c. 2006 Religion News Service

Carter, in Letter to U.S. Jews, Defends Use of `Apartheid’ in Book

(RNS) Former President Jimmy Carter, under fire from Jewish leaders for describing Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands as “apartheid” in a new book, has written an open letter to U.S. Jews to defend and clarify his use of the term.

In the letter, dated Dec. 15, Carter describes a meeting with the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix while on a tour to promote his book, titled “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”

“I emphasized, as I had throughout the tour, that the book was about conditions and events in the Palestinian territories and not in Israel, where a democracy exists with all the freedoms we enjoy in our country and Israeli Jews and Arabs are legally guaranteed the same rights as citizens,” Carter said.

Carter said he and the six Phoenix rabbis also “discussed the word `apartheid,’ which I defined as the forced separation of two peoples living in the same land, with one of them dominating and persecuting the other.”

His use of the word “apartheid” has landed the former president, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to broker peaceful solutions to international conflicts, in a great deal of controversy.

The Anti-Defamation League said, “Apartheid, that abhorrent and racist system in South Africa, has no bearing on Israeli policies. Not only are Israel’s policies not racist, but the situation in the territories does not arise from Israeli intentions to oppress or repress Palestinians, but is a product of Palestinian rejection of Israel and the use of terror and violence against the Jewish state.”

But Carter defended his use of the term in his letter, saying it is based on travels to the “Holy Land during the past 33 years, especially within the occupied areas.” The former president said the Palestinian people are being “deprived of the necessities of life by economic restrictions imposed on them by Israel and the United States.”

The former president also said evangelical Christians are partially to blame for U.S. policies toward Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“The overwhelming bias for Israel comes from among Christians like me who have been taught since childhood to honor and protect God’s chosen people from among who came our own savior, Jesus Christ,” Carter said. Carter was raised a Southern Baptist but broke with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000.

_ Daniel Burke

Mormons Will Not Posthumously Baptize Holocaust Survivor

(RNS) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints removed the name of Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal from a list of those to be posthumously baptized, after the organization bearing his name issued a statement calling for the removal.

“They did the right thing,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “I’m sure they realized this was a terrible mistake on their part.”

On Monday (Dec. 18), the center, an international Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles, issued a statement asking the church to remove Wiesenthal’s name from the list of those to receive posthumous ordinances, which include baptism. Later in the day, the church said his name had been removed.

“In response to a request by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and in accordance with the commitments the church made in 1995, no church ordinance was performed for Simon Wiesenthal and his name was immediately removed from the International Genealogical Index,” said Bruce Olsen, a spokesman for the church.

In 1995 the church agreed to remove the names of Holocaust victims and Jews from the list of those to be posthumously baptized, unless they were direct ancestors of current church members or there was written permission from all living members of the deceased’s family.

“It was astonishing to us that they went against the agreement,” Hier said. “We understand that from their point of view they think they’re doing Simon Wiesenthal a good deed. From the Jewish point of view, it’s rather an insult because it suggests that there’s no other way to get to heaven except through the Mormon church. We believe that Simon Wiesenthal, who lived a full life with great deeds on behalf of mankind, can get to heaven on his own and doesn’t need any assistance.”

In the statement, Olsen also said the church emphasized its policy that members should submit only names of their own ancestors for such baptisms.

“A joint committee of church leaders and leaders of Jewish Holocaust organizations work diligently to maintain good faith, cooperative relationships,” Olsen said in the statement.

_ Ansley Roan

Discrimination Against Muslims in Europe Widespread, Study Finds

PARIS (RNS) Discrimination against Europe’s estimated 13 million Muslims is widespread, affecting their access to employment, education and housing _ and their sense of belonging to the European Union, a new study reports.

Moreover, the extent of anti-Muslim acts is often underreported in the 25-member bloc due to poor or missing official data, according to a report released this week by the Vienna-based European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Discrimination.

“The report makes clear that Muslims, along with other migrant and minority groups, frequently suffer forms of discrimination which reduce their employment opportunities, and affect their educational achievement,” said Monitoring Centre Director Beate Winkler. “This can give rise to hopelessness and could undermine Muslims’ sense of belonging to the EU.”

The study _ which included interviews with 58 Muslims from 10 EU countries _ underscores widespread reports in recent years of discriminatory treatment against Muslims in the 25-member bloc, fueled partly by fears of terrorism, immigration and the rhetoric of far-right parties. Turkey’s rocky effort to join the EU only adds to European unease.

France, home to roughly 6 million Muslims _ Europe’s largest population _ is a case in point. Anti-racism groups complain Muslims are regularly discriminated against in employment and housing. Last year’s riots, largely staged by ethnic Muslim youths, have nourished the antipathy.

A job applicant in France with a North African background was five times less likely to get a reply than others, for example, according to a 2004 study by the University of Paris cited in the report.

Official statistics about incidents of discrimination are unavailable because France bars surveys based on ethnic or religious affiliation.

The center outlines a series of recommendations European countries should follow, including implementing anti-discrimination legislation, emphasizing social integration policies for minorities, monitoring Islamophobic incidents and promoting anti-discrimination in matters such as education and employment.

At the same time, “integration is a two-way process,” Winkler said. “Many European Muslims acknowledge that they need to do more to engage with wider society.”

_ Elizabeth Bryant

Muslims Counter Holocaust Denial With Visit to Washington Museum

WASHINGTON (RNS) In the wake of an Iranian conference held by Holocaust deniers, Washington-area Muslim leaders paid a visit Wednesday (Dec. 20) to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to state their opposition to hatred.

Imam Mohamed Magid, vice president of the Islamic Society of North America, joined other leaders in the museum’s Hall of Remembrance, saying he was moved by stories of Holocaust survivors.

“Many people have lost their lives because of hate, bigotry,” said Magid. “We have to stand together, committed to compassion, love and mercy.”

The visit was prompted by a recent conference in Iran attended by many who deny the Holocaust occurred. It was initiated by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and held in Tehran Dec. 11-12.

“What is going on there is not about history,” said Sara Bloomfield, the Holocaust museum director, flanked by about two dozen Muslims and Holocaust survivors. “It is about hate.”

As the group spoke, they stood before an eternal flame flickering over a monument containing earth from death camps and concentration camps. They lit candles of remembrance after their brief remarks.

Akbar Ahmed, the chairman of Islamic studies at American University, said people of all faiths need to keep hatred in check.

“Hate is not only about hating Jews, which is anti-Semitism, but it extends to … Islamophobia,” he said. “It’s like a poison and it spreads.”

Ahmed and Magid were joined by leaders of organizations that included the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Arab-American Institute.

Bloomfield said Muslim groups have visited the museum in the past but the visit Wednesday was an unprecedented “act of solidarity” from Muslims on the issue of Holocaust denial.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Same-Sex Couples in New Jersey Get Marriage Without the Name

(RNS) New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill Thursday (Dec. 21) that will give those in same-sex civil unions “all of the same benefits, protections and responsibilities” the state confers on married couples.

“Through our actions today, we will provide equal rights for same-sex couples,” Corzine said. He called enactment of the legislation “one of the most important steps we can take” to provide “equal justice under law.”

The law takes effect Feb. 19.

The new law is intended to meet a mandate from the New Jersey Supreme Court, which in October ordered lawmakers to either allow same-sex couples to marry or give them all the benefits of marriage under another name. Legislative leaders chose civil unions, explaining that political support for gay marriage does not yet exist.

Sen. Loretta Weinberg predicted that within five years, “these rights for same-sex couples will be known, as they should, under the banner of marriage.”

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts said marriage equality “needs to be our goal” but it would be “a huge mistake” to bemoan the state’s failure to provide it now.

“Today is a giant step forward,” Roberts said.

“This is truly an historic day,” added Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, the state’s first openly gay lawmaker. “The distance between nothing and civil unions is greater than the distance between civil unions and marriage.”

New Jersey becomes the third state, after Vermont and Connecticut, to allow civil unions. Only Massachusetts allows couples of the same sex to marry.

_ Robert Schwaneberg and Deborah Howlett

New Muslim Lawmaker Responds to Criticism From Congressman

(RNS) Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison, who became the first Muslim elected to Congress in November, is urging Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., to take part in an interfaith dialogue after Goode told constituents that Muslims threaten American values.

“I would urge Congressman Goode to have his congregation reach out to a synagogue or a mosque and start some interfaith dialogue so we can increase understanding among each other, as Americans of different faiths,” Ellison said on CNN Thursday (Dec. 21).

Ellison’s decision to use a Quran during his ceremonial swearing-in has sparked outrage among conservatives.

Goode, a Baptist, rejected suggestions that he was a racist and said people should read his letter, which he said responds to constituents’ concerns about Ellison’s swearing-in.

“The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran,” Goode wrote in his Dec. 7 letter.

“I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America,” Goode wrote.

Ellison, 43, was born in Detroit and raised Catholic. He converted to Islam while a student at Wayne State University and became a lawyer before being elected to Congress.

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Interfaith Alliance and the Council on American-Islamic Relations were among the groups that criticized Goode.

“To suggest Muslims should be viewed with fear, based solely on their faith, demonizes millions of people living in our communities,” said David C. Friedman of the Anti-Defamation League.

_ Omar Sacirbey

Jury Gives $115,000 to Woman Who Declined to Discuss Faith

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (RNS) A federal jury has awarded a Huntsville woman $115,000 in damages after finding she was fired as a medical clinic office manager when she chose not to discuss her relationship with God with a doctor.

The jury returned the verdict Dec. 20 in favor of Carolyn Hall, who sued her former employee, Alabama Pain Center, in February 2005.

Hall was awarded $15,000 in mental anguish and $100,000 in punitive damages. The jury deliberated two hours before returning the verdict.

Hall testified during the three-day employment discrimination trial before U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith. Hall contended her firing came after a meeting with Dr. Dean Willis, who told her in October 2003 that he was concerned about her job performance because he did not know where she stood with God. Willis also held daily prayer meetings at the center.

Hall responded that her relationship with God was personal and chose not to discuss it. Hall was hired July 8, 2002 and was fired Feb. 3, 2004.

Defense lawyer Donna S. Pate could not be reached for comment. In court documents, the defense maintained Hall was fired because of her job performance, not because she was the victim of discrimination.

Willis, who testified in the case, also denied the October 2003 conversation occurred.

John Saxon, Hall’s attorney, said she obviously concluded that religion is a deeply personal matter.

“No employer should impose his or her religious beliefs on employees or force that employee to talk about her deeply held religious beliefs if she did not want to,” Saxon said.

_ Val Walton

Study Says Conflict, Race Influence Church Growth

(RNS) Congregations interested in growing weekly attendance would do well to make a plan for recruiting new members, become multi-racial and make sure serious conflict doesn’t take root.

That’s the message of a new analysis released this month (December) by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary. The “FACTs on Growth” report, based on data collected in a 2005 survey of nearly 900 congregations, found that congregations reporting growth in worship attendance between 2000 and 2005 tended to exhibit certain common attributes.

Multi-racial congregations had a better chance of growing than those predominantly consisting of one racial group. Sixty-one percent of multi-racial congregations said they had experienced growth, while just 31 percent of predominantly Anglo congregations said the same.

But even more important may be whether people in the pews, no matter their race, actually get along with one another.

“Whether or not a congregation finds itself in serious conflict is the number one predictor of congregational decline,” writes C. Kirk Hadaway, director of research for the Episcopal Church and author of the report. “This finding points out the need for conflict resolution skills among clergy so minor conflict does not become serious, debilitating conflict.”

Conversely, congregations were most likely to grow if they:

_ had a clear mission and purpose as a congregation

_ conducted “joyful” worship services

_ adopted a specific plan for recruiting new members

_ had changed worship format at one or more services in the past five years.

What’s more, congregations were likely to grow when men comprised the majority of active participants. Among congregations where at least three out of five regular participants were men, 59 percent of congregations reported growth. But among churches where no more than two in every five regular participants were men, only 21 percent said they had experienced growth.

“As American congregations become increasingly populated by women,” the report says, “those congregations that are able to even out the proportions of males and females are those most likely to grow.”

_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald

Swedish Church Introduces Burial Rites for Aborted Fetuses

BORAS, Sweden (RNS) Bishops of the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden have issued instructions for burial rites for aborted fetuses, called a “pastoral ceremony” that does not include a worship service.

The instructions were contained in a bishops’ letter published on Dec. 13.

Bishop Erik Aurelius, one of the authors of the document, told Religion News Service that the instructions were issued because “there have already been reports of a small number of cases of such burials.”

He said the church envisions a pastoral ceremony for fetuses aborted in late pregnancies for medical reasons. Priests will not question why the abortions were conducted, even if fetuses aborted in early pregnancies, for non-medical reasons, were presented for burial.

Late-term abortions for medical reasons are always very difficult for the parents, Aurelius added. “There are a lot of sorrow and guilt and these burials will be a part of the pastoral care that a priest administers to grieving couples,” the bishop noted.

“There will be no rituals for such ceremonies. We leave it to the pastor and his or her wisdom,” he said.

The letter also called for the holding of funeral services for deceased church members even if there are no relatives and the only person in attendance is the priest.

“The church has the responsibility to at least try to have a burial service for every member, and this will not be anything less than an ordinary service with relatives present.”

_ Simon Reeves

Quote of the Week: Comedian Jon Stewart

“They chose the Nigerian because of his ultra-conservative views _ and because he sent them an e-mail suggesting that if Virginia sent him 10,000 souls, he would send them back a million.”

_ Comedian Jon Stewart on a handful of congregations in Virginia deciding to leave the Episcopal Church and join a branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria.

DSB/PH END RNS