Religion Dispatches
…g it: “Because of this subversive ideology, Muslims cannot claim religious freedom protections under the First Amendment.” As Newt Gingrich did, he asserts that Americans should show their superiority by descending to the level of their enemies: “There is no such thing as freedom of religion in Islam, and it is sheer folly for Americans to delude themselves into thinking otherwise.” (By this standard, the United States should have established gula…
Read More
…lowed by thousands of immigrants from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South Asia and by African Americans, who converted to varying forms of Islam, some of which, such as the Nation of Islam, were distinctly a product of African American experiences. They built American mosques and Muslim institutions in such diverse places as Brooklyn, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Ross, North Dakota, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The mosque built in Ce…
Read More…artiers. On his radio show in late 2009, Beck argued with a listener that “African-Americans were deemed three-fifths people because the founders wanted to end slavery and they knew if the South could count the slaves as full individuals, you could never get the control to abolish it.” This was one of Kebreau’s principal points; I heard it at a Tea Party rally supporting Arizona’s immigration law in June, and I heard it from a Jacksonville Tea Par…
Read More…United States in an organized way and were heavily involved in converting African-Americans to Islam in the early part of the 20th century. In Pakistan, they are targeted by certain sectors as being heretics. This history of being a persecuted minority, but also being fairly cosmopolitan, should increase the community’s sensitivity to the way Muslims are being portrayed. Regrettably, that does not seem to be the case. About a month ago, Faheem Yo…
Read More…les and one of my favorite people in the world. Dietz also sells eggs from free-range chickens so happy, he assures me each week, that they have achieved personal enlightenment: Today, I had lunch with a friend at Old Country Buffet. I ate more than I needed to, but less than I could have, resulting in a satisfied, not bloated sensation. As I negotiated my way back and forth between the food bars and my seat, I noted the morbidly obese appearance…
Read More…gement.” Speaking of poor judgment, a non-denominational Florida church plans to host “International Burn a Qur’an Day” on the anniversary of 9/11. The same Gainesville church made news in the past with its “No Homo Mayor” signs opposing an openly gay mayor. Lt. Governor of South Carolina André Bauer discusses how he uses shoes to save souls. New York Governor David Paterson denied reports that he had swapped Judaism for his Catholic faith. Howeve…
Read More…and American Law. Botham counterposes the legal structure in the American South, based in Protestantism, with the legal structure of the West, based in Catholicism, by looking at two court cases challenging interracial marriage laws: the more familiar Loving v. Virginia and Perez v. Lippold. What I loved about this book is how Botham looks at the way biblical interpretation, legal history, and the institution of slavery interact to create ever-ev…
Read More
…the graduate students in philosophy are Protestants, the famous school in South Bend, Indiana, may itself be the “Protestant Notre Dame.” Sloan’s vision, which he called Baylor 2012, was that his university would become a magnet for Christian scholars and a center—perhaps the center—for Protestant intellectual life. I was in Waco to write a feature article for Christianity Today, and I confess that I was intrigued by the audacity of Sloan’s plans…
Read More
…Arizona), David Vitter (Louisiana), Tom Coburn (Oklahoma), and Jim DeMint (South Carolina), as well as eight House candidates. The Angle campaign embraced the endorsement, with her spokesperson saying, “Not only is Mrs. Angle unafraid of guns, but she is also unafraid to stand up against those who would attempt to deny the legal rights of other gun owners.” Pratt, whose advocacy has led him to intersect not only with the Tea Partiers, but also wit…
Read More
…t political candidates, has chosen to endorse Gordon Howie for Governor of South Dakota from the pulpit. Howie has asked for pastoral support and in return has promised to assist those pastors in taking their inevitable IRS trials to the Supreme Court in an effort to end separation of church and state in America. Pastor, I recognize your frustration, and I see how things have come to this. For years America has only shrugged at religion, and recen…
Read More