still condemn the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kamal, because he tried to modernize his country. But would Turkey be Muslim today without Ataturk? Mustafa Kamal’s clear-sightedness saved Islam in Turkey and saved Turkey for Islam.
Failure to understand and interpret the true and fundamental message of the Koran has brought only misfortune to Muslims. By limiting our reading to religious works and neglecting modern science, we destroyed Islamic civilization and lost our way in the world.
The Koran says that “Allah will not change our unfortunate situation unless we make the effort to change it.” Many Muslims continue to ignore this and, instead, merely pray to Allah to save us, to bring back our lost glory. But the Koran is not a talisman to be hung around the neck for protection against evil. Allah helps those who improve their minds.
Mahathir bin Mohamad was Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981-2003.
At a time when European countries are debating among themselves about how to deal with the burgeoning extremism among their Muslim immigrant communities and how to contend with the dangers to their national security and culture from those who demand official recognition of their separate culture, there is no sign of similar unrest in the US. Close to a million Muslims live in America in peace.
Whereas in Europe acts of terror are initiated by local Muslims, the perpetrators of the terror attack on the World Trade Center were not aided by a single Muslim-American collaborator.
A PUBLIC-OPINION survey conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in 2006 to gauge the views of Muslim voters showed that 84 percent said Muslims should strongly emphasize shared values with Christians and Jews; 77% said Muslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews; 89% said they vote regularly; 86% said they celebrate the Fourth of July and 64% said they fly the stars and stripes. Nothing similar can be found in European surveys.
What is the explanation of this dramatic contrast? True, the Muslim minority in the United States represents a much smaller proportion of the population than in Europe, but that alone cannot explain the distinct dissimilarity.
THERE ARE five fundamental differences between Europe and the United States.
First, the US has been a land of immigration from its inception and has a great deal of experience in absorbing immigrants from other cultures, while in Europe, the phenomenon of immigration is relatively new.
Second, the US maintains maximum, if not absolute, separation between religion and state, making religion an individual matter. That means there is no room for Muslim-religious demands.
Third, the United States has a tradition of individualism: It is the individual that stands alone facing government; the individual pledges his allegiance to the flag and the constitution when he becomes a citizen; the individual can conduct a dialogue with the government on his own and has no need for an intermediary, such as the Muslim Councils established in Britain and France.
FOURTH, the immigrant to the United States knows that his economic fate is up to him and his own efforts: He knows that he is immigrating to a country where he has the chance of becoming rich, of becoming a celebrity. The immigrant to Europe is motivated, among other reasons, by the opportunity to become eligible for national welfare.
Fifth, multiculturalism is recognized in both cultures, but in the United States, the concept is limited to certain specific areas: tolerance, recognition of other cultures and of the need to have affirmative action and diversity in education and employment. In Europe - and especially a short time ago in Britain, Holland and Scandinavia - multiculturalism has been translated into group cultural rights, which isolate the immigrants from the majority population.
Because of all these things, scholars and political leaders in Europe are now turning their gaze to America to learn from it about how to absorb Muslim immigrants.
IN ISRAEL, the situation is of course quite different, largely because of the conflict and the extremist anti-Israeli stance taken by the Israeli-Arab leadership. But the American example is significant: The most important question of all, for us too, is whether there is any chance that the Arab world will ever make its peace with modern democratic values, which place the emphasis on individual freedoms, thought and expression, redirecting religious injunctions to the private domain.
The democratic world stands on two principal pillars: the Jewish pillar - that all humans are created in God's image - and the Greek pillar, which encourages criticism of accepted thought.
So far, not a single Arab society has accepted these two foundations. On the contrary, Arab societies are increasingly moving in the direction of oppressive extremism and suppression of all independent thought and freedom.
In this area, Israel can learn two things from America: the need for all immigrants and those receiving citizenship to take an individual oath of allegiance, and the importance of making the economic changes necessary to enable every Israeli Arab to advance economically, without being suffocated by red tape.
The writer is a professor of law at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, a former minister of education and MK, and the recipient of the 2006 Israel Prize in Law.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Muslims and Jews, a tiny slice of the U.S. population, are looking for new ways to get along that could set a worldwide example for two ancient but often alienated faiths, religious leaders and experts say.
"I've encountered (among Muslims) a more centrist, a more moderate voice that is looking to the Jewish community to help project that voice ... to the greater world," said Rabbi Marc Schneier of New York, speaking of a national summit of imams and rabbis he helped organize earlier this year.
He also cited a recent incident in a New York subway "where four young Jews were being verbally and physically assaulted on a train for wishing the passengers a happy Hanukkah, and the only individual to come to their rescue was a young Muslim man," Hassan Askari, of Bangladeshi heritage, who was beaten.
"That is a very, very powerful example" of what can happen. The challenge is to try to strengthen Jewish-Muslim cooperation and have it serve as a paradigm for communities around the world," added Schneier, who founded the New York Synagogue in Manhattan and also the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
On another front, leaders of the Islamic Society of North America and the Union for Reform Judaism, representing respectively the largest U.S. Islamic organization and the largest organized Jewish segment in the country, have agreed on a tutorial for dialogue.
SMALL PERCENTAGES
In a country of 315 million, Muslims number about 2.4 million, according to a recent Pew Research Center study, which also found them to be mostly middle-class members of mainstream society. Others believe the figure is several million higher, and no estimates are available on how many practice the faith.
There are perhaps 6 million Jews in the United States, only about a third of them affiliated with a congregation. Of those who do attend synagogue, 38 percent are Reform, 33 percent Conservative and 22 percent Orthodox, according to one survey.
Zahid Bukhari, director of the American Muslim Studies Program at Georgetown University, said Muslim-Jewish dialogue "is a new beginning."
One difference, he said, is that in places like Europe "within each country you will find a concentration of Muslims from a certain country," such as Algerians and Moroccans in France or South Asians in England.
"In America we have Muslims from 80 different countries. They are younger, they are more educated, more professional, more integrated into society and they feel more comfortable. And the host society here is different," he said.
But what is happening is a "model which I hope we could duplicate" globally, he said.
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, author of the newly published "You Don't Have to be Wrong for Me to be Right," said one thing that sets the U.S. situation apart is that no one speaks for all Jews or Muslims and this allows for openness.
"Even religious Muslims and religious Jews are more integrated into the fabric of general American society than in other countries like Britain and France. It is possible to be deeply and visibly religious and still participate in the public culture -- that's not true everywhere," he said.
Farid Senzai, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, said there is a real effort at the local effort by mosques to develop joint activities with synagogues, and it goes down to the individual level as well.
"Muslims in this country have it much better off than elsewhere in the world," he said. "The Muslim community in the United States will in fact have a tremendous impact on Muslims elsewhere because they are able to debate and influence each other."
Amaney Jamal, of Princeton University, said Jews and Muslims share more in common in the United States than elsewhere "due to Muslim assimilation, but not in the cultural sense, rather in the socioeconomic sense. Muslims and Jews find themselves having to interact in many forums, be it university campuses or professional work places." (Editing by Alan Elsner)
Unprecedented Muslim call for peace with Christians
By Peter Graff Thu Oct 11
LONDON (Reuters) - More than 130 Muslim scholars from around the globe called on Thursday for peace and understanding between Islam and Christianity, saying "the very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake."
In an unprecedented letter to Pope Benedict and other Christian leaders, 138 Muslim scholars said finding common ground between the world's biggest faiths was not simply a matter for polite dialogue between religious leaders.
Relations between Muslims and Christians have been strained as al Qaeda has struck around the world and as the United States and other Western countries intervened in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Such a joint letter is unprecedented in Islam, which has no central authority that speaks on behalf of all worshippers.
The list of signatories includes senior figures throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. They represent Sunni, Shi'ite and Sufi schools of Islam.
Among them were the grand muftis of Egypt, Palestine, Oman, Jordan, Syria, Bosnia and Russia and many imams and scholars. War-torn Iraq was represented by both Shi'ites and Sunnis.
Mustafa Cagrici, the mufti who prayed with Benedict in Istanbul's Blue Mosque last year, was also on the list, as was the popular Egyptian television preacher Amr Khaled.
"MAINSTREAM VOICES DROWNED OUT"
The letter was addressed to the Pope, leaders of Orthodox Christian churches, Anglican leader Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the heads of the world alliances of the Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist and Reformed churches.
A Vatican official in Rome said the Roman Catholic Church would not comment until it had time to read the letter.
Aref Ali Nayed, one of the signatories and a senior adviser to the Cambridge Interfaith Program at Cambridge University in Britain, said the signatories represented the "99.9 percent of Muslims" who follow mainstream schools and oppose extremism.
The overture to Christians could be followed by similar letters addressed to Jews or secularists, he added.
Pope Benedict sparked Muslim protests last year with a speech hinting Islam was violent and irrational. It prompted 38 Muslim scholars to write a letter challenging his view of Islam and accepting his call for serious Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Benedict repeatedly expressed regret for the reaction to the speech, but stopped short of a clear apology sought by Muslims.
The new letter argues in theological terms, giving quotes from the Koran and the Bible that show both Christianity and Islam considered love of God as their greatest commandment and love of neighbor as the second greatest.
"The basis for this peace and understanding already exists," it said. "It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the one God and love of the neighbor."
Last month The Star reported on plans to install foot-bathing sinks for Muslim cab drivers in the new terminal of the Indianapolis International Airport. The article provoked controversy, even outrage, among some readers. The Star's Sept. 28 editorial supporting the airport's decision attracted nearly 300 TalkBack online responses, mostly negative.
Ablution, the ritual washing of hands, face, arms and feet, is a requirement for Muslims before prayer. More than 100 Muslim cab drivers have been washing their feet in the regular sink in the taxi restroom or going outside with bottles of water. Since special foot sinks are more hygienic, the airport authority says that installing them is in the interest of public health.
According to the Indianapolis Airport Authority Web site, the airport receives no state or local tax dollars and the federal government is paying only for certain aviation-related expenses such as the new control tower. So this is not an issue of spending government revenue to support religious practices.
But the airport is, in fact, a public facility, heavily regulated by government. And unlike the airport's interfaith chapel, the footbaths would be installed to facilitate an activity associated with one particular religion. Does this violate the separation of church and state?
Recently, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, a publicly funded institution with a large Muslim student population, installed footbaths in two restrooms to facilitate ablution.
Is there a double standard here? At a time when Christian symbols are being removed from public places and the "Christmas wars" are fought every December, is Islam getting "special treatment"? Or is this merely a simple and inexpensive gesture of respect toward a major faith group that is widely misunderstood and even vilified in the United States?
These are reasonable questions that should be addressed thoughtfully and civilly. But sadly, the discourse on this topic has been accompanied by xenophobia, racism and open hatred.
A large number of TalkBack responses to the Star's editorial demonstrates a fundamental, even gleeful ignorance of Islam and Muslims. Using insulting and dehumanizing language, many comments paint a portrait of all Muslims as a subversive group of (nonwhite) immigrants. A common theme is that all Muslims are terrorists who threaten America and want to destroy Christianity.
Such demonizing stereotypes are ludicrous and belittle or ignore the tremendous diversity that exists within Islam here and around the world. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United States, one that appeals to people of all races and classes.
The interesting challenges posed today by Islam in the public sphere should be addressed with factual accuracy, reasoned discourse and a basic respect for human dignity.
Responding with hatred and irrational hysteria is unbecoming of a country that preaches -- and practices -- pluralism and democracy.
Atlas is assistant professor of political science and director of the Franciscan Center for Global Studies at Marian College.
The month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim calendar and the holiest month of Islam, has begun. Muslims the world over have embarked on a month of abstinence, reflection, and soul searching. VOA's Amin Fekrat reports from Washington.
Muslims once again started Ramadan under unique circumstances, this time beginning at almost the same time Americans were marking the six year anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks that were carried out in the name of Islam.
President Bush took the occasion to send greetings to Muslims observing Ramadan, saying the United States is enriched by its Muslim citizens. There are estimated to be about 6 million Muslims in the United States.
Imam Elahi, of the "House of Wisdom" in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, says he hopes the followers of other religions will listen to what the president said.
Elahi says the condemnation of the terrorists and terrorism is absolute and without reservation under the Koran and the sunnah, the deeds of the prophet of Islam as recorded and passed to successive Muslim generations.
Elahi says there is a spiritual dimension to Ramadan that is common among all the monotheistic religions, one that could become a more powerful source of strength and solidarity among all faiths. The imam says this bond may enable people to weather the storm of terrorism and the scourge of war. He says peace may not come through violence, but through the power of the human will to depend on God alone.
The Five Pillars of Islam
Fasting Daily prayers Alms giving pilgrimage to Mecca, for those able Acknowledgement of the oneness of God, with Mohammad as God's messenger
During Ramadan, adult Muslims begin a fast - avoiding food, drink, and sex during daylight hours. They see fasting as a way to cleanse the heart from sin, selfishness, greed, pride, impatience and hypocrisy. They believe fasting brings appreciation for one's life and sympathy for those who suffer. The Koran does not require travelers, nursing mothers, the sick and soldiers on the march to fast - but these people are expected to make up the days missed, as the opportunity arises.
Muslim leaders say the month is about experiencing a spiritual energy, which provides healing and harmony in the human family and creates a stronger personal discipline, a stronger community, and a stronger country.
The holy month of Ramadan starts when the sliver of the new moon is sighted, to the satisfaction of each community or country. This explains the the difference in the first day of fasting among various Islamic countries.
Muslims believe the Koran emphasizes reason, perpetual search for truth, careful observation, contemplation, and transcendence above worldly pursuits. In the process of religious search, Muslims are to find the "signs" and the "clarifiers" that lead to God, as the eternal truth and the source of all existence.
The religion-based Islamic quest became a foundation for scientific method. The discoveries made by early Islamic scholars advanced natural sciences, math, medicine and astronomy in the early centuries of the religion's expansion. Early Islamic scholars and scientists are also credited with preserving much of the classical knowledge of the ancient world.
Since then, ethnic, tribal and cultural differences have superseded the Islamic injunctions for perpetual search. Many modern Muslims are convinced the rise of genuine Islamic revivalism as a positive force may once again place their communities on the right path.
Many of today's Muslims are dismayed that their religion is tarnished by terrorism and violence. "Islam is a religion that teaches compassion," says Imam Elahi, "during Ramadan and throughout the year."
Poll: For Christians' identity, it's faith first, U.S. second
Editor's note: This is part of a series of reports CNN.com is featuring for "God's Warriors," a documentary hosted by CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
(CNN) -- Most Christians are more likely to describe themselves as Christian first and American second, according to a new CNN poll examining religious views in the United States.
A new poll finds that Christian respondents would describe themselves as "Christian" before "American."
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that of the 750 Christians in the survey, 59 percent identify themselves first by their faith, then as Americans, while 36 percent described themselves in the reverse.
CNN's findings are not that different from those in a recent Pew Research Center poll on Muslim-American attitudes. In that poll, 47 percent of Muslims in America say they are Muslim first, American second. Younger Muslims were especially likely to feel that way: 60 percent of them responded they were Muslim first.
CNN's research also found that Americans are now less likely to see the possibility for peace between Islam and Christianity. Of the total 1,029 adult Americans polled, 53 percent say conflict is inevitable between the two religions, up from 45 percent in 2003. Explore Americans' views on religions »
Those polled also said Islam was the religion most likely to use violence. Sixty-eight percent believe Islam is the religion most likely to have followers who would use violence to spread their religion, compared to 11 percent for Christianity and 4 percent for Judaism.
When asked about religion-related violence in the United States, about nine in 10 said they personally would not be willing to kill another person to uphold a religious belief or advance a religious cause. But asked how many other Americans would do so, more than a third responded "many" and "some;" a third said "few" and a quarter said "almost no Americans."
The CNN poll also found that 62 percent say that American society has strayed too far from its religious foundation in the past 50 years, while answers were split almost evenly on religion as a factor in government policy. Forty-five percent said religion should have no influence on government decisions, while 36 percent say it should have some influence, but not the major factor.
When it comes to the Bible, CNN's poll found that 57 percent say they believe the Book of Revelations' description of the violent end of the world, where all but Christians perish. Nearly one in five believes it will happen in their lifetime.
But of the 750 Christians in the poll, nearly eight in 10 said that people of other beliefs could get into heaven, while only 17 percent believe that only Christians can.
The poll was conducted between June 22-24, 2007, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
By David Bauder, AP Television Writer Mon Aug 20, 8:47 AM ET
NEW YORK - Christiane Amanpour's work on the documentary series "God's Warriors" took her directly to intersections of extreme religious and secular thinking.
She watched, fascinated, as demonstrators in San Francisco accused teenagers in the fundamentalist Christian group BattleCry of intolerance in a clash of two cultures that will probably never understand each other.
Understanding is what Amanpour is trying to promote in "God's Warriors," which takes up six prime-time hours on CNN this week. The series on religious fundamentalism among Christians, Muslims and Jews airs in three parts, 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday through Thursday.
"I'm not interested in drumming up false fears, or falsely allaying fears," CNN's chief international correspondent told The Associated Press by phone from France, where she added last-minute touches to the series. "I just want people to know what's going on."
Amanpour traveled extensively over eight months to work on the series. The trips to Amanpour's native Iran are most fascinating. She explored the ancient roots of the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis, and talked with one of the country's most accomplished female politicians about how Muslim women are treated.
Another segment tried to explain why so many devout Muslims are willing to give their lives to a cause.
"To the West, martyrdom has a really bad connotation because of suicide bombers who call themselves martyrs," she said. "Really, martyrdom is actually something that historically was quite noble, because it was about standing up and rejecting tyranny, rejecting injustice and rejecting oppression and, if necessary, dying for that."
Finishing the project didn't leave her with a sense of fear over the implications of stronger fundamentalist movements.
"I did come away with a sense that we — or those people who don't want to see religion in politics and culture — if we don't look into it and see what is going on, we're in danger of missing it and not be able to react to it properly," she said.
Amanpour was one of the last reporters to talk to the Rev. Jerry Falwell. She interviewed him a week before he died about the legacy of the Moral Majority, the organization that thrust evangelical Christians onto the political stage.
The segment on Christians explores BattleCry in some depth, digging at the roots of an organization that fights against some of the cruder elements of popular culture and urges teenagers to be chaste. In noting how girls at some BattleCry events are encouraged to wear long dresses, Amanpour asks the group's leader how it is different from the Taliban.
In a nonjudgmental way, she visits a family that is home-schooling its children and explores the influence of Evangelicals on the courts.
"There is so much nuance, so much information, so much to talk about, by no means were we able to talk about it all," she said, "and by no means do I claim this is the definitive project. It is one of the fullest, one of the most ambitious and one of the most complete."
Amanpour, 49, is no longer CNN's most visible reporter, as she was when skipping from one war zone to another. She received a lot of attention for her documentary "In the Footsteps of bin Laden" last year, and said she's enjoying the opportunity to put day-to-day news in greater perspective.
She's frequently criticized American television networks, including her own, for not spending enough time on international news.
Amanpour was recently named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. She's leaving her home base of London to move to New York with her husband, former U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin.
"This is really a personal move for my husband,who has lived eight years out of his own country and wants to come back," she said.
New book by controversial theologian-priest gets much right, despite flaws
By Father Francis V. Tiso and Neil Sloan 7/27/2007 Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com)
In Islam: Past, Present, and Future, Father Hans Kung completes his trilogy on three world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A Swiss theologian and Catholic priest, Father Kung is known for his controversial approach to Christian theology and for his commitment to interreligious dialogue as the basis for world peace. ("No peace among the nations without peace among the religions; no peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions.")
Because of his third principle ("No dialogue between the religions without investigation of the foundations of the religions"), Father Kung takes a vigorously historical approach to Islam based on models or paradigms that summarize the world of beliefs, values, techniques and practices that are shared by believers.
In 662 pages of text, the author is able to cover far more ground than any other single recent publication in English on Islam. Other Catholic authors such as John Esposito, John Renard and Elias Mallon have written relatively slender introductions to Islam for the general reader. Father Kung takes up some of the topics that these authors do not address and he is self-confident enough to raise the difficult issues that often shape the kinds of questions that Americans and Europeans wish to ask about Islam.
He does this with extreme candor, with all rancor removed -- not an easy achievement. Father Kung clearly wishes to prepare the modern (or postmodern?) Christian for fruitful dialogue with Islam. This requires a survey of historical facts, reform movements, theological perspectives and political tendencies.
Father Kung never fails to assert his own interpretations of Christian theology and history in an effort to reorient the reader to these views, some of which he believes will make fruitful dialogue with Islam possible. In fact, it is clear that Islam is a source for some of the author's own convictions about Christianity, some of which Catholic readers will find troublesome.
Father Kung seems to believe that the authentic message of Jesus was best preserved by what he calls Jewish Christianity. He then proceeds to claim that, in some way, Islam arose in Arabia among the last remnants of Jewish Christianity.
This is the theological backbone of this book, and it leads him to deny key doctrines of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christianity. The Trinity, for example, goes by the board several times, most notably on page 509, and in the following pages there is the demolition of Chalcedonian Christology, all on the basis of Father Kung's distaste for Hellenistic thought.
The lack of evidence for the beliefs and even the existence of Jewish Christianity before the late second century makes it difficult to prove continuity with the mission of Jesus. Moreover, the claim that some form of Jewish Christianity is proto-Islamic is based more on conjecture than on accessible historical data.
Ultimately, the author's attempt to use Islam as evidence for an early Christianity opposed to Orthodox and Catholic belief is unpersuasive.
However, both Christians and Muslims have much to learn from his analysis of Islamic history. He has the facts right about Arabic Christianity before Islam, about possible sources of the contents of the Quran, about Mohammed as a prophet and leader, about Muslim religiosity, about Islamic law and its ongoing evolution, about the conflict between reason and revelation, about mysticism and mass movements, about the encounter with modernity and colonialism, and prospects for the future.
Without concealing the aggressive, deeply troubling political mores of Islamic empires down through the ages, Father Kung manages to give a balanced assessment of their contributions to the sciences, philosophy, architecture and spirituality. He discusses the issue of jihad with candor and in this, as in most other matters Islamic, he resists the temptation to find ideal types that manage to "explain" everything, or worse, to "predict" everything.
There is a savvy open-endedness to his assessments of modernity and postmodernity in Islam and in the world in dialogue with Muslims of our times. So, in spite of some extremely problematic interpretations of Christianity, this may be the best single volume introduction to Islam currently available in English.
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Father Tiso is associate director and Sloan is program assistant in the U.S. Catholic bishops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
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Islam: Past, Present, and Future, by Hans Kung. Translated by John Bowden. Oneworld Publications (Oxford, England, 2007). 767 pp. $39.95.
Muslims tired of having their religion hijacked by terrorists
Wednesday, 25 July, 2007
Muslims around the world increasingly reject suicide bombings and other violence against civilians in defense of Islam, according to a new international poll dealing with how the world's population judges their lives, countries and national institutions.
A wide ranging survey of international attitudes in 47 countries by the Pew Research Center also reported that in many of the countries where support for suicide attacks has declined, there has also has been decreasing support for al-Qaida leader Osama bin-Laden.
The 95-page survey found that surging economic growth in many developing countries has encouraged people in these countries to express satisfaction with their personal lives, family income and national conditions, said Andrew Kohut, the center's director.
"It's a pro-globalization set of findings," Kohut said.
Most notably, the survey finds large and growing number of Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere rejecting Islamic extremism. Ten mainly Muslim countries were surveyed along with the Palestinian territories, as well as five African nations with large Muslim populations.
For example, the percentage of Jordanian Muslims who have confidence in bin Laden as a world leader fell 36 percentage points to 20 percent since 2003 while the proportion who say suicide bombing is sometimes or always justified dropped 20 percent points to 23 percent. Other countries where support for bin Laden declined are Lebanon, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan and Kuwait.
The report said support for such bombings and terror tactics has dropped since 2002 in seven of the eight countries where data were available. In Lebanon, the proportion of Muslims who say suicide attacks are often or sometimes justified fell to 34 percent from 79 percent while just 9 percent of Pakistanis believe suicide bombings can be justified often or sometimes, down from 33 percent in 2002 and a high of 41 percent in 2004.
But support for suicide bombings is widespread among Palestinians, the report said, with 41 percent saying such attacks are often justified while another 29 percent say they can sometimes be justified. It found that only six percent of Palestinians - the smallest in any Muslim public surveyed - say such attacks are never justified.
Amid continuing sectarian violence in Iraq, the survey found there is broad concern among Muslims that tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims are not limited to that country and represent a growing problem for the Muslim world more generally.
Eighty-eight percent of Lebanese and 73 percent of Kuwaitis _ along with smaller majorities or pluralities of Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East _ said Sunni-Shiite tensions represent a growing problem for the Muslim world, the report said.
Globally, Pew's survey shows a clear linkage between economic conditions and views of national conditions.
This trend is particularly evident in Latin America and Eastern Europe, but China and India also stand out, the report said.
While Africans now express a greater sense of personal progress than in 2002, personal contentment remains low in all African countries relative to other parts of the world.
In Western Europe, Swedes and Spaniards express broad satisfaction with national conditions as well as with their governments and leaders.
"In contrast," the report said, "people in France and Italy, which have experienced little economic growth since 2002, are critical of their nation's course and their governments."
The French were polled before Nicolas Sarkozy replaced Jacques Chirac as president in May and gave jobs to several opposition Socialists in his Cabinet.
In China, where per capita gross domestic product, has increased 58 percent since 2002, its people expressed much more satisfaction than in 2002_ 83 percent now compared to 48 percent. The Chinese also give near universal support for the national government, 89 percent, and say the government has a very good or somewhat good influence on the way things are going.
But the pollsters in China were not able to ask respondents to express opinions about President Hu Jintao.
The polls _ with a sampling error of 2 to 4 percentage points, depending on the sampling size _ were taken in various countries from mid-April to the end of May, and involved about 1,000 samples in most countries. More interviews were conducted in India and China while fewer than 1,000 were carried out in European countries.
Survey: Muslim Americans, White Evangelicals Similar in Religious Fervor
By Jennifer Riley Christian Post Reporter Tue, Jul. 10 2007 04:37 PM ET
The religious intensity of Muslim Americans is most similar to white evangelicals and black Protestants, according to a recent analysis of a landmark survey.
Although believers of Islam and Christianity are often portrayed as polar opposites or even antagonists, the new study on how Muslims compare to mainstream Americans showed that in many aspects Muslims and white evangelicals in America share many commonalities.
The Pew Research Center found that 72 percent of Muslim Americans, 80 percent of white evangelicals, and 87 percent of black Protestants say religion is “very important” in their lives. These high percentages stand in contrasts to Catholics, only 49 percent of which said religion was “very important” in their life, and white mainline Protestants, only 36 percent of which responded likewise.
Moreover, Muslim Americans are similar to white evangelicals and black Protestants in their tendency to personally identify themselves first by their religion before their nationality.
Sixty-two percent of evangelicals, 55 percent of black Protestants and 47 percent of Muslims think of themselves first as a follower of their religion before describing themselves as an American.
In comparison, only 31 percent of Catholics and 22 percent of white mainline Protestants said they foremost consider themselves Christian before an American.
Religious holy books are also regarded highly by Muslims and the two Christian groups. They are more likely to regard their holy book as the word of God to be taken literally, word-for-word than Catholics and white mainline Protestants.
The majority of white evangelicals (66 percent) and black Protestants (68 percent) said they take a literal view of the Bible, while half of Muslim Americans consider the Koran as the literal word of God.
The percentage of those believing the Bible should be taken literally as the Word of God dropped under 30 percent for both Catholics and white mainline Protestants.
“None of this is to suggest that Muslims and Christians do not have distinctly different religious beliefs and practices,” commented the analysis’ authors Robert Ruby and Greg Smith.
“Nevertheless, the resemblance in religious intensity of Muslims to many groups that might think of themselves as wholly unlike Muslims is striking.”
However, Muslims and white evangelicals are markedly different when it comes to their political orientation. Muslim Americas are more politically liberal than evangelicals and are similar to black Protestants, secular Americans and white mainline Protestants.
Only 11 percent of Muslims say they are Republicans or lean Republican - a figure similar to black Protestants (10 percent). In contrast, 57 percent of white evangelicals responded that they are Republicans or lean politically right.
Muslim American’s left-leaning political stance was displayed during the 2004 presidential election where eight of ten Muslim voters (85 percent) supported John Kerry – a value similar to black Protestants (86 percent) and secular voters (67 percent).
Yet on the issue of homosexuality, Muslims take a similar position to white evangelicals with 61 percent saying the lifestyle should be discouraged by society. Similarly, 63 percent of white evangelical are oppose to homosexuality, according to Pew Forum.
“In many ways, Muslim Americans seem like a mosaic of many other American groups, sharing certain traits with these other groups while not being identical to any of them,” concluded the study’s authors. “They are anything but wholly apart; indeed, in important respects, Muslim Americans reflect the religious and political values held by most other Americans.”
Study suggests Muslims in America more mainstream than in Europe
By Robert Marus Published May 24, 2007
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- One of the most comprehensive studies of its kind suggests that Muslims in the United States are far better assimilated into the nation's culture -- and far less likely to espouse extremist beliefs -- than their counterparts in Europe.
The stark contrasts between the two groups may have something to do with the American traditions of religious freedom and church-state separation, according to experts in the field.
And a majority of all American Muslims surveyed believe it has become harder to be a Muslim in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Overall, the study of more than 1,000 Muslims living in the United States found that 78 percent of adult Muslims think suicide bombings are "never justified" in defense of Islam -- a far higher percentage than among European Muslims. Nearly two-thirds of Muslim Americans believe there is no conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society.
The survey, titled "Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream," also found that American Muslims have income and education levels comparable to the population as a whole, despite the fact that two-thirds of adult American Muslims are immigrants.
While only 13 percent of all American Muslims believe that suicide bombings could be occasionally justified in defense of Islam, that figure was 25 percent among those under 30. In addition, native-born African-American Muslims are far more likely than the general Muslim population to have a favorable view of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network.
And while American Muslims are more likely than the population as a whole to believe that most Americans can be successful if they work hard enough, African-American Muslims are much less likely to agree with that proposition.
Nonetheless, American Muslims' tolerance of suicide bombers is much lower than corresponding figures for European Muslims, according to Pew surveys conducted last year. In the United Kingdom and Spain, about one-fourth of all Muslims said suicide bombings could be justified, while a third of French Muslims agreed.
One significant difference between American Muslims and the population as a whole is their support for the U.S.-led "war on terrorism." A 55-percent majority of interviewees believes the battle is not "a sincere effort to reduce international terrorism," while only 26 percent believe it is.
In a similar vein, less than 50 percent of American Muslims believe the United States made the right decision to use force to remove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. A wide majority of the overall U.S. population believes attacking Afghanistan was justified.
Overall, however, the survey suggests Muslims are integrating into society as rapidly as did previous waves of immigrants, while their European counterparts have encountered much more difficulty in integrating into society.
Diana Butler Bass, a religion scholar who writes for a religion-and-politics blog jointly sponsored by Beliefnet and Sojourners magazine, said the American tradition of religious liberty explains the vast difference between Muslim life in parts of the world that are otherwise culturally similar.
"With its contrast between the U.S. and Europe, the Pew study suggests that the separation of church and state works to create a more generous, open, and safer society in regard to terrorism," Bass wrote in a May 23 entry on the “God's Politics” blog (www.beliefnet.com/blogs/godspolitics).
"At its best, America has a heritage of Christian liberality, intellectually influenced by Christianity but open to a wide range of ideas and peoples through the practice of religious toleration," she said.
Bass concluded by saying that some conservatives' appeals to a unified "Christian America" as "the way to defeat Islamic extremism" are proven misguided by the Pew study. "The path to peace between Christians and Muslims is that of religious freedom, separation of church and state, and appreciative toleration in the best traditions of liberality," she wrote.
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