Religion Dispatches
…or popping noises. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old man from a prominent Nigerian family, was attempting to ignite an explosive device sewn into his underwear. He succeeded only in igniting himself—after his arrest, he had to be treated for second-degree burns on his hands and crotch. Instead of martyrdom, Abdulmutallab received four consecutive life sentences plus 50 years. He also earned the less-than-terrifying nickname of “underwear b…
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…rger fabric of the town. As a result, and especially after a tragedy, each minority religious community that suffers discrimination must pay a cultural tax: the extra burden of educating the rest of the country about its traditions, its rituals, and its cultures. After 9/11, there was a massive outpouring of videos, blogs, and articles by Muslim leaders aiming to educate Americans about Islam. In the various radio appearances by Sikh leaders this…
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…Poverty Tour” of 2011, where they visited places like Hayward, Wisconsin, Detroit, Michigan, and Columbus, Mississippi. Each book chapter has a similar trajectory—the authors intersperse personal stories of poverty, homelessness, and frustration with discussions of economic and political policies ranging from the New Deal to the present. Time and again, readers are brought to the vision of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, the willingness of D…
Read More…0,000) to try to confuse big institutions that his THOUSANDS OF SUPPORTERS might stop buying their two-by-fours. Lowes looks even more ridiculous for backing down under Caton’s pressure given how his track record is actually pretty pathetic. Last year, Caton’s minions flooded the University of South Florida with emails protesting the teaching of queer theory. USF, as it should have, ignored them. In 2008, Caton recorded a robocall against a Democr…
Read More…ding to Douglas Allen, Canadian economist and expert (*coughs*) witness in Michigan’s gay marriage trial. I would laugh uncontrollably if I didn’t understand the actual adverse effects such violent, punitive and dogmatic theologizing has on LGBTQ people and others. According to the Detroit Free Press, Ken Mogill, the attorney representing Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer who happens to be the lesbian couple challenging the ban, asked, “Is it accurate…
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…wed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.” When he learned King would be making an appearance, Nickelberry hurried to union hall, but he didn’t get there in time. The next night, King was killed from the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel. Two weeks later, the city agreed to recognize the union and…
Read More…U.S. military. An Oregon faith-healing couple were convicted of felony criminal mistreatment when they chose to seek ritual faith healing for a growth over their daughter’s eye instead of medical care. The rector of a Muslim University in Russia was gunned down. Maksud I. Sadikov sought to revive local Sufi traditions of Islam as a counter to violence in the area. The Crystal Cathedral is still in trouble. Will Rick Santorum take a share of the c…
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…address AIDS/HIV that are named after the Belgian missionary, including Damien Ministries. Indeed, Damien Ministries is celebrating its 20th year of caring for persons with AIDS/HIV. And, what some claim to be the world’s only Roman Catholic chapel memorializing persons who have died from HIV/AIDS, at Montreal’s Eglise Saint-Pierre-Apotre, is consecrated to this same soon-to-be saint. (An Episcopal memorial chapel is also named for him.) Father D…
Read More…cently speculated that O’Malley’s leadership of the Pro-Life Activities Committee would likely be characterized by a “less partisan approach.” Assuming this will be the approach O’Malley takes, though, how will it track with the USCCB’s more partisan elements? Will his conciliatory demeanor run him afoul of the more zealously partisan? Or could it be, rather, that this was the very reason for his election? Michael Sean Winters’ observations of the…
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…over inexpressibly wonderful Asian delicacies with the good grey incumbent minister, and potluck suppers when the committee meets to deliberate. Dana/Huneven spikes up foodie fun by ending the novel with 30 pages of selected “search recipes,” including some real-life stunners. So here we have a wise and witty narrator at the center of the action, joined in the search “process” (the word itself is suspect) by a cast of vivid secondary characters: C…
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