Religion Dispatches
…in leading al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, was a street thug from Jordan. By contrast, al Baghdadi looks fairly legit. His credentials do not make the movement Islamic, however. Nor do the Islamic whitewashing of the regime’s terrorist actions and cruel restrictions make them Muslim. The judgment is in the eye of the beholder. And to most Muslims, ISIS represents the antipathy of the faith. Of course, much the same can be said of extremis…
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…ican Whiteness: the gun. For the parents of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Renisha McBride, and countless others, the pain of their children’s sacrifice at the hands of the agents of the god of white supremacy in America cannot be healed. We who look upon this madness however, must begin to comprehend the full scope of the underlying issue at hand: America has never simply been land of the free and home of the brave. It is also the h…
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…, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and an almost endless host of others (from Jordan Davis to Renisha McBride to Amadou Diallo). It’s about a real place we as Americans inhabit that is permeated with violence and fear, and unfortunately we Christians have yet to reckon seriously with this place and our own culpability in its creation. Our present moment demands we face the horror of the social world we help to sustain. Root yourself in this present m…
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…p ISIS. McCain was raised in mainstream American culture, a fan of Michael Jordan, “The Simpsons”and Pizza Hut. He reverted to Islam, as he described it, in 2004. “I must say In sha Allah,”he wrote, using an Arabic phrase meaning “God willing,”“I will never look back.”He began publicly identifying with militant groups in 2010 and travelled to Syria to join ISIS in June 2014. He was killed by Syrian rebels two months later, carrying $800 and an Ame…
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…ve also argued that Taiwanese society has its roots in Confucianism, which promotes a strong adherence to traditional family values, and of course, producing offspring. They argue that the fundamental concept of marriage should be between a man and a woman, otherwise it would be “very confusing for children.” The South China Post said the court ruling in Taiwan “has reverberated across Asia, but the fight for equality is not over yet in a region w…
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…at contribute to the Global Equality Fund, a public-private partnership to promote LGBT rights around the world that the State Department manages with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Uruguay in July hosted the first global LGBT rights conference to have taken place in Latin America. Uruguayan Minister of Exterior Relations Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Special U.S. Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons Randy Berry and more than 150 activ…
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…o gambling, to extramarital sexual relations. The province’s 2014 Criminal Code bars both male and female same-sex behavior. Under its Sharia ordinances, Aceh imposed cane lashing against 339 people in 2016; a punishment recognized under international law as torture. To make matters worse, local government officials have aggressively stoked homophobia. … Knight writes that Indonesia “has historically been a unique beacon of tolerance for LGBT peop…
Read More…Report on legal case involving mistreatment by parents The Center for the Promotion and Defense of Sexual and Reproductive Rights (PROMSEX) reports on the legal case of Antonella Rabanal Roca, who says she was abused by her mother and stepfather because of her sexual orientation. PROMSEX cites the parents’ membership in the World Missionary Movement, which it calls “one of the evangelical churches that promotes speech and discriminatory practices…
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…ause Westerners have said this or that… The current provision of the Penal Code is a fair balance between conservative public opinion and an uncompromising international community on the protection of minorities.” Russia: Muslim ‘morality’ vigilante pushing for purge of LGBT teachers Timur Bulatov, a self-described pious Muslim is waging a campaign to out LGBT teachers and get them fired, according to BBC: He wages his “morality” campaign from St…
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…off the southern tip of Spain. United Kingdom: Former Tory leader opposes ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools Lord Norman Tebbit, a former Conservative Party chair, spoke out against “promotion” of homosexuality in the schools, saying “I think it is damaging to children to introduce uncertainty into their minds.” Kenya: Activist profiled The Star’s Lydia Matata wrotes about gender non-conforming activist Joji Baro. China: Most LGBT people fear…
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