Prof. Pam's Religion Blog » Violence

Beat the Jew game?

PH — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:06:36 +0000

“Appalling“? That’s an understatement.

A discussion of Christianist militia groups

PH — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:26:43 +0000

I’m not up on my contemporary American eschatology, but some of the comments here pinpointed some rather nuanced, for me, distinctions. The most startling comment was by Prof. Butler from Univ. of Pennsylvania when she made the distinction between merely “believing” in x and the believing that makes x come to pass.

Here’s a video discussion from New York Times. Christians with guns.

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Neda, dictatorship and Iran

PH — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:55:48 +0000

Today a student objected to my calling Iran a dictatorship. “It is a democracy,” he said. He did have a point. There are plenty of other places worse than Iran. Travel plans? Nope. I’ll stay right here in greatly flawed California, in the equally “challenged” US of A. There doesn’t seem to be any question that the government of Iran is repressive. Gmail has just been outlawed. The press is hampered. So much for freedom of assembly and free speech.

I do count your blessings and I do remember Neda Agha Soltan. PBS aired a documentary about her and the struggle of the opposition movement in Iran.

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More religious strife in Iraq

PH — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:41:39 +0000

It’s sad that there’s been an uptick in suicide bombings and the like in Iraq. This was from earlier this month from the BBC:

On Monday a female suicide bomber killed at least 41 and wounded more than 100 people in north-east Baghdad.

The pilgrims were making their way to the Imam Hussein shrine in the city where Shia Muslims are to mark Arbaeen, the end of 40 days of mourning for the death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.

The bomb went off on one of the three routes into the city.

Earlier reports incorrectly stated the suicide bomber had been towing an explosive-laden cart on a motorcycle.

This and the general political mess makes me less comfortable about our plans to pull out of Iraq. On the other hand, it probably has strengthened calls for us to get out sooner. Hard to know what’s best for us and the government in Iraq.

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Copts killed in Egypt

PH — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:20:24 +0000

Sad. Sad. From CNN.

Shooters opened fire at a gathering outside an eastern Egyptian church, killing six during the celebration of a Christian sect’s Christmas Eve, Egypt’s Interior Ministry reported.

The situation for Copts has been deteriorating. This story about Egyptian ID cards and the difficulties Copts (or Christians generally) face reminded me of a case of “reverse” branding. The Nazis forced Jews to wear a Star of David as a purely discriminatory sign. Here the Copts tattoo themselves as a sign of their faith. From the BBC website:

Ayman Raafat Zaki, 22, also bears a cross.

He has been a member of St Michael’s church in Cairo for nine years and he is now an altar boy.

Every Sunday, dressed in his white robes, he helps lead a large Christian congregation.

He chants readings from the Bible, as the young boys circle the church, spreading thick plumes of fragrant incense.

And yet Ayman’s overt spirituality – and his tattoo – are not enough to convince the state he is a Christian.

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Mennonites in Mexico

PH — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:00:44 +0000

I heard this segment on Public Radio International’sThe World this afternoon. Mexico is the last place I think of when I hear the word “Mennonite”. You can read more about the religion here.

We do have a Gator connection, though. Years ago the house that’s across the street from campus (on 19th and Holloway) was called the “Ec House”, which was short for “Ecumenical House”. There was a small cafe downstairs and faculty and students would often meet there. It was especially handy because the old Humanities building was where HSS is now. So it was a quick dash across the street. The manager of the cafe was, if I recall correctly, a Mennonite.

The segment highlights the plight (or perhaps they might say “opportunity”) facing the Mennonites of Chihuahua, Mexico. Listen to the podcast here.

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