"Islam & Women in USA after 9/11"

Muslim Orphans in America?

Not so much. Check out this full article explaining the complicated system still in place for Muslim orphans to be adopted in the U.S. Although many Americans want to adopt from Iraq and other Islamic countries, the process is at a standstill. There are laws in place that complicate the transfer of orphans from the Middle East to the Western world.

From what I understand, the reason for this lack of cooperation stems back to a time in history involving slaves.

Just a short excerpt:

"Ingrid Mattson, a professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, said adoption in that period had more in common with slavery. Men would take in boys, then erase any tie between the child and his biological family. The goal was to gather as many fighters as possible as protection for the tribe. Orphans' property was often stolen in the process."

Interesting that these laws are still in place...but for what?

Response to Mosque near Ground Zero

What can President Obama say about the proposed Muslim mosque that would be built near Ground Zero? He's in a tough spot - he said in one speech that they should be free to worship anywhere to be consistent with American ideals, and then another day said that he didn't say it was wise to choose the plan the mosque where they did. Here is an interesting, short NPR clip about the debate and Obama's and Bush's reactions to the proposed mosque.

What would you say about this if you were the President?

Islam Combats "Defamation of Religion"

A group of 57 states with largely Islamic populations called The Organization of the Islamic Conference wants a resolution to be passed in the United Nations to condemn the "defamation of religions." Whose religion, though?

The resolution, called "On Combating Defamation of Religions" would prohibit self expression that insults or "defames" (a broad term) religion. The resolution is for their own favor, though, to make it legal to prosecute someone for insulting Islam. We've all seen these pictures, even on this blog. Isn't this a bit too radical? Not in many Islamic countries.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference wants to see this resolution pass not only for Islamic states, but globally. If this were ever to happen, anyone on the earth who blasphemed Islam could be punished. This could be used against almost anyone because the terms "blaspheme," "defame," and "insult" are quite broad. How are these accusations of defamation and their punishments going to be determined if there aren't any set regulations? It seems silly to even ask that when putting this law into effect would be blatantly be crossing human rights violations and freedom of expression.

The article from which I found this information was written by the Freedom House advocacy director. I think it is important that Freedom House is using it's platform and reliability to make issues like this known in the New York Times, which is read around the globe.

More Like Punishment by Religion...

We're talking about freedom of religion on our blog. Or, the opposite too I guess.

I just read this article in The New York Times about the exact opposite happening: punishment by religion. In Iran, a women convicted of adultery may be stoned to death. Stoned. And it's a shocking thing to media systems both there and here. It's shocking in Iran, because they are actually talking about it in the media-- a clip of the woman calling herself a sinner was shown on state-owned television. It's shocking in the United States, because of the severity of the punishment of adultery, and because her son specifically told people who knew about the situation to lie to foreign western media, to make it less of a deal.

So this brings up two good aspects:

• Because of the government's and her own strict following of the Muslim faith, this Iranian woman may be stoned to death (the punishment is under review by the court-- but she may still be executed in a different way), because she was convicted of having an illicit relationship. Is this religious freedom?
• It was controversial in Iran, because this story was broadcast on television. The woman's lawyer told her son to lie to western media, saying it would be prudent. Is this media freedom?
• 

Iran has a "Stop Stoning Forever" Campaign

The Masque of Africa

In the new book The Masque of Africa by Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipual, he again writes about Africa and religious issues he explores there. But in this book, he investigates the influence of the "alien religions": Christianity and Islam. In Africa, Christianity and Islam have begun to permeate countries across the continent, though they each have many indigenous religions of their own.

A former university dean in Gabon is quoted in the book and says, "The new religions, Islam and Christianity, are just on the top. Inside us is the forest."

This shows how deeply rooted spiritual practices are within African culture and history. The spread of Christianity and Islam is relatively "new" to them in comparison to what they have practiced since the beginning of their time.

I am interested in this book and think it would explore religious rights in a sense, because the people that he talks to must have opinions on these religious influences. The people he writes about have had experiences that certainly shape their perspective, so maybe the book would give good insight into what it looks like for a "new" religion to act in their culture.

U.S under U.N. scrutiny for Religious Rights

The U.S. will be the brunt of scrutiny by the United Nations Human Rights Council during the "Universal Periodic Review," coming under accusations of human rights violations such as:

• violent, barbaric police officers
• holding political prisoners behind bars
• 30% of the population not having adequate income for basic needs
• discrimination against Muslim people

The speakers against the U.S. even come from inside the U.S, and they say that America has stimulated a profiling issue of Middle Eastern people based on terrorism and religious beliefs. These people will be able to speak out against the U.S. and say "what really goes on" here and how it should be changed.

I was surprised to read this article. I never would have guessed that the U.S. would be brought before the U.N. for human rights violations-- especially when this is a "free" country, one that I think has done a pretty good job in comparison to others around the world. I don't think the U.N. should be able to be told people's opinions about American's attitudes toward other people (Muslims, Middle Eastern people) if there aren't bad things happening because of those attitudes.

Church and State Collide in French Schools

I stumbled upon this article on nytimes.com and was surprised by what I read. As we've been learning, France has controversial and strict rules against Islamic headscarves and veils. The country has been ridiculed by many people for its strict religious laws. Yet, in this article, we see a diverse French school-- full of Muslims, Catholics and other religions-- joined and worshipping together in a new, state-appointed school. It's an interesting mix of church and state, which in France, let alone in any country anymore, surprised me. The fact that they have a new, state-funded Catholic school with state appointed teachers isn't something we see often. Just sayin'.

U.S. Fights for Islamic Rights

When I think of the United States, I think of it being the one place where freedom of speech and religion should be allowed. Yet lately, there have been many heated arguments over the Islamic faith after 9/11 events, like the right to build an Islamic worship center close to the site.

I just found this article about a Tennessee mosque that was vandalized during construction. The Department of Justice said "Islam is a religion and is entitled to freedom of expression." How can a supposedly free country like the U.S. renew people's rights to religious freedom at this time? Better communication about the Islamic faith may be necessary to alleviate people's fears and uncertainties, so that people who choose to practice this religion may do so freely.