Monthly Archives: February 2006
Even in Saudi Arabia, Questions About Wahhabism
By Kate Seelye — February 11, 2006
c. 2006 Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly RIYADH, Saudi Arabia _ Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and a nation where religion and government are deeply entwined and where faith and identity are virtually identical. But since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, religion in Saudi Arabia _ especially the kingdom’s rigidly conservative […]
COMMENTARY: Fundamental and Nonnegotiable Beliefs
By John Farmer — February 11, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The Muslim rioting against Danish cartoonists’ satirical renderings of the Prophet Muhammad illustrates why the cultural gulf between fundamentalist Islam and the West is probably unbridgeable _ and perhaps dooms President Bush’s goal of democratizing the Middle East. Western-style democracy in its modern form rests in large part on […]
Chaplain-Turned-Bobsledder Shines for Media
By RNS Blog Editor — February 11, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service TURIN, Italy _ Even before the Olympics started Friday (Feb. 10), the Brock Kreitzburg show was well under way. Kreitzburg, a former retirement-home chaplain in Akron, Ohio, turned bobsled pusher, arrived Tuesday. By Wednesday, he had held court at the Shroud of Turin and lined up three appearances on national […]
“Don’t Mess With the Nuns”
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 10, 2006
Time Magazine’s Mike Allen tells of his first time covering the pope-Benedict XVI met with First Lady Laura Bush on Thursday-and a nun who threatened to summon the Swiss Guards for some “unintentional and mysterious infraction.” Time has the story here. Lesson No. 1? “Don’t Mess With the Nuns.”
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — February 10, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Pope’s First Trip Outside Europe Will Be to Muslim Country VATICAN CITY (RNS) Amid a week of heightened tension between the West and the Muslim world, the Vatican announced Thursday (Feb. 9) that Pope Benedict XVI’s first trip outside Europe will be to predominantly Muslim Turkey. In a statement, papal […]
Air Force Issues Revised Guidelines on Religion
By Adelle M. Banks — February 10, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The Air Force issued revised guidelines on religious expression Thursday (Feb. 9), reiterating its official neutrality on matters of belief but making subtle changes in language that drew both criticism and praise from disparate groups. Religious activists gave diverse interpretations of whether and how the guidelines address some […]
String of Baptist Church Burnings in Alabama Leaves Questions, but No Answers
By RNS Blog Editor — February 10, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service DANCY, Ala. _ A charred Bible rested on a table in front of what used to be Dancy First Baptist Church’s pulpit, where investigators believe the fire started. The Rev. Walter Hawkins Jr., ran his fingers across the book, causing the corners of the pages to flake off. Wednesday (Feb. […]
World Council of Churches to Meet in Brazil to `Transform World’
By Carl Anderson — February 10, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) At a moment when war, violence and poverty engulf much of the world, and when the vision of church unity seems uncertain at best and fading for many, the World Council of Churches is boldly asking God to “transform the world.” The international ecumenical body of some 347 Orthodox […]
Cartoon controversy
By Tracy Gordon — February 9, 2006
Quote of the Day: Danish Newspaper Editor Flemming Rose “This whole thing is crazy, totally crazy. I had no idea anything like this would happen.” -Flemming Rose, the cultural editor of the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper, on the controversy that erupted over his decision to publish 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have angered Muslims […]
Free Speech and Blasphemy
By RNS Blog Editor — February 9, 2006
Muslim-Americans Defend Free Speech, Despite ‘Blasphemous’ Cartoons of Prophet RNS’ article of the week (linked above), by Omar Sacirbey, looks at Muslim-American reaction to the controvery surrounding the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in cartoons. Quotes: “This is not just a matter of being for freedom of speech and against freedom of speech,” [Junaid] Ahmad, […]
To Publish or Not to Publish?
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 9, 2006
While the Muhammad cartoons have been published widely across Europe, U.S. newspapers have, by and large, refrained from publishing them. Only the Philadelphia Inquirer has reprinted the cartoons. Which raises the question-are newspapers holding back out of religious sensitivity, or out of fear for retribution? The Phoenix family of alternative newspapers gives its reasons here. […]
Europe’s Muslims Relatively Calm, but Storms Can Erupt Suddenly
By RNS Blog Editor — February 9, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service PARIS _ Nursing an almost empty cup of coffee in a cafe, Sebhi Mennad confessed he had not even seen the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have unleashed violence across Asia and the Middle East. The 55-year-old, gray-haired Algerian said Wednesday (Feb. 8) he is not offended by […]
Some Evangelicals Launch Campaign Against Global Warming, Others Protest
By Adelle M. Banks — February 9, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Warning of millions of potential deaths worldwide from climate change, a new network of evangelical leaders launched a campaign Wednesday (Feb. 8) for government and grass-roots action to reduce global warming. The network’s formation illustrates a growing divide among evangelicals on how _ or even whether _ to […]
British Muslims Seek Legal Remedy to Ban Images of Prophet Muhammad
By RNS Blog Editor — February 9, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service LONDON _ Hundreds of Islamic religious leaders in emergency talks Wednesday (Feb. 8) called for changes in the law to stop “insulting” caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, which already have been printed in continental Europe, from being published in Britain. The meeting in Birmingham, called by the Muslim Action Committee […]
Armless Guitar Player Kissed by Pope John Paul II Releases New CD
By RNS Blog Editor — February 9, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Becoming a professional guitar player is no easy task, especially for Tony Melendez. It takes practice and dedication, which Melendez developed. It also takes a certain amount of God-given talent, which Melendez was born with. What Melendez wasn’t born with were arms. Despite the impediment, the rhythm guitar player […]
