Religion Dispatches
…istian Right, by the right-wing media, by the conservative lawmakers and the militias. As the tentacles reach out for each of us in turn, we must be united in our resistance. It’s only through a united front, a united community of care, that we can fully resist. We are worthy of more. We are worthy of more than survival. And we are also worthy of survival….
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…ation that came to be called the Federation of Islamic Associations of the United States and Canada (FIA). The first president of the FIA, Abdallah Igram, a World War II veteran, approached President Eisenhower in 1953 to ask, “Why is there no symbol for the Islamic faith on a Muslim serviceman’s identification tags so that he might be given fitting burial rites if he’s killed in action?” His query led to the use of an “I” on the dog tags of Ameri…
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…f for the benefit of corrupt but charismatic leaders is as relevant in the United States and Europe—where metal was born and its extreme narratives were shaped—as it is in the Muslim world, where it flowered not long after. If the music can encourage greater introspection among its young fans in the United States and increased communication and understanding between them and their counterparts in the Middle East, metal might one day be credited wi…
Read More…t war to mobilize for disarmament. Jewish neocons, fearful that a disarmed United States would be unable to play a central role in protecting Israel, took the leadership in warning against a “Vietnam syndrome.” Security for the United States and Israel, they argued, comes from military strength, and those who seek peace, disarmament, and reconciliation with antagonists are naive, utopian, dangerous, and de facto anti-American or anti-Israel. Spiri…
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…funerals, or certify a restaurant as kosher. At present there are a small number of Conservative and Reform Rabbis in Israel, but they receive no funds or recognition from the state. What they do receive is a heavy dose of contempt from the official Rabbinate. When non-Orthodox Rabbis are referred to in Orthodox publications their title is given in transliterated form, the English word “Rabbi,” not the Hebrew word “Rav.” Women Rabbis come in for…
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…, by 1810 the term was also being applied to Native Americans. And while a number of enlightened whites believed that the natives of this continent had nobler natures than white people, the problem (again) was that they had been rendered dependent and degraded via their corrupting interactions with lower-class Europeans. Absent an aggressive program of “civilizing” these people, they could not be permitted to remain living cheek-by-jowl with white…
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…a has gone through a startling increase in recent decades. Since 1980, the number of African Catholics has grown by 238%, in contrast to Europe, where it has grown by only 6%. Some of this may be attributable to higher fertility rates in African countries, but it also reflects the church’s success in missionary efforts. And where there are a decreasing number of vocations to the priesthood in Europe, where vocations have declined by 23%, African v…
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…ak out in our support. There are a vast number, I know. I know that a huge number of Orthodox people are standing up for us. They are praying for us outside the courtroom, for the members of Pussy Riot who are incarcerated. We’ve seen the little booklets Orthodox people are handing out with prayers for those in prison. This shows that there isn’t a unified social group of Orthodox believers as the prosecution is endeavouring to say. No such thing…
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…mber of flashbacks from when I was a young boy). In addition, there were a number of things I didn’t get the chance to explore for a very practical reason: I had a deadline. Working in publishing I’m very conscious about how important deadlines are. Writers need to make those deadlines and because I worked in the industry I wanted to be respectful about that. There were a number of frightening episodes that my wife experienced that I didn’t have t…
Read More…oring well due to high spending on social programs and women’s rights. The United States falls into fourth place because, although its social spending is the highest in the region, murder rates, particularly femicide, remain high, as well. The report also points out that some of the region’s larger economic powers like Brazil and Mexico could greatly improve their scores by placing more emphasis on women’s rights, access to education and access to…
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