Search

Results

Studying war some more

27 Dec 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Letter to the Colossians for the Sunday, December 27 celebration of the Holy Family implores: "Let the peace of Christ control your hearts." But even in this season celebrating the Prince of Peace, war is never far from the headlines. In contrast to recent years, Afghanistan rather than Iraq has become the central focus of U.S. concern and activity. During the year casualties on all sides mounted as U.S. forces, with their Afghan and NATO allies, battled a resilient Taliban. When presented by his generals with a request for more troops, President Barack Obama engaged in a process of lengthy deliberations this fall, which were complicated by a disputed Afghan election and allegations of widespread fraud. The president chose to send 30,000 more troops as soon as possible but also pledged to start withdrawing them by July, 2011. Allies were expected to add to the total troop increase with the hope that the surge in troops will blunt the Taliban's momentum long enough to give the shaky Afghan political and military structures time to strengthen and take over the task themselves. Militant Islam in general was a topic never far from the headlines this year. The Taliban destroyed scores of schools, mostly for girls, in northwest Pakistan during the year. Hardliners in Iran resorted to fraud, censorship, and bloodshed in order to hold onto power and put down dissent after highly irregular presidential election results in July. President Obama made an unprecedented appeal to moderate Muslims in a widely lauded speech in Cairo, Egypt in June, a story that was voted the number one religion story of the year by the Religion Newswriters Association. The speech at Cairo University was broadly viewed as providing a dramatic contrast to the approach taken by the previous administration. During his talk Obama invoked the Qur'an, the Talmud, and the Bible while declaring that the United States was not at war with Islam, only with terrorism. He urged Muslims to join him in condemning extremisms of all kinds and promoting democratic values.

barack obama afghanistan war afghanistan iran taliban islamism

Restricted
Arab spring may leave region’s Christians out in the cold

02 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Change is always uncomfortable. Some kinds are traumatic,” writes Alice Camille in "The endangered vineyard," this Sunday’s Prepare The Word scripture commentary. Christians in Syria face an uncertain future as Syria plunges further into unrest every day. They fear that in the event President Bashar al-Assad falls from power they may be subjected to reprisals at the hands of a conservative Sunni leadership. For many Syrian Christians, Assad remains predictable in a region where unpredictability has driven their brethren from war-racked places like Iraq and Lebanon and where others have felt threatened in post-revolutionary Egypt. They worry that the struggle to dislodge Assad could turn into a civil war, unleashing sectarian bloodshed in a country where minorities, ethnic and religious, have for the most part found a way to coexist. The plight of Christians in Syria has resonated among religious minorities across the Middle East, many of whom see themselves as facing a shared destiny. In Iraq the number of Christians has dwindled to insignificance since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, driven away by bloodshed and chauvinism. Christians in Egypt worry about the ascent of Islamists. Christians in Lebanon, representing the largest minority by proportion in the Arab world, worry about their own future in a country where they emerged as the distinct losers of a 15-year civil war. But while the promise of the Arab revolts is a new order shorn of repression and inequality, worries linger that Islamists, the single most organized force in the region, will gain greater influence and that societies will become more conservative and perhaps intolerant. Source: An article by the New York Times

iraq egypt lebanon religious minorities islamism christians syria bashar al-assad

Restricted
Christian persecution continues worldwide

15 Jan 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

On his way to becoming a prophet, young Samuel learned how to hear and respond to the call of God, we learn in Sunday’s first reading. In many countries, Christians who dare to do the same openly risk persecution. The international Christian organization Open Doors released its annual World Watch List this week, naming the 50 countries where it says Christians face the worst persecution--and the situation is not improving. For the tenth year running North Korea topped the list. Christianity has been driven so far underground in North Korea, Open Doors said, that parents wait until their children are old enough to understand the dangers of practicing their faith before teaching them about it. The organization also estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christian are currently interned in labor camps in North Korea. For the first time in the 20 years the list has been compiled, the situation for Christians did not improve last year in any country, Open Doors said. Christians also are under attack in Nigeria, where the radical Muslim Boko Haram sect killed 44 people after it promised to murder Christians living in the predominately Muslim north of the country. Speaking Saturday to journalists, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, vowed the group's members would adequately protect themselves from the sect. He declined to offer specifics, raising concerns about retaliation. "We have decided to work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings," Oritsejafor said. He added: "We cannot sit back and watch people being slaughtered like animals every day, going to the church, shooting people, killing them. This is unacceptable." In Egypt, Coptic Orthodox Christians last weekend celebrated their first Christmas since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and an escalation in violence associated with the growing power of Islamists. Celebrations of Orthodox Christmas began amid tight security and a show of national unity. Mass at Cairo's main cathedral was attended by prominent figures from across Egypt's political spectrum, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose associated political party has won nearly half the seats in parliament. Members of the ruling military council that took power after Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster also attended, as well as the visiting top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman. Coptic Pope Shenouda III commended their presence and appealed for national unity for "the sake of Egypt." The 88-year-old church leader said: "For the first time in the history of the cathedral, it is packed with all types of Islamist leaders in Egypt. They all agree . . . on the stability of this country and in loving it, and working for it and to work with the Copts as one hand for the sake of Egypt." Coptic Christians comprise an estimated 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 85 million. Sources: Articles by ENI News, ReligionClause.com,and Njadvara Musa and Sarah El Deeb for the Associated Press

egypt world watch list boko haram ayo oritsejafor christian association of nigeria muslim brotherhood pope shenouda iii coptic christians copts nigeria christians islamism persecution north korea open doors

Restricted
Anxious Egyptian Christians grieve fallen patriarch

25 Mar 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Only when a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies can it produce much fruit, Jesus teaches his followers as he prepares them for his approaching death in this Sunday’s gospel. Coptic Christians in Egypt might have been prepared for the death last Saturday of the elderly and ill Pope Shenouda III, but his demise nevertheless leaves the Christian minority unsettled and worried in a time of transition.Shenouda, 88, led the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt for four decades, expanding the church’s presence around the world as he struggled, often unsuccessfully, to protect his Christian minority at home. He had suffered from cancer and kidney problems for years.His death comes at a time of rising fears for Egypt’s 10 million Coptic Christians, who have felt increasingly vulnerable since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak and amid attacks on churches by hard-line Islamists and repression by Egypt’s security forces.The rise to power of conservative Islamist parties has also raised concerns that Egyptian national identity is becoming more closely bound to Islam. “It’s an injection of uncertainty for Copts at a time of transition in the country,” said Michael Wahid Hanna, a fellow at the Century Foundation. “Whether people were fond of him or not, this will cause anxiety.” Source: An article by Kareem Fahim for the New York Times

egypt islamism copts coptic christians michael wahid hanna shenouda iii

Restricted
Anti-Islamic video sparks embassy attacks

16 Sep 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Questions of identity and representation are front and center in this Sunday’s gospel when Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" An inflammatory and amateurish, anti-Islamic video of questionable origin that portrays the prophet Mohammad as a fraud and child sex-abuser helped fuel attacks on U.S. diplomatic sites in Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere midweek. Libyan Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died in the most violent assault which occurred at the U.S. consulate and a safe house in Benghazi, Libya Tuesday night.U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday branded the attack "outrageous" and ordered increased security at U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide as violence threatened to spread to other Muslim countries.There is a growing consensus that the attack that killed Stevens was premeditated. While protesters elsewhere appeared to be genuinely outraged over the anti-Islam video, the attackers in Benghazi were armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. Officials said it was likely that an organized group had either been waiting for an opportunity to exploit, such as the protests over the video, or generated the protests as a cover for their attack.Stevens, who died on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, made a career of going to difficult places and insisting that he witness tumultuous events firsthand, friends and colleagues said. He had initially traveled to North Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer where he worked as an English teacher in a town in the high Atlas mountains in Morocco. He spoke Arabic as well as French and spent much of his diplomatic life in North Africa.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Wednesday described Stevens as one of the first Americans on the ground in Benghazi, de facto headquarters of the Libyan uprising in 2011. She said he arrived on a cargo ship and immediately began building relationships with those leading the revolution.Stevens was widely admired by the Libyan rebels for his support of their struggle, and others who knew him said he was an extraordinarily talented and insightful diplomat. "He risked his life to stop a tyrant, then gave his life trying to help build a better Libya," Clinton said. Sources: Articles by Hadeel Al Shalchi for Reuters, Sara Lynch and Oren Dorell for USA TODAY, Greg Myre for National Public Radio, Dion Nissenbaum for the Wall Street Journal, and David D. Kirkpatrick for the New York Times

barack obama hillary rodham clinton libya videos attacks christopher stevens anti-islamism benghazi

Restricted