My new Twitter handle is now live - check me out at @jackiewgibson!
CNN has posted a history of bias against Sikhs - more reason for people to learn about religions before they attack anyone:...
Sikh temple shooting unfolding, learn about Sikhism here: http://t.co/A0ltLLIm
Sikh temple shooting unfolding, learn about Sikhism here: http://t.co/l3KrAJZf
Hackers group Anonymous takes down Vatican website: http://t.co/B6lbGAVp
WGN-TV calls doomsday prophecies "an illusion": http://t.co/mv8Gzyw7
RT @graceishuman: Really,? Asking people JUST LEAVING the service how they felt about it? Tacky, tacky, inappropriate
Whitney Houston's funeral service really took the world to church. Love Pastor Winans' honesty, very moving.
#teacher ? Here are appropriate responses to situations with your Jehovah's Witness student: http://t.co/A6UfqcgH
#Teachers: Want to know why your Jehovah's Witness student won't say the pledge and how to respond? http://t.co/EIdlgDwW
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Islam
Beginning Sunday, the Uighurs in Urumqi (in Xinjiang province, China) marched about workplace discrimination. Peacefully. But the march quickly turned violent as Uighurs clashed with the Han.
Lost yet? Here’s some background.
Han: The Han Chinese are ethnic Chinese who make up the majority ethnic population in China.
Uighurs: Uighurs are an ethnic group of mostly Muslims who can trace their lineage to Turkey. They consider Xinjiang their homeland.
The province of Xinjiang was liberated from Chinese military/administrative rule in 1949, yet the autonomous region is still within the borders of China. Clashes with the Chinese government seem, thus, likely and unsurprising. China has accused the Uighurs of seeking independence for Xinjiang and have often called them terrorists. Others say the Uighurs are just peaceful Muslims who are being wrongly accused.
But Uighurs aren’t the only ones living in Xinjiang. Though Muslim Uighurs are the indigenous ethnic majority in Xinjiang, the Han Chinese have migrated into Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital city. So now the Han are the ethnic majority in Urumqi, in the midst of a province largely populated by Uighurs.
Last month, Uighur factory workers clashed with Han Chinese and two Uighurs died. The Chinese government is now accusing the Uighurs of instigating riots with the Han in Urumqi in response to last month’s incident. This week’s riots resulted in 156 people killed, more than 1,000 reportedly injured, and 200 buildings/260 vehicles damaged. The Chinese government knocked out all Uighur communication outlets including Facebook and Twitter, so the Uighur story is hardly being heard.
Did the Chinese cause the brutal riots by breaking up a peaceful protest? Or did the Uighurs really start randomly rioting, pulling people out of cars and beating them? Without information from both sides, it’s hard to make an informed opinion.
Content created by ReligionTranscends.com
In May, we noted that PBS might remove its name from several U.S. television stations that were airing religious broadcasting. (Public stations aren’t permitted to air religious programming.)
UPDATE: In June, the PBS national board voted to ban any new religious programming from PBS stations. Stations that are currently violating the rule by airing religious programming may continue to air that religious programming. (There were only 6 stations in question.)
In March, we noted that Elected Episcopal Bishop Kevin Thew Forrester (of the Northern Michigan diocese) practices Zen meditation and is lay-ordinated in Buddhism. He has not, however, taken Buddhist vows nor does he consider himself a Buddhist. He claims to simply borrow practices from Zen Buddhism to guide his Christian meditation on God. But many Episcopalians were trying to prevent Forrester from becoming fully ordained as bishop.
UPDATE: In June, leaders of the Episcopal Church did, indeed, deny consecration to Forrester. Thus, though he was elected bishop, leaders did not confirm his leadership. He will not be a bishop. According to Christianity Today, this is the first time since the 1930s that someone’s election as bishop has been vetoed by denominational leaders of any Christian denomination.
Ann Holmes Redding was also defrocked by the Episcopal Church (and did not recant) for changing her beliefs to Islam.
Bookmark Religion Transcends today to keep finding religion news and updates of past stories. And watch us on Twitter (@religionblogger) for more quick news bites.
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Pope Benedict XVI is in the Middle East this week. He was supposed to talk about peace and reconciliation. SUPPOSED to…
The Nazi issue
But then, according to CNN, “the pope’s spokesman issued an unsolicited denial that Benedict XVI had ever been a member of the Hitler Youth, only to have to retract that denial within a couple of hours.”
The pope had, indeed, been involuntarily enrolled in Hitler Youth while growing up in Germany. When the issue first came up 10 years ago, the pope claimed he had never actively participated in the group and is anti-Nazi.
But just talking about his enrollment stirred up the public.
Then today, the pope refocused on the peace process, particularly surrounding unrest in the West Bank.
The West Bank issue
The West Bank is an area between Jerusalem and Jordan. Jordan controlled the region for about 2000 years. In 1967, Israel captured it and still maintains a military presence there. Here’s a map.
Palestinians have control of a small portion of the territory, ceded to them by Jordan. Either way, a majority of inhabitants in the West Bank are Palestinians. And many of them want an independent state — separate from Israeli control/occupation.
In 2002, Israel built a wall between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (city of Jesus’ birth, in the West Bank). Israel used it for protection against bombings and raids. Palestinians saw it as an illegal wall keeping them out of Jerusalem.
Today, the pope said that wall could be torn down – if Israelis and Palestinians would tear down the walls in their hearts. His speech seemed to throw a line to Palestinians who want to see the wall go. But it also seems to serve as a reminder that the wall can only be removed if peaceful negotiations supercede violence.
So what do you think? Is the pope for or against Israel? Palestine? Neither? Is he on the side of peace?
Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends
On Wednesday, Tony Blair called for renewed motivation in fighting Islamic extremism.
Read the full story by Religion Transcends writer Jackie Walker, reporting for Religion News Service.