Lawmakers cracking down on 'Lost Boys' issue

State lawmakers have passed a bill that appears to crack down on child abandonment in the fundamentalist communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz.

It appears aimed at the phenomenon of the so-called "Lost Boys" — teens who have been ousted from the Fundamentalist LDS Church. HB23, sponsored by Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, makes child abandonment a form of child abuse, and makes it a third-degree felony for anyone or any enterprise to encourage child abandonment.

"We're really focused on the organizations who force these parents to throw away their children in order to be able to to continue to remain part of the community," Fowlke told the Deseret Morning News on Thursday.

Read more . . .

The dark side of faith in Africa

The town of Yelwa sits squarely in the "middle belt" of Nigeria, an area where the Christian majority south and the Muslim majority north grind away at each other in spasms of religious violence that would make an inquisitor blush. An article in the current Atlantic Monthly "God's Country" by Eliza Griswold, recounts one of these episodes of religious violence.

There were bullet-ridden bodies strewn around. A church was set on fire by an arsonist's hand. Then the school and the nursery were set ablaze. Members of the congregation were shot by armed gunman. In all, 78 Christians were killed and placed in a mass grave. Fortunately, the pastor of the destroyed church survived but lost seven members of his family that day. This was the result of a coordinated attack on a Christian church by Muslims in the Nigerian town of Yelwa. A week later, Yelwa was surrounded by hundreds of armed men, some sporting tags identifying them as members of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

Read more at news source.

Contradiction in Arab cartoon views

Blatantly anti-Semitic literature is on sale in Cairo, just like many other Arab capitals. The BBC News website's Martin Patience reports on the apparent inconsistency in the Egyptian reaction to the Danish cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad. ^{[BBC News]}

This kind of hypocrisy seems to curse all three of the major Middle Eastern religions. It comes, I think, from their insistence that each is the only one that is right, the chosen ones. They each believe they have the TRUE God and making fun of THEIR God is blasphemy, but it's not blasphemy when they ridicule other folks' beliefs.

This is where the danger comes for a secular, multi-cultural society. We try, because we desire our own freedom, to allow others to do what they believe it right. But what do you do when another person believes that attempting, or even FORCING, you to convert to their belief system is "right".

The article goes on:

While he insists he believes in freedom of speech, he is furious about the cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad.

He argues that slandering any religion should be punishable.

But when it comes to selling the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, he says: "The book is about politics not about religion. I don't have a problem with books criticising politics."

So freedom of speech is only applicable when YOU are talking about other religions? Oh, yeah, call it "politics" but it's still religion and I feel sure the speaker understands that.

Honestly, the more I hear Muslims complain about not being treated as equals the more bemused I am. I want to say to them that being ridiculed is part of being equal.

Beauty queen rejected as pageant judge for being witch

Miss Toronto Tourism officials reject reigning Miss Canada Plus because she reads tarot cards

She might be a witch, but Stephanie Conover says that's no reason for officials at an upcoming Toronto beauty pageant to reject her as a potential judge.

Conover, who was crowned winner of the Miss Canada Plus Pageant last year, said she was recently invited to be a judge at the Miss Toronto Tourism pageant on Feb. 2.

"I said I'd definitely be there," Conover told the Star yesterday.

"Then, last week, on Monday, they asked me for a biography. I told them everything I do, how I'm an entertainer and a singer and a dancer. I talked about my charity work and I said I also have hobbies, including songwriting, knitting, painting, yoga, reiki and tarot cards."

That's where things got sticky.

"We just got her bio a week ago and we don't agree with it," said Karen Murray, Miss Toronto Tourism pageant director. "We want someone down to earth, not someone into the dark side or the occult."

Read more . . .

Teacher crosses line between church, state, say Irasburg parents

IRASBURG — Mel Downs doesn't object to academic discussions over the relative merits of varying religious philosophies.

But when his daughter came home from her public school with a handout titled "Why Jesus Is Better Than Santa Claus," the Irasburg father took offense.

"It isn't about my religion or me being biased in some way," Downs said. "It's about the separation of church and state that is supposed to exist in my daughter's classroom."

Downs' daughter attends seventh grade at Irasburg Village School. She received the "Jesus" handout just before Christmas vacation, and Downs says it reflects a pattern of religious-themed material being taught by Wally Rogers, his daughter's language arts teacher.

When Downs' daughter began the school year in September, he said, the Ten Commandments were mounted to the classroom wall, Christian books filled the classroom bookshelf, and a school-funded Web page, used by the teacher, included links to Christian Web sites.

Read more . . .

Muslims are flying into Mecca in their thousands for the Haj, but many followers in China have been grounded by bureaucratic hurdles and political obstacles.

In the streets of Khotan, where the aroma of roasting mutton kebabs and cardamom tea fill the bazaar, one young Muslim merchant was despairing. His parents made the pilgrimage several years ago – before officials introduced character checks on would-be pilgrims. He said: “Now the Government is afraid that when we go abroad we will say bad things about them. So they want to be careful who they allow.”

Read more . . .

Egypt Copt jailed 45 years after father's conversion

An Egyptian Christian woman has been jailed for three years because her father's brief conversion to Islam 45 years ago made her legally a Muslim while her official papers said she was Christian, her lawyer said Thursday.

Shadia Nagui Ibrahim, 47, was charged with fraud for stating Christianity as her religion on her marriage certificate, unaware that her father's conversion to Islam in 1962 had made her officially a Muslim, Michael Maurice told AFP.

Nagui Ibrahim left home in 1962 when daughter Shadia was two years old, converted to Islam and took on the Muslim name Mustafa.

Read more . . .

This is the sort of thing you could expect if the Christians have their way and convert the US to being a "Christian" country. Abuse, oppression, loss of liberty. SUPPORT SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!

Warren Jeffs renounces leadership of FLDS

Polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs renounced his role as prophet in January, telling family and select followers the Lord considered him a ''wicked man'' for immoral acts as a young man, according to a court document released Tuesday.

In a series of telephone calls, Jeffs said he had been immoral with a sister and a daughter and, since the age of 20, had not held the priesthood in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He made a similar statement a day later in a jailhouse visit with a brother.

Read more . . .

Words To Live By

The Radical Christian Right Is Built on Suburban Despair

By Chris Hedges, AlterNet. Posted January 19, 2007.

Millions of Americans live trapped in soulless exurbs which lack any kind of community, leaving them feeling isolated and vulnerable. Without alternatives for their social despair, they flock to demagogues promising revenge and a mythical utopia.

The engine that drives the radical Christian Right in the United States, the most dangerous mass movement in American history, is not religiosity, but despair. It is a movement built on the growing personal and economic despair of tens of millions of Americans, who watched helplessly as their communities were plunged into poverty by the flight of manufacturing jobs, their families and neighborhoods torn apart by neglect and indifference, and who eventually lost hope that America was a place where they had a future.

This despair crosses economic boundaries, of course, enveloping many in the middle class who live trapped in huge, soulless exurbs where, lacking any form of community rituals or centers, they also feel deeply isolated, vulnerable and lonely. Those in despair are the most easily manipulated by demagogues, who promise a fantastic utopia, whether it is a worker's paradise, fraternite-egalite-liberte, or the second coming of Jesus Christ. Those in despair search desperately for a solution, the warm embrace of a community to replace the one they lost, a sense of purpose and meaning in life, the assurance they are protected, loved and worthwhile.

read more . . .

Calls to pardon 'UK's last witch'

Helen Duncan was tried under the Witchcraft Act

The family of the last person in the UK to be prosecuted under the Witchcraft Act will mark the 50th anniversary of her death by calling for her pardon.

Medium Helen Duncan, who was born in Callander, Perthshire, was imprisoned using the law during World War II.

She was targeted by the government after revealing to a séance audience that a warship had sunk before the news had been released to the public.

Her grand-daughter is particularly angry at the accusations of treason.

Mary Martin, of Edinburgh, said Mrs Duncan had been accused of being a traitor.

Spiritualist churches

"When she first came back home after prison she was never the same.

"She always had a bit of a glow about her but she seemed to have lost that.

"Some people said it was treason. My grandmother had two sons and two son in laws in the forces ... and there is no way she would have given anybody information."

Mrs Duncan became one of the most famous mediums of her time, heading a network of spiritualist churches.

During the war she lived in Portsmouth, the home of the Royal Navy.

She has put us on the right side of the law by bringing in the 1952 act Mary Armour Medium

At a séance in 1943 it was claimed that the spirit of a sailor from the HMS Barham appeared.

The vessel was only officially declared lost several months later.

She was arrested in 1944 and sentenced to nine months in prison at the Old Bailey for crimes under the Witchcraft Act of 1735.

While in prison she was visited by Winston Churchill.

When he was re-elected in 1951 the Witchcraft Act was repealed and three years later spiritualism was officially recognised as a religion.

Campaigners to pardon Mrs Duncan have set up an online petition.

The campaign is backed by the British Society of Paranormal Studies.

Medium Mary Armour, who wrote her biography, said: "She has put us on the right side of the law by bringing in the 1952 act."

Christian Missionaries Lie and Break Law To Make Converts

"Evangelist inroads in Muslim Morocco"

Jerusalem, Israel - In the past few years, increasing numbers of Westerners have been converting to Islam. Agence France Presse recently reported annual figures in France alone of 30,000 to 50,000. But a new phenomenon – largely unreported in the Western media – is occurring: Muslims, especially in the Maghreb (north-west Africa) are becoming Christians.

The controversy over the conversions has been most acute in Morocco. Since the beginning of the year there have been numerous articles in newspapers such as Le Matin, La Gazette du Maroc, Le Journal Hebdomadaire, and even business magazine La Vie Economique and political weekly Telquel have written about this "greatest danger."

According to most reports, the culprits are American evangelical missionaries operating in major cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech and Fez to remote areas in the mountains or the countryside.

The statistics differ wildly: Missionaries are reported to number anywhere from 150, according to French weekly newsmagazine Le Nouvel Observateur, to the 800-plus figure most often used. Converts are said to number anywhere from 7,000 to 58,000. These discrepancies are easily explained by the fact that both missionaries and converts have to stay constantly below the radar.

Even though Morocco is a much more tolerant country than say Saudi Arabia regarding freedom of religion, it nonetheless imprisons anyone trying to convert a Muslim for up to three years.

Karen Thomas Smith, one of the four officially registered American pastors in the country explains that because of this missionaries have to pass for businessmen or officials from NGOs.

THE RECENT visit of the American televangelist Josh McDowell, invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and received by King Mohammed VI, has sparked lots of conspiracy theories. In fact, Le Journal Hebdomadaire reported on January 8 that this evangelization campaign was part of US President George W. Bush's campaign in the current war. Unsurprisingly, the article pointed out that this was also the goal of the neocons and the Zionists.

Nationalist MP Abdelhamid Aouad went even further when he declared that the evangelists' ultimate goal was to convert 10 percent of the Moroccan population by 2020. He even raised this issue in the Moroccan Parliament and asked the minister of Islamic affairs what the government was doing about the massive evangelization underway. Despite the minister's assurance that there was nothing to worry about, in March the authorities deported on "immigration grounds," a South African church representative who had been in the kingdom since 1999.

Also, a March "confidential" report ordered by the government on the topic of conversion and cited by La Gazette du Maroc, confirmed that there were indeed around 800 foreign missionaries in the kingdom. Qualified as "top-notch proselytizers," they used all available means such as Web sites, radios, satellite TV, video and audio tapes and books to succeed in their mission. Indeed, plenty of bookstores in Morocco carry translations of the Bible printed in the US and in French. According to one pastor, some missionaries also openly distribute on the streets of Casablanca leaflets about Christianity mostly meant for young people and promising them "a better life."

CLEARLY, THE evangelists are focusing their energies on the young and the poor, but that's not the whole picture. Another target, according to Pastor Jean-Luc Blanc are the intellectuals and the privileged. However, there is no typical profile of a convert. On March 5, the French daily Le Monde published numerous interviews with converts in Morocco and Algeria.

Yacine, a 30-something Moroccan executive who is very happy about the recent publicity about converts, said: "The essential point is that one talks openly about Moroccan Christians. It is proof that it exists and that it is possible. No matter what they say about us. The taboo is lifted."

Another convert in his 30s, Abu Ghali, pointed out that most conversions are initiated by Moroccans themselves and added: "If Moroccans are given the opportunity to compare and choose, then you'll see lots of them going towards Christianity."

But by far the most striking testimony comes from a 45-year-old Algerian convert called Myriam. In 1985, she was a very pious Muslim and had just learned that her best friend had been hiding that she was a Christian. At first she decided that her friend was "impure" and that she would not talk to her ever again. Then she "decided to pray for her friend to come back to Islam" and, finally, in 1987 Myriam decided to read the Bible and converted. She has since received numerous death threats and had to eventually leave Algeria in 1994 for France where she studied theology. Today, Myriam is a pastor in the South of France.

The Arab press has been quick to accuse the US evangelists for the massive conversion numbers, therefore playing into the hands of the Islamists who advocate an end to the semi-freedom of religion in Morocco. But this assumption is wrong because as many observers emphasized, some Muslims are disillusioned by the crimes committed in the name of Islam, especially in Algeria by the Islamists and al-Qaida's terrorist acts and are looking for something else.

Source

Muslims Politicos Demand Special Treatment of Islamic Employees at Airline

Rabat, Morocco - A senior government official denied on Thursday Islamist charges that Morocco's flagship airline had trampled on employees' rights by banning them from praying at work and forcing pilots to eat during Ramadan.

The main legal opposition Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) this week stepped up its criticism of the moves by state-owned Royal Air Maroc (RAM), calling them an abuse of religious freedom.

"More than 50 Islamic states have airlines but we have not heard of such bans other than here," Mustapha Ramid, a leading figure in PJD, the third largest party in parliament, said in an interview.

Government officials accused PJD of stirring up the 4-month-old issue to try to influence parliamentary polls next year.

"Since July, Air Maroc has banned its workers from praying in their offices to enforce work discipline, but the airline workers are allowed to pray at two mosques nearby," said Bourara Khadija, top adviser to Transport Minister Karim Ghellab.

"It is a shame that the decision was branded as a crackdown on religious freedom," she told Reuters. "It is wrong to claim that RAM abuses the religious rights of its workers."

Khadija said RAM had to enforce discipline at work as it faced stiff competition from foreign airlines after Morocco signed an open sky agreement with the European Union.

Another senior government official, who declined to be named since he was not authorised to talk to the media, said the PJD was "stirring up the debate in parliament and in the press to try to embarrass the government ahead of 2007's elections."

Islamist parties are growing in popularity in Morocco, with the PJD poised do well in the elections, unsettling business and urban elites who fear Islamist politicians want to reduce women's liberties and other social freedoms in the north African kingdom. The Islamists deny the charge.

Khadija said RAM had banned its pilots from fasting while flying during the holy month of Ramadan because plane simulation tests showed possible security risks.

"Aviation authorities proved that a fasting pilot can not fully control a plane's gears and equipment after spending some hours flying," she said.

PJD deputy Noureddine Gherbal told reporters some female RAM employees had also complained to him in writing about being barred from wearing Islamic headscarves.

But Khadija said RAM had acted fairly.

"There is no veil issue here at all. Only two female workers were asked to move from a front desk to a RAM call centre if they wanted to wear veils and they obeyed the order," Khadija said.

Source

Controversial new Bible cuts out difficult gospel passages

A new Bible translation is causing controversy after it cut out difficult parts surrounding economic justice, possessions and money.

The new bible version, released by the Western Bible Foundation in the Netherlands, has created a storm by trying to make the Christian gospel more palatable.

According to Chairman Mr. De Rijke the foundation has reacted to a growing wish of many churches to be market-oriented and more attractive. "Jesus was very inspiring for our inner health, but we don't need to take his naïve remarks about money seriously. He didn't study economics, obviously."

According to De Rijke no serious Christian takes these texts literally. "What if all Christians stopped being anxious, for example, and started expecting everything from God? Or gave their possessions to the poor, for that matter. Our economy would be lost. The truth is quite the contrary: a strong economy and a healthy work ethic is a gift from God."

The foundation wanted to "boldly go where no one else has gone before" by cutting out the confusing texts.

“We don't use them anyway! There's no single Christian selling his possessions and giving them to the poor."

The Western Bible is published – in Dutch only so far – by the well-known Christian publisher Buijten & Schipperheijn. IN it, some of the most important passages of the Bible: the Ten Commandments, sections of Isaiah, Proverbs, and the Sermon on the Mount, contain holes where the original translation urged radical actions around money, justice or affluence.

Hundreds of Western Bibles have been sold in the first few weeks, whilst anxious Christians filled newspapers and web logs with their doubts.

Sometimes Christians seem to have more anger than humour, however. The names of the board, ‘De Rijke’ (meaning ‘the rich’) and ‘Fortuijn’ (meaning ‘fortune’), as well as the holes in the pages of the Western Bible hint to the truth: the Western Bible is a joke.

It is published by Time to Turn, a network of Christian students and young adults in the Netherlands "who want to choose a sustainable and just way of life, based on their faith in Jesus Christ."

They do not believe in a new legalism, or in a utopian state, but in a God who is willing to deliver the world from materialism and injustice. Time to Turn is linked to the international student movement Speak.

Frank Mulder, chairman of Time to Turn, is surprised by the commotion.

"Many Christians accept the Western lifestyle, including the degradation of creation and the injustice of our trade, and they only take the easy parts of the gospel. But it isn't until we publish this gospel with holes, that they get confused!"

Time to Turn are soon to publish a bible study about the holes.

India's Untouchables turn to Buddhism in protest at discrimination by Hindus

Across India this month, thousands of Hindus from the former Untouchable castes are converting to Buddhism in protest at the continuing discrimination they face. Mass conversion ceremonies are being held throughout the month, from Delhi in the north, to Hyderabad in the south. Organisers are claiming that more than 100,000 people have already converted.

Conversion is a highly charged political issue. Several states have passed laws this year making it harder to convert, and the mass ceremonies will infuriate Hindu nationalist parties that have been campaigning to stop lower caste Hindus changing their religion.

But for many Dalits, as Untouchables are now known, conversion is the only way to escape the oppression they still face in Hindu society. Untouchability has been illegal in India since independence, but it is still commonly practised. In many villages Dalits are not allowed to drink clean water from a well. In some areas, tea shops keep a different glass for Dalits to use, so higher-caste Hindus are not "polluted" by drinking from the same vessel, even after it has been washed. After the 2004 tsunami, Dalit survivors in Tamil Nadu were prevented from sharing water in relief camps.

Dalits are converting in large numbers this year because it is the 50th anniversary of the conversion of their most important leader of modern times, B R Ambedkar, who first called on Dalits to become Buddhists in order to escape discrimination.

When Mahatma Gandhi was leading non-violent protests against British rule, Ambedkar was using the same methods to demand equal rights for Untouchables. He was critical of Gandhi, and outspoken in his attacks on Hinduism.

"These people are converting as a protest," says Sakya Ponnu Durai, one of the organisers of the mass conversion ceremonies. But Mr Durai, a Dalit who himself converted two years ago, says he has wholeheartedly become a practising Buddhist. "After converting, I have much more satisfaction," he says.

Many of those converting are doing so to escape the menial jobs traditionally assigned to Dalits. Under the rigid rules of the caste system, it is difficult to change to a job reserved for a higher caste. Although this is no longer the case in the cities, in villages it is still practised. Many Dalits are forced to work as scavengers and latrine cleaners.

Mr Durai was more fortunate: his father was in the Indian military and was able to give him a good education in Chennai. But he says he still faced discrimination.

Even at university, Mr Durai says he was badly beaten by higher-caste students enraged that a Dalit had got better marks than them. Today, he is a federal government worker in Delhi. He is fully aware that conversions are a potentially explosive issue. Hindu nationalist parties are unhappy with the large numbers of lower-caste Hindus converting, not only to Buddhism but also Christianity.

This year several states, including Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, have introduced laws that anyone wishing to convert will have to obtain official permission first. Gujarat, home to some of the most hardline Hindu groups, has introduced a more controversial law under which Buddhism is considered part of Hinduism.

In a separate rally this weekend, not connected to the conversion ceremonies, thousands of Dalits plan to burn the new laws.

By a strange irony, as well as the 50th anniversary of Ambedkar's death, the conversions are taking place amid controversy over the funeral of the Dalits' most powerful political leader, Kanshi Ram. Ram had also converted to Buddhism, but some of his relatives objected when his cremation was carried out according to Buddhist rites.

Source: The Independent

SECRET OFFICIAL CHINESE DOCUMENTS REVEAL WIDESPREAD CAMPAIGN OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

Christians,Falun Gong Targeted
New Freedom House Report Analyzes Seven Chinese Government Documents that Reveal Official Repression

WASHINGTON, DC, February 11, 2002 -- Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom today released a report analyzing seven never-before-seen, top-secret Chinese government documents detailing an official crackdown against large, unregistered Christian churches and other religious groups nationwide. The Center had the official documents authenticated by renowned expert and exiled former Chinese government journalist, Su Xiaokang.

The seven documents, issued between April 1999 and October 2001, detail the goals and actions of China's national, provincial and local security officials in repressing religion. They provide irrefutable evidence that China's government, at the highest levels, aims to repress religious expression outside its control, and is using more determined, systematic and harsher criminal penalties in this effort. Hu Jin-tao, designated as the successor of President Jiang Zemin (and regarded by many China observers as a member of a younger, more liberal generation of communist party leaders) is quoted in the document as endorsing the drive against the Real God church. The Minister of Public Security is quoted giving the order to" smash the cult quietly." (Document 4).

The documents and Freedom House analysis are available online at: www.freedomhouse.org/religion

"These documents provide irrefutable evidence that China remains determined to eradicate all religion it cannot control, using extreme tactics," said Center for Religious Freedom Director Nina Shea. "Normal religious activity is criminalized, and, as the December death sentences brought against South China church Pastor Gong Shengliang and several of his co-workers attest, the directives outlined in these documents are being carried out with ruthless determination," she said.

"President Bush, who has repeatedly voiced concern for religious oppression in China, must speak out forcefully and publicly in support of religious freedom during his state visit to China next week," said Ms. Shea.

On the eve of President Bush's first state visit to China, Ye Xiaowen, the head of China's Religious Affairs Bureau, wrote in January 2002 that repression is not working and suggested that a more nuanced approach is needed. In fact, the documents reveal that a brutal, but more clandestine approach, is being employed to crush unregistered churches and religious groups.

Several of the documents focus on measures to "smash" the Christian South China church and the Real God church, which, Chinese authorities state, rivals Falun Gong in its reach and dangerousness. Other documents mention Falun Gong, the Unification Church, and other banned religious groups. In all, 14 religious groups are listed in Document 1 as "evil cults."

Several of the documents indicate that Beijing is losing its battle to control religious expression. They note with palpable alarm that the Real God group is growing rapidly throughout 22 Chinese provinces. In Document 4, authorities reveal that "inner circles" of the communist party and government officials have secretly joined the banned Real God church, and instruct officials to find out who among them are members of the group.

The documents are notable for their crudeness in understanding the religions the government purports to control. Revealing a fundamental misunderstanding or deliberate misinterpretation of the New Testament, Document 1 uses a basic Christian doctrine that Christ is in every believer to accuse churches of "deifying" their leaders, a practice defined as "cult-like." China is an officially atheist state that arrogates to itself the authority to define orthodoxy, determine dogma and designate religious leaders.

Document 2 betrays deep paranoia on the part of Chinese officials. It raises particular concerns about public unrest over China's entry into the WTO; it ties this unrest to Western support of democracy movements ("Democratic Party of China"), and religious groupings, especially Falun Gong; it accuses the Vatican of "still waiting for any opportunity to… draw the patriotic religious believers up to them and incite them to rebel."

In Document 4, "Praying for world peace," ecumenical relations between churches, printing publications and developing a diocesan, parish and prayer group-like organizational structure, are all seen as dangerous.

Document 4 also views with alarm ecumenical relations between the Protestant house-church Real God and the underground Catholic Church. Real God is also found to have ties with Tianenmen Square student protest leaders.

Measures outlined to be taken against the banned religious groups include surveillance, the deployment of special undercover agents, the gathering of "criminal evidence," "complete demolition" of a group's organizational system, interrogation, and arrest, as well as the confiscation of church property. Document 2 repeatedly refers to the use of "secret agents" to infiltrate "cults," underground Catholics, businesses, joint ventures, people with 'complicated political backgrounds," prestigious colleges and universities and other organizations.

Copies of the documents, along with translations, were provided to Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom by Mr. Shixiong Li and Mr. Bob Fu of the New York based Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China. A full translation, with explanatory notes, can be found on the Center's web page www.freedomhouse.org/religion, or can be emailed.

Gwenny's CotD for 10.6.06

Snagged From Another Blog

Why Small Towns Suck

Via South Knox Bubba and Smijer and Buck: I've lived in a lot of small towns, and to be honest, I tend to prefer them to large cities. I hate big-city traffic, media, crime, noise, and the general bullshit you get from living in a major metropolis, and I really do like most of the people you meet in small towns. Thanks to the Internet, you can get all the information you'd get in a big-city paper, and the lack of gigantic shopping malls is lessened when you can order what you need off the 'Net.

But small towns are boring, and when some people in small towns get bored, they start looking for someone they can destroy, like the local nightclub that runs an alternative/goth night.

Read more

9 Chickweed Lane

This strip contains some of the best humorous looks at religion I have ever seen.

Muslims express fury over pope's remarks

By SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press Writer 33 minutes ago

Muslims around the world expressed outrage Friday over Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam, with Turkey's ruling party accusing him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades and scores taking to the streets in protest.

Pakistan's parliament unanimously condemned the pope, and the Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican's ambassador to express regret over the remarks.

The Vatican said the pope did not intend the remarks — made in Germany on Tuesday during an address at a university — to be offensive.

Benedict quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam.

"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'"

Benedict did not explicitly agree with the statement nor repudiate it.

The comments raised tensions ahead of his planned visit to Turkey in November — his first pilgrimage to a Muslim country.

Salih Kapusuz, a deputy leader of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party, said Benedict's remarks were either "the result of pitiful ignorance" about Islam and its prophet, or a deliberate distortion.

"He has a dark mentality that comes from the darkness of the Middle Ages. He is a poor thing that has not benefited from the spirit of reform in the Christian world," Kapusuz was quoted as saying by the state-owned Anatolia news agency. "It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades."

"Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words," he said. "He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as (Adolf) Hitler and (Benito) Mussolini."

Turkey's staunchly secular opposition party also demanded that Benedict apologize to Muslims before his visit.

"The pope has thrown gasoline onto the fire ... in a world where the risk of a clash between religions is high," said Haluk Koc, deputy head of the Republican People's Party, as a small group of protesters left a black wreath in front of the Vatican's embassy in Ankara.

Lebanon's most senior Shiite Muslim cleric denounced the remarks and demanded the pope personally apologize.

"We do not accept the apology through Vatican channels ... and ask him (Benedict) to offer a personal apology — not through his officials — to Muslims for this false reading (of Islam)," Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah told worshippers.

After Benedict returned to Italy on Thursday, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said, "It certainly wasn't the intention of the pope to carry out a deep examination of jihad (holy war) and on Muslim thought on it, much less to offend the sensibility of Muslim believers."

Lombardi insisted the pope respects Islam. Benedict wants to "cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue toward the other religions and cultures, obviously also toward Islam," he said.

Turkey's top Islamic cleric, Ali Bardakoglu, said Lombardi's comments were not enough. "The pope himself should stand at the dais and say 'I take it all back, I was misunderstood' and apologize in order to contribute to world peace," he said.

In another development, the pope appointed Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, a French prelate with experience in the Muslim world, as the Vatican's new foreign minister.

But anger still swept across the Muslim world, with Pakistan's parliament unanimously adopting a resolution condemning the pope for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam and the Foreign Ministry summoning the Vatican ambassador.

The pope's words were "deeply disturbing for Muslims all over the world, and had caused great hurt and anguish," the Foreign Ministry said.

The Vatican's envoy "regretted the hurt caused to Muslims and said that the media had totally misconstrued certain historical quotes that the Pope used in his lecture," the statement said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of the Islamic Hamas group, said the pontiff had offended Muslims everywhere and called on him to reconsider his statement. He said there would be organized protests later in the day "to express Palestinian anger."

In Iraq's Shiite Muslim-stronghold of Kufa, Sheik Salah al-Ubaidi criticized the pope during Friday prayers, saying his remarks were a second assault on Islam.

"Last year and in the same month the Danish cartoon assaulted Islam," he said, referring to a Danish newspaper's publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, which triggered outrage in the Muslim world.

Indonesia, which has more Muslims than any other in the world, had no immediate response to the pope's comments, but religious groups were quick to protest, condemning the words as insensitive and damaging.

"A respected religious leader like the pope should not say such things, especially as nations across the globe are struggling to find ways to bridge differences between faiths and build understanding," said Ma'ruf Amin, a member of Indonesia Council of Clerics, the country's highest Islamic body.

Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organization, also expressed disappointment but urged calm.

The head of Britain's largest Muslim body said it was disturbed by the pope's use of a 14th century passage. The Muslim Council, which represents 400 groups in Britain, said the emperor's views were "ill-informed and frankly bigoted."

"One would expect a religious leader such as the pope to act and speak with responsibility and repudiate the Byzantine emperor's views in the interests of truth and harmonious relations between the followers of Islam and Catholicism," said Muhammad Abdul Bari, the council's secretary-general.

Elsewhere, Syria's top Sunni Muslim religious authority, Sheik Ahmad Badereddine Hassoun, sent a letter to the pope that he feared the comments would worsen interfaith relations.

Later, he delivered a scathing sermon in which he denounced the remarks. "We have heard about your extremism and hate for Arabs and Muslims. Now that you have dropped the mask from your face we see its ugliness and extremist nature," he said.

In Cairo, Egypt, about 100 demonstrators gathered in an anti-Vatican protest outside the al-Azhar mosque, chanting "Oh Crusaders, oh cowards! Down with the pope!"

Dozens of lawyers in Indian-controlled Kashmir also protested, while two separatist leaders were placed under house arrest as they were planning to lead demonstrations.

Benedict, who has made the fight against growing secularism in Western society a theme of his pontificate, is expected to visit Turkey in late November. He was invited by the staunchly secularist Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who said the invitation was part of an effort to strengthen dialogue between religions.

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