c. 2006 Religion News Service
London Jury Convicts Muslim Cleric Who Plotted Assassinations Overseas
LONDON (RNS) Controversial Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been convicted of stirring up racial hatred in Britain and inciting his followers to murder Jews and non-Muslims, including foreign leaders, in the name of Islam.
After deliberating four days, a jury at London’s Old Bailey court on Tuesday (Feb. 7) found the Egyptian-born engineer and former nightclub bouncer guilty on 11 of 15 charges centering on accusations that, as spiritual leader of the Muslim community in north London, he had preached terrorism and death to non-believers.
The prosecution described al-Masri as a “recruiting sergeant for terrorism” and said he used as his “bible” the multivolume Encyclopedia of the Afghani Jihad, which suggests a list of potential targets for militant Muslims that includes London’s Big Ben tower and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The 47-year-old handless, one-eyed cleric said he sustained the injuries while disarming a bomb in Afghanistan. He was sentenced to a series of prison terms ranging from three to seven years, all to be served concurrently.
The court said that when he completes his sentence, al-Masri will face the “real possibility of extradition and further charges elsewhere” _ including the United States, where he is wanted on charges of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon.
Prosecutor David Perry argued during the trial that the preacher had “used the most dangerous weapons available _ a great religion, Islam; his position as a civil leader; and the power of words, his own words.”
The murderous wishes that al-Masri proclaimed, Perry added, included suicide bombings and “the assassination of foreign leaders.”
The cleric, pleading innocent to the string of 15 charges, defended suicide bombings as a legitimate tool of war. “If it is the only way of preventing the enemies of Islam or resisting oppression,” he argued to the jury, “then that would be your only tactic of war.”
_ Al Webb
More Church Fires Hit Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) Fire erupted at three more rural Alabama churches Tuesday (Feb. 7), less than a week after five Baptist churches burned in the state.
State and federal investigators were dispatched to the sites, said Ragan Ingram, assistant commissioner of the Alabama Department of Insurance, the state agency that oversees fire investigations.
“We’re investigating as suspected arson, but we’ll see what happens,” Ingram said. Damage was still being assessed, authorities said Tuesday.
Federal investigators said they are using two profilers to try to establish what type of person they are hunting in last week’s five church fires.
The profilers are Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents based at the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Va.
One is a geographic profiler who looks where the crimes occurred and past similar incidents or patterns to try to pinpoint where the arsonist might live. The other, a criminal profiler, studies the total criminal behavior, what kind of person would commit the crime, why and with whom they may be associated.
“This is not a psychic wonderland,” said Jim Cavanaugh, ATF’s regional director. “This is the study of past behavior.”
Arsonists attacked five Bibb County churches early Friday, burning three of them to the ground and damaging the other two. Officials on Friday ruled three of the fires arson _ Old Union Baptist Church, Antioch Baptist Church and Ashby Baptist. On Monday, Ingram said the fires at the other two churches _ Rehobeth Baptist Church and Pleasant Sabine Baptist _ also were confirmed arson.
A sixth fire that broke out a day earlier at a church in neighboring Chilton County was deemed accidental and unrelated, Ingram said.
“We’ve got teams out everywhere,” said Cavanaugh. “I think it’s solvable. And the only way to solve it is to keep pressing on it.”
_ Carol Robinson
Mormon President, 95, Expected to Resume Duties After Cancerous Growth
(RNS) Gordon B. Hinckley, the 95-year-old president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been released from a Salt Lake City hospital after being treated for a cancerous growth.
“Doctors are very pleased with President Hinckley’s progress,” Mormon Church spokesman Dale Bills said in a statement. “We expect he will be able to resume his normal schedule soon.”
Hinckley was released Tuesday (Jan. 31), one week after the growth was removed from his large intestine. Doctors discovered the growth during a routine medical screening, a church statement said.
“The diseased portion of the intestine was successfully removed through a laparoscopic procedure,” it continued.
Hinckley took part in festivities marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Smith, the founder of the 12-million-member faith group, in December. In 2004, President Bush named Hinckley a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts to “improve humanitarian aid, disaster relief and education funding across the globe.”
_ David Barnes
Survey: Churchgoers Have Fewer Divorces
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (RNS) Husbands and wives who attend religious services together are less likely to divorce, whether they are black or white, new research from the University of Michigan shows.
The study, conducted by researchers connected to the Institute for Social Research, examined how religion affected the risk of divorce for both black and white couples in the first seven years of marriage. Data came from 373 couples initially interviewed in 1986, their first year of marriage, as part of the Early Years of Marriage project at the university.
“The findings suggest that the most effective intervention strategies for dealing with marital instability and divorce are those that consider gender and race,” said Edna Brown, the paper’s lead author, in a press release.
Black couples are at higher risk of divorce than whites, the study found. But it also found education a protective factor against divorce for wives, and income a protective factor for husbands. Regardless of race, however, couples who attended religious services together were less likely to divorce.
Other aspects of faith, such as frequency of attendance or importance of faith, didn’t influence the risk of divorce. “Faithfulness and integrity have been on the agenda of many faith communities, and that’s value added to marriage,” said the Rev. George Lambrides, an American Baptist chaplain at the University of Michigan Hospitals. Exposure to faith communities is a form of continuing education, Lambrides added.
_ Catherine O’Donnell
Jordan’s King Seeks Interfaith Effort to Confront Extremism
WASHINGTON (RNS) Speaking to thousands of evangelical leaders Thursday (Feb. 2), King Abdullah II of Jordan called on Christians, Jews and Muslims to work together in the fight against religious extremism.
“At this point in history, our service to God, our countries and our peoples demands that we confront extremism in its myriad forms,” the Muslim head of state said at a luncheon following the National Prayer Breakfast.
“To overcome this common foe,” he said, “we must explore the values that unite us, rather than exaggerating the misunderstandings that divide us.”
Abdullah, who also said a prayer for the Middle East at the annual breakfast, was the keynote speaker at a luncheon attended by about 3,000, most of them evangelical Christian leaders.
Abdullah drew on the texts of both the Quran and the Bible to make his points, noting that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all call for a love of God and a love of neighbor.
“In our generation, the greatest challenge comes from violent extremists who seek to divide and conquer,” he said. “Extremism is a political movement, under religious cover. Its adherents want nothing more than to pit us against each other, denying all that we have in common. We must therefore heed the words of the New Testament: `Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”’
The king cited examples of “extremist bombings in the Islamic world” and said “indigenous innocent Muslims” are among the victims.
“Such wanton acts demonstrate that extremist terror is not indicative of a clash between civilizations; rather it is an attack upon civilization,” he said, drawing applause.
The comments were a continuation of efforts by Abdullah to foster relations with other faith groups. In January, he held his first meeting with Catholic leaders from North America and Europe who support the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. In December, he spoke in Athens, Greece, about the importance of dialogue between Christianity and Islam. And last September, he spoke at Catholic University and met with Jewish and Muslim groups during a trip to Washington.
The Embassy of Jordan distributed a pamphlet that said the king’s goal is “to establish full acceptance and goodwill” among Muslims, Christians and Jews.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Religious Conservatives Praise Bush’s Commitment to Ban Cloning
WASHINGTON (RNS) Conservative Christian groups say they are heartened that President Bush promoted legislation to ban human cloning in his State of the Union address Tuesday (Jan. 31).
“Any time the president uses the bully pulpit to endorse specific measures, we’re optimistic that it will have an impact,” said Carrie Earll, bioethics analyst for the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Focus on the Family.
In his speech, Bush described human cloning as “the most egregious abuses of medical research” and called for a ban on the controversial procedure “in all its forms.”
Bush supports the Human Cloning Prohibition Act introduced by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., in March. The bill would ban the creation of embryos through cloning and impose criminal and civil penalties on offenders.
The House of Representatives for the last two congressional sessions has voted overwhelmingly to ban all human cloning, but the legislation is stalled in the Senate.
Earll said Focus on the Family opposes human cloning not only because an embryo is destroyed to obtain stem cells for research but also because of the serious health risks posed in reproductive cloning. According to the science arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, the risks include death, deformity and disability in the baby.
Earll said her group will continue to lobby for the bill’s passage.
Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council, has also pushed for a ban, and thanked Bush for his statement.
“We cannot exist in a just society until we recognize, as the president stated, `Human life is a gift from our creator _ and that gift should never be discarded, devalued or put up for sale,”’ Perkins said.
But some see an opportunity in cloning to enhance and lengthen life.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization, a secular group of companies, distinguishes between human cloning techniques used for research and reproductive cloning.
It opposes reproductive cloning but supports human cloning techniques for research _ especially when used to create stem cells _ “because it has been demonstrated over and over that that technique in that context holds a lot of promise to eventually treat and cure many diseases,” said spokesman Michael Werner.
_ Enette Ngoei
Megachurches: More Diverse, Not Always Huge Buildings, Study Finds
(RNS) When you think of megachurches, do you think of them as congregations that are homogeneous gatherings in huge complexes?
Scholars who have just completed a study of congregations with weekly attendance of 2,000 or more say you may need to think again.
Thirty-six percent of 406 churches surveyed said that minorities make up 20 percent or more of their congregation. And a higher percentage _ 56 percent _ said they are making efforts to become multiethnic.
“I find that just amazing, given that we always talk about Sunday being the most segregated hour of the week,” said Scott Thumma, professor of the sociology of religion at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. “There’s a good bit of diversity going on here.”
Thumma was the principal investigator for the study, which was done in conjunction with the Leadership Network, a Dallas-based nonprofit that aims to foster innovation among Christian leaders.
Researchers found that the number of megachurches totals more than 1,200. Thumma said his database of megachurches included 600 five years ago and 850 in early 2005.
“They’re not so much an anomaly as they were a decade or two ago,” said Thumma.
Investigators found that few megachurches have colossal sanctuaries. Just 5 percent have sanctuaries that seat 3,000 or more. More than half _ 53 percent _ have four or more services over the course of a weekend.
The findings were based on surveys completed by 382 churches with weekly attendance of 2,000 or more, and 24 with attendance of 1,800 or more, supplemented by research to learn the latest totals of megachurches.
Researchers reviewing the total number of megachurches found that the states with the most megachurches are California (178), Texas (157), Florida (85) and Georgia (73).
The largest portion of megachurches _ 34 percent _ were nondenominational, followed by Southern Baptist (16 percent), unspecified Baptist (10 percent), Assemblies of God (6 percent) and United Methodist (5 percent).
_ Adelle M. Banks
Hispanic Evangelicals Break Rank and Lobby for Immigration Reform
(RNS) Breaking rank with leading evangelical groups that have chosen to stay out of current immigration debates, a new coalition has formed to represent more than 20 million Hispanic evangelicals and to denounce Congress’ handling of immigration issues.
At an inaugural press conference Friday (Feb. 3) in Carrollton, Texas, the Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform called on Congress to create avenues for undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status en route to seeking full citizenship.
“We are deeply concerned with many of the anti-immigrant provisions that have been introduced and some of which were passed by the House of Representatives,” said the Rev. Lynn Godsey, founder and president of Alianza Hispana Evangelica del Metroplex, a Dallas-area Hispanic alliance.
Speakers criticized a House-passed bill that would make it a crime to provide for the needs of an undocumented immigrant. The bill would also open the door for the federal government to build a fence along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.
By getting involved in immigration reform, these Hispanic evangelicals are parting company with such high-profile evangelical advocates as Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, who have said immigration reform is not a priority item for them.
Hispanic evangelicals, however, are now emphasizing the need for public policies that show compassion to undocumented immigrants. They urged legislation to allow “hard-working immigrants who are already contributing to this country to come out of the shadows” and seek legal status. They also called for “border protection policies that are consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect.”
“We need to find a way to stop the flow of illegal immigration, but find a way to deal humanely and compassionately with the undocumented workers currently in the country,” said the Rev. Sam Rodriguez, president of the Sacramento, Calif.-based National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Muslim Doctors Seek Fatwa Against Smoking
(RNS) Muslim health professionals in the United Kingdom are asking scholars to issue a worldwide religious edict against smoking, according to a paper published in the British Medical Journal.
“We’re hoping to serve as a catalyst in the debate,” said Dr. Aziz Sheikh, professor of primary care at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who co-authored the paper.
“In many parts of the world smoking rates are declining, especially in Europe and the United States. That’s not the case in many parts of the Muslim world.”
The paper summarizes data on smoking in 30 majority Muslim countries, showing that smoking rates are disproportionately high compared to European countries.
Islam’s holy book, the Quran, and a collection of sayings of the Prophet Mummad, the Sunnah, do not directly prohibit the use of tobacco. However, jurists have recently issued edicts outlawing its use, citing Islamic law’s general prohibition against any actions resulting in harm to the body or the health of others.
While scholars in much of the Arab-speaking world have recently declared smoking to be prohibited, South Asian religious authorities are lagging behind, Sheikh said.
“The actual thinking about smoking is fairly stagnant in South Asia,” Sheikh said. “Most consider it lawful but discouraged.” The dangers associated with smoking are not widely known there and scholars may be unwilling to cast large sections of their community as partaking in unlawful or sinful activity, he said.
Sheikh is working with the Muslim Council of Britain to try and get a fatwa, or religious edict, passed against smoking. He cautioned, however, that religious rulings alone may not be enough as smoking prevalence has not changed in countries where clear edicts against smoking have been declared.
He hopes to see Muslim countries sign on to the World Health Organization’s anti-tobacco convention and integrate religious rulings with behavioral and pharmacological methods to stop smoking.
_ Mariam Jukaku
On Darwin’s Birthday, Clergy to Speak in Favor of Evolution
(RNS) Celebrating Charles Darwin’s birthday, more than 400 clergy around the nation will speak at various locations Sunday (Feb. 12) to make the point that evolution and Christianity are compatible.
“Evolution Sunday” is part of a larger campaign to bring an end to the division between science and religion, especially in education, organizers say. The Sunday event falls on the 197th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, whose 1859 book on the “Origin of the Species” advanced the scientific basis for evolution.
A larger campaign known as “The Clergy Letter Project” began as a protest against a series of anti-evolution policies passed by a school board in Grantsburg, Wis. The letter endorses the peaceful coexistence of religion and science and has been signed by more than 10,000 clergy from diverse backgrounds, including Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian, organizers say.
The letter says, “The timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably co-exist.” It also says that “to reject this truth or to treat it as `one theory among others’ is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children.”
Michael Zimmerman, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, coordinated the letter. He says he hopes it will be used around the country when “the issue of watering down the secular in the name of religion” surfaces.
“It is important for all these quiet voices to band together to be collectively louder than those shrill fundamentalist voices that say you have to reject modern science,” Zimmerman said.
_ Enette Ngoei
Papal Music-Makers Consider Michael Jackson to Sing Pope’s Prayers
ROME (RNS) Michael Jackson is being considered for an album adapted from Pope John Paul II’s prayers, despite concerns that the pop singer’s image might conflict with the late pontiff’s appeal to Catholic youth.
Italian priest Giuseppe Moscati said Tuesday (Feb. 7) his music label Edizioni Musicali Terzo Millenio had informally explored the possibility of including Jackson in a lineup of artists planned for the album _ but never actually contacted the singer or his representatives.
“There is no deal, no contract. It’s a project that we’d like to make happen if the conditions are right,” Moscati said in an interview.
Moscati noted the singer’s recent acquittal on molestation charges in California but added that the allegations were not grounds for excluding Jackson from the project.
“We don’t want to condemn anyone,” Moscati said. “Part of the problem is (Jackson’s) image. It will not be easy to bring his image together with the values that we want to offer to youth through the writings of John Paul II.”
Moscati said he had not informed the Vatican of his plans to set 24 prayers composed by John Paul to popular music until recent media reports surfaced describing Jackson’s potential role.
Since then, Moscati has been in contact with officials who oversee the copyrights to John Paul’s writings, assuring them that Jackson will not have a solo role in the album should he decide to participate.
“I’m not interested in having Michael Jackson alone,” he said, stressing his belief that an ensemble of singers could help to take the focus off the self-proclaimed “king of pop.” Moscati did not say if he had Vatican approval.
Edizioni Musicali Terzo Millenio has produced CDs with Italian celebrities reading poetry composed by the late pontiff.
_ Stacy Meichtry
Quote of the Week: the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, on Coretta Scott King
(RNS) “We thank you, God, for allowing us to know a woman named Coretta Scott King. Thank you for her witness, her walk, her work. Thank you for her elegance and her eloquence. … Thank you, God, that we were able to touch her and she was able to touch us.”
_ The Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, senior pastor of Believers Christian Fellowship Church in Harlem, N.Y., giving the opening prayer at the funeral of Coretta Scott King, who died Jan. 30. Her funeral was held Tuesday (Feb. 7) at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga.
MO/RB END RNS
