Difficult Dialogues Breaking News

1. Difficult DialoguesBreaking News Outside Events about Religion that May Resonate within the Classroom

2. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News “Morocco has just graduated its first team of women preachers to be deployed as a vanguard in its fight against any slide towards Islamic extremism. “…This pioneer group of Murshidat, or guides, who finished a 12-month course in early April, were trained to ‘accompany and orient’ Muslim faithful, notably in prisons, hospitals and schools….” Al Jazeera 28 April 2006

3. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News Christians Sue to Revoke University Tolerance Rules “Ruth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant. Malhotra [head of the Georgia Tech Campus Republicans] says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homesexuality. But the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she’s a senior, bans speech that puts down others because of their sexual orientation. …With her lawsuit, the 22-year-old student joins a growing campaign to force public schools, state colleges and private workplaces to eliminate policies protecting gays and lesbians from harassment. … “In that spirit, the Christian Legal Society, an association of judges and lawyers, has formed a national group to challenge tolerance policies in federal court. Several nonprofit law firms—backed by …Focus on the Family and Campus Crusade for Christ—already take on such cases for free.” Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2006

4. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News The Southern Poverty Law Conference reports that “neo-pagan” religions are a growing presence among racist groups. “Alternative religions, in particular racist forms of Odinism and Asatrú, continued to make strides among young white supremacists — to the point where one leading expert says that more than half of young people now entering the movement consider themselves pagans. “This development, increasingly marked over the last several years, comes as more and more racists reject Christianity, which is seen as overly ‘soft.’ The ‘might is right’ mentality of racist Odinism is viewed by these youths as far more attractive.” SPLC The Year in Hate [2005] http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=233

5. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News “Hoppin’ mad over MTV’s Pope-toon “BERLIN -- German Catholic leaders launched legal steps yesterday to prevent MTV from broadcasting a controversial cartoon series that depicts the Pope as a pogo stick-riding maniac… “The injunction says ‘Pope-town’—which was dropped in Britain after a wave of protest—is insulting to Catholics because it shows the Pope bouncing through St. Peter’s in Rome on a cross-like pogo stock and satirizes religious ceremonies. “The youth music channel said it plans to show one episode and will then gauge viewers’ appetite for more.” New York Daily News, May 3, 2006

6. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News “Afghan convert: Kabul would have been a death sentence “ROME – An Afghan who faced the death penalty in his homeland for converting from Islam to Christianity said Thursday he was certain he would have been killed had he stayed there, and he thanked Pope Benedict XVI for intervening on his behalf… “Conversion is a crime under Afghanistan’s Islamic law. Rahman, 41, was arrested last month after police discovered him with a Bible. He was brought to trial last week for converting 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan. “Rahman’s ordeal began as a custody battle for his two daughters, now 13 and 14. …The matter was …taken to police, and during questioning, it emerged that Rahman was a Christian…. He was immediately arrested and charged.” Associated Press, March 31, 2006

7. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News “Cardinal Unloads on ‘Code’: Urges Flick Boycott “VATICAN CITY - In the latest Vatican broadside against ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ a leading cardinal says Christians should fight back because the book and upcoming movie offend Jesus Christ and the church he founded…. “‘Those who blaspheme Christ and get away with it are exploiting the Christian readiness to forgive and to love even those who insult us. There are some other religions which if you insult their founder they will not be just talking. They will make it painfully clear to you,’ [Francis Cardinal] Arinze said. “This appeared to be a reference to protests—some of them violent—by Muslims around the world over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed.” New York Daily News, May 8, 2006

8. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News Episcopalians Divide Again Over Electing Gay Bishop SAN FRANCISCO. “The Episcopal Church’s diocese of California will elect a new bishop on Saturday…. …Three of the seven candidates are openly gay or lesbian ministers in long-term relationships. “…If the diocese of California elects a gay bishop, …the denomination could edge even closer to the point of fracture. [The American part of the church could be expelled from the world-wide Anglican Communion, the second-largest church body in the world.] “The debate over homosexuality has become divisive for the Protestant mainline churches, and it has begun to emerge in Catholic and black Protestant denominations, too.” The New York Times, May 5, 2006

9. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News St. Louis Judges Include Meditation in Sentences Kansas City - Judge David Mason included transcendental meditation in the sentence of Michelle Robinson, who was convicted of voter fraud and possession of drug paraphernalia. Judge Mason is one of a group of St. Louis judges who believe that transcendental meditation is a useful tool in rehabilitating those who commit crimes. If Robinson violates the terms of her probation, which includes learning about transcendental meditation, she would have to serve three years in jail. Kansas City Star, April 1, 2006 http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/1424191.htm

10. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News “Clergy Group Aims to Block Gay Marriage Amendment Washington - “An interfaith coalition of clergy members and lay leaders announced a petition drive on Monday aimed at blocking a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. “…Among those represented by the coalition are clergy members and groups affiliated with mainline Protestant churches; the Interfaith Alliance; Jewish groups…; and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. “’When one group is singled out for discrimination, it’s not long before other groups will be singled out, too,’ said Rabbi Craig Axler of Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, Pa. “It’s the first time we see the Constitution in danger of enshrining discrimination against one party, one class, and to remain silent as a Jew is unconscionable.’” NY Times, May 23, 2006

11. Difficult Dialogues – Breaking News Iran’s Bahais Face Raids and Arrests “Members of the Bahai religious minority in Iran said this week that the government had recently intensified a campaign of arrests, raids and propaganda that was aimed at eradicating their religion in Iran, the country of its birth. “On May 19, Iranian security officials arrested 54 Bahais in the city of Shiraz who were involved in a community service project…. They were not charged and all but three were released within six days…. “It was the largest mass arrest of Bahais since the 1980’s, when thousands of them were imprisoned and more than 200 were executed by the new Islamic government. “…Human rights monitors at the United Nations …say that since December, the government newspaper in Tehran has published more than 30 articles denigrating the Bahai faith—even accusing the Bahais of sacrificing Muslim children on holy days….” New York Times, 6-1-06