The Bridge

April 2008, Issue No. 30
The Journal of the Churches' Agency for Inter Faith Relations in Scotland

Friday, April 18, 2008 (Venue Changed)
What is the Baha'i Faith?
A study day in the "Christianity and Scotland's Other Faiths" series to be led by Dr Maureen Sier. 
Further details can be downloaded here.   This event has been moves fromScottish Churches House to the Scottish Episcopal Church in Bridge of Allan, for directions or for late registration please phone 01259 222 364 for details.

Sunday April 27, 2008 from 5pm
Inter-faith Peace Conference
Speakers will include the Imam from the London Mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a Buddhist and Andrew Sarle, CAIRS Education Officer.  Admission Free. All are welcome to attend, and a meal is provided at the end of the conference for all.
Venue: Ahmadiyya Muslim Assoc., 8 Haugh Road, Glasgow G3 8TR
A special invitation is extended to all CAIRS supporters.

May 3 & 4, 2008
Church Without Walls - The National Gathering
CAIRS will be represented at the ACTS stand at this event.  Come and see us next to the cafe!
Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston, Edinburgh

Thursday, September 25, 2008
Jesus and Other Faiths
A study day in the "Christianity and Scotland's Other Faiths" series to be held in Scottish Churches' House, Dunblane. 
Further details will be circulated in due course.

We are also planning a Saturday visit to the Synagogue of the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation and a visit to a Sikh Gurdwara in Glasgow on Sunday, June 8. 
Further details will be circulated in due course.
 
A report of the series of Christian Muslim Conversations held in Autumn 2007 can be downloaded here  (pdf, 117Kb), or obtained from Andrew Sarle, 01259 222364, or email.

Building Bridges with Judaism 

Bishops 'unhappy' over Good Friday prayer
Germany's bishops have not welcomed the Pope's revision of the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews in the Tridentine Rite. The prayer, which expresses the hope that God will "illuminate their [the Jews'] hearts so that they may recognise Jesus Christ as the Saviour of all people", has angered a growing number of leading rabbis in Germany and some want to suspend Christian-Jewish dialogue. The German bishops would have preferred that the 1970 wording of the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews be used because it emphasised the Jews' faithfulness to God's covenant and "the dignity of Israel" was thus preserved.
The Tablet, Mar.29

Judaism's way to salvation
Christian-Jewish relations have grown warmer over the years. But should Christians proclaim the Gospel to the Jews? A senior cardinal explains that Christ's mandate to evangelise all heathen nations did not refer to the Jews, for whom a second kind of proclamation is in order.
Christian-Jewish relations, particularly relations between the Catholic Church and Judaism, have improved greatly over the last 40 years.
Christoph Schönborn tries - very simply - to consult the New Testament in an attempt to give an answer to the theory of the "Two Ways to Salvation". He tries to show that according to the New Testament and from the Christian point of view there is only one salvation in Jesus Christ, but two clearly distinguishable ways of proclaiming and accepting this salvation. In this respect it must be made clear that the overture/offer to the Jews to recognise Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah cannot simply be equated with Christ's mandate to evangelise all (heathen) nations and make them his disciples (cf. Matthew 28: 18-20). Jews and Christians alike need to be redeemed from sin by Jesus Christ. St Paul affirms this more skilfully when he says: "There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek" (Romans 2:9).
The Tablet, Mar.29
A response from Eugene Fisher appears in the next issue of The Tablet, but this is not available as a free article on the web.  If you have access to a print copy of The Tablet of Apr. 5, turn to page 12.

Building Bridges with Islam

Muslim letter: enhance what's in common, acknowledge differences, says WCC
Love for one's neighbour is "an essential and integral part of faith in God and love of God" for both Islam and Christianity. How Christians and Muslims can engage in reflections of this love together is the central theme of a commentary issued by the World Council of Churches (WCC) on Thursday, 20 March. Compiled by Christian experts in Christian-Muslim relations, it addresses the churches and offers suggestions on responding to the widely noticed letter "A Common Word" by 138 Muslim leaders in October 2007. The commentary entitled "Learning to explore love together" is part of on-going consultations in which the WCC has engaged its member churches and ecumenical partners since November 2007. It invites them "to explore together with Muslim fellows the love of God and the love of neighbour in their respective contexts".
Download the document "Learning to explore love together" (pdf, 46 KB):

Danish churches to dialogue with Muslims
Several member churches of the Danish National Council of Churches (DNCC) recently sent a response to "A Common Word". The 16 member churches who were signatories to the response said the Muslim letter "represents an important step in the essential dialogue between adherents of the world's two largest religions." The Danish churches promised to "take the initiative to meet with Muslim religious leaders in Denmark to continue this exchange." The churches also sent their response to two Danish organizations representing nearly two-thirds of Danish Muslims. In their response the churches said, "...we intend to send a copy of our answer to the Vatican and to the World Council of Churches, as we hope to be part of the ongoing process of discussion and cooperation that is expected to be established between the 138 letter writers, their religious communities and organizations, and the member churches of the World Council of Churches as well as the Catholic Church."
WCC News, Apr.10

Sudan: Churches at a crossroad, says WCC chief at end of visit
On the one hand, they face a transition from liberation fight to rebuilding their homes and communities. On the other, they live in a country where Islam and Christianity cross paths and the relationship between the two is vital. From a historical point of view, Sudan, the biggest country in the continent, is a place where Islam meets Christianity. In the post civil war context, the need for deepened inter-religious dialogue was emphasized early in the ecumenical visit when Kobia and other international ecumenical representatives met with the Sudan Interreligious Council in Khartoum.
Speaking of 'A Common Word', Kobia said an "extraordinary opportunity to renew the Muslim-Christian dialogue" exists.
WCC News, Apr.4

Faith, Power and Territory: Patrick Sookhdeo's new book
No-go areas for non-Muslims in the UK, an increasing separation between Muslim communities and the rest of British society, a growing dominance of Islam - developments such as these raise the question: what of the future? Especially in the context of a declining Church and a nation losing its Judaeo-Christian foundations, Islam poses a challenge unlike any other seen for many centuries. Islam believes itself to be a faith and also recognises that it is a political and territorial power. How is this going to be expressed in the UK? Will there be assimilation or separation?
Dr Sookhdeo's book has been written to provide an easy-to-use resource to help non-Muslims understand Islam in Britain today and the way in which it is seeking to transform the country. Introductory chapters look at what Muslims in the UK believe and d, what they have in common as well as the wide range of variation and differences among them. There is an emphasis on tracing current movements and trends, in particular the more radical movements which are those likely to have the greatest impact on non-Muslim Britons. Later chapters review influential Muslim figures who have shaped or are shaping Islam in the UK, and give concise information on a wide range of Muslim organisations active in the UK, showing the inter-linkages between them. A final chapter looks at a range of very specific issues and challenges relating to the subject of Islam in Britain. Dr Sookhdeo`s book asks penetrating questions about the way in which the Muslim communities in the UK may develop in the future and how British authorities and institutions appear to be yielding to the process of Islamisation.
Hardback £8.99 (RRP £12.99) (+£2.50 postage and packing)
Paperback £7.99 (RRP £10.99) (+£2.50 postage and packing)
To order click here or call 024 7623 1923.

Building Bridges with Buddhism

Was there religious tolerance in pre-Chinese Tibet?
Buddhist Keith Motherson writes:
Every day I get two or three e-mails urging me to do something about the current unrest and repression in Tibet. Perhaps signing some of these petitions is helpful, but perhaps not. Feeling powerless is not a nice feeling for any of us, but sometimes the truth is that there is almost nothing we can do to influence events the other side of the world. Least of all if we are seen to be intervening in a hypocritical way, as part of a Western propaganda offensive. No matter our 'opposition' to the misdeeds of our own governments, 'Why don't we take the beam out of 'our' own eye first?', many in Tehran or Moscow or Beijing might be tempted to ask us - for our 'opposition' stance - however important to the construction of our own right-on identities, seems to them barely observable.
The following thoughts are shared at a time when Western Buddhists and other would-be consistent supporters of peace and human rights find ourselves joined by many mainstream Western media in 'championing the cause of the Tibetan people': Hmmm. OpedNews, Mar.25

Building Bridges Together

Christian, Jewish and Muslim coffee co-operative blends fairtrade with peacemaking
The Tufts Institute for Global Leadership has given a prestigious award to a co-op of Muslim, Christian and Jewish farmers in Africa to the Thanksgiving Coffee Co. of Fort Bragg, California,  and Peace Kawomera Fair Trade Coffee Cooperative in Mbale, Uganda.
In a written statement, Institute Director Sherman Teichman praised the winners for their "wonderful innovative and powerful efforts on behalf of alleviating poverty, creating accountable and sustainable trade practices, encouraging peace and promoting interfaith harmony."
"By buying and marketing the Fair Trade and Certified Organic coffee produced by the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian owned Peace Kawomera Cooperative, we are creating the economic foundation on which peace and prosperity can be built by 705 small-scale farmers, and the 10,000 members of their families," said Ben Corey-Moran, project co-director for Thanksgiving.
You can learn more this and other projects supported by Thanksgiving here.
Ekklesia, Mar.19

A prayer for a greener Scotland
Representatives of Scotland's three main faiths have come together in an unprecedented plea to government ministers to raise the game on climate change.Protestant, Catholic and Islamic leaders are urging the Scottish National Party not to abandon its manifesto commitment to reduce climate pollution by 3% a year.
Sunday Herald, Mar.29

Saudi Arabia extends hand of friendship to Pope
The Vatican is believed to be holding talks with Saudi authorities over opening the first Roman Catholic church in the Islamic kingdom, where Christian worship is banned and even to possess a Bible, rosary or crucifix is an offence.
The Times, Mar.17

With caution, church in Qatar opens
The 2,700-seat church was built on land donated by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and five other buildings are under construction nearby for other Christian denominations in this oil-rich state where over 70 percent of the population are expatriate workers.
Qatar follows the rigorous Wahabi teachings of Sunni Islam, and like neighbouring Saudi Arabia had not previously authorized Christians to practice their faith openly.
The opening of the church appears to be another sign of Qatar's efforts to open up to the West as it seeks a bid for the summer Olympic Games in 2016.
Philippines Daily Inquirer, Mar.17

Lebanese Christians and Muslims unite in political call
Lebanese Christian and Muslim voices have spoken out in unison as the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad coincided with Easter. With the presidency vacant since November, religious leaders used celebrations to urge politicians to action. Maronite Cardinal Sfeir said: "We need only look around us to see that some countries have made their deserts into habitable towns, while we have almost turned our gardens into deserts."
Religious Intelligence, Mar.31

Cardinal hails Armenia and Azerbaijan religious record
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been hailed as models of ecumenical and inter-faith relations.  The accolade came from Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican's Secretary of State. The Cardinal has just returned from a visit to the two countries. He said that Armenia was characterized by the "coexistence of the ancient Armenian Apostolic community and the Catholic community of Armenians," and a "very developed" ecumenical dialogue.
The Cardinal also hailed the peaceful co-existence in Azerbaijan between the majority Muslim population and the Catholic and Orthodox communities. "The esteem that this great Muslim authority shows for the Catholic Church, for the Pope, is very high and has not wavered. He added that the country was a model of co-existence because "for example, the president, with the agreement of the Muslim sheik, offered the land for the reconstruction of the church of the Catholic community that had been destroyed under the Communist regime.
"It is a sign that gives proof of a respect for other religions, both on the part of the political authorities and on the Muslim religious authorities" in a country where "certainly the traits of a modern, lay society can be seen, but that nevertheless recognizes the public value of religions for the development and peaceful coexistence in a political community," he added.
"It seems to me, then, that below this profile is an imitable model, I would say, an exportable one, naturally with peaceful means, because if not, we would go against the principle of liberty."
Religious Intelligence, Mar.19

Scotland's Chronicle is a monthly newspaper distributed by Dr Sajid Hussein, and contains a number of interesting articles from a predominantly Scottish Muslim perspective.  You can download the latest issue here. (pdf, 1.73Mb)

Obstructions to Bridge Building

Bishop receives death threats after backing Islamic call to prayer
The Bishop of Oxford has said he has been sent death threats after backing plans for a Muslim call to prayer in the city. In January the Rt Rev John Pritchard backed the Muslim loudspeaker call, Adhan, which would take place every Friday in Oxford.  But he said the "dark underbelly of British society" made a number of threats against his life. He told a meeting organized by the Anglo-Asian Association in East Oxford on March 8, "I received extraordinary mail. One called for me to be beheaded and another said: 'I wish I lived closer so I could spit on you.' "
Ekklesia, Mar. 13
Religious Intelligence, Mar.26

Christianophobia comes to London's East End : March 2008
A clergyman in East London has been kicked in the head by Asian youths, one of whom screamed the words "f------- priest" at him. Police are treating the attack on Canon Michael Ainsworth, vicar of Hawksmoor's magnificent St George-in-the-East, Wapping, as a "faith hate" crime. But was it?
Daily Telegraph, Mar.16

Church leader calls for building of mosques to be banned because of risk 'Britain will become an 'Islamic state'
A senior Church of England member called yesterday for the building of mosques to be banned. Alison Ruoff said more construction would lead to Islamic no go areas dominated by exclusively Muslim populations living under sharia law. Mrs Ruoff, a member of the General Synod, the Church's parliament, added: "If we don't watch out we will become an Islamic state. It's that serious."
Daily Mail, Apr.2
A prominent evangelical member of the Church of England's General Synod has called for a ban on the building of any more mosques in Britain. Alison Ruoff also claimed that Sharia was inevitable in this country if mosques continued to be built here.
The Times, Apr.2
Correspondence on this topic may also be read from Daily Telegraph, Apr.7,

Scholar denounces Muslim baptism
A Muslim scholar involved in high-level dialogue with the Vatican has denounced the Pope's baptism on Saturday of a prominent Italian Muslim convert. Aref Ali Nayed, the head of Jordan's Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, called the baptism of journalist Magdi Allam a deliberate and provocative act. The Vatican has not yet commented, but its official newspaper said the gesture aimed to promote religious freedom.
BBC News, Mar.26
ZENIT, Mar. 23
The Times, Mar.24
Vatican aide clarifies baptism of former Muslim,  suggesting that Benedict XVI's willingness to baptize a high-profile convert from Islam may have aimed to affirm the freedom of religious choice, deriving from the dignity of the person.
ZENIT, Mar.30

Fury over plan to teach Koran in schools
The National Union of Teachers wants state schools to be forced to open their doors to Islamic preachers teaching the Koran. They also said existing religious schools - almost all of them Christian - should have to admit pupils from other faiths. General secretary, Steve Sinnott, said that allowing Muslim imams to preach in schools would be a way to reunite divided communities. But the proposals prompted immediate outrage. Conservative Party MP, Mark Pritchard, said: "This is just further appeasement for Muslim militants."
Daily Express, Mar.25
Under the plan, Christian schools and community comprehensives must allow the local imam or rabbi in to give religious instruction if they had Muslim or Jewish pupils. In the handful of Muslim state schools, the local Roman Catholic priest would be allowed in if they had any Catholic pupils.
The Independent, Mar, 25

BBC is too scared of Islam, says Ben Elton
Ben Elton has accused the BBC of unjust political correctness by allowing jokes about vicars but vetoing gags about imams. Elton, whose children attend a church school, said that the BBC was too "scared" of Islam and of jokes about Islam to let them pass.
The Times, Apr. 2

German court upholds ban on veils in class
A German state court has upheld laws forbidding Muslim teachers from wearing headscarves in schools. The Baden-Württemberg administrative court of appeal held that wearing a headscarf for religious reasons in the classroom contravened laws forbidding proselytism in state schools. However, while Muslims may not wear headscarves, Roman Catholic nuns would be permitted to wear a wimple while teaching in state schools. The court of appeal overturned a 2006 ruling by a lower court that said the headscarf ban was discriminatory, when it was not applied to Catholic nuns. Eight of Germany's 16 states have banned the wearing of headscarves by teachers in state schools, following the 2004 French decision to forbid it in schools.
Last month French President Nicolas Sarkozy restated his country's opposition to the veil, saying immigrants must "respect the culture, values, and laws" of France. There was no place for polygamy, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, "for veils in school, nor for hatred in France. Because behind this is the law of the tribe. And, to live in France, you must respect France.", he said.
Religious Intelligence, Mar.20

Violence in Indian state is partly fuelled by religious intolerance
Recent religious conflict in the Indian state of Orissa has been aided by the aggressive evangelising of missionaries from outside the region, says an official with the largest traditional Protestant denomination in northern India - writes Kristine Greenaway from New Delhi.
The roots of the tension lie in concerns about the conversion of Hindus to Christianity and in a long-simmering dispute about the rights and benefits granted to Christian converts under India's caste system, the Rev Enos das Pradhan, general secretary of the Church of North India, said in a recent interview with Ecumenical News International. An upsurge in evangelisation by missionaries from overseas and from southern India has further inflamed tensions in the area, said Pradhan.
Ekklesia, Mar.11

Christian complain about police raid in Uzbekistan
Seven days after charismatic Christian Bobur Aslamov was detained during a raid on a religious meeting in Samarkand, his whereabouts remain unknown.  Church members fear he could face criminal charges. Police beat some church members during the raid.
Amid renewed media attacks on religious communities, Baptists objected to regional television coverage of a police raid in March.
Begzot Kadyrov of the government's Religious Affairs Committee refused to discuss this and other recent harassment of religious communities. "Don't disturb us with stupid questions about religious liberties," he told Forum 18.
Religious Intelligence, Apr.11

Muslim sentences 'are a show trial' say supporters
A GROUP of Muslims who have been jailed in Kazakhstan has been branded a ‘show trial’ by their supporters to discredit Islam.
Fourteen of fifteen Muslims arrested in April 2007 were given prison sentences of between 14 and 19-and-a-half years at a closed trial , Forum 18 News Service is reporting. The fifteenth received a three-year corrective labour sentence.
"This has been done to discredit Islam and believers," one relative told Forum 18.
Human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis said he believes this was a show trial to scare other Muslims who may try to be independent in their theology and practice from the state-backed version of Islam.
Religious Intelligence, Apr. 8

Pastor tells of religious persecution in Laos
A Christian pastor in Laos has recounted his arrest, imprisonment without trial, how he was beaten almost to death – and told to sign a document renouncing his religion. He refused, preferring to remain in jail rather than give up his faith.
A new video report on Laos has just been posted on the Release International website. In it Pastor Khamxay describes how he was arrested for bringing foreign religions to Laos, a largely Buddhist country. He told Release: "They asked me to sign a piece of paper that said that I would not be a Christian because Christians are not good and not right for the Lao people. I didn't sign it because of my faith."
Religious Intelligence, Apr.7

Iranian convert loses asylum appeal in New Zealand
The asylum appeal of an Iranian convert to Christianity has been rejected by the New Zealand government.
Ali Reza Panah has been held in administrative custody for 20 months for refusing to sign papers that could lead to his expulsion and had staged a 52 day hunger strike before being paroled into the custody of the Anglican Church of New Zealand. He has won the backing of Archbishop David Moxon who pleaded for the government to exercise clemency on his behalf.
Returning Panah to Iran "would be unsafe for him", Archbishop Moxon  said last autumn and he was "gravely concerned" for his safety should he be sent home.
The government argued Panah was in no danger of harm if he were deported home to Iran. On Sept stating that "there’s been no reported case of a deportee being killed or severely persecuted on return to Iran."
However, legislation brought by the government of President Mahmoud Amadinejad before the Iranian Majlis in February seeks to impose the death penalty for apostates from Islam.
Religious Intelligence, Apr.2

Are Muslim enclaves no-go areas, forcing other people out, asks historian John Cornwell
Where are the Muslim enclaves in our towns and cities? Are they really no-go areas and are they forcing others out? John Cornwell, one of Britain's leading historians and commentators on religion, navigates the multicultural minefields that are polarising the nation. Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar (Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest). Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah (I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah).
The call to prayer resounds across the rooftops before dawn, bringing echoes of the Levant to provincial Luton and its 30,000 Muslims. But for infidel locals, the holy wake-up is a curse. "I'd like to pull the plug on that caterwauling," a second-generation Luton Irish woman tells me. "I go to work, and I've got two small kids. It's just not fair on non-Muslim families around here."
While nearly three out of four people in Britain claim some form of Christian affiliation, Christianity makes ever less demands on the public space. Even nativity plays are surrendering to the sensitivities of secularists and other faiths. But the impact of Britain's estimated 1.6m Muslims is increasingly assertive. Asian Muslims account for about 1 in 50 of British citizens, yet they dominate entire districts in the vicinities of their more than 1,350 mosques: 10 of them in Luton alone. Are Muslim enclaves making a contribution to a flourishing multicultural mosaic? Or are they undermining the cohesion of Britain's civil society?
When Archbishop Rowan Williams delivered his ratiocinations on adoption of sharia, it sent shockwaves through the nation. His initiative was emphatically rebuffed. Earlier, Michael Nazir-Ali, the Pakistani-born Anglican Bishop of Rochester, caused a rumpus by calling for an end to "'no-go' areas" for non-Muslims in Britain, suggesting Islam must integrate with us. He was applauded and disparaged in equal measure by faith leaders and community activists. Muslim extremists issued death threats. But where are the alleged "no-go" areas?
And how do they constitute a danger to the fabric of British society?
Sunday Times, Mar.16

Other News

I have been asked to draw this website to your attention
Global Meditations - Creating a Compassionate World Culture
Links to Share Current, Phone In and Ongoing Meditations
plus A "New" Way to Pray
and the Office of Prayer Research

Peace By Peace
'Peace by Peace is a new magazine produced by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The current edition includes: an article examining the triumph of the Just War theory; reviews of new peace resources; challenging the call for increased military spending and much more.... Download this here (pdf, 606Kb)

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The next issue of The Bridge will be published on May 13, 2008. 
Items for inclusion should reach me by May 12.

Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of CAIRS unless otherwise specifically stated.  Most news items are links to other news sources, for which CAIRS accepts no liability for accuracy.

We take reasonable precautions to check for viruses but you are strongly recommended to carry out your own checks as CAIRS will not take responsibility for any damage caused as a result of virus infection.

Andrew Sarle
CAIRS Inter Faith Education Officer

andrew@cairs.org.uk
01259 222 364
0772 456 8259
www.cairs.org.uk

ACTS Inglewood Alloa FK10 2HU

CAIRS is an agency associated with Action of Churches Together in Scotland, registered charity number SC000295