Religion and Politics

Germany’s Future Mosque

karin esposito — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:32:36 +0000

Last week Cologne’s city council voted in favor of a new and controversial mosque. It will be the largest in Germany when it is complete. According to an article in Spiegel Online, it will cost between 15 and 20 billion dollars, and it will be completed by 2010. The opposition to the new construction has been intense, and the resistance of the right-wing was allegedly based on how to best “integrate” the Turkish population in Germany. According to information from Deutsche Welle, there were some 45 mosques in Cologne, and the right-wing Pro-Cologne Movement argued that this was a sufficient number for the 120,000 Muslims living in the city. Those mosques, however, were mostly abandoned factories and shops. Construction is being carried out by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs, and as a New York Times Article reports, “Germans are starting to ask how - or even if - the 2.7 million people of Turkish descent here can square their religious and cultural beliefs with a pluralistic society…” In short, though, since the minarets of the new mosque will apparently be only one-third the height of the towers of Cologne’s famous cathedral and the call to prayer will not be over the loudspeakers, the complaints will necessarily be short lived, and soon the mosque will be a house of worship and even a tourist attraction.

This picture is from the International Herald Tribune/Henning Kaiser/AFP

The picture of the mosque is from SpiegelOnline/DPA

Crucified Frog Art?

karin esposito — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:13:01 +0000

I wasn’t sure that I should repost the picture of this piece of “art” here, but without a picture it is really impossible to imagine what a crucified frog would look like. In fact, I almost missed this story altogether - but last week the Museum in Bolzano announced that it would not take down the display despite the Pope’s request. I think it’s rather sad that the frog is actually supposed to depict the artist (the late Martin Kippenberger) and human anguish. The letter from the Vatican said that the religious sentiments of many people were wounded. So, does it offend religion as a whole - just Christianity - just the Roman Catholic Church - or only the artist himself, who also took a video of himself being crucified? It’s a sad world, and this “frog” is a grotesque thing indeed - after all, why is it holding an egg and a beer mug?

See here for one source of the picture and an article.

John McCain’s Pick for VP

karin esposito — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:54:11 +0000

The world of “religion and politics” just got a whole lot more interesting now that the Republican Party has chosen a woman to be their Vice-Presidential candidate, who also happens to be an evangelical Christian. She is also the first woman on a party ticket since 1984 (Ferraro). Sarah Palin, who has been the Governor of Alaska for 20 months, is anti-abortion and helps McCain with the Christian right. Some women were impressed while others were offended by Palin’s description of herself as a “hockey mom” as part of her self introduction to the nation. Despite this initial introduction, the question of Mccain’s vice-presidential selection process got even more bizarre when the news came out that Palin’s 17 year-old daughter is five months pregnant. It does not seem that this rather “shocking” news has had any impact on the Christian base of the Republic Party and their platforms against sex education in the schools that move past abstinence. Obama has referred to his own mother’s age when he was born and that it is beyond politics to discuss the Palin family’s personal matters. In essence, this announcement may be helpful for self-reflection in the United States. With more young people watching the news and following this year’s election, it might be beneficial that the topic of teenage pregnancy is making headlines – although clearly Bristol has it far easier than most teenage girls. Families and schools can look together at this high profile case of a small-town America girl (now the daughter of a VP candidate) and what kinds of problems will await her and her family. Even if it shouldn’t affect Palin’s candidacy, this “unwanted” pregnancy should be a topic for reflection and questioning among all groups in the U.S., particularly the Christian right and the anti-abortion groups – which so far were planning to fully support Palin for the VP post.

Offensives Continue in the Philippines

karin esposito — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:18:49 +0000

The violent situation in the Philippines continues. However, the most recent news is somewhat encouraging. Ruben Pestano Lavilla Jr., who was wanted for the Philippines’ worst militant attack has been arrested in Bahrain and returned to Manila. He was allegedly involved in the 2004 bombing of a ferry that killed 116 people. He was also allegedly the brains behind the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), which has been linked to two other al-Qaeda connected organizations (Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf). It was only a couple of months ago that the UN Security Council added the RSM to the “UN 1267 Committee’s Consolidated List of Individuals and Entities Affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or Usama bin Ladin.” On June 16, 2008, the U.S. Department of State then designated the group and its leader as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Meanwhile, some high estimates are that as many as 360,000 people have been displaced in the Philippines, particularly as a result of the collapse of the peace deal on August 5. The peace negotiations began 11 years ago and a ceasefire has actually been in place since 2003. Agence France Presse this past week reported that government troops overran at least 15 camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and reminds readers the peace deal “would have granted Muslims their own separate state across more than 700 villages in Mindanao, but the Supreme Court on August 4 halted the pact, triggering the latest bout of fighting.” Over the course of the 40-year conflict, more than 120,000 people have died. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been waging a rebellion since 1978. Last Friday, the Muslim leaders of the country called for peace and justice in Mindanao and 43 religious leaders and scholars signed a statement that appealed to the parties to honor the agreement on mutual cessation of hostilities. Meanwhile, tonight is the first night of the holy month of Ramadan, and apparently Philippine troops will continue their battles against Muslim rebels in the south – albeit with a bit more deference.

Map from the following source

Religion and the 2008 Democrats

karin esposito — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:27:16 +0000

Democrats appear to be having the time of their lives at the 2008 National Convention. Obama’s surprise appearance after Biden’s speech brought even more enthusiasm to the crowd and television viewers. In the world of religion and politics, it has been fascinating to see that every speech references God and no politician can close a speech without “God Bless You” and/or “God Bless America.” The blogs are reporting that faith at the convention is getting center stage. David Finnigan with RNS says that “Democratic Party leaders are making an aggressive push for Catholic and evangelical voters” – with their faith-focused ideas. Another blog from the Newsweek site, however, says that Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama both “laid off the God Talk” in their speeches despite the “sermons and homilies from the 2008 Democrats.” The Convention has had two faith caucus panel discussions, which was part of a new initiative from the Democratic Party “to put faith in action,” and the Convention has shown that spirit by having the official program always begin with an invocation and end with a benediction. There is a good press release from the DNC-2008 describing the First-ever Faith Caucus Meetings, here. Sarah Brown wrote another piece for Al Jazeera titled, “Talking Politics and Faith,” which looked at the drama of the interfaith meeting at the convention when three anti-abortion protesters were thrown out for disturbing the event. Brown also wrote that the event was like a religious ceremony, and she discusses with Muslim women representatives their hopes that Americans of different faiths would work together.

Picture from Al Jazeera website, here.

When the Supreme Religious Leader Supports the President

karin esposito — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:04:42 +0000

On Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Khamenei) met with the President and his cabinet members. Khamenei spoke about Ahmadinejad’s administration with great admiration and defended the actions and policies of the current government. In the face of economic uncertainty in Iran – particularly concerning inflation – Ahmadinejad has lost a significant amount of popularity. Regardless, the institutions of the supreme leader and the president now appear united, particularly ideologically. Nazila Fathi has written in the article, “Chief Cleric of Iran Defends President,” that they “share the same views over major policies and ideological values.” The Leader provided three characteristics for the current administration: 1) commitment (being serious in rendering services to the nation; 2) adhering to the slogans and principles of Imam Khomeini and the Revolution; and 3) forming close bonds with the public. He said that some people are spitefully denigrating the current administration. You can read more details of what the Supreme Leader said here. In response, the President visited Qom on Monday and apparently returned the favor by saying that “religious culture should be promoted in the country.” Moreover, in the spirit of the Revolution, he said, “It is time to promote and preach pure Islam to people around the globe as suggested by the late Imam Khomeini.”

Faith and Science in the Schools

karin esposito — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:01:35 +0000

Recommended Reading:

I don’t know how the New York Times does it, but it always makes the debate on evolution and creationism interesting. In case you missed this Sunday’s paper, the article “A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash,” tells the story of a science teacher that faces the challenge of teaching evolution in Jacksonville. Amy Harmon reminds readers that states have been giving more emphasis in recent years to “what has long been the scientific consensus: that all the of the diverse life forms on Earth descended from a common ancestor, through a process of mutation and natural selection, over billions of years.” This “consensus,” however, does not include the 50% of Americans, who “have consistently said they believe God created all living things in their present form.”

Rebuilding Religious Sites

karin esposito — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:32:59 +0000

An excellent interview on TheWorld website looks at the reconstruction of mosques in Banja Luka – the capital of the Serb-run part of Bosnia. The backdrop of the rebuilding is the capture last month of Radovan Karadzic. The discussion is with Andras Reidlmayer, an expert of Islamic architecture at Harvard, Bedrudin Gusic, the president of Banja Luka’s Islamic community at the time, and Muhamed Hamidovic, a former professor of architecture from Sarajevo. Jeb Sharp, the reporter, reminds readers that all 16 of the city’s mosques were destroyed by Serb forces. The conversation focuses on the efforts to recreate the Ferhadija, which was built in the 1570s and blown up in 1993. The wreckage after the explosion was scattered throughout the city, when “Serbs went to extraordinary lengths to obliterate any evidence.” Two-thirds of the fragments of the mosque have been recovered.

These pictures are from the TheWorld website.The first picture is the Ferhadija mosque. The second photo shows the pieces, which have been collected of the Ferhadija after it was destroyed.

Considering “Other” Solutions

karin esposito — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:07:44 +0000

Suzanne Sataline, with the Wall Street Journal, wrote an article today titled, “For Some Evangelicals, GOP Ties are No Longer Binding.” In some ways, after several months of analyzing the Christian vote, this kind of article is old news. On the other hand, the interviews and facts, which Sataline includes, portray quite well the changing dynamics of the evangelical vote. The first quote is from a 55 year old woman, who went on a mission trip and came back considering “other solutions.” She is now thinking of becoming an Independent. The following statistics are mentioned throughout the article:

The evangelical vote makes up about a quarter of the electorate.

President George W. Bush received 78% of this voting bloc in 2004.

A third of that number will either vote Democratic or independent this November.

40% of evangelicals are open to being persuaded to vote Democratic.

70% of white evangelicals support McCain – 12 points less than the percentage of support for President Bush four years ago.

17% of white evangelicals support Obama

It is remarkable that traveling abroad would have such significant influence on voting behavior, but all the statistics speak to this trend. Sataline also says that about 1.6 million U.S. churchgoers travel on short-term mission trips each year. This phenomenon of “small” shifts away from the Republican Party may be the result of seeing poverty first hand – although the connection between experiencing poverty and greater self-perceived political awareness or knowledge of the party platforms is hard to see. It is doubtful that evangelicals returning from two weeks in Haiti, for example, are suddenly aware of the differences between the two parties or how they intend to improve conditions in less developed countries.

The Hazards of Caricatures

karin esposito — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:18:46 +0000

This past week SpiegelOnline published an interview with Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist, who drew a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005 (the simplistic one with the bomb placed on his head). The interview was based around the new development in the saga that the prosecutor general in Jordan has issued a subpoena against Westergaard. In the interview, he says again that the cartoon “was not aimed at Islam as a whole but aimed at the terrorists, who use part of Islam as their spiritual ammunition. You could also say that the terrorists have taken the Prophet as their hostage.” The artist says that many people did not understand his intentions, but at the same time, it also was not in the interests of other groups (politicians and governments mostly) to admit that they did in fact understand the cartoon. Westergaard is 73 years old and now lives under police protection. An earlier article in SpiegelOnline looks more in depth at how his life has changed since his “cartoon would turn into a symbol of the struggle over European values of tolerance and freedom of the press.” Westergaard’s intentions (as spelled out in another interview) were more apparent when he took legal action against Geert Wilders for using his drawing in an anti-Qur’an movie. He said, “Wilders has an overly generalized perception of Muslims as potential terrorists” and that he did not want his cartoon taken out of its original context that aimed at fanatic terrorists.