Jesuit Education Leads to Conversion to Islam...
Rod Dreher of The American Conservative recently told a surprising anecdote. During my years as a Catholic, more than a few times I would meet someone who had left the faith, and would credit their Jesuit education for having opened their eyes. Just now, I heard the Muslim scholar Reza Aslanon Fresh Air, talking about his new book. Terry Gross mentioned that he (Aslan) had been born into Islam, but his parents fled with him from Iranian Revolution. In America, his father became atheist, but Aslan became an Evangelical Christian. His mother followed him into Christianity. But then, studying at the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University, Aslan encountered Jesuit priests who encouraged him to go deeper into Islam, the...
Pope Francis, King Abdullah II Of Jordan On Syria: Dialogue Is The ‘Only Option’...
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis and Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed that dialogue is the “only option” to end the conflict in Syria, just as the United States and its European allies consider launching a military strike against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The two leaders met for the first time on Thursday (Aug. 29) at the Vatican. The pontiff and the king, accompanied by his wife Queen Rania, talked in private for 20 minutes. According to an official Vatican statement, during the meeting “special attention” was given to Syria’s “tragic situation.” Talks of a possible Western military intervention in the Syrian crisis intensified after reports of a chemical weapons attack against civilians in Damascus last week....
Jordan’s king decries anti-Christian violence, calls upon Christians to defend Islam...
A week after meeting with Pope Francis, King Abdullah II of Jordan spoke at a conference on the plight of Christians in the Middle East and decried violence against them. “We support every effort to preserve the historical Arab Christian identity, and safeguard the right to worship freely, based on a rule in both the Christian and Islamic faiths that underlines love of God and love of neighbor,” said the king, according to The Jordan Times. “We are proud that Jordan constitutes a unique model of coexistence and fraternity between Muslims and Christians,” he continued. “We also believe that the protection of the rights of Christians is a duty rather than a favor. Arab Christians have played a key...
First Presbyterian Church in Farmington leads classes on Islam and Christianity...
FARMINGTON — With turmoil in the Middle East appearing in the news on an almost daily basis, the Rev. Glenn Perica of Farmington’s First Presbyterian Church believes now is the time to educate people about Islam and how it compares to Christianity. “Ever since 9/11, we who did not understand very much about the Muslim faith certainly have been exposed to it,” Perica said. A 10-week course entitled “Christianity and Islam: So Much In Common, So Far Apart” introduces people to the faith. The course begins Sept. 4 at Farmington’s First Presbyterian Church. The course aims to help Christians understand the similarities and differences between the two world religions. Walter Declerck of Dar al Islam, an Abiquiú-based Islamic...
Pope urges ‘mutual respect’ with Islam...
VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Francis called on Friday for “mutual respect” between Christianity and Islam and an end to “unfair criticism” in a personal message congratulating Muslims on the feast of Eid al-Fitr. “We are called to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols, its values,” he said in a statement distributed by the Vatican press office. “I have decided to sign this traditional message myself and to send it to you, dear friends, as an expression of esteem and friendship for all Muslims, especially those who are religious leaders. “We all know that mutual respect is fundamental in any human relationship, especially among people who profess religious belief,” he said. The statement was...
Andalusian fusion: Christianity and Islam...
BY GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO ASSOCIATED PRESS For the third time in a week, I’m touring the Alhambra, one of the most popular sites in the world’s fourth most-visited country, and finally I have it all for myself. Not a pushy guide but a bullfrog in one of the fountains is the loudest sound on a late May night in this hilltop Islamic palace complex in southern Spain. I linger to stick my nose into the cabbage-size roses lining the pathways and to gaze over the floodlit red-tinged ramparts. Their massive simplicity belies the infinite intricacy of the palaces inside, and I can easily believe the legend that the last Muslim ruler wept as he left Granada. Centuries later, we...
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