c. 2003 Religion News Service
Islamic Group Cites Quran to Prohibit War
TORONTO (RNS) The Canadian Islamic Congress reiterated its position on Iraq on Monday (March 17), saying a U.S.-led invasion would be immoral and counter to the teachings of the Quran because armed conflict will do more harm than good.
The group says the Quran repeatedly emphasizes that defensive war is the only kind of combat Islam sanctions. Citing numerous other examples, the CIC says the holy text teaches that:
_ The use of force should be a last resort.
_ Normal relations between peoples, nations and states, whether Muslim or not, should be peaceful.
_ Maximum effort must be applied at all times to advance the cause of peace.
_ Whatever means are undertaken to work for peace during a conflict (such as mediation and arbitration) must be attempted until resolution is achieved.
The CIC stressed that Canadian Muslims “are against war, but they are not `pro-Saddam Hussein’ or `anti-American.”’
Other points made by the CIC are that United Nations-appointed weapons inspectors must be given all the time they need to finish their job thoroughly and fairly; any outside imposition of regime change in Iraq is “categorically illegal” under international law; and Canada “should not send its young adults to die for the immoral agendas of the rich and powerful.”
Residential Schools Agreement Signed
TORONTO (RNS) Representatives of the Anglican Church of Canada formally signed an agreement with the federal government over the residential school dispute March 11. Archbishop Michael Peers, the Anglican primate, and public works minister Ralph Goodale, in charge of the residential schools resolution, signed the document in Toronto.
The resolution, reached last November, calls for each of the 30 Anglican dioceses to proportionately pay into a $25 million settlement fund to settle the church’s share of compensation to former students who were physically or sexually abused at the schools.
Under the terms of the deal, the federal government will pay the difference if compensation exceeds $25 million.
Audit: Anti-Jewish Attacks Up 60 Percent
TORONTO (RNS) Anti-Jewish attacks jumped 60 percent in Canada last year to their highest level in 25 years, according to an audit released this month by B’nai B’rith Canada.
The audit found that 459 incidents of anti-Semitism were reported in 2002, a year in which synagogues in Toronto, Saskatoon and Quebec City were torched and Jews were singled out for abuse by both radical Muslims and white supremacists.
Those incidents included “death threats, bomb threats, physical assaults, anthrax scares with a hate/bias orientation, serious acts of vandalism and cemetery desecrations,” said the report.
While two-thirds of the incidents were classified as harassment, there were also 148 cases of vandalism and 29 violent attacks across the country, mostly in Ontario and Quebec.
The numbers document only those incidents in which religion was an important factor. Such complaints have more than doubled in the past five years, partly due to the spillover of anti-Israeli sentiment from the Middle East.
“The findings of the 2002 audit are alarming,” said Rochelle Wilner, president of B’nai B’rith Canada. “In addition to the marked rise in incidents, there is a disquieting trend towards violence.”
Iranian Christian Convert Faces Deportation
MONTREAL (RNS) An Iranian convert to Christianity could face deportation from Canada on March 20 if an immigration panel turns down the woman’s request for refugee status based on her claims of religious persecution.
“Nancy,” as the woman is known, says she faces jail or execution if forced to return to Iran, where converting from Islam is dealt with harshly.
Last fall, the Immigration and Refugee Board denied Nancy’s request for refugee status. The panel was unfamiliar with the denomination to which she belongs, the Ascension Lutheran Church in Montreal, and did not believe she had been properly converted by another local church.
A series of legal maneuvers followed, and her final hearing, known as a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, takes place Thursday.
Nancy’s pastor, the Rev. Harold Ristau, did not sound optimistic, noting that only 3 percent of PRRA cases end in positive rulings.
He said Iranian authorities want to question Nancy, who is her 50s, on charges of apostasy.
Ristau, who says he’s received hundreds of letters supporting the woman, called the earlier IRB ruling “ridiculous.” He said one of the questions asked of Nancy to test her knowledge of Christianity was “Who are the Jehovah’s Witnesses?”
Government Apologizes to Minister
TORONTO (RNS) A local bureaucrat has apologized for censuring a Toronto minister who married a lesbian couple.
In 2001, the Rev. Cheri Di Novo married the women at Toronto’s Emmanuel Howard Park United Church. The marriage was registered by the province, making it the only government-approved same-sex marriage in Canada.
However, Di Novo received a letter from the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services that threatened to revoke her license to perform weddings.
The letter reportedly upset Consumer and Business Services Minister Tim Hudak, and an apology to Di Novo was ordered.
A recent letter from Judy Hartman, deputy registrar at the ministry’s Registrar General, asked Di Novo to “disregard” her first missive, saying it had been “issued in error.” Hartman also apologized to Di Novo. The letter was copied to Di Novo’s superiors at the United Church’s Toronto Conference.
Di Novo told RNS she regarded the first letter as “a backhanded compliment” because the government is beginning to feel the impact of nontraditional marriages.
Synagogue to Share, Then Buy Church
CALGARY (RNS) A local synagogue will share facilities with a church for three years, after which the synagogue will buy the church building outright.
Board members of Temple B’nai Tikvah, which has never had a permanent home, voted this month to share quarters with Living Spirit United Church for the next three years. After that period, the temple will buy the 34,000-square-foot building and assume full ownership.
Temple officials say the three-year period will give it time to raise the $2.6 million purchase price and give the church time to build a new home.
“It’s a win-win all around,” enthused the Rev. Gordon Churchill, one of four pastors at the church.
Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman said if all goes according to plan, his temple will hold High Holy Day services in its own building for the first time in 20 years.
Officials stress that the temple and the church will not hold joint services. But they will continue to cooperate on local charitable projects.
Inquiries Into Priest’s Death Continue
FREDERICTON, New Brunswick (RNS) Best-selling U.S. mystery novelist and forensic anthropologist Dr. Kathy Reichs hopes to solve the real-life mystery of how Father Raoul Leger, a priest from New Brunswick, died at the hands of the Guatemalan military more than 20 years ago, reports the National Post.
The priest’s family believes he was tortured and assassinated by the military, but the Guatemalan government claimed he was a guerrilla commander who blew himself up rather than be captured by the military during a shootout in 1981.
Reichs, who has examined the remains of other victims of the Guatemalan war, says she will soon have a chance to examine Leger’s remains for herself.
Meantime, Leger’s family wants his suspected killers tried in absentia in Canada.
Andrea Leger of Cocagne, New Brunswick, said this month she and other family members are heading to Ottawa to press the government for an amendment to the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act that would allow international offenders who commit crimes against Canadians to be tried in absentia.
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