Religion Dispatches
…al church. So too if you see an ensemble of people up front clutching microphones and singing with their eyes closed. This is called a “worship team” or a “praise band.” Episcopalians (thank God!) don’t do praise bands. When it’s time for congregational singing in an Episcopal church, the organ music will swell and the congregation rises to its feet unbidden. If, on the other hand, someone steps out front and announces a page number, you’re in a B…
Read More…abbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Alexandria, Va., is “the protocols of the learned elders of Saudi Arabia.” Rabbi Moline, named by Newsweek this year as one of the country’s top 25 pulpit rabbis, added, “The integrity of our own Jewish community requires that people speak up critically” about the film. Hadar Susskind, Washington director of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, American Jewry’s official um…
Read More…abbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Alexandria, Virginia, called it “the protocols of the learned elders of Saudi Arabia,” when I interviewed him for a story I wrote two years ago. In that story, I reported on how the Clarion Fund was founded by officials with the ultra-orthodox Jewish group Aish HaTorah, although Ronn Torossian, the group’s spokesperson, denied official involvement. (Torossian represents oth…
Read More
…rom Al-Nur Party which was approved by the government just this month. The Alexandria-based Al-Nur Party has followed the lead of the Muslim Brotherhood’s own Freedom and Justice Party by including several Copts within its ranks. In general, Salafi groups take a more conservative line on sectarian, social, and religious issues than the Muslim Brotherhood. Writer and economist Mohamed El Dahshan, typically a strong critic of Naguib Sawiris, wrote a…
Read MoreTens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other Egyptian cities on January 25th‘s “Day of Rage” to protest poverty, unemployment, and police brutality. As events have unfolded, however, it has become clear that Cairo’s protests are actually a Tunisia-inspired call for regime change. The “Day” of Rage—now entering its third day—proves that the old calculus relied upon by political “realists” grossly underest…
Read More…f its clergy. Tutu-Van Furth was ordained at the Historic Christ Church in Alexandria, Va., and since the Episcopal Church, the U.S.-based branch of the Anglican Communion, accepts priests who have entered into same-sex marriages, she can still practice in the United States. Bearak reports that the South African Anglican Church will be reviewing its position on marriage later this year. Romania: Marriage equality opponents collect 3 million signat…
Read More…Development Association; Rabbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, VA; Pastor Joel Hunter of Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood, Florida; and Pastor Rich Nathan of Vineyard Columbus in Columbus, Ohio. They all discussed the biblical and moral imperative to welcome the stranger; Nathan noted how the push for immigration reform “has united the religious community, even for those of us who consider ourselves conservatives…
Read More
…Arizona posted an anime video of himself killing his Democratic colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and attacking Joe Biden with two swords. That was in November 2021. No real consequences from McCarthy and the GOP followed. Gosar was eventually censured and stripped of his committee assignments, with only two Republicans siding with the Democrats. This wasn’t Gosar’s first experience with AFPAC—he’d participated in person in the past. In total,…
Read More…to seek expedited prosecutions of former members of the Mubarak regime. In Alexandria, the FEP took a visible role in providing tents wired with internet access to media covering the protests. In popular Egyptian political imaginations, Egypt’s second city is traditionally considered a Muslim Brotherhood stronghold. After initial reluctance, Muslim Brotherhood groups also joined in Friday’s nationwide protests to preserve revolutionary “unity.” As…
Read More…better alternatives to war or killing your enemy. I agree with Clement of Alexandria who wrote: “As simple and quiet sisters, peace and love require no arms. For it is not in war, but in peace, that we are trained.” The exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the military then, to me, was not an issue. I never wanted to serve, so it didn’t bother me that the military didn’t want me. It was all good. However, that all being said, there are gays a…
Read More