Muslim Americans More Popular than the Tea Party...
Tea Party favorites Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin and Larry Klayman spent most of last week bashing Muslims and introducing the “Quran” and “Allah” to the shutdown and debt ceiling debate that they are losing in Congress. Unfortunately for them, Muslims are in fact more popular and viewed more favorably by Americans than the far right movement. Having failed at governance and the basic task of securing an operational government, the Tea Party leaders had to retreat to ugly screams of Islamophobia in order to distract attention from their downfall and to drum up support with fear tactics. Larry Klayman, a clownish figure who started the Tea Party group Freedom Watch, brought a whole new dimension to...
Kenyan Muslims, Christians Vow Unity
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan clerics across the religious divide vowed Tuesday to not allow sectarian violence to erupt following attacks on churches over the weekend that killed at least 15 people. The Inter-Religious Council of Kenya said Muslims will form vigilante groups alongside Christians to guard churches in Kenya’s North Eastern Province, where the latest attacks occurred. Adan Wachu, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims and the chairman of Inter-Religious Council, said the weekend attacks, which are being blamed on an al-Qaida-linked militant group from Somalia, are meant to trigger sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims. Wachu said clerics will actively preach against retaliation to prevent violence from spreading in Kenya like it has in...
Thomas Jefferson’s Quran: How Islam Shaped the Founders...
One of the nastiest aspects of modern culture wars is the controversy raging over the place of Islam and Muslims in Western society. Too many Americans say things about Islam and Muslims that would horrify and offend them if they heard such things said about Christianity or Judaism, Christians or Jews. Unfortunately, those people won’t open Denise A. Spellberg’s Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders. This enlightening book might cause them to rethink what they’re saying. Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an examines the intersection during the nation’s founding era of two contentious themes in the culture wars—the relationship of Islam to America, and the proper relationship between church and state. The story that it tells ought to be familiar to most...
Christians Not Islam’s Enemies, Says Malaysian Minister of Islamic Affairs...
Islam does not have any enmity towards Christians, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, in response to a parliamentary question today. Jamil, who is the minister in charge of Islamic affairs, said while Islam is the religion of the federation, other religions are free to be practised. Jamil said this in response to a supplementary question from DAP’s Beruas Member of Parliament Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham. Ngeh querried if there was any truth in a report on the Friday sermon prepared by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) at a mosque on August 30, in which Christians were labelled as enemies of Islam. Jamil however sidestepped Ngeh’s question on the Friday...
Massachusetts Catholics Revoke Invitation to Islam Critic...
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester has rescinded an invitation to a speaker at a men’s conference after Muslims objected to what they call the speaker’s anti-Islamic views. The diocese on Wednesday withdrew an invitation for Robert Spencer to speak at the March conference. Spencer, a Catholic, runs blogs and has written books that some consider anti-Muslim. A spokesman for the diocese says Spencer’s appearance at the conference ‘‘is being seen as harmful to Catholic-Islamic relations.’’ A spokesman for the Islamic Council of New England called Spencer a ‘‘hatemonger’’ and lauded the diocese’s decision. Spencer in emails to The Boston Globe (http://b.globe.com/11a1CKU ) said there is ‘‘nothing hateful or bigoted’’ about his views, and called...
CNN Covered Interfaith Call to Oppose Koran Burning. Who Didn’t?...
Despite the passions stirred by the Islamic center near ground zero and a plan to burn Korans on Sept. 11, cable news outlets showed limited interest Tuesday afternoon in a press conference where church leaders from a variety of faiths called for a united religious front against perceived examples of Islamophobia. The Islamic Society of North America organized a press conference at the National Press Club in Washingtonwhere leaders from the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths argued against what organizers called “an atmosphere of fear and intolerance” toward Islam. C-SPAN and CNN carried the interfaith press conference live. Fox News Channel had no live coverage, but instead had commentator Lou Dobbsholding forth on President Obama and the “sad isolated state this president has put himself in.” Meanwhile, rather than live coverage, MSNBC offered talking heads...
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