Religion Dispatches
…. So the support for Israel has had a direct effect in increasing the anti-American sentiment in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. Conversely, American support for Palestinian autonomy and a renewed effort by the U.S. to become engaged in the peace process would be seen as an attempt by America to be a problem solver rather than a problem maker in the region. It is disconcerting that during the recent Israeli attacks on Hamas in Gaza there ha…
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…ge anti-Muslim bigotry, choosing a cast of immigrants and first-generation Americans, all Arab American save the newbie white convert, may just propel the show into another set of tropes: all Muslims are Arabs, all Arabs are Muslim, and all Muslims are immigrants. Indeed some Muslims are Arab, some Arabs are Muslim, and some Muslims are immigrants. But many are not. Many will celebrate the show, and those who do may read this review (if they get t…
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…ge American rightwing perceptions of Russia. Arguably, what this influx of American evangelicals into American Orthodox churches did was create a bridge over which American evangelicals in Russia were able to cross. An alliance began to take root which shaped Russia and the American Right as both headed into the 21st century. Taking a page right out of the playbook of the Moral Majority, the Russian Orthodox Church has positioned itself as the lea…
Read More…rofessor Rashid should not attack the Community for assuming the mantle of American Muslim leadership when other American Muslims have remained timid or silent on these issues. Second, Professor Rashid contends that the American Muslim community is represented by a diverse range of organizations, and it is this very diversity that makes it difficult for any one Muslim organization to speak with any authority. Professor Rashid is correct to point o…
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…lled for. It is up to us to give politicians, policymakers, and non-Jewish Americans the confidence that American Jews expect new approaches to the Arab-Israeli conflict and new ways of talking about it. Ending the Silence about Israel and Human Rights “It blows my mind that my Jewish brothers and sisters, who are with me on Darfur, who were with me on South Africa, can’t bend themselves to deal with injustice to the Palestinians,” said Reverend D…
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…essors and co-authors of Globalizing Family Values: The Christian Right in International Politics, write that the Manifesto’s secular, social science rationales are part of the “‘intellectualization’ of the Christian Right”—largely a contribution of Mormon lawyers and academics like Mero. “[In] response to the perceived ideological and political successes of its feminist and gay rights opponents,” Buss and Herman argue, the Christian Right, “has d…
Read More…2010. In one, a group of conservative Muslims occupied the hotel where an international LBGTI conference was scheduled, and in the second, conservative Muslims attacked an international gay film festival in Jakarta. YIFOS began as a community-based organisation bringing together members of Muslim, Catholic and Buddhist communities. The organisation’s goal was to foster exchange between members of different religions about faith and sexuality. ‘In…
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…nts and scholars” and would run afoul of Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law. International Organizations Last week the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission hosted a conference on collaboration between activists in Africa and their counterparts around the world. Chesterfield Samba of Zimbabwe and Dorothy Aken’ova of Nigeria discussed both the benefits and potential pitfalls of international collaboration. From IGLHRC: Aken’ova said r…
Read More…en of their same-sex partners if they meet certain requirements. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2012 ruled in favor of lesbian Chilean Judge Karen Atala who lost custody of her three daughters to her ex-husband because of her sexual orientation. Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2012 signed what many advocates describe as the world’s most progressive transgender rights law that allows trans people in the South Amer…
Read More…ported a conscience vote on the issue. Uganda: Pride supported by US while American evangelicals promote homophobia U.S. embassy officials took part in Pride activities in Kampala last week and last weekend, reports the Washington Blade’s Michael Lavers. Activist Richard Lusimbo praised the Obama administration’s “very beneficial” diplomatic efforts promoting LGBT human rights and slammed American evangelicals who continue to promote anti-gay atti…
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