Hard-Line Muslims Test Indonesia’s Tolerance

In the city of Bekasi, Indonesia, outside Jakarta, a handful of Christians head to Sunday worship. But before they can reach their destination, they are stopped and surrounded by a large crowd of local Muslims who jeer at them and demand that they leave.

This is the Filadelfia congregation, a Lutheran group. They are ethnic Bataks from the neighboring island of Sumatra who have migrated to Bekasi, and they have been blocked from holding services on several occasions. Recently, a journalist who demonstrated in support of the congregation was beaten by an angry mob.

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation and has drawn praise for its evolution into a vibrant democracy. It’s a country of more than 17,000 islands, with more than 300 ethnic groups who speak about 740 languages. But recent cases of persecution of religious minorities have led some to question whether Indonesia is still living up to its reputation for pluralism and tolerance.

FULL ARTICLE FROM NPR 

Egypt court gives 12 Christians life sentences

By AYA BATRAWY, Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court sentenced 12 Christians to life in prison and acquitted eight Muslims on Monday in a case set off by religious tensions in the country’s south.

The Christians were found guilty of sowing public strife, the possession of illegal weapons and shooting dead two Muslims in April of last year in Minya province, about 220 kilometers (135 miles) south of Cairo.

The religious tension in Minya spilled over into violence last year when a Muslim microbus driver, angered by a speed bump outside a wealthy Christian man’s villa, got into a scuffle with security guards who beat him.

After returning to his village of Abu Qurqas that evening, he rounded up the villagers who then gathered outside an ultraconservative Islamist group’s main office there to protest his beating. According to rights researcher Ishak Ibrahim, the Christians nearby thought they were going to be attacked and shot from their rooftops down at the crowd, killing two and wounding two others.

For several days after, angry villagers torched dozens of Christian homes and stores.

The eight Muslims on trial in the same case had been charged with possession of illegal weapons and burning down the Christian-owned homes and stores after the shooting.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

New Resource from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America on Christian-Muslim Relations

The ELCA has just published a series of eight brochures to help foster positive dialogue between Christians and Muslims in our local communities.  The brochures are free and downloadable.  Here is the link:

TALKING POINTS 

Will Muslim-Christian relations improve with a new president in Egypt?

The religious freedom for Christians in Egypt (Copts) and other religious minorities hangs in the balance as Egyptian voters prepare to select a new president on the weekend of May 23-24.

This is the first open presidential elections in a generation. If voters favor a hard-line Islamist as president, existing religious freedoms are at greater risk. At least one moderate candidate favors less state involvement in religion.

Right now, the two major contenders for the presidency are Amr Moussa, belonging to the old guard around former President Mubarak, and Abdel-Moneim Abol Fotoh, an Islamist with roots in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Until mid-2011, Moussa was Secretary-General of the Arab League and is widely recognized as an establishment figure. His hard-line criticism of Israel has proven to be popular in Egypt.

Abol Fotoh, a political moderate, quit the Muslim Brotherhood in 2011 after decades of involvement in order to run for president. In the late 1990s, Abol Fotoh spent five years in prison for his political activism.

In the past week, popular resentment in Egypt exploded when the Election Commission disqualified 10 candidates, including three well-known and controversial figures: Khairat al-Shater (Freedom Justice Party, Muslim Brotherhood); Omar Suleiman (former vice president and spy chief under Mubarak); and, Hazem Abu-Ismail (an ultra-conservative Salafist). This week, Shater alleged that the commission’s move was an attempt the rig the election.

FULL ARTICLE FROM CHRISTIANITY TODAY

Nigeria: Kaduna – How Easter Bombing United Christians, Muslims

The Easter Sunday Bombing in Kaduna State has come and gone, leaving the relatives and families of those who either died or sustained injuries in the blast in pains and agony.

The explosion has no doubt created vacuums in some families that can never be filled. MIDAT JOSEPH and ISAIAH BENJAMIN periscope how this bombing that claimed the lives of many and injured scores, brought about unity between Christians and Muslims in the state.

Sunday, April 8, 2012 will no doubt remain indelible in the minds of many residents of Kaduna metropolis. This is because; the day marked yet another historic day in the state, though on the negative, as many who woke up to enjoy free day, were left with pains, and agony over the death of their loved ones. No thanks to whoever must have perpetrated such a dastardly act.

Like every other festive period, the Easter period is a period in which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is being celebrated by the Christian faithful all over the world, but that of Kaduna residents was cut short as the entire state was thrown into confusion at the news of the bomb blast that claimed lives of persons whose authentic figure is yet to be ascertained.

Some of the affected persons woke up to commence their daily activities with others rushing to their places of worship, when they met their untimely death, Muslims and Christians alike.

Although the bomb blast was painful, it however, brought out a positive side of the situation as both Muslims and Christians were united against the act as they all moved to assist victims of the blast regardless of their religious differences.

Not only that, a day after the explosion, a group of Muslim and Christian youths hurriedly condemned the blast, saying “no good Christian or Muslim would want to kill people unjustly”, as the Muslim youths hosted their Christian counterparts to a feast to commemorate this year’s Easter celebration.

ALLAFRICA.COM

Coming Closer Through Faith: A Call to Undo Historical Tragedies

By Idris Tawfiq – The Egyptian Gazette 
Saturday, April 14, 2012 09:25:57 AM

Muslims believe that Islam is the religion of peace. The two fought one another for centuries over Jerusalem, the city of Peace. Much life was lost and many terrible things were done in the Holy Land, and after much fighting and bloodshed not much had really changed in the region when the dust finally settled. In fact, for all they achieved, the Crusades need never really have been fought at all!
It is worth remembering that Christians and Muslims have lived together in this region for fourteen hundred years. It is true, though, that there are hands at work trying to cause division between these groups. It is only natural that those who do not want Egypt and other Arab countries to be strong should do their best to weaken them. What better way of doing this than to stir up religious strife.
There are even some Arabs who travel abroad and appear on Western TV channels talking of religious oppression, and even religious persecution. It is time that these voices stopped their mischief, since the only ones to gain by it are people with no faith at all.  Let us return to the Easter festival. According to tradition, Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, is alleged to have discovered, in the early fourth century, many sites associated with the life of Jesus Christ, including what was claimed to be the True Cross on which he died.

The emperor ordered churches to be built on many of these sites. A church was built in Bethlehem over the spot alleged to be the place where Jesus was born, and another in Jerusalem over the spot where he is said, according to Christian tradition, to have died.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is said to stand on the very place where the Hill of Calvary stood. It is, of course, on Calvary that Christians believe Jesus was crucified.

The church was actually built as three separate churches, to mark three separate events.

One was for the hill of Calvary. Another was for the place where Jesus was buried, and the third was where he was said to have risen from the dead. When Constantine ordered that the churches be built, the spot was little more than a mound of rubble.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE EGYPTIAN GAZETTE 

Lebanese Christian and Muslim Leaders Meet to Promote National Unity

BEIRUT: A gathering of Lebanese Christian and Muslim religious leaders at Bkirki called for the bolstering of national unity and expressed sorrow over the political divisions in the country.

“The gatherers discussed the situation in Lebanon and stressed the need to bolster national unity, which is based on coexistence between Muslims and Christians, to protect from the effects of the events in the region on Lebanon,” a statement following the meeting at Bkirki said.

“We reject discrimination and strife, and stress the main Lebanese decision to remain together in an entity that is their final homeland, independent and united,” the statement added.

Participants at the event, which coincides with Annunciation Day, included Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, the deputy head of the Higher Shiite Council, Druze religious leader Sheikh Naim Hasan, Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios Lahham III and Greek Orthodox Bishop Elias Audi.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY STAR

Christians’ Fears in the Arab World

By OSMAN MIRGHANI

Pope Shenouda III has passed away, having led the largest Christian denomination in the Arab world for four decades. He deservedly received widespread tributes from across Egypt, with the exception of the unexpected conduct of some MPs affiliated to the Salafist al-Nour party who chose not to attend a People’s Assembly session, in order to avoid participating in a minute’s silence for the deceased, whilst another group refused to stand for the minute’s silence, instead remaining in their seats, prompting widespread arguments among Egyptians and others. These acts, and the controversy that accompanied them, reflect a major problem that Egypt, and even the region, will face in the days to come. This is a problem concerning the status of Christians in the Arab world and the underlying concerns with the rise to power of political Islamist movements in a belt extending from Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Sudan to Egypt. This area has the greatest population density in the Arab world, and could extend towards the Levant. There are those who believe that a change is inevitably coming in Syria and the Islamists will come to power there, with reference to the presence of Hamas in power in Gaza, the activity of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, and the Islah bloc in Yemen.

FULL ARTICLE FROM AL ARABIYA (ENGLISH VERSION) 

Red Bull withdraws Jesus ad after Christian, Muslim outcry in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG — Energy-drink maker Red Bull said Wednesday it has dropped an advertisement in South Africa after an outcry from both Christians and Muslims for its portrayal of Jesus Christ walking on water.South Africa’s Roman Catholic bishops urged Christians not to drink Red Bull in traditional fasting for Lent ahead of Easter celebrations next month, stopping short of calling for a full commercial boycott.The television cartoon implies Jesus walked on water because he had been invigorated by a miraculous energy drink and knew where there were hidden rocks to tread on.

South Africa’s Muslim Judicial Council on Wednesday warned of consequences of “secular extremism” against any religious faith.It said any “insult and satire” of Jesus targeted “the very foundation of Islamic theology.”

Christ is a revered prophet in Islam.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE WASHINGTON POST 

Group Issues ‘Hate’ Materials Prompts Cancellations at Islam School Near St. Louis

The Muslim Al-Salam Day School off Weidman Road closed Friday due to a Christian group’s promise to tout Christianity at the location, school officials said.

A letter, that reads as follows, was sent home to parents telling them classes were cancelled.

“Earlier this week we had informed members and parents of the community about a protest that will be taking place outside of the Islamic Foundation Property tomorrow. Due to the overwhelming incoming of increasing safety concerns from parents and teachers, we have decided to cancel school and after school activities for tomorrow.”

Ghazala Hayat with the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis tells Patch that the group Reclaiming Missouri for Christ contacted St. Louis County Police to inform them the group planned to distribute literature during the Dar-Ul-Salam Mosque’s prayer services Friday between noon and 2 p.m. The Islamic Foundation offices, mosque and school are all located on the same property off Weidman Road.

FULL ARTICLE FROM http://ballwin-ellisville.patch.com