Gay Marriage: WWJD

supreme_court_buildingChristian opposition to homosexuality is legendary. Christians have blamed homosexuality on everything from the fall of the Roman Empire to the attacks of 9-11. Jerry Falwell, for example, claimed that God allowed our enemies to attack us because we made God mad — he said that the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make homosexuality an alternative lifestyle “helped this happen.” And all the people (OK, Pat Robertson speaking on behalf of a lot of Christians) said, “Amen.”

Muslims for peace

Hedieh Mirahmadi

Last week I wrote about the most persecuted religion in the world — Christianity. So dire is the persecution of Christians, Christianity is in danger of disappearing from its homeland. Christianity is most in peril, I noted, in Muslim-majority countries where either by official policy or official laxity, Christians are discriminated against, persecuted, tortured, threatened and even killed (Christians are not alone in this; atheists, Jews, Baha’is, and Muslims judged heretical are likewise persecuted.) Since this impending threat to Christianity has been largely ignored in the West I called upon the Western media to report on these atrocities and so prod Western governments to act in support of the universal human right to the free expression of religious belief. Finally, I said it was not my place to speak for Muslims but that Muslim leaders needed to make a compelling case that Islam is not inherently intolerant.

The most persecuted religion in the world

Over the past year, I have written of the intolerance that Christians have shown to Muslims in the U.S. From Missouri to Murphreesboro, Christians have demonstrated both a lack of charity and a denial of the right to religious liberty by setting fire to old mosques and opposing new ones. But Christians in the U.S. are rank amateurs compared to the Muslim persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

Religion as Politics

In 2011, I attended Shimon Peres’s Presidential Conference, “Facing Tomorrow,” in Israel. Headliners included Tony Blair, Benjamin Netanyahu, Natan Sharansky, Sarah Silverman, and Shakira. Blair and Netanyahu were predictably fiery and challenging — Netanyahu almost had me believing. Silverman, note to future organizers, was surprisingly unfunny and uninteresting. Shakira was equally surprisingly articulate and passionate about the need to educate poor children; she also gracefully resisted her interviewer’s awkward insistence to shake her hips.

Disturbing poster in wake of the Aurora tragedy

Burning Mosques and Building Mosques

On July 4 we celebrate our Independence — “we” being descendants of those scrappy colonists who insisted on the right to worship as they pleased. However, in this day and age, we are more likely to extol the colonial revolt against the tea tax. But many of the early colonists were escapees from religious persecution in England. Various assertions of the King’s authority on these freedom-loving Brits led to our declaration of independence. Two things have changed since 1776: coffee has replaced tea as the drink of choice, and threats to religious liberty loom large in contemporary America.

Anti-Climactic MSNBC Interview

Here is my interview on the Cycle on MSNBC. The interviewer forgot that she was not the interviewee. Then she forgot about me. Then the whole group (there are four hosts) started talking off-topic. They seemed to know nothing about my book or the topic. I had to interrupt a few times and then they interrupted me so I couldn’t complete my points. Oh well. Maybe all publicity is good publicity.

 

 

Huffington Post Blog

This is my recent blog for the Huffington Post

“Omnipotence needs no defense,” is the title of the essay by Abdurrahman Wahid, the first democratically elected president of Indonesia. He had me at the title — how simple, how obvious, and yet how often misunderstood. God is omnipotent yet we treat him as though he is a wimp who couldn’t survive without our assistance. God is all-powerful yet we act as though his feelings are easily hurt by infidels who don’t believe or behave in just the right ways.

MSNBC Interview on Abraham’s Children TODAY

I am being interviewed on MSNBC on Thursday, July 5 at 3:30pm (EDT).

Part of the new show, “The Cycle.” See me there!

 

Muslim Young Folks: “They” are a lot like “us”

When you read the findings in a recent survey of Arab youth, you’ll find out they they–Arabs, Muslims–are a lot like us–Westerners, Christians (or whatever).

2500 young Arab men and women (ages 18-24) were surveyed in twelve Arab countries.

They like democracy and free speech, and they yearn for fair pay. I don’t find any desire for violence or hatred of the West. Consider some of the top findings:

  • Fair pay and home ownership displace desire for democracy as top priority
    Young people in the Middle East say that being paid a fair wage and owning their own home are their two highest priorities – displacing their previous number-one priority, living in a democratic country