Bartholomew's Notes

News from South Africa:

An advertisement for a religious campaign has been ruled out of order for lack of evidence that Jesus can heal Aids.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) made the ruling after receiving a complaint about a newspaper advertisement in March for a “Miracle Crusade with Reverend Angley”.

…The ASA said advertisers had to have documentary evidence to support all claims capable of “objective substantiation”. It noted that an element of faith could be involved when viewing advertisements such as this.

…”However, caution should be taken when referring to HIV and Aids, as an incorrect assumption based on religious faith could result in further infections,” it said.

The Reverend, of course, is the Ohio-based Ernest Angley, and his posters promising healing received international attention last year, when blogger IDLand‘s photo and commentary were picked up by BoingBoing. The same blog revisited the Rev just last month:

I was disappointed to see that miracle workers too are affected by age (wikipedia puts him at 86) – they become slow and rambling, old men remembering another time, slightly embarrassing and uncomfortable to be around.

…He talked for a good ten minutes about yodelling, and how he didn’t care for the sound. I’m not making this up.

…”There are people here who can give 100 rand, who wants to be blessed with a miracle tonight?” No hands. “There are a lot of people who can give 10 rand. Who’s going to give ten rand tonight? Who wants to be blessed tonight? Who’s going to give ten rand.” One or two hands. He went down to five rand. He went down to two rand (about 25 US cents).

…”I’m not going to point out anyone with AIDS, because I don’t want to embarrass them. But you know who you are. You are a man, you are 42 years old, you have had AIDS for 3 years. Your middle name is Andrew. When you last went to your doctor, you had lost 59 pounds. You are now healed of AIDS.”

The applause was polite but unconvincing.

Exorcisms follow, along with some irresponsible misinformation about how AIDS can be passed on:

It was painful to watch. I came expecting to feel anger at this charlatan spreading mistruths about AIDS, but the display was too pathetic for me to feel anything but sadness.

Meanwhile, similar claims about AIDS are coming under fire in Uganda, as the Kampala Monitor reports:

A WOMAN who offered her car to a local church as a sacrifice for “good health” has threatened to take her pastors to court for alleged extortion.

Ms Frances Adroa, a self-confessed Aids patient, says senior pastors at the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), a Kampala church which she joined in June 2005, obtained possession of her car by pretending that they would reverse her health status if she invested in sacrifice.

The paper includes quotes from her affidavit:

“I Frances Adroa …do solemnly declare that with the full knowledge of my distress and broken heartedness, the pastors launched the campaign of Mount Sinai to which all members were required to give sacrifices and write prayer requests to God, which they claimed would be taken to Mount Sinai,” the April 10 affidavit says.

“That to further coerce me to give, they showed us a documentary of their worldwide leadership on Mount Sinai…performing rituals similar to what they had promised us.”

(Mount Sinai keeps popping up in reports about African Christianity I’ve blogged on recently; see here and here) The church agreed to return the car to her when the cure did not materialize, but she allegedly received it in a damaged state and with a bill for “reconditioning”. The UCKG is a controversial Brazilian Pentecostal grouping which has been making inroads into Africa for some time; just a few days ago it opened its largest African branch, in Soweto.

And across the continent, the news from Gambia is not encouraging:

Since January, President Yahya Jammeh has been treating people with HIV in the compound of the presidential palace with his herbal rubs and drinks, which he claims are a cure. To the alarm of the International Aids Society, which represents doctors and others fighting HIV/Aids around the world, his patients have stopped taking antiretroviral drugs.

However, Souleymane Mboup, from the University of Dakar, believes that government claims about the supposed cure are misleading:

“The interpretation by the Gambian authorities of the results of HIV antibody and viral-load testing on blood samples sent to my laboratory is incorrect…Of those samples that were HIV-positive (66.66%), none could be described as cured.”

A report in the Banjul Daily Observer gives further details of the treatment:

Addressing the patients shortly before the start of his herbal treatment, the Gambian leader told the patients that there is no discrimination as far as his treatment is concerned. He said during the course of his treatment, patients must not smoke, steal or have sex, saying even the couples in the treatment are not exempted from these conditions.

He informed them that they will not take any food from outside, other than what will be given to them by him. He also told them that they will not take any Western medicine, except for what will be administered to them by himself. He also urged the patients to refrain from eating coffee, attaya, as well as chewing kola-nut and chewing gum.

…The President informed the patients that some of the patients in previous batch were cleared of HIV/Aids within the first-10 days, saying “there are different metabolic reactions to the treatment. It does not mean that those who did not recover quickly from the illness violated the rules. The longer the medicine stays in your body, the more effective it will become”.

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A bland announcement from state media in Eritrea:

His Holiness Abune Dioskoros has been elected 4th Patriarch of Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church that was unanimously approved by the Holy Synod.

The EOC happily announces to the people that the appointment of His Holiness Abune Dioskoros took place on 19 April, during a meeting of Eritreans monasteries, representatives of religious administrations and the like.

Eritrean dissident website Asmarino has a rather more emotive description of what happened:

Yesterday, April 19, 2007, in a convocation attended by government authorities, Mr. Yoftahe Dimetros, the lay political appointee who serves as the highest administrator of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, and his handler, Security Chief Semere Beyen, rounded up the reluctant bishops that make up the rump synod and made the much anticipated announcement.

The announcement that was presented to the assemblage as an accomplished fact simply stated, “Abba Dioscoros, the former bishop of the Mendefera region, has been chosen to serve as Eritrea’s next patriarch.[“] When the bishops in attendance expressed a desire to bring the matter to a deliberation, they were told that the announcement was not open for further discussion.

…Mr. Dimetros and Co. took this shameful step, as always, on the behest of the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), the ruling party, to implement its designs of destroying the Eritrean Orthodox Church…It should be known to everyone that Abba Dioscoros has long sold his soul to Mr. Yoftahe, the devil incarnate. In the last two years, he has been at Mr. Yoftahe, the patriarch-maker’s feet in the foolish hope of being the next patriarch.

Dimetros, who was previously a diplomat when Eritrea was part of Ethiopia, has been in charge since 2005, when the 3rd Patriarch, Abune Antonios, was “frozen” and later placed under arrest. The World Evangelical Alliance reported on this at the time:

Mr. Yoftahe Dimetros has been appointed by the government to administer the EOC. On August 7, Dimetros and several military officials met with the EOC Synod and deposed EOC Patriarch Abune Antonios. Patriarch Antonios had defended the rights of the Medhane Alem renewal movement of the EOC, viewing them as a blessing and refusing to persecute them. He has also pleaded before the government on behalf of the Rev. Dr. Futsum Kuluberhan, the Rev. Dr. Tekleab Mengisteab, and the Rev. Gebremedhin Georgis. These three Medhane Alem pastors were arrested in March and remain jailed incommunicado as “traitors” in Asmara’s notorious Wongel Mermera investigation center. Dimetros leveled numerous complaints against Patriarch Antonios whom he accused of being “an obstacle in the work of the Holy Christian Church.”

In direct violation of the constitution of the EOC, the government will now appoint a compliant replacement Patriarch.

Dimetros acquired the necessary items for Dioskoros’s consecration back in January:

On Saturday morning, January 20, 2007, Mr. Yoftahe Dimetros sent two priests accompanied by three security agents of the government to the residence of H.H. Antonios, Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church.  Once there, they confiscated the following list of material from him:

1. All his Patriarchal vestments
2. The chain of the Apostle St. Mark
3. The Patriarchal holy scepter of Moses and of the shepherd
4. The Holy Myron that was handed down to the Eritrean Church from St. Mark.
5. Another patriarchal chain of St. Mark
6. Many other holy personal effects

The two priests that were sent by Mr. Yoftahe Dimetros to undertake such shameless act were Keshi Fitsum Tesfai[Priest at St George, Alfaramio, Asmara] and Keshi Gebretatyos Kidane [Priest at St Atnatios, Godaif Asmara].

Trawling around the internet, it appears that Dimetros is the son of Keshi Dimetros, a fanatical pro-Ethiopian politician from the 1960s, and some discussions suggest he may also be descended from Dimetros Gebremariam, an Eritrean churchman who was also a pro-Ethiopia “Unionist”. Both of these men used religion for political ends, but I can’t see any ideological connection between their activities and Yoftahe Dimetros’s scheming on behalf of the current Eritrean government.

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Several months ago, Time reported on Madonna’s plans to proselytise Kabbalah among the children of Malawi, through a “Raising Malawi” project:

Her co-founder in the Raising Malawi project is Michael Berg, founder of the Kabbalah center in Los Angeles and one of the driving forces behind its growing popularity. And although it has no religious affiliation, the orphan-care center—which will be like a day camp for orphans, who often have relatives who will give them a place to sleep but cannot feed them—will offer programs based on Spirituality for Kids, Kabbalah’s children’s program.

Now the UK Daily Mail adds some further details:

…last November, a team of Malawians were flown out to the States for an intensive three-month course in Kabbalah, so that they could teach it to orphans back in Malawi.

Many children in the orphanages she is supporting are already being tutored in Kabbalah and in the coming months, 7,000 orphans across the country – which has a population of only 12million – are set to receive instruction.

Perhaps to disguise its Kaballah origins, the course is entitled Spirituality For Kids (SFK).

…a shipment of blue Kabbalah ‘bibles’ to Malawi remain undistributed, for fear of a backlash.

The Mail’s journalist, Natalie Clarke, visits an orphanage where children are being taught that bad things happening to them is merely payback for having done bad things:

Jacinta Chapomba, project officer for orphans and vulnerable children, talks me through it. Each of the students has been given a paper ‘tree of life’ planted in a small pot.

On Mrs Chapomba’s desk is one belonging to one of the orphans. On one of the leaves, the child has written: “I had a bicycle accident because I did bad things”; on another: “When travelling I hit my foot on a stone because of the bad things I did.”

Clarke suggests that the singer wishes to spread the religion in order to make the country “Mother Madonna’s very own state”. But if so, the singer is going to have to face some serious competition; Clarke mentions the Presbyterian heritage of the country, and it should be noted that Pentecostalism is huge: scholar Rijk A. van Dijk, for example, sees it as “the single most important religious factor” in the country for a number of socio-cultural and political reasons. Traditional religion also remains significant.

Kabbalah is not the only outside religion vying for the orphans; last September, the government acted against a Taiwanese Buddhist orphanage:

Malawi’s Human Rights Commission has ordered a Taiwanese-funded orphanage to remove statues of Buddha from all dormitories, saying their presence amounts to brainwashing children into joining Buddhism against their will.

The Amitofo Care Centre near Blantyre opened three years ago and was touted as the biggest orphanage in southern Africa operated by followers of Buddhism. The centre has statues of Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, in all the dormitories and an elaborate temple situated within the orphanage.

…This contravenes Section 23 of the Malawi Constitution, which stipulates on how best children and orphans ought to be treated,” said [Commissioner John] Kapito during the orphanage’s open day. “This exposure to statues can easily influence them into joining the religion unwillingly since they cannot decide their future on their own.”

One wonders how Madonna will be judged in relation to the same “Section 23”.

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James Mancham, former President of the Seychelles

George Sokomanu, former President of Vanuatu

Rexhep Mejdani, former President of Albania

Kenneth Kaunda, former President of Zambia

H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid, former President of Indonesia

George H.W. Bush, former President of the USA

Just a few of the global political figures who promote and assist the work of Rev Sun Myung Moon. More details in my latest post at Talk to Action.

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From the Harare Herald:

THE Anglican Church Province of Central Africa has added its voice to the growing condemnation of the illegal Western sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and called for their scrapping, urging Britain to honour its obligations to fund land reforms in the country.

In their Pastoral letter issued at the end of their Episcopal Synod in Harare last week, the 14 bishops and one canon, among them the head of the Province of Central Africa, the Most Rev Bernard Amos Malango, acknowledged that the economic situation in Zimbabwe stemmed from illegal sanctions.

The article’s author, a hack named Caesar Zvayi, adds some toadying commentary:

…The Anglican Bishop’s pastoral letter exposes the patently political nature of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishop’s Conference that released its own letter ahead of the Easter holidays, accusing President Mugabe and the Government of corrupt governance and human rights abuses.

…Last month, MDC factions embarked on orgies of violence disguised as a “defiance campaign,” through which they sought to depose the Government in the streets. When their attempts were thwarted, they launched terrorist activities that saw them assault police officers, burn private and public property and carry out 11 reported petrol bombings on police stations and private property.

…The Anglican Bishop’s pastoral letter left egg on the face of the head of the church, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Willams who, last month, tried to pressure his bishops, among them Dr [Nolbert] Kunonga, to join the bandwagon of condemning the Government for alleged human rights excesses.

I blogged on religious support for Mugabe just a few weeks ago. Kunonga, as I noted then, is known throughout Zimbabwe as “His Disgrace”, and his lavish praise for the depressingly long-lived tyrant has won him numerous worldly rewards. Kunonga has also long enjoyed the protection of Archbishop Malango, although I also noted that there were signs of a split. It looks as though they’ve patched things up, then.

Here are the rest of Mugabe’s Anglican allies:

Christopher J. Boyle (Northern Malawi), Albert Chama (Northern Zambia), Elson Jakazi (Manicaland), Derek Kamukwamba (Central Zambia), Nolbert Kunonga (Harare), William Muchombo (Eastern Zambia), Ishmael Mukuwanda (Central Zimbabwe), Robert Mumbi (Luapula) Trevor Mwamba (Botswana), David Njovu (Lusaka), Wilson Sitshebo (Matabeleland), Godfrey Tawonezvi (Masvingo), James Tengatenga (Southern Malawi), and Rev. Canon Michael Mkoko, Vicar General of the Diocese of Lake Malawi.

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Curious news from Nigeria (link added):

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Directorate of Christian Pilgrims Affairs Wednesday denied claims that some female pilgrims were raped by Egyptians as they attempted to climb Mount Sinai in St Catherina City, Egypt in April.

“We wish to dismiss this report as a deliberate falsehood,” the statement signed by director, FCT Christian Pilgrims Board, Mr. Laz Gaza. “No such incident occurred or was brought to the notice of the FCT head, Directorate of Christian Pilgrims Affairs…We also want to dismiss the claims that both Nigerian and Israeli authorities have protested on the allegation to Egyptian authority as falsehood as nothing of such magnitude took place. We view this as a deliberate effort by the reporter to sour the long cordial working relationship that has existed between Egypt and Nigeria.

Pilgrimages are organised at the state level in Nigeria; the FCT is the area around the capital, Abuja. The original report had been published in the Daily Champion on 2 April, and was by a journalist named Daniel Idonor. That report claimed that “many” women had been raped by local camel-riders, who lured women pilgrims into isolated places:

…Already, both the Nigerian and Israeli authorities have formally protested to the Egyptian authorities through the country’s police over the incident. The leader of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Pilgrims (Batch one), Mrs Helen Oloja, who is also the Director of Legal Services in the FCT Administration, launched Nigeria’s protest before the Israeli officials moment after she arrived Israel border from the Mt Sinai.

One Ms Jone, an Israeli official, and a senior employee of the Immanuel Tours Agency,…could not hold her emotion, but wept profusely.

…Also commenting on the incident, the FCT director of the Christians’ Pilgrim Welfare Board, Mr Laz Gaza, who spoke to Daily Champion at the Hilton Hotel in Taba, Egypt, expressed deep shock over the incident; and promised to make official complaints to the Nigeria government through the FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, and the National Technical Committee on Pilgrimage, headed by Archbishop Ola Makinde, for necessary action.

So what’s going on? Did Idonor make up the original quotes from the aptly-named Laz Gaza and the others? Or is Gaza now back-tracking for political reasons of his own? And if the “incident” occurred, to what extent does it suggest a serious endemic problem?

Meanwhile, an account of pilgrims heading to Sinai from another state in Nigeria was published a couple of weeks ago here:

…they set out for the famous Mount Sinai, which is said to be where Moses received the Ten Commandments…In spite of several warnings about the dangers of making the climb, hundreds of pilgrims headed for the hills at the appointed time in the bitter cold, with temperatures reading twelve degree centigrade. The Nigerian pilgrims were accompanied by large groups of pilgrims from far off places like the UK, Australia, China, Japan among many others. The going was tough but the pilgrims, including old men and women over 60 years old, bravely kept on going. It was amazing to see them encourage and help one another along the punishing trail. The Nigerians particularly rejected offers by the Bedouin locals to convey them up the trail on camel back, which elicited hostility from the locals. By sunset, most of the pilgrims had made it to the summit of the mountain and were already downward bound.

Most of the pilgrims agreed that the climb marked the climax of the pilgrimage for them. Matoh Dogara, a commissioner in Kaduna State, told Newswatch that his ability to make it to the top of Mount Sinai marked a milestone in his life. Dogara said he believes that the experience would make him a better Christian. Victor Yakubu, chairman of the state’s Christian pilgrims welfare board, expressed satisfaction at the successful completion of the climb up the Sinai. Rev. Yakubu was particularly thankful that his aged mother was able to make it to the summit of the mountain. “It has been something of an obsession to her,” Yakubu told New Nigerian on Sunday shortly after the climb. “It was a really hard decision for me to allow her attempt such a risky thing, but thank God she has fulfilled her heart’s desire.”

As an aside, Gaza’s statement of denial includes the following incidental detail:

“The FCT Directorate of Christian Pilgrims Affairs expresses shock that the reporter failed to report…the miracles of healing that took place at the Wailing Wall of Old Jerusalem City…”

Of course, many Christians respect the Jewish holy place (even many of those who don’t feel the need to fantasize about destroying the nearby mosques), but for the Western Wall (preferable usage to “Wailing Wall”) to become regarded as a place of miraculous healing in a Christian context is an interesting development. This Christian website offers a virtual Western Wall where prayers can be lodged.

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Some time ago, I decided to stop writing blog entries that simply mocked the ramblings of wingnuts; it’s a crowded field, and others have greater gifts for satirical putdowns than I. Also, I try to keep editorialising to a minimum – readers don’t need to be spoonfed, and if they can’t figure out for themselves why certain things are undesirable or deplorable, I doubt that a comment from me will change their views. There’s also an element of “bear craps in wood” to reporting a lot of this kind of thing.

However, sometimes I come across something so beyond decency that it cannot be passed over, which brings me, like thousands of others, to the subject of Debbie Schlussel. Yesterday Schlussel decided to harass a young Indonesian woman who goes online by the name of “Eldarossell”. The reason was that Eldarossell had put on Flickr a number of innocuous photographs of family and friends, including a South Korean who had taken the name of “Ismail” in order to make it easier for Indonesians to address him. Schlussel suggested that this friend was in all likelihood the V-Tech mass murderer, and she strongly inferred that Eldarossell had removed the picture for some suspicious reason. As further evidence of the supposedly sinister connection, Schlussel decided to repost another picture from Eldarossell’s collection, showing a cousin – a smiling young woman who happens to wear Islamic dress.

Of course, Schlussel’s tedious and distasteful “look at me” antics are well-known and unremarkable, but I don’t think I have seen such an egregious example of unwarranted bullying and irresponsible incitement on the internet from someone who apparently enjoys some sort of serious standing. However, it seems that Eldarossell can stand up for herself, and she left a comment which shows much more class and intelligence than anything produced by the professional commentator who decided to persecute her:

This morning after finished read the VT Tech incident in the local newspaper, I checked my email. And it was full of messages regarding the speculation whether I knew the VT Shooter or not. That was because a picture that I put on Flickr had the similarity to the murderer.

When I read those messages, I was shocked and until I write this I’m still shocked. Especially, after I heard that an Indonesian student was one of the victims.

I write this to clarify that my friend is not the VT Shooter.

Yes, the murderer name (Cho Seung Hui) had a very similar name to his name, Cho Seung Hoo. Please note to the HOO and the HUI in their names.

I already saw the murderer picture in NY Times and other news websites. He’s definitely not my friend Cho Seung Hoo. They are completely different person.

First of all, they don’t have the exact similar face. Their similarity was just their homeland and name (even that not exactly the same). There are a lot of people have the same characteristic, short hair and wearing glasses.

My friend is 25 years old not 23. When he came to Indonesia, he just finished his study in college majoring computer. He doesn’t speak English very fluently.

My co-workers are very fond of him because he is very friendly and always make time to talk to them while he was staying at our hostel. He is a very funny and talkative person, definitely not a loner.

Currently, he still teaching computer in Indonesia until next year and then he will go back to his homeland.

He is not a Moslem. He is a Christian. Ismail was ONLY his nick name while he studied Bahasa Indonesia. He maybe didn’t use that name again.

HE IS INNOCENT.

I’m feeling guilty right now. Just because I put his picture in my blog and Flickr, he has to face that false accusation.

I already delete the picture and the blog post about him, so that everybody will stop being curious and accuse him. And also because nobody can link to that anymore and made unnecessary comments that only lead to other accusation. I already had enough with comments in my Flickr in regard to that. I quote:

“If this is him there is an Indonesian Muslim connection.. Look at the rest of the Photostream, This guy may have studied in Indonesia and became a Muslim.. Anyhow, I can’t even tell if its him. But he did have the word Ismail written in red on his arm. I just don’t know”

I’m crying when I read this comment … what do you mean by that?? That’s my friend, family and country you just insult!!

What if one of your friends or family or EVEN YOU receives that insult and accusation?

I’m being paranoid now. I’m afraid because I put all my pictures in the internet. What if something likes this happen again?? Maybe one day, someone will say “Hey, that dog pic on your Flickr, I think it was the one who bite me yesterday. I’m going to sue you”.

Schlussel responded:

Eldarossell posted a note that this is not the guy, so I’m removing it.

I suppose that’s an apology for dragging three innocent people (Eldarossell, her cousin, and her South Korean friend) into a wingnut sewer of hate.

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Here’s one I missed earlier, from the Jerusalem Post in February:

Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger and other leading rabbis from around the world signed a declaration Tuesday with leading Hindu leaders in New Delhi that denounces terrorism and violence…The resolution was signed during a summit organized by the World Council of Religious Leaders.

The “World Council of Religious Leaders” is a UN-affiliated body, and does not appear to be connected with the various “summits” of religious leaders which I have blogged in past months (here and here). Among those present was David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee, who said that

“Although, Muslim extremism was not singled out, it was at the forefront of many participants’ minds”.

The Hindu leaders stressed the monotheism of Hinduism, and according to Metzger

“They told me that both Judaism and Hinduism were the mothers from which all other religions suckled. But sometimes the offspring bite the breast that feeds them…The Hindu leaders told us that idolatry was not a part of Hindu faith but that many followers continued to harbor idolatrous practices”.

Or, in other words, many Hindus may in fact be polytheists, but they don’t count. Metzger also met some Muslim leaders, as reported by the Common Ground News Service:

At the same time a rare and significant meeting took place between the Jewish delegation, which included the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger, and senior members of India’s Islamic community led by the President of the All India Organisation of Imams of Mosques, Moulana Jameel Ahmed Ilyasi.

Meanwhile, the Organiser gives some further details about Metzger’s Hindu friends – and this is where the alarm bells start going off:

Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger made a touching reference to the lasting contribution made by the BJP leader L.K. Advani in furthering the friendship and co-operation between India and Israel. The Chief Rabbi, the highly regarded Jewish pontiff, was lavish in his praise for India’s Leader of Opposition, as he was speaking at a dinner hosted at the Prithviraj Road residence of the BJP leader.

…Shri Bawa Jain, secretary general of World Council of Religious Leaders (WCORL), that organised the three-day Hindu-Jewish Leadership Summit said the conference would not have been possible but for the help of the Leader of Opposition. He recalled the sterling leadership qualities of the BJP leader and his tireless endeavour towards unity of religions, interfaith dialogue and peace among faiths.

In a just-posted article, Mark Marqusee ponders the significance of this:

In the 1980s, Advani launched and led the “Rath yatra”, a provocative nation-wide tour aimed at mobilizing support for replacing the five hundred year old Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, north India, with a Ram Temple. The upshot was the violent demolition of the mosque in December 1992 by Hindu fanatics, an act of communal aggression which led to riots across the country and the loss of 2000 lives.

Advani had visited the besieged mosque on the very day of its demolition. Along with other leaders of the Hindu right, he was charged by police with making “inflammatory speeches to spread communal hatred”. The legal case against him, reopened in 2005, is still pending.

As Home Minister in the BJP-led government of 1998-2004, Advani was complicit in the anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat in 2002 which took the lives of 2,500 Muslims and left at least 150,000 homeless.

Just last week, the BJP was in trouble over an election campaign CD which promoted anti-Muslim communalism (the transcript is here).

And, to return to the Organiser article, it seems that “interfaith dialogue and peace among faiths” means, as expected, a united front against a common enemy:

Shri Advani, in his brief welcome speech, emphasised the great Indian tradition of equal respect to all faiths. He said, the distortion of Indian secularism had reached a stage where, secularism has come to mean a state eschewing religion. The language of religion has a significant role in shaping the character of the state. It is not a state without religion, but a state that respects all religions, that is at the essence of secularism. The distortion and intolerance to religion have come because of the spell of Marxism on Indian political leadership, he said.

The full text of the Hindu-Jewish statement can be seen here; it includes a section against proselytising:

Neither seeks to proselytise, nor undermine or replace in any way the religious identities of other faith communities. They expect other faith communities to respect their religious identities and commitments, and condemn all activities that go against the sanctity of this mutual respect.

Marqusee wonders where this leaves the Bnei Menashe issue; this Indian tribe converted to Christianity many years ago, and from that developed a “Lost Tribe of Israel” and Judaic identity. A number of members have gone through formal conversions to Orthodox Judaism, and are now resident in Israel, although the practice has been suspended to avoid tensions with India. We might also add that Metzger’s predecessor, Meir Lau, converted 90 Peruvians to Judaism in a fast-track two-week process in 2002, in order to provide residents for a West Bank settlement.

Of course, this is actually also a “common front” issue: this time, against Christian missionaries. Some Jewish and Israeli groups have called for a ban on Christians seeking Jewish converts, putting pressure on the Israeli-Christian Zionist alliance. At the same time, India has introduced anti-conversion laws – originally at the instigation of the BJP, although more recently the Congress Party has jumped on the bandwagon.

(Hat tip: Jews Sans Frontieres)

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The Guardian‘s Comment is Free carries a piece by Houzan Mahmoud on a worrying development in Iraqi Kurdistan:

Around seven months ago, a draft constitution for the Kurdistan region was made available for discussion, suggestions and amendments. Article seven of this proposed constitution states: This constitution stresses the identification of the majority of Kurdish people as Muslims; thus the Islamic sharia law will be considered as one of the major sources for legislation making.

…Along with five others, I launched a campaign to bring together all those who believe in secularism, and who therefore demand the removal of Article seven, to fight this reactionary clause, which would allow the Islamists to use official state law to justify their crimes against the women of Kurdistan.

…The media attention given to our campaign panicked the Islamists, and just few days after our visit to parliament they launched a counter-campaign. They have announced their intention to “campaign to retain the Islamic identity of the Kurdish people”. They have started to propagate the nonsense claim, via their various media outlets, that we want to impose secularism and forcibly deny people any right to express their identity as Muslims.

A year ago I blogged on a report concerning the evangelical Iraqi General (and sometime National Security Advisor) Georges Sada, who claimed that all was well in Kurdistan, and also that “hundreds” of people were converting to Christianity. I noted then that he appeared to be ignoring some disturbing counter-evidence. Christian Zionist Mike Evans was also recently in the area, which he declared to be the “greatest success story in all of Iraq”. The bar, though, is somewhat low…

(Hat tip: World War 4 Report)

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Figures.com (“All the toy and action figure news all the time”) carries an interview with Eric Dyson, founder of Fishermen Inc:

Fishermen, Inc. is hoping to harness people’s recognition of this holy and historic icon when it introduces a new series of figurines based on various interpretations of Jesus.

Dyson explains:

The message behind all of our “I Am” figurines is that whatever your path in life, Jesus can be an inspiration for you. The figurines are for anyone who can appreciate these modern-day interpretations of Jesus in (their) lives today…The figurines are not to be worshiped or used for worship. Like a cross hanging from your neck or a “WWJD” bracelet on your wrist, these collectibles are personal reminders of your own beliefs or inspirations…We selected these initial 11 modern-day realities in trying to represent a wide cross-section of lifestyles…There is nothing disrespectful or irreverent about what we have done.

A Businesswire press release adds:

The “I Am Freedom” figure showcases a jean-clad Jesus aboard a Chopper, complete with long raked handlebars, his long robe flying out from behind him. The “I Am Victory” model has Jesus mid-bicycle kick in a soccer uniform, his cleats pointing skyward. In a more thoughtful vein, “I Am Peace” shows Jesus in camouflage military fatigues, holding a dove in his outstretched hand, while “I Am Hope” simply portrays Jesus in shabby clothing, holding a sign with the all-too omnipresent, “Will Work 4 Food.”

…Rounding out the set are “I Am Strength,” with Jesus aboard a bucking bull, cowboy hat in hand; “I Am Faith,” featuring Jesus scrambling with a football; “I Am Spirit” has Him shooting a curl while surfing; “I Am Youth” has a skateboarding Jesus riding a rail; and lastly “I Am Life” shows a rock-climbing Jesus hanging from a cliff.

Apparently, requests are coming in for a rock-star figurine…

I blogged on the 2004 “Herobuilders” Jesus action figure here.

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