c. 1998 Religion News Service

Clinton says clashes between West, Islam are not inevitable

(RNS) In a United Nations address on terrorism Monday (Sept. 21), President Clinton declared it is”terribly wrong”to believe there is an”inevitable clash”between Western and Islamic values.”When it comes to terrorism, there should be no dividing line between Muslims and Jews, Protestants and Catholics, Serbs and Albanians, developed societies and emerging countries,”Clinton said at the opening of the 53rd session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.”The only dividing line is between those who practice, support or tolerate terror and those who understand that it is murder, plain and simple.” Clinton contrasted his view of Islam with that of others.”False prophets may use and abuse any religion to justify whatever political objectives they have, even cold-blooded murder,”he said.”Some may have the world believe that almighty God himself, the merciful, grants a license to kill, but that is not our understanding of Islam.” The president cited statistics about Islam, calling it”one of our fastest-growing faiths”with more than 1,200 mosques and Islamic centers and 6 million worshippers in the United States.”Even as we struggle here in America, like the United Nations, to reconcile all Americans to each other and to find greater unity in our increasing diversity, we will remain on a course of friendship and respect for the Muslim world,”Clinton said.”I agree very much with the spirit expressed by these words of Muhammad, `Rewards for prayers by people assembled together are twice those said at home.'” Clinton’s remarks were praised by officials of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group.

Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for CAIR, said his organization appreciated that Clinton made”an effort to separate the religion of Islam from any particular violent acts around the world.” Hooper added that the Clintons have long been supportive of Muslims. First lady Hillary Clinton has visited mosques during overseas trips and hosted two events marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.”It helps, particularly when the president mentions specifically the American Muslim community as he did, that it’s one of the fastest growing and the size and the number of mosques,”said Hooper.”These are what could be considered trivial details that are important because they’re mostly unknown to the majority of people of other faiths in this country.”

Keith Parks, moderate Baptist missions leader, to retire

(RNS) Keith Parks, global missions program coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has announced retirement plans.

Parks, a well-known leader in Baptist missions for several decades, announced his retirement at a CBF advisory council meeting on Friday (Sept. 18). He said he will retire on Feb. 28, 1999, reported Associated Baptist Press, an independent news service.”It just felt like the time has come,”Parks said.”I have no health problems and nobody’s asking me to leave … But I did have some fear about staying beyond the time I was productive.” Parks served a dozen years as president of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, now called the International Mission Board. He previously served for 14 years as a Southern Baptist missionary in Indonesia.

He left the Foreign Mission Board after disagreements with conservative leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention and has worked with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship for more than five years. The Atlanta-based fellowship, a moderate Baptist group, has 140 missionaries and an 11-member missions staff.

German Protestant, Jewish leaders condemn proselytism

(RNS) Leaders of Germany’s Protestant and Jewish communities have called on Christians to end their efforts to convert recent Jewish immigrants to Germany.

The Protestant leaders, members of the governing council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) noted that”for both theological and historical reasons”the official Protestant church in Germany had rejected the idea of a”mission to the Jews.””The history of Christian persecution of Jews, particularly this century in Germany, affect the credibility of the Christian witness,”the EKD said in a statement at the end of a joint meeting between the EKD council and the Central Council of Jews in Germany.”Protestant churches are therefore particularly grateful for the dialogue between Christians and Jews which has played an important role in a theological reorientation,”they said.

In the joint statement, the Jewish and Protestant leaders condemned all forms of proselytism but specifically warned that”the difficult economic situation of immigrants, particularly from the CIS (former Soviet Union) should not be exploited”by Christian missionaries using economic”pressure, persuasion or enticement”to win converts.

Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency, said both sides in the meeting agreed that Protestant pastors coming into contact with Jewish immigrants should always inform them about the nearest Jewish congregation.

The two sides also warned about growing xenophobia in Germany, particularly among young people, and warned against the search for what they called”scapegoats”at a time of economic difficulties.

Taxi company fined for church-going discounts

(RNS) A taxi company owner in San Antonio, Texas, has been fined $100 by the city for charging only half-price fares to take people to church.

Vincent Thompson, owner of Alamo City Taxi, offered the lower rates to anyone attending church on some Sundays in July and August, the Associated Press reported.

City officials, however, said providing discounts only to churchgoers could be unconstitutional. They also said the 50 percent cut in fares could be too large a discount under city rules which limits taxi discounts to 20 percent as a means of avoiding price wars that could force smaller companies out of business.

Frank Diaz nominated as next Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) moderator

(RNS) Frank Diaz, who served two years as interim executive director of the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been endorsed to stand for election as the denomination’s next moderator when the denomination’s General Assembly meets next June in Fort Worth, Texas.

Diaz, 65, retired as the church’s top national bureaucrat last August. He now lives in the Dallas area. Diaz entered the Presbyterian ministry after a long career in business and joined the national staff of the mainline denomination in 1989. He is a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

The moderator, who serves a one-year term, presides at the church’s General Assembly and spends much of the year on the road serving as the church’s top spokesman.

Quote of the Day: Seminary administrator Jim Cogdill

(RNS)”I’ve been in churches where people complained about the air conditioning or the pews, or that somebody was in their seat, or the organ or the piano was on the wrong side. We met with believers in a mud-brick hut who risked their lives every time they met together as a church.” Jim Cogdill, vice president for academic affairs at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., upon returning from a tour of North Africa and the Middle East. His comments during a Sept. 10 chapel service were reported by Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

DEA END RNS