EDITORIALS ON RELIGION
Hagia Sophia: Former Istanbul museum to open for Muslim worshippers
Hagia Sophia was built as an Orthodox Christian cathedral and first converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest nine centuries later.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53506445
5 Indicators of an Evil and Wicked Heart
https://www.biblestudytools.com/blogs/association-of-biblical-counselors/5-indicators-of-an-evil-and-wicked-heart.html
A modern pope gets old school on the Devil
A darling of liberal Catholics and an advocate of inclusion and forgiveness, Pope Francis is hardly known for fire and brimstone.
Yet, in his words and deeds, the new pope is locked in an epic battle with the oldest enemy of God and creation:
The Devil.
After his little more than a year atop the Throne of St. Peter, Francis’s teachings on Satan are already regarded as the most old school of any pope since at least Paul VI, whose papacy in the 1960s and 1970s fully embraced the notion of hellish forces plotting to deliver mankind unto damnation.
Largely under the radar, theologians and Vatican insiders say, Francis has not only dwelled far more on Satan in sermons and speeches than his recent predecessors have, but also sought to rekindle the Devil’s image as a supernatural entity with the forces of evil at his beck and call.
Pope's new year address deplores rampant capitalism
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned "unregulated capitalism" for contributing to world tension, in a new year address to worshippers.
He deplored "hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor".
Those "hotbeds" also grew out of "the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism", as well as "various forms of terrorism and crime", he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20882894
Afghanistan: Obama condemns killings of UN staff President Barack Obama h...
Afghanistan: Obama condemns killings of UN staff
President Barack Obama has described as "outrageous" the killings in Afghanistan triggered by the burning of a Koran in the US last month.
Mr Obama said the desecration of any holy text was "an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry", but it did not justify killing innocent people.
'No justification'
During a service at the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida on 20 March, Pastor Wayne Sapp soaked a Koran in kerosene, staged a "trial" during which the Islamic holy book was found guilty of "crimes against humanity", and then set it alight.
The incident took place under the supervision of Pastor Terry Jones, who last year drew condemnation over his aborted plan to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12949302
Vatican official criticises Nobel win for IVF pioneer A Vatican official has...
Vatican official criticises Nobel win for IVF pioneer
A Vatican official has said the awarding of the Nobel Prize for Medicine to British IVF pioneer Robert Edwards is "completely out of order".
Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said the award ignored the ethical questions raised by the fertility treatment.
He said IVF had led to the destruction of large numbers of human embryos.
Nearly four million babies have been born using IVF fertility treatment since 1978.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11472753
Bizarre story of Pope's failed assassin It is one of the abiding images...
Bizarre story of Pope's failed assassin
It is one of the abiding images of the last century.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8465527.stm
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/01/201011894311150335.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-pope-gunman19-2010jan19,0,3920776.story
Catholics angry as church puts female ordination on par ...
Catholics angry as church puts female ordination on par with sex abuse
Women's groups describe Vatican's decision on female ordination as 'appalling'
It was meant to be the document that put a lid on the clerical sex abuse scandals that have swept the Roman Catholic world. But instead of quelling fury from within and without the church, the Vatican stoked the anger of liberal Catholics and women's groups by including a provision in its revised decree that made the "attempted ordination" of women one of the gravest crimes in ecclesiastical law.
The change put the "offence" on a par with the sex abuse of minors.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/15/vatican-declares-womens-ordination-grave-crime
Religion, rules and the role of women
Yet again the Catholic leadership shows how out of touch, illiberal, controlling, and arrogant it is (Anger after Catholic church rules that female ordination is 'as grave a crime as child abuse', 16 July). First, it has the temerity to brand Catholics who attempt to create women bishops or who take part in any ceremony to create women bishops in the Anglican church as religious criminals to be threatened with defrocking, in the case of priests, and excommunication for others, to bludgeon them into submission to its will.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/17/religion-rules-role-of-women
...
Pope Benedict rejects calls to end celibacy rule
Addressing more than 10,000 reverent, enthusiastic priests at the Vatican, Benedict compares celibacy to heterosexual marriage, which he calls the 'foundation of Christian culture.'
Standing before more than 10,000 Roman Catholic priests, Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday strongly reaffirmed the Vatican's commitment to priestly vows of celibacy, cutting off speculation that he might reconsider the issue in light of the church's sexual abuse scandal.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pope-20100611,0,320866.story
"Sin within the Church" threat to Catholicism: pope Pope Benedict said on Tu...
"Sin within the Church" threat to Catholicism: pope
Pope Benedict said on Tuesday that the greatest threat to Catholicism came from "sin within the Church," one if his most forthright comments so far on a sexual abuse scandal that has created turmoil in the church. The Church has "a very deep need" to recognize that it must do penitence for its sins and "accept purification," he said.
"Today we see in a truly terrifying way that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from outside enemies but is born of sin within the Church," Benedict told reporters on the plane to Portugal, replying to a question about the scandal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64A1W220100511
An unholy secret that still haunts Ireland Its shame confirmed by an offic...
An unholy secret that still haunts Ireland
Its shame confirmed by an official report, it’s time to pronounce the last rites for the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
The Catholic Church and its institutions in Ireland are now so badly damaged as to be devoid of moral authority. Its only possible salvation lies in prostrating itself before the courts of public opinion and natural justice.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6381318.ece
Pope offers olive branch after move to 'poach' traditionalist Anglicans ...
Pope offers olive branch after move to 'poach' traditionalist Anglicans
The Pope is to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury this month, to ease controversy over the Vatican’s recent move to make it easier for disenchanted Anglicans to convert to Roman Catholicism in groups as well as individually.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6898465.ece
Williams criticises Irish Catholic Church 'credibility' ...
Williams criticises Irish Catholic Church 'credibility'
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has lost "all credibility" over the way it had dealt with paedophile priests.
Rowan Williams said the problems, which had been a "colossal trauma" for the Church, affected the wider public.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said Dr Williams' words represent unusually damning criticism from the leader of another Church.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8601381.stm
Sex abuse flak 'like anti-Semitism'
Attacks on the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict over a sex abuse scandal are comparable to "collective violence" against Jews, the pontiff's personal preacher has said.
Father Raniero Cantalamessa drew the parallel at a Good Friday service, the day Christians commemorate Jesus' crucifixion.
The sermon, which was attended by the Pope, drew sharp criticism from both Jews and victims of sexual abuse by priests.
It further raised tensions over the abuse scandal, forcing even the Vatican spokesman to distance himself from Cantalamessa, the only person authorised to preach to the pope.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/04/201042223146795105.html
Outrage at anti-Semitism comparison by Pope preacher
Jewish groups and victims of sex abuse by Catholic priests have condemned the Pope's preacher for comparing criticism of the pontiff to anti-Semitism.
US-based abuse victims' group Snap said the remarks were "morally wrong".
The head of Germany's Central Council of Jews described the Easter sermon as unprecedented "insolence".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8601389.stm
Vatican tells bishops to report clerical sex abuse to police The Vatican...
Vatican tells bishops to report clerical sex abuse to police
The Vatican on Monday made clear for the first time that bishops and other church officials should report clerical sex abuse to police if required by law. But the policy failed to satisfy victims who charge that the church deliberately hid abuse for decades.
Victims, government inquiries and grand juries have said the Catholic Church created what amounted to a conspiracy to cover up abuse by keeping allegations that priests raped and molested children secret and not reporting them to civil authorities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/12/AR2010041204168.html
Pope urges China reconciliation Beijing broke off formal diplomatic r...
Pope urges China reconciliation
Beijing broke off formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1951, and Catholic worship is only permitted in officially recognised churches.
But members of the underground church have kept their allegiance to Rome.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8067575.stm
Pope appeals for Middle East peace "I pray daily for peace ...
Pope appeals for Middle East peace
"I pray daily for peace born of justice to return to the Holy Land and the entire region, bringing security and renewed hope for all," he said on Monday.
Benedict emphasised that justice and security were inseparable concepts according to "God's design for the world".
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/2009511143530709775.html
Pope urges religious reconciliation Pope Benedict XVI ha...
Pope urges religious reconciliation
Pope Benedict XVI has called on followers of the three major monotheistic religions to put their differences behind them and work towards reconciliation.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/2009512152454727969.html
Jordan's Abdullah: Israel Must Choose Between Isolation and Integration http...
Jordan's Abdullah: Israel Must Choose Between Isolation and Integration
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517855,00.html
ON THE TWO STATE ISRAEL AND PALESTINE Israel says security vital to peace The...
ON THE TWO STATE ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
Israel says security vital to peace
The Israeli prime minister has said his government wants peace with the Palestinians, but not at the cost of Israeli security.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/200955745385707.html
US: Israel must back two-state deal
Joe Biden, the US vice-president, has said that Israel should back a two-state peace agreement and stop constructing new Israeli settlements on occupied land.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/05/20095516263485870.html
Iran 'must discuss' nuclear issue The West fears that Iran is secretly...
Iran 'must discuss' nuclear issue
The West fears that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons - a claim denied by Tehran.
Iran insists its programme is for civilian purposes only.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Iran must answer "head on" concerns about its nuclear programme at talks with world powers on 1 October.
Mrs Clinton said the issue "cannot be ignored" and was the key reason why the US agreed to take part in the talks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8258123.stm
Ahmadinejad starts new term in Iran ...
Ahmadinejad starts new term in Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn in for a second term as Iran's president, hailing his re-election as "the start of major change in Iran and in the world".
After taking the oath of office before the Iranian parliament in Tehran, the capital, on Wednesday, he said: "We will resist oppressors and try to correct the global discriminatory mechanisms in order to benefit all the nations of the world."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/08/2009855322883597.html
Brown issues Iran nuclear warning Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear po...
Brown issues Iran nuclear warning
Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power plants, but can also be used to make atomic weapons.
The prime minister will argue that Iran will be a litmus test of how nuclear nations can work together with non-nuclear states to equip them with new sources of energy, including nuclear power.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7947285.stm
VP reveals Ahmadinejad's UN message Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in ...
VP reveals Ahmadinejad's UN message
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his address in New York will foil US efforts to isolate Tehran over it civilian nuclear program, says his vice president.
Ahmadinejad's message to the UN nuclear disarmament conference is that "Iran will not give up even a portion of its inalienable nuclear rights," Vice President Lotfollah Forouzandeh was quoted by Fars News as saying on Monday.
He added that the president's New York visit also "conveys the Iranian nation's message of peace and friendship to the world and shows that the Islamic Republic is empowered more than ever, while the global arrogance is weakened."
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125296§ionid=351020104
Iran holding up nuclear deal with demand for reactor fuel, diplomat says Ira...
Iran holding up nuclear deal with demand for reactor fuel, diplomat says
Iran then said it would not ship its enriched uranium out of the country until it receives upfront all of the reactor fuel it needs for the facility.
Iran refuses to send uranium abroad
Iran has ruled out sending its enriched uranium abroad for further processing, saying it would prefer to purchase the required fuel from other countries and keep its low-enriched uranium.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/11/20091118132029450398.html
Iran rebuked over nuclear 'cover-up' by UN watchdog
The UN nuclear watchdog's governing body has passed a resolution condemning Iran for developing a uranium enrichment site in secret.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also demanded that Iran freeze the project immediately.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8382486.stm
UN team 'sees Iran nuclear site' The visit comes as world powers await...
UN team 'sees Iran nuclear site'
The visit comes as world powers await Iran's response to a new proposed deal over its uranium enrichment programme.
Iran would send some enriched uranium to Russia to be turned into fuel.
The proposed deal is seen as a way for Tehran to get the fuel it needs for an existing reactor, while giving guarantees to the West that its enriched uranium will not be used for nuclear weapons.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8324511.stm
Both Iran and West fear trap on nukes
Inspectors looking at formerly unknown facility
Just before international inspectors yesterday were guided for the first time into an Iranian nuclear enrichment plant whose existence was a state secret until recently, the speaker of Iran's parliament warned his countrymen to beware of American efforts to "cheat" Iran out of the nuclear fuel that has become the country's currency in reasserting its power.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09299/1008381-82.stm
US hearing on 'radical Islam' opens ...
US hearing on 'radical Islam' opens
Controversial congressman warns al-Qaeda is recruiting US Muslims in proceedings described by some as a witch hunt.
Al-Qaeda is targeting Muslim Americans for recruits to terrorism and the community must do more to combat radicalisation, a US politician has said as he opened hearings in Washington that have been criticised as a witch hunt.
Peter King, the chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee who called the hearings, has accused the Muslim community of refusing to co-operate with law enforcement and charged that preaching in some US mosques was leading to radicalisation.
"To combat this threat, moderate leadership must emerge from the Muslim community," King said. "Today, we must be fully aware that homegrown radicalisation is part of al-Qaeda's strategy to continue attacking the United States."
Democratic representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to serve in the House, castigated the committee for its approach and broke down crying as he recounted the story of a 23-year-old Muslim paramedic who died when he responded to the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.
"After the tragedy, some people tried to smear his character solely because of his Islamic faith," he said on Thursday.
"Some people spread false rumours and speculated that he was really with the attackers because he was a Muslim."
He said that the young man should be identified as someone "who gave everything for his fellow Americans" rather than solely as a member of a religion or ethnic group.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/03/201131018485199268.html
US Muslims protest over hearings Several hundred people have gathered in Ne...
US Muslims protest over hearings
Several hundred people have gathered in New York's Times Square to protest at this week's Congressional hearings on the US Muslim community.
The hearings will look at the extent of radicalisation within the community and the response on that issue of Muslim leaders.
Muslim organisations say they are being unfairly singled out.
The hearings are in response to such events as the Fort Hood shootings and the Times Square car bomb plot.
In the hearings, Peter King - a Republican Congressman and chair of the homeland security committee - has called several witnesses to testify about "the extent of radicalisation within the American Muslim community".
Mr King, who represents New York, claims some Muslim leaders are not doing enough to help the police and the FBI investigate terror plots which originate in the US.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12661941
Debate on Muslim Radicalization Heats Up
A House Homeland Security Committee hearing this week is renewing a national debate on what the government can do to counter efforts to radicalize Muslims in the U.S. without alienating the Islamic world.
The committee's chairman, U.S. Rep. Peter King, said that Muslims in the U.S. aren't cooperating enough with law enforcement to counter the radicalization of young followers by al-Qaida-linked groups.
http://www.military.com/news/article/debate-on-muslim-radicalization-heats-up.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Coptic Christians shoulder to shoulder with Muslims in Tahrir Square The ...
Coptic Christians shoulder to shoulder with Muslims in Tahrir Square
The mass, which followed a Muslim prayer, was dedicated to those called the “martyrs” of this uprising, but it was also meant to project a careful image of Egypt’s future, which remains increasingly uncertain.
Coptic Christians stood shoulder to shoulder with Muslims, many of who sported the trademark cropped hair and long beards of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Their collective message was simple: Protesters are united in their quest to oust Mr. Mubarak. Their shared goal, forged in the crucible of Tahrir Square, trumps any differences in faith.
God often surprises us, says Pope in BBC broadcast God is faithful to his...
God often surprises us, says Pope in BBC broadcast
God is faithful to his promises but often surprises us by how he fulfils them, the Pope is due to say in a BBC broadcast.
Pope Benedict's Christmas message for the UK will be broadcast as Thought For The Day on the Today programme on Radio 4.
The child born in Bethlehem brought liberation - but not by military or political means, he will say.
'Destroyed death'
But, he adds, the child who was born in Bethlehem would be the Saviour of all people throughout the world since he destroyed death by his own shameful death on the Cross.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12072115
20 Jewish cantors walk into a church—it’s no joke Can Jewish sacred music su...
20 Jewish cantors walk into a church—it’s no joke
Can Jewish sacred music sung in a Roman Catholic basilica help relations between Christians and Jews?
"We are here as spiritual emissaries, not political emissaries," said the president of the cantors' conference, Susan Caro of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. "We recognize the power of music to transform as well as reach across cultural and religious lines."
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/11/22/2741846/20-jewish-cantors-walk-into-a-church-its-no-joke
Pope's remarks on condoms welcomed ...
Pope's remarks on condoms welcomed
Aids workers and some Catholics welcome comments in book by Pope Benedict XVI that condoms can be used "in some cases".
Aids workers and some Catholics have hailed remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that the use of condoms can be "justified in some cases".
In a book to be released on Tuesday, the pope said that it was acceptable for male prostitutes seeking to prevent the spread of HIV to use condoms.
The move relaxes one of the Vatican's most controversial positions on the rejection of the use of condoms to combat the virus.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/11/201011211338469339.html
A Muslim response to “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” ...
A Muslim response to “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day”
I will be the first to defend anyone’s right to express their opinion, no matter how offensive it may be to me. Our nation has prospered because Americans value and respect diversity.
I will be the first to defend anyone’s right to express their opinion, no matter how offensive it may be to me. Our nation has prospered because Americans value and respect diversity. But freedom of expression does not create an obligation to offend or to show disrespect for the religious beliefs or revered figures of others.
In apparent reaction to the recent controversy over a depiction of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in an episode of the animated sitcom South Park on the cable network Comedy Central, a Seattle-based cartoonist, Molly Norris, created a cartoon poster depicting images claimed to be likenesses of the Prophet.
http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=25013
Iran 'formally rejects nuclear fuel deal' Iran has told the Internation...
Iran 'formally rejects nuclear fuel deal'
Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency it does not accept the terms of a deal to ease concerns about its nuclear programme, diplomats say.
But diplomats say Tehran is now suggesting an alternative involving a simultaneous exchange on its territory.
Correspondents say the proposal is very unlikely to be acceptable to the West.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8469332.stm
Response from Iran is not adequate: U.S.
The response from Iran on the proposal of the international community led by the United States on its nuclear weapon program is not adequate, the Obama Administration said on Wednesday.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article82844.ece
'West failed to guarantee fuel delivery to Iran' Iran says its decision to co...
'West failed to guarantee fuel delivery to Iran'
Iran says its decision to construct ten new enrichment plants was the outcome of the West failure to give guarantees to the Islamic Republic that it will receive fuel.
"If we do not get guarantees (for the delivery of the fuel), naturally we will have plans to move towards self-sufficiency. This is nothing unusual," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference Tuesday.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112573§ionid=351020104
'Iran can now produce nuclear bomb'"
Our highest interest is in preventing Iran's [nuclear] armament," he said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260181014244&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Israel debates 'loyalty' law The Israeli parliament has passed a preliminary ...
Israel debates 'loyalty' law
The Israeli parliament has passed a preliminary reading of a bill that would mandate the imprisonment of anyone who calls for the end of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, according to the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/200952716164623556.html
Israel 'loyalty law' rejected
An Israeli government committee has rejected a draft bill that would have required Israelis to take an oath of loyalty.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/200953112166628954.html
Malaysia ban on 'Allah' upheld The government directive bar...
Malaysia ban on 'Allah' upheld
The government directive bars non-Muslims from translating God as "Allah" in their literature, saying it would confuse Muslims in this plural, Muslim-majority country.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/05/200952894123668106.html
U.S. bishop’s words spur Vatican-Jewish spat The Vatican and the Jewish wor...
U.S. bishop’s words spur Vatican-Jewish spat
The Vatican and the Jewish world are at odds over a U.S. bishop's rejection of a biblical rationale for Israel as a Jewish state.
Greek-Melkite Bishop Cyrille Salim Bustros of Newton, Mass., said at an Oct. 23 news conference that for Christians, "the concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians."
Bustros was presenting the final document, or "Message," of a monthlong Vatican synod of Middle Eastern bishops.
The advent of Jesus, he said, meant that Jews "are no longer the preferred people, the chosen people; all men and women of all countries have become the chosen people." Bustros added that "sacred Scripture should not be used to justify the occupation by Israel of Palestine."
His remarks sparked condemnation from Israel and Jewish organizations. The Anti-Defamation League protested what it called "shocking and outrageous" comments.
"By stating that God's Covenantal promise of land to the Jewish people 'was nullified by Christ' and that 'there is no longer a chosen people,' Archbishop Bustros is effectively stating that Judaism should no longer exist," ADL National Director Abe Foxman wrote in a letter to the new Vatican official in charge of Catholic-Jewish relations, Cardinal-elect Kurt Koch. "This represents the worst kind of anti-Judaism, bordering on anti-Semitism."
Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon expressed "disappointment," saying the synod had been "hijacked by an anti-Israel majority."
The Vatican's chief spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, responded to the criticism by distancing the synod from Bustros' remarks. He said Monday that personal comments by individual synod participants "should not be considered as the voice of the synod in its entirety."
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/10/27/2741462/vatican-jewish-world-at-odds
The human rights community in Israel condemns the extreme silencing of protes...
The human rights community in Israel condemns the extreme silencing of protest in Israel
http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/20100116.asp
West Bank: Israeli Rabbi Decries Burning of a Mosque Israel’s chief rabbi v...
West Bank: Israeli Rabbi Decries Burning of a Mosque
Israel’s chief rabbi visited the Palestinian village of Yasuf on Monday to condemn the burning of a mosque there, saying the attack brought back memories of the Holocaust. The authorities say they believe that Jewish extremists carried out the attack on Friday in retaliation for a government-ordered slowdown in settlement construction. The rabbi, Yona Metzger, said arson was especially troubling to Jews because their holy places were burned by the Nazis. “In the State of Israel, we will not allow a Jew to do something like this to Muslims,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/world/middleeast/15briefs-Israelbrf.html
Israeli MPs pass referendum bill The Israeli parliament has passed the first ...
Israeli MPs pass referendum bill
The Israeli parliament has passed the first reading of a bill requiring a referendum to approve a pullout from annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/2009129132730663827.html
Iranian minister threatens Dimona
Just as the UN Security Council prepares to discuss Iran sanctions on Thursday, Iranian officials said they would not hesitate to carry out a military strike against Israel if their country came under "threat."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260181035342&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Hamas preparing advanced rockets and 'offensive' tunnels
Israel is likely to face advanced Iranian weaponry, long-range rockets, large missile silos and dozens of kilometers of underground tunnels connecting open fields with urban centers in the event of a future conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest Israeli assessments.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260181035814&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
E.U. moderates stance on Jerusalem In a boost for Israel, bloc urges talks...
E.U. moderates stance on Jerusalem
In a boost for Israel, bloc urges talks on sharing city as capital
The European Union's foreign ministers on Tuesday softened their call for a division of Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinians, saying that the city should be shared but that the two sides should negotiate the details.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/08/AR2009120802864.html
Israel aims to 'terminate' Palestinians -Venezuela Venezuelan President Hugo...
Israel aims to 'terminate' Palestinians -Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday charged that Israel aims to "terminate the Palestinian people" and said he backs the establishment of Jerusalem as capital of an independent Palestinian state.
http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSN27427092
Israel: EU's Jerusalem stance harms peace talks
The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that the European Union's intention to call for the division of Jerusalem would further harm the chances of renewing peace negotiations in the Middle East.
"The process being led by Sweden harms the European Union's ability to take part as a significant mediator in the political process between Israel and the Palestinians," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131926.html
Israel: Don't call J'lem Palestinian capital
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243057207&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Clinton urges Israel on peace moves In particular, Clinton h...
Clinton urges Israel on peace moves
In particular, Clinton highlighted allowing Palestinians greater freedom of movement.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/11/200911215036995449.html
State Department: US opposes unilateral moves by PA
The US is opposed to the Palestinian plan to pursue unilateral statehood at the UN, a State Department official said Monday night.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1258027304563&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Palestinians warned over UN move
Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said that the Palestinians had decided to turn to the UN due to frustration at the lack of progress peace talks, which have been stalled since Israel launched 22-day offensive in Gaza last December.
"Now is our defining moment. We went into this peace process in order to achieve a two-state solution," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.
"The endgame is to tell the Israelis that now the international community has recognised the two-state solution on the '67 borders."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/11/2009111653941671211.html
Fatah moves 'to remove, defeat occupation' Fatah's sixth General Assembly on...
Fatah moves 'to remove, defeat occupation'
Fatah's sixth General Assembly on Sunday approved a political platform that emphasizes the Palestinians' right "to resist occupation in all forms."
The conference, meeting in Bethlehem for the fifth straight day, also endorsed a resolution that defines Fatah as a "national liberation movement whose goal is to remove and defeat the occupation."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418557097&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Abbas maintains right to resistance
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has told Fatah activists that the Palestinian movement seeks peace with Israel, but that "resistance" remains a right.
"Although peace is our choice, we reserve the right to resistance, legitimate under international law," Abbas said in his speech on Tuesday.
"We will not stand helpless in the face of Israeli incursions."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/08/200984101550703229.html
Palestine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine Zionism ht...
Palestine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine
Zionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionist
On Fiery Birth of Israel, Memories of 2 Sides Speak
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/world/middleeast/18israel.html?_r=2
Yom Ha'atzmaut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Ha'atzmaut
Nakba
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nakba&redirect=no
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Palestinian_exodus
'Palestinian entity cannot be formed'
Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon, who is very close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ruled out the creation of any "Palestinian entity" at a conference at the Knesset entitled "Alternatives to the Two-State Outlook."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1243346481941&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Anger over Palestinian Nakba ban proposal
Israeli campaigners and left-wing lawmakers have condemned moves to ban Israeli Arabs from marking the Nakba - the Palestinian "catastrophe" of 1948.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8066892.stm
Palestinians differ on US promises Palestinian Fatahha...
Palestinians differ on US promises
Palestinian Fatah has said it was "encouraged" by the meeting between Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and his US counterpart in the White House, while Hamas said the encounter would lead to nothing.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/200952923332214478.html
UN pressures Israel on peace policy http://english.aljazeera...
UN pressures Israel on peace policy
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/05/200951117413869218.html
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has urged Israel to "fundamentally change" its policies towards settlements and commit to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
Israel defends Gaza war "Israel had both a right and an obligation to take m...
Israel defends Gaza war
"Israel had both a right and an obligation to take military action against Hamas in Gaza to stop Hamas's almost incessant rocket and mortar attacks," the report published by the foreign ministry said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/2009730235653538743.html
Netanyahu calls for recognition
Israel's new PM says he will discuss a Palestinian state only if Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8001497.stm
Jerusalem will always be Israel's, says PM
"United Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided," he said.
The US has always said Jerusalem's fate should be negotiated as part of a peace plan with the Palestinians.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8062657.stm
Rabbis criticized for Gaza sermons
The winter assault on the Gaza Strip was officially portrayed in Israel as an attempt to quell rocket fire by militants of Hamas. But some soldiers say they also were lectured about a more ambitious aim: to banish non-Jews from the biblical land of Israel.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-israel-holywar25-2009mar25,0,4876301.story
A modern pope gets old school on the Devil
A darling of liberal Catholics and an advocate of inclusion and forgiveness, Pope Francis is hardly known for fire and brimstone.
Yet, in his words and deeds, the new pope is locked in an epic battle with the oldest enemy of God and creation:
The Devil.
After his little more than a year atop the Throne of St. Peter, Francis’s teachings on Satan are already regarded as the most old school of any pope since at least Paul VI, whose papacy in the 1960s and 1970s fully embraced the notion of hellish forces plotting to deliver mankind unto damnation.
Largely under the radar, theologians and Vatican insiders say, Francis has not only dwelled far more on Satan in sermons and speeches than his recent predecessors have, but also sought to rekindle the Devil’s image as a supernatural entity with the forces of evil at his beck and call.
Pope's new year address deplores rampant capitalism
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned "unregulated capitalism" for contributing to world tension, in a new year address to worshippers.
He deplored "hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor".
Those "hotbeds" also grew out of "the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism", as well as "various forms of terrorism and crime", he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20882894
Afghanistan: Obama condemns killings of UN staff President Barack Obama h...
Afghanistan: Obama condemns killings of UN staff
President Barack Obama has described as "outrageous" the killings in Afghanistan triggered by the burning of a Koran in the US last month.
Mr Obama said the desecration of any holy text was "an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry", but it did not justify killing innocent people.
'No justification'
During a service at the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida on 20 March, Pastor Wayne Sapp soaked a Koran in kerosene, staged a "trial" during which the Islamic holy book was found guilty of "crimes against humanity", and then set it alight.
The incident took place under the supervision of Pastor Terry Jones, who last year drew condemnation over his aborted plan to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12949302
Vatican official criticises Nobel win for IVF pioneer A Vatican official has...
Vatican official criticises Nobel win for IVF pioneer
A Vatican official has said the awarding of the Nobel Prize for Medicine to British IVF pioneer Robert Edwards is "completely out of order".
Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said the award ignored the ethical questions raised by the fertility treatment.
He said IVF had led to the destruction of large numbers of human embryos.
Nearly four million babies have been born using IVF fertility treatment since 1978.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11472753
Bizarre story of Pope's failed assassin It is one of the abiding images...
Bizarre story of Pope's failed assassin
It is one of the abiding images of the last century.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8465527.stm
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/01/201011894311150335.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-pope-gunman19-2010jan19,0,3920776.story
Catholics angry as church puts female ordination on par ...
Catholics angry as church puts female ordination on par with sex abuse
Women's groups describe Vatican's decision on female ordination as 'appalling'
It was meant to be the document that put a lid on the clerical sex abuse scandals that have swept the Roman Catholic world. But instead of quelling fury from within and without the church, the Vatican stoked the anger of liberal Catholics and women's groups by including a provision in its revised decree that made the "attempted ordination" of women one of the gravest crimes in ecclesiastical law.
The change put the "offence" on a par with the sex abuse of minors.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/15/vatican-declares-womens-ordination-grave-crime
Religion, rules and the role of women
Yet again the Catholic leadership shows how out of touch, illiberal, controlling, and arrogant it is (Anger after Catholic church rules that female ordination is 'as grave a crime as child abuse', 16 July). First, it has the temerity to brand Catholics who attempt to create women bishops or who take part in any ceremony to create women bishops in the Anglican church as religious criminals to be threatened with defrocking, in the case of priests, and excommunication for others, to bludgeon them into submission to its will.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/17/religion-rules-role-of-women
...
Pope Benedict rejects calls to end celibacy rule
Addressing more than 10,000 reverent, enthusiastic priests at the Vatican, Benedict compares celibacy to heterosexual marriage, which he calls the 'foundation of Christian culture.'
Standing before more than 10,000 Roman Catholic priests, Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday strongly reaffirmed the Vatican's commitment to priestly vows of celibacy, cutting off speculation that he might reconsider the issue in light of the church's sexual abuse scandal.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pope-20100611,0,320866.story
"Sin within the Church" threat to Catholicism: pope Pope Benedict said on Tu...
"Sin within the Church" threat to Catholicism: pope
Pope Benedict said on Tuesday that the greatest threat to Catholicism came from "sin within the Church," one if his most forthright comments so far on a sexual abuse scandal that has created turmoil in the church. The Church has "a very deep need" to recognize that it must do penitence for its sins and "accept purification," he said.
"Today we see in a truly terrifying way that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from outside enemies but is born of sin within the Church," Benedict told reporters on the plane to Portugal, replying to a question about the scandal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64A1W220100511
An unholy secret that still haunts Ireland Its shame confirmed by an offic...
An unholy secret that still haunts Ireland
Its shame confirmed by an official report, it’s time to pronounce the last rites for the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
The Catholic Church and its institutions in Ireland are now so badly damaged as to be devoid of moral authority. Its only possible salvation lies in prostrating itself before the courts of public opinion and natural justice.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6381318.ece
Pope offers olive branch after move to 'poach' traditionalist Anglicans ...
Pope offers olive branch after move to 'poach' traditionalist Anglicans
The Pope is to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury this month, to ease controversy over the Vatican’s recent move to make it easier for disenchanted Anglicans to convert to Roman Catholicism in groups as well as individually.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6898465.ece
Williams criticises Irish Catholic Church 'credibility' ...
Williams criticises Irish Catholic Church 'credibility'
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has lost "all credibility" over the way it had dealt with paedophile priests.
Rowan Williams said the problems, which had been a "colossal trauma" for the Church, affected the wider public.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said Dr Williams' words represent unusually damning criticism from the leader of another Church.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8601381.stm
Sex abuse flak 'like anti-Semitism'
Attacks on the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict over a sex abuse scandal are comparable to "collective violence" against Jews, the pontiff's personal preacher has said.
Father Raniero Cantalamessa drew the parallel at a Good Friday service, the day Christians commemorate Jesus' crucifixion.
The sermon, which was attended by the Pope, drew sharp criticism from both Jews and victims of sexual abuse by priests.
It further raised tensions over the abuse scandal, forcing even the Vatican spokesman to distance himself from Cantalamessa, the only person authorised to preach to the pope.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/04/201042223146795105.html
Outrage at anti-Semitism comparison by Pope preacher
Jewish groups and victims of sex abuse by Catholic priests have condemned the Pope's preacher for comparing criticism of the pontiff to anti-Semitism.
US-based abuse victims' group Snap said the remarks were "morally wrong".
The head of Germany's Central Council of Jews described the Easter sermon as unprecedented "insolence".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8601389.stm
Vatican tells bishops to report clerical sex abuse to police The Vatican...
Vatican tells bishops to report clerical sex abuse to police
The Vatican on Monday made clear for the first time that bishops and other church officials should report clerical sex abuse to police if required by law. But the policy failed to satisfy victims who charge that the church deliberately hid abuse for decades.
Victims, government inquiries and grand juries have said the Catholic Church created what amounted to a conspiracy to cover up abuse by keeping allegations that priests raped and molested children secret and not reporting them to civil authorities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/12/AR2010041204168.html
Pope urges China reconciliation Beijing broke off formal diplomatic r...
Pope urges China reconciliation
Beijing broke off formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1951, and Catholic worship is only permitted in officially recognised churches.
But members of the underground church have kept their allegiance to Rome.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8067575.stm
Pope appeals for Middle East peace "I pray daily for peace ...
Pope appeals for Middle East peace
"I pray daily for peace born of justice to return to the Holy Land and the entire region, bringing security and renewed hope for all," he said on Monday.
Benedict emphasised that justice and security were inseparable concepts according to "God's design for the world".
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/2009511143530709775.html
Pope urges religious reconciliation Pope Benedict XVI ha...
Pope urges religious reconciliation
Pope Benedict XVI has called on followers of the three major monotheistic religions to put their differences behind them and work towards reconciliation.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/2009512152454727969.html
Jordan's Abdullah: Israel Must Choose Between Isolation and Integration http...
Jordan's Abdullah: Israel Must Choose Between Isolation and Integration
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517855,00.html
ON THE TWO STATE ISRAEL AND PALESTINE Israel says security vital to peace The...
ON THE TWO STATE ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
Israel says security vital to peace
The Israeli prime minister has said his government wants peace with the Palestinians, but not at the cost of Israeli security.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/200955745385707.html
US: Israel must back two-state deal
Joe Biden, the US vice-president, has said that Israel should back a two-state peace agreement and stop constructing new Israeli settlements on occupied land.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/05/20095516263485870.html
Iran 'must discuss' nuclear issue The West fears that Iran is secretly...
Iran 'must discuss' nuclear issue
The West fears that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons - a claim denied by Tehran.
Iran insists its programme is for civilian purposes only.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Iran must answer "head on" concerns about its nuclear programme at talks with world powers on 1 October.
Mrs Clinton said the issue "cannot be ignored" and was the key reason why the US agreed to take part in the talks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8258123.stm
Ahmadinejad starts new term in Iran ...
Ahmadinejad starts new term in Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn in for a second term as Iran's president, hailing his re-election as "the start of major change in Iran and in the world".
After taking the oath of office before the Iranian parliament in Tehran, the capital, on Wednesday, he said: "We will resist oppressors and try to correct the global discriminatory mechanisms in order to benefit all the nations of the world."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/08/2009855322883597.html
Brown issues Iran nuclear warning Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear po...
Brown issues Iran nuclear warning
Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power plants, but can also be used to make atomic weapons.
The prime minister will argue that Iran will be a litmus test of how nuclear nations can work together with non-nuclear states to equip them with new sources of energy, including nuclear power.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7947285.stm
VP reveals Ahmadinejad's UN message Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in ...
VP reveals Ahmadinejad's UN message
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his address in New York will foil US efforts to isolate Tehran over it civilian nuclear program, says his vice president.
Ahmadinejad's message to the UN nuclear disarmament conference is that "Iran will not give up even a portion of its inalienable nuclear rights," Vice President Lotfollah Forouzandeh was quoted by Fars News as saying on Monday.
He added that the president's New York visit also "conveys the Iranian nation's message of peace and friendship to the world and shows that the Islamic Republic is empowered more than ever, while the global arrogance is weakened."
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125296§ionid=351020104
Iran holding up nuclear deal with demand for reactor fuel, diplomat says Ira...
Iran holding up nuclear deal with demand for reactor fuel, diplomat says
Iran then said it would not ship its enriched uranium out of the country until it receives upfront all of the reactor fuel it needs for the facility.
Iran refuses to send uranium abroad
Iran has ruled out sending its enriched uranium abroad for further processing, saying it would prefer to purchase the required fuel from other countries and keep its low-enriched uranium.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/11/20091118132029450398.html
Iran rebuked over nuclear 'cover-up' by UN watchdog
The UN nuclear watchdog's governing body has passed a resolution condemning Iran for developing a uranium enrichment site in secret.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also demanded that Iran freeze the project immediately.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8382486.stm
UN team 'sees Iran nuclear site' The visit comes as world powers await...
UN team 'sees Iran nuclear site'
The visit comes as world powers await Iran's response to a new proposed deal over its uranium enrichment programme.
Iran would send some enriched uranium to Russia to be turned into fuel.
The proposed deal is seen as a way for Tehran to get the fuel it needs for an existing reactor, while giving guarantees to the West that its enriched uranium will not be used for nuclear weapons.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8324511.stm
Both Iran and West fear trap on nukes
Inspectors looking at formerly unknown facility
Just before international inspectors yesterday were guided for the first time into an Iranian nuclear enrichment plant whose existence was a state secret until recently, the speaker of Iran's parliament warned his countrymen to beware of American efforts to "cheat" Iran out of the nuclear fuel that has become the country's currency in reasserting its power.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09299/1008381-82.stm
US hearing on 'radical Islam' opens ...
US hearing on 'radical Islam' opens
Controversial congressman warns al-Qaeda is recruiting US Muslims in proceedings described by some as a witch hunt.
Al-Qaeda is targeting Muslim Americans for recruits to terrorism and the community must do more to combat radicalisation, a US politician has said as he opened hearings in Washington that have been criticised as a witch hunt.
Peter King, the chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee who called the hearings, has accused the Muslim community of refusing to co-operate with law enforcement and charged that preaching in some US mosques was leading to radicalisation.
"To combat this threat, moderate leadership must emerge from the Muslim community," King said. "Today, we must be fully aware that homegrown radicalisation is part of al-Qaeda's strategy to continue attacking the United States."
Democratic representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to serve in the House, castigated the committee for its approach and broke down crying as he recounted the story of a 23-year-old Muslim paramedic who died when he responded to the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.
"After the tragedy, some people tried to smear his character solely because of his Islamic faith," he said on Thursday.
"Some people spread false rumours and speculated that he was really with the attackers because he was a Muslim."
He said that the young man should be identified as someone "who gave everything for his fellow Americans" rather than solely as a member of a religion or ethnic group.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/03/201131018485199268.html
US Muslims protest over hearings Several hundred people have gathered in Ne...
US Muslims protest over hearings
Several hundred people have gathered in New York's Times Square to protest at this week's Congressional hearings on the US Muslim community.
The hearings will look at the extent of radicalisation within the community and the response on that issue of Muslim leaders.
Muslim organisations say they are being unfairly singled out.
The hearings are in response to such events as the Fort Hood shootings and the Times Square car bomb plot.
In the hearings, Peter King - a Republican Congressman and chair of the homeland security committee - has called several witnesses to testify about "the extent of radicalisation within the American Muslim community".
Mr King, who represents New York, claims some Muslim leaders are not doing enough to help the police and the FBI investigate terror plots which originate in the US.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12661941
Debate on Muslim Radicalization Heats Up
A House Homeland Security Committee hearing this week is renewing a national debate on what the government can do to counter efforts to radicalize Muslims in the U.S. without alienating the Islamic world.
The committee's chairman, U.S. Rep. Peter King, said that Muslims in the U.S. aren't cooperating enough with law enforcement to counter the radicalization of young followers by al-Qaida-linked groups.
http://www.military.com/news/article/debate-on-muslim-radicalization-heats-up.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Coptic Christians shoulder to shoulder with Muslims in Tahrir Square The ...
Coptic Christians shoulder to shoulder with Muslims in Tahrir Square
The mass, which followed a Muslim prayer, was dedicated to those called the “martyrs” of this uprising, but it was also meant to project a careful image of Egypt’s future, which remains increasingly uncertain.
Coptic Christians stood shoulder to shoulder with Muslims, many of who sported the trademark cropped hair and long beards of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Their collective message was simple: Protesters are united in their quest to oust Mr. Mubarak. Their shared goal, forged in the crucible of Tahrir Square, trumps any differences in faith.
God often surprises us, says Pope in BBC broadcast God is faithful to his...
God often surprises us, says Pope in BBC broadcast
God is faithful to his promises but often surprises us by how he fulfils them, the Pope is due to say in a BBC broadcast.
Pope Benedict's Christmas message for the UK will be broadcast as Thought For The Day on the Today programme on Radio 4.
The child born in Bethlehem brought liberation - but not by military or political means, he will say.
'Destroyed death'
But, he adds, the child who was born in Bethlehem would be the Saviour of all people throughout the world since he destroyed death by his own shameful death on the Cross.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12072115
20 Jewish cantors walk into a church—it’s no joke Can Jewish sacred music su...
20 Jewish cantors walk into a church—it’s no joke
Can Jewish sacred music sung in a Roman Catholic basilica help relations between Christians and Jews?
"We are here as spiritual emissaries, not political emissaries," said the president of the cantors' conference, Susan Caro of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. "We recognize the power of music to transform as well as reach across cultural and religious lines."
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/11/22/2741846/20-jewish-cantors-walk-into-a-church-its-no-joke
Pope's remarks on condoms welcomed ...
Pope's remarks on condoms welcomed
Aids workers and some Catholics welcome comments in book by Pope Benedict XVI that condoms can be used "in some cases".
Aids workers and some Catholics have hailed remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that the use of condoms can be "justified in some cases".
In a book to be released on Tuesday, the pope said that it was acceptable for male prostitutes seeking to prevent the spread of HIV to use condoms.
The move relaxes one of the Vatican's most controversial positions on the rejection of the use of condoms to combat the virus.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/11/201011211338469339.html
A Muslim response to “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” ...
A Muslim response to “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day”
I will be the first to defend anyone’s right to express their opinion, no matter how offensive it may be to me. Our nation has prospered because Americans value and respect diversity.
I will be the first to defend anyone’s right to express their opinion, no matter how offensive it may be to me. Our nation has prospered because Americans value and respect diversity. But freedom of expression does not create an obligation to offend or to show disrespect for the religious beliefs or revered figures of others.
In apparent reaction to the recent controversy over a depiction of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in an episode of the animated sitcom South Park on the cable network Comedy Central, a Seattle-based cartoonist, Molly Norris, created a cartoon poster depicting images claimed to be likenesses of the Prophet.
http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=25013
Iran 'formally rejects nuclear fuel deal' Iran has told the Internation...
Iran 'formally rejects nuclear fuel deal'
Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency it does not accept the terms of a deal to ease concerns about its nuclear programme, diplomats say.
But diplomats say Tehran is now suggesting an alternative involving a simultaneous exchange on its territory.
Correspondents say the proposal is very unlikely to be acceptable to the West.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8469332.stm
Response from Iran is not adequate: U.S.
The response from Iran on the proposal of the international community led by the United States on its nuclear weapon program is not adequate, the Obama Administration said on Wednesday.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article82844.ece
'West failed to guarantee fuel delivery to Iran' Iran says its decision to co...
'West failed to guarantee fuel delivery to Iran'
Iran says its decision to construct ten new enrichment plants was the outcome of the West failure to give guarantees to the Islamic Republic that it will receive fuel.
"If we do not get guarantees (for the delivery of the fuel), naturally we will have plans to move towards self-sufficiency. This is nothing unusual," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference Tuesday.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112573§ionid=351020104
'Iran can now produce nuclear bomb'"
Our highest interest is in preventing Iran's [nuclear] armament," he said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260181014244&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Israel debates 'loyalty' law The Israeli parliament has passed a preliminary ...
Israel debates 'loyalty' law
The Israeli parliament has passed a preliminary reading of a bill that would mandate the imprisonment of anyone who calls for the end of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, according to the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/200952716164623556.html
Israel 'loyalty law' rejected
An Israeli government committee has rejected a draft bill that would have required Israelis to take an oath of loyalty.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/200953112166628954.html
Malaysia ban on 'Allah' upheld The government directive bar...
Malaysia ban on 'Allah' upheld
The government directive bars non-Muslims from translating God as "Allah" in their literature, saying it would confuse Muslims in this plural, Muslim-majority country.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/05/200952894123668106.html
U.S. bishop’s words spur Vatican-Jewish spat The Vatican and the Jewish wor...
U.S. bishop’s words spur Vatican-Jewish spat
The Vatican and the Jewish world are at odds over a U.S. bishop's rejection of a biblical rationale for Israel as a Jewish state.
Greek-Melkite Bishop Cyrille Salim Bustros of Newton, Mass., said at an Oct. 23 news conference that for Christians, "the concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians."
Bustros was presenting the final document, or "Message," of a monthlong Vatican synod of Middle Eastern bishops.
The advent of Jesus, he said, meant that Jews "are no longer the preferred people, the chosen people; all men and women of all countries have become the chosen people." Bustros added that "sacred Scripture should not be used to justify the occupation by Israel of Palestine."
His remarks sparked condemnation from Israel and Jewish organizations. The Anti-Defamation League protested what it called "shocking and outrageous" comments.
"By stating that God's Covenantal promise of land to the Jewish people 'was nullified by Christ' and that 'there is no longer a chosen people,' Archbishop Bustros is effectively stating that Judaism should no longer exist," ADL National Director Abe Foxman wrote in a letter to the new Vatican official in charge of Catholic-Jewish relations, Cardinal-elect Kurt Koch. "This represents the worst kind of anti-Judaism, bordering on anti-Semitism."
Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon expressed "disappointment," saying the synod had been "hijacked by an anti-Israel majority."
The Vatican's chief spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, responded to the criticism by distancing the synod from Bustros' remarks. He said Monday that personal comments by individual synod participants "should not be considered as the voice of the synod in its entirety."
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/10/27/2741462/vatican-jewish-world-at-odds
The human rights community in Israel condemns the extreme silencing of protes...
The human rights community in Israel condemns the extreme silencing of protest in Israel
http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/20100116.asp
West Bank: Israeli Rabbi Decries Burning of a Mosque Israel’s chief rabbi v...
West Bank: Israeli Rabbi Decries Burning of a Mosque
Israel’s chief rabbi visited the Palestinian village of Yasuf on Monday to condemn the burning of a mosque there, saying the attack brought back memories of the Holocaust. The authorities say they believe that Jewish extremists carried out the attack on Friday in retaliation for a government-ordered slowdown in settlement construction. The rabbi, Yona Metzger, said arson was especially troubling to Jews because their holy places were burned by the Nazis. “In the State of Israel, we will not allow a Jew to do something like this to Muslims,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/world/middleeast/15briefs-Israelbrf.html
Israeli MPs pass referendum bill The Israeli parliament has passed the first ...
Israeli MPs pass referendum bill
The Israeli parliament has passed the first reading of a bill requiring a referendum to approve a pullout from annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/2009129132730663827.html
Iranian minister threatens Dimona
Just as the UN Security Council prepares to discuss Iran sanctions on Thursday, Iranian officials said they would not hesitate to carry out a military strike against Israel if their country came under "threat."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260181035342&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Hamas preparing advanced rockets and 'offensive' tunnels
Israel is likely to face advanced Iranian weaponry, long-range rockets, large missile silos and dozens of kilometers of underground tunnels connecting open fields with urban centers in the event of a future conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest Israeli assessments.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260181035814&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
E.U. moderates stance on Jerusalem In a boost for Israel, bloc urges talks...
E.U. moderates stance on Jerusalem
In a boost for Israel, bloc urges talks on sharing city as capital
The European Union's foreign ministers on Tuesday softened their call for a division of Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinians, saying that the city should be shared but that the two sides should negotiate the details.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/08/AR2009120802864.html
Israel aims to 'terminate' Palestinians -Venezuela Venezuelan President Hugo...
Israel aims to 'terminate' Palestinians -Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday charged that Israel aims to "terminate the Palestinian people" and said he backs the establishment of Jerusalem as capital of an independent Palestinian state.
http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSN27427092
Israel: EU's Jerusalem stance harms peace talks
The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that the European Union's intention to call for the division of Jerusalem would further harm the chances of renewing peace negotiations in the Middle East.
"The process being led by Sweden harms the European Union's ability to take part as a significant mediator in the political process between Israel and the Palestinians," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131926.html
Israel: Don't call J'lem Palestinian capital
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243057207&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Clinton urges Israel on peace moves In particular, Clinton h...
Clinton urges Israel on peace moves
In particular, Clinton highlighted allowing Palestinians greater freedom of movement.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/11/200911215036995449.html
State Department: US opposes unilateral moves by PA
The US is opposed to the Palestinian plan to pursue unilateral statehood at the UN, a State Department official said Monday night.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1258027304563&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Palestinians warned over UN move
Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said that the Palestinians had decided to turn to the UN due to frustration at the lack of progress peace talks, which have been stalled since Israel launched 22-day offensive in Gaza last December.
"Now is our defining moment. We went into this peace process in order to achieve a two-state solution," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.
"The endgame is to tell the Israelis that now the international community has recognised the two-state solution on the '67 borders."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/11/2009111653941671211.html
Fatah moves 'to remove, defeat occupation' Fatah's sixth General Assembly on...
Fatah moves 'to remove, defeat occupation'
Fatah's sixth General Assembly on Sunday approved a political platform that emphasizes the Palestinians' right "to resist occupation in all forms."
The conference, meeting in Bethlehem for the fifth straight day, also endorsed a resolution that defines Fatah as a "national liberation movement whose goal is to remove and defeat the occupation."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418557097&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Abbas maintains right to resistance
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has told Fatah activists that the Palestinian movement seeks peace with Israel, but that "resistance" remains a right.
"Although peace is our choice, we reserve the right to resistance, legitimate under international law," Abbas said in his speech on Tuesday.
"We will not stand helpless in the face of Israeli incursions."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/08/200984101550703229.html
Palestine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine Zionism ht...
Palestine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine
Zionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionist
On Fiery Birth of Israel, Memories of 2 Sides Speak
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/world/middleeast/18israel.html?_r=2
Yom Ha'atzmaut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Ha'atzmaut
Nakba
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nakba&redirect=no
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Palestinian_exodus
'Palestinian entity cannot be formed'
Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon, who is very close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ruled out the creation of any "Palestinian entity" at a conference at the Knesset entitled "Alternatives to the Two-State Outlook."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1243346481941&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Anger over Palestinian Nakba ban proposal
Israeli campaigners and left-wing lawmakers have condemned moves to ban Israeli Arabs from marking the Nakba - the Palestinian "catastrophe" of 1948.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8066892.stm
Palestinians differ on US promises Palestinian Fatahha...
Palestinians differ on US promises
Palestinian Fatah has said it was "encouraged" by the meeting between Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and his US counterpart in the White House, while Hamas said the encounter would lead to nothing.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/200952923332214478.html
UN pressures Israel on peace policy http://english.aljazeera...
UN pressures Israel on peace policy
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/05/200951117413869218.html
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has urged Israel to "fundamentally change" its policies towards settlements and commit to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
Israel defends Gaza war "Israel had both a right and an obligation to take m...
Israel defends Gaza war
"Israel had both a right and an obligation to take military action against Hamas in Gaza to stop Hamas's almost incessant rocket and mortar attacks," the report published by the foreign ministry said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/2009730235653538743.html
Netanyahu calls for recognition
Israel's new PM says he will discuss a Palestinian state only if Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8001497.stm
Jerusalem will always be Israel's, says PM
"United Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided," he said.
The US has always said Jerusalem's fate should be negotiated as part of a peace plan with the Palestinians.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8062657.stm
Rabbis criticized for Gaza sermons
The winter assault on the Gaza Strip was officially portrayed in Israel as an attempt to quell rocket fire by militants of Hamas. But some soldiers say they also were lectured about a more ambitious aim: to banish non-Jews from the biblical land of Israel.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-israel-holywar25-2009mar25,0,4876301.story