c. 2003 Religion News Service
Mosque Vandalized a Second Time
EDMONTON, Alberta (RNS) Police, city leaders and members of Edmonton’s Islamic community have condemned the repeated vandalism of a south-side mosque and appealed for help in finding the culprits.
A brick was hurled through a window at the entrance of the Muslim Community of Edmonton mosque on Nov. 12. A lone worshipper saw two men and a woman laugh as they drove off in a small red car and then circle the block twice before leaving.
In mid-September, the sign in front of the mosque was torn down and dumped a few blocks away.
Mosque president Usama Al-Shiraida said the incidents have raised fear in the mosque, which is a community support center as well as a place of worship for 300 to 500 Muslims.
“A lot of people are worried because they feel they are being targeted for their religious beliefs,” he said.
Edmonton police are investigating and are expected to assign the case to their new hate crimes unit.
Muslim Group Urges Caution
OTTAWA (RNS) The Canadian Islamic Congress is urging Canada’s 600,000 Muslims to take precautions in order to avoid the fate of Maher Arar and other Canadians who have had what it calls “traumatic experiences.”
“Unfortunately we have become a targeted community,” said the congress’s legal counsel, Faisal Joseph. “When it comes to the personal safety of every Canadian Muslim, it is far better to be safe than sorry.”
A Canadian citizen, Arar was suspected of being an al-Qaida operative and arrested at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport last September, then deported to Syria via Jordan.
He is suing Syria and Jordan for $31 million for violating his human rights. He alleges he was tortured in a Syrian jail.
The personal safety guidelines accompanying the congress’s warning include suggestions that Muslims carry _ or better yet, memorize _ the names and phone numbers of their lawyers, and politely refuse to answer questions from agents of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or Canadian Security Intelligence Service until their lawyers are present.
Muslims are also urged to prominently display the Canadian flag on their luggage when traveling abroad, leave any documents referring to their birthplace at home, and carry only their Canadian documentation.
Meantime, Muslims Against Terrorism (MAT) and the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC) are sponsoring a project dubbed “Exposing Islam” _ a series of seminars in five Canadian cities designed to provide Muslim and non-Muslim journalists, government officials and the general public the opportunity to ask any questions about Islam.
Anglican Priest Defends Marrying Lesbians
HAMILTON, Ontario (RNS) An Anglican priest who defied his church by performing a marriage between two women in a cathedral in Hamilton says he acted in “a moment of grace” and does not regret his decision.
“I know that it was probably an error,” the Rev. Peter Wall, dean of the Diocese of Niagara and rector of Christ’s Church Cathedral, told the National Post. “But … while it’s been uncomfortable, I’m content to believe that what I did was the right thing to do.”
The marriage, performed in August, is believed to be the first between same-sex partners in an Anglican church in Canada. While some Anglican dioceses allow priests to bless gay marriages, they are not permitted to perform full marriage ceremonies, such as the one conducted by Wall.
Bishop Ralph Spence announced in early September that a priest in the Niagara diocese had presided over the wedding of a gay couple and that he was suspending the priest’s license to perform marriages. He did not name the priest or the church.
Wall said he decided to comment publicly after the religious press deduced it was him and approached him for comment. His story was posted to the Anglican Journal Web site, and Wall decided to inform his flock that he was the minister who performed the ceremony, in their church. He received a prolonged ovation.
Wall’s quote to the Anglican Journal was that his decision to marry the two women was “either a moment of grace or a moment of error.”
Letters Irk Jewish Community
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (RNS) Letters that begin “Dear Jewish Friend” have been mailed by a Regina church pastor to people with Jewish-sounding surnames so they “might get saved,” according to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Bibleway Baptist Church pastor William Cicansky, who began the church three years ago, said he scoured Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and Vancouver telephone books for “Jewish-sounding names” of people to receive his letters.
“We believe it’s our mandate to reach people,” Cicansky said, adding he targeted Jews in particular so “that they might get saved. You see, they (Jews) accept the Old Testament. We (Bibleway Baptists) accept the entire Bible.”
Earl Goodman said he was furious after receiving the form letter. “I was annoyed enough that if I could’ve gotten my hands on his (Cicansky’s) neck I would’ve strangled him,” said the Saskatoon man, an agnostic, whose mother also received the letter.
Allan Dolovich, president of the Jewish Congregation Shir Chadash in Saskatoon, said he found the letters offensive because Cicansky’s church “thinks it is doing us a favor and, the point is, we don’t need that favor.”
An undeterred Cicansky said he will continue the mailings.
“If some people have been offended, we don’t want that to happen, obviously. But it’s going to happen. Christ offended many people, did he not? That’s why he was crucified. Correct? So really, the gospel is an offense to some people, but we do it in a kind manner.”
Observant Jews Expected to Increase
MONTREAL (RNS) Strictly observant, or “frum” Jews, who make up about 12 percent of the Montreal Jewish population, are likely to become an even larger segment, given their high birthrate and relatively low out-migration, according to a new study reported by the Canadian Jewish News.
“A Comprehensive Study of the Frum Community of Greater Montreal,” conducted by the local Jewish federation, identifies 11,025 observant and Hasidic Jews among a total Jewish population of 92,970, based on the 2001 Canadian census.
“In other words, slightly more than one in 10 people in the Jewish community can be considered frum,” states the study. “If the trend of population decline in the overall Montreal Jewish community continues, as the frum community increases in size, their relative proportion to the rest of the Jewish population is bound to increase as well.”
Almost half (47.5 percent) of observant Jews are under 15 years old, compared to 19.6 percent in the overall Jewish population. Only 5.9 percent are 65 and over, compared to 21.6 percent of all Jews.
Put another way, the mean age of the observant population is 22.58, significantly younger than the 40.12 in the wider Jewish community.
“This is a striking find,” the report says. “In fact, were it not for the frum community’s contribution to the overall demographics of the Jewish community, the average age of the Jewish population in Montreal would be even older.”
New Christian Movie Company Opens Studio
NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario (RNS) A 17,000-square-foot film studio has been opened not far from Niagara Falls by a new company that touts itself as a “faith and family values movie studio … with a purpose of producing quality movies with stirring messages and heart-warming stories.”
Garden City Pictures president Byron Jones intends to produce “films that are tailor-made for the Christian home and church family market. We plan to produce films that touch on current world events, stories of Christian heroes and family situations and how faith in God can bring victorious living.”
Until late last year, Jones worked with Cloud Ten Pictures, purveyors of the Left Behind and other “end times” thrillers.
His new company’s first release will be “Home Beyond the Sun,” which “examines contemporary China’s dilemma of unwanted daughters in an overpopulated land of more than a billion souls.”
Bonhoeffer Tour Planned
WATERLOO, Ontario (RNS) Two religious studies professors at the University of Waterloo will lead a tour of key sites associated with the life of renowned German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer next year, reports CanadianChristianity.com.
James Reimer and Peter Frick will take tour participants to locations in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, May 6-20, 2004. The sites will include Bonhoeffer’s birthplace, the Confessing Church seminary he directed, the Benedictine monastery where he stayed during his underground work against Adolf Hitler, and various concentration camps _ including the one at which he was executed.
Bonhoeffer was murdered at Flossenburg on April 9, 1945, one of four members of his immediate family to die at the hands of the Nazi regime for their participation in the small Protestant resistance movement.
Pre-authorized Collection Plate Giving Approved
TORONTO (RNS) No more loose change making that embarrassing clinking sound in the collection basket. No more rooting around for the right bill, and finding only pocket lint.
A pre-authorized, direct-deposit plan for collection plate donations has been greenlighted by Toronto’s Roman Catholic archdiocese, allowing the faithful to make contributions the way they pay many bills _ straight from their bank accounts.
The pilot project has been up and running in nine area parishes for the past 18 months, and generated about $30,000 a month per parish. This month, the Toronto archdiocese extended the plan to all 222 of its parishes, reports the Catholic Register.
“The parishes that are running it are very happy,” said archdiocese spokeswoman Shirley Bevan. “They know what they’re getting at the end of the month. It’s an easy way for them to balance their books.”
The plan is modeled on a successful direct-deposit option the Anglican Church of Canada has offered for years.
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