By NADIA ABOU El-MAGD
Publication Date: 03/21/06
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Islamic televangelist Amr Khaled is young, smiling, teaches love and mercy, and is so popular he’s credited with inspiring thousands of women to take the veil.
Now he’s putting his popularity on the line by trying a new role, as a bridge between Islam and the West at a time when many are talking about a clash of civilizations.
In the process, Khaled is telling the faithful something they’re not used to hearing from clerics — that Muslims aren’t blameless in the tensions, that the West is not always bad and that dialogue is better than confrontation.
“A young Muslim goes to Europe with a forged visa, takes unemployment insurance there, then goes on TV and says, ‘We’re going to expel you from Britain, take your land, money and women,’” Khaled said recently on his weekly program on the Saudi satellite TV channel Iqraa, trying to explain the mistrust of Muslims in Europe. “It’s a rare example, but it exists.”
The 38-year-old Egyptian raised a storm of controversy when he attended a March 9 conference of European and Muslim leaders in Denmark, which has been the focus of anger across the Islamic world over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad first published in a Danish paper.
Some in the Arab world saw his attendance as a surrender and branded him a traitor and an opportunist.
This week, Khaled is headed to a gathering of Islamic clerics in Bahrain that begins Wednesday, aimed at considering the next step in the response to the prophet cartoons.
Many Muslims saw the caricatures — one of which depicted Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb — as an intentional insult and reacted with a wave of protests. In the West, the outrage was seen as an attack on freedom of speech and only deepened anti-Muslim sentiment.
For Khaled, the controversy underlined the need for a new approach by Muslims, one of reform and dialogue with the rest of the world.
“For the past three years, with youth across the Islamic world, we’ve been working for a faith-based renaissance in this region, which will not take place by clashes but by coexistence,” he said.
Khaled is not the only Muslim religious leader promoting dialogue. But he has become one of the most outspoken. And he brings the fan base of a pop star: young people, women and members of the middle and well-to-do classes.
He built his popularity over more than 10 years of preaching in a style far from traditional clerics in their beards and robes, whose sermons often emphasize the demands of Islam and the threat of damnation and hellfire.
By contrast, Khaled is known for his stylish suits and broad smile. In his sermons, he avoids politics and stresses God’s mercy, seeking to show how one can be a good Muslim while still enjoying the activities of modern life.
That message instantly appealed to the young — particularly the well-off, looking for a version of Islam that suited their lifestyles. Educated as an accountant, Khaled began preaching as a hobby in social clubs, but then vaulted to television. Thousands packed mosques where he preached.
The Egyptian government, apparently nervous over his popularity, pushed Khaled out in 2002, banning him from giving sermons at Egyptian mosques.
He moved to London with his wife and son to pursue a doctorate in Islamic studies. His thesis: “Islam and coexisting with the other.”
The time in London “has resulted in a mixture of maturity and seeing the other better and readiness to coexist,” he said. “It also made clear the common values as well as the differences that can’t be overcome.”
MIDLAND, Texas, March 21 /Christian Newswire/ — China Aid Association learned one House Church pastor was detained on March 20, 2006 at Hubei Province. Pastor Lian Changnian is now detained at the Detention Center of Xiantao City, Hubei Province. Pastor Lian who is from Xi’an City, Shannxi Province was leading a Bible study of over 100 believers at a House Church at Xiantao City when the raid occurred.
CAA also learned 15 House Church Leaders are still detained, including a 15-year-old female evangelist, following a brutal police raid on a house church leaders’ meeting in Henan Province. Two prominent human rights lawyers in Beijing agree to represent the persecuted church leaders. Sources say the pastors were accused of being “illegal evil cult members” by the authority, however, these pastors are believed to be part of the Henan Fangcheng Mother Church group which is known worldwide as an evangelical House Church group in China.
According to several eyewitness reports, on March 13, about 100 Public Security Officials raided a house church leadership meeting at Wen County, Henan Province. All of the leaders were then taken into custody after the police searched them and confiscated any cash on them. Thirty six were released within 24 hours, three were released on March 18 and six were released on March 20, but fifteen are still detained in various detention centers in different counties. Among the fifteen, the whereabouts of six are still unknown.
According to a CAA investigator who interviewed several of the pastors who were released, the police treated them very brutally. All were beaten with electric shock batons at the police station. One of the leaders, 51-year-old Pastor Li Gongshe, still remains in Room 210, Mengzhou City Chinese Medical Hospital for treatment of a broken rib due to a beating by the police. According to pastor Li, after he showed the police his handicap certificate a policeman, Officer Wang, kept beating him in front of the police chief and the political director. One Christian lady, 21-year-old Ms. Shan Ailing, has left home out of humiliation because she was forced by the police to strip during the interrogation at Wenquan Police Station, Chengguan Town, Wen County, Henan Province.
Among the six missing leaders, CAA learned that 72- year-old Ms. Ma Wenqing (known as Xiaotao) was seen handcuffed and taken away because she hosted the meeting at her house. Her house was searched again by the security officials on March 20, 2006. Her home address is Zhangsi Village, Xiangyun Town, Wen County, Henan Province. The other two are children’s minister, Ms. Zhang Jinzhi (44-years- old) from Dayunlan Village, Xiangyun Town, Wen County, Henan Province; and Pastor Zhang Liang (24- years-old) from Bian Ge Zhuang Village, Bian Ge Zhuang Town, Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province. The other three missing pastors are from Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province. They are Ms. Zhang Suihong (35- years-old) from Hequan Village, Biantang Town, Jiawang District and Ms. Xian Guirong (38-years-old) from Pingtan Village, Xinglou Town, Pizhou City and Ms. Wei Rongzhen (43-years-old) from Qianshanmiao Village, Gengji Town. Church leaders fear the reason these are still missing maybe because they were beaten so severely that the police are trying to prevent family visits. Meanwhile, two prominent human rights attorneys, Mr. Zhang Xingshui and Dr. Fan Yafeng, have agreed to be the legal representatives in this case. Mr. Zhang Xingshui is the director of Beijing Jingding Law Firm and Dr. Fan Yafeng is a well-known constitutional law scholar at China Academy of Social Sciences. CAA learned that Attorney Zhang is on his way to Henan to meet with church leaders and government officials.
Besides the six missing pastors mentioned above, the following is a list of names and home addresses of the others still in custody:
Three detained at Mengzhou City Detention Center, Henan:
Mr. Li De’an of Zhong Village, Chengbo Town, Mengzhou City; Mr. Xu Xuemin of Xiakou Village, Nanzhuang Town Mengzhou City; Ms. Wang Xiaoai of Gou Village, Gao Town, Mengzhou City
Five detained at Nanle County Detention Center, Henan:
Pastor Li Huimin (50-years-old) of Wuhuaying Village, Xishao Town, Nanle County; Ms. Li Huimin (23-years-old) of Wuhuaying Village, Xishao Town, Nanle County; Ms. Zheng Liting (24-years-old) of Wulou village, Hanzhang Town, Nanle County; Ms. Yue Jianghui (19-years-old) of Yuecunji Village, Sizhuang Town, Nanle County; and Ms Li Hongmin (15-years-old) of Lipuo Village, Xishao Town, Nanle County;
Pastor Fan Zhongyu (60-years-old) of Fanshi Village, Yangshao Town, Qingfeng County is detained at Qingfeng County Detention Center, Henan Province.
(Read the whole story at www.ChinaAid.org)
“This new raid is certainly a contradiction to the Chinese government’s commitment to religious freedom,” said Rev. Bob Fu of CAA, “We urge President Bush to press the Chinese President Hu Jintao on the religious persecution issue when he pays his planned state visit to the White House next month.” CAA urges the Chinese government to immediately release these pastors.
Communicate your concern to the Chinese authority at the following address:
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong,
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20008
http://www.china- embassy.org/
TEL: 202-7456743
Fax: 202- 588-0032 ; 202-7457473
Director of Religious Affairs: (202) 328-2512
Premier Wen Jiabao, PRC
PO Box 1741, The State Council, Beijing, PRC (zip code 100017)
Contact Phone：+86-10-66012399
Email： gazette@mail.gov.cn
Ms. Wu Aiying, minister of Ministry of Justice of PRC
Tel: +86-10-65205114
Fax: +86-10-64729863
Email: pufamaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
Address：No. 10, Nan Da Jie, Chaoyangmen, Beijing City (Zip Code: 100020)
Issued by CAA on March 21, 2006
PRESS RELEASE U.S. Copts Association
Washington, D.C. (3/20/06)—U.S. Copts Association calls on the Egyptian government to halt an official city edict which would demolish a Coptic Orthodox monastery’s recently built guesthouse. The decree, issued Monday, March 20, 2006, allows the monks of Dare Saleeb monastery in the Egyptian city of Millawi only five days to file an appeal before bulldozers demolish the structure.
Dare Saleeb (Monastery of the Cross) is located in the al Hoor region of the city of Millawi. A structure of noted historical value, the Coptic Orthodox monastery houses not only one of Egypt’s largest cross altar paintings but the bodies of deceased luminaries such as Saint Abu Fana and scientist and writer Father Mensi Yohanna. Monks have responded to the needs of religious pilgrims, tourists, and other visitors seeking spiritual insight by constructing a guesthouse on the monastery’s property.
According to monks within the monastery, General Sayyid ‘Othman Ismaeel—president of the city maglis or governing council—on Monday issued a notice of demolition to Bishop Dimetrios. The notice allowed the monastic community only five days to appeal against the demolition of the guesthouse, which city officials allege was constructed without proper permits.
Members of the local Coptic community have reacted to the edict by organizing a massive sit-in protest. As of Monday, March 20, Coptic youth began positioning themselves inside the guesthouse in anticipation of the demolition scheduled for five days hence. A monk has reported one youth leader as stating, “We prefer to be run over by bulldozers than relinquish the monastery to the attackers.”
Dare Saleeb has also been the target of several other recent attacks from hostile community members, including desert-dwelling Arabs who have stormed the monastery in their attempt to claim as their own the property where the guesthouse now stands. Attacks have become so frequent that the monastery unsuccessfully petitioned the city for permission to construct a protective fence.
“This latest assault against a Coptic monastery is yet another symptom of the discriminatory Egyptian laws limiting Coptic church and religious and community center construction,” said Michael Meunier, president of the U.S. Copts Association. “Non-Coptic buildings are not subject to the same biased and unjust construction laws, nor would non-Coptic communities be issued an outrageously short five-day notice of demolition.” He added, “We call on the Egyptian government to halt the demolition of the Dare Saleeb guesthouse and to investigate thoroughly the Millawi city council leadership.”
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The U.S. Copts Association, founded in 1996 and based in Washington D.C., advocates for democracy, religious freedom, and human rights in Egypt. The Association represents over 700,000 Egyptian Christians in the United States. The Association can be reached at www.copts.com and copts@copts.com
“Million Voices for Darfur” Campaign Has Generated 100,000 Postcards since Launch on International Genocide Prevention Day
WASHINGTON, March 21 /Christian Newswire/ — The Save Darfur Coalition, an alliance of more than 150 faith-based, humanitarian and human rights groups representing 130 million Americans, announced today it is launching a “Week of Prayer and Action for Darfur” from April 2-9 and inviting communities of all faiths to participate. The goal is to promote its “Million Voices for Darfur” campaign to generate 1 million postcards to President Bush urging him to use the power of his office to fulfill his February 17 pledge to support a stronger multi-national force to protect the Darfuri people ( www.MillionVoicesForDarfur.org). Ending the killing in the Sudan is a U.S. responsibility, according to a majority of likely voters in the latest Zogby America poll of 1,007 likely voters nationwide (see poll results at: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm? ID=1083).
The Save Darfur Coalition also announced that it has generated an impressive 100,000 electronic and hand- written postcards since launching the Million Voices for Darfur campaign on January 12, the 55th anniversary of the International Genocide Prevention Day.
“We can either speak out and become agents of justice, or remain silent and be rendered irrelevant,” said Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, M.D., the chairwoman of the Million Voices for Darfur campaign, who has made seven trips into war-torn southern Sudan where she has been involved in obtaining the freedom of 10,000 women and children who were enslaved during the two decades long civil war. “I hope faith-based leaders across the country will lead their congregations to declare in word and deed, ‘Not on our watch!’”
The Million Voices for Darfur campaign has created suggestions for incorporating the issue of Darfur into a sermon, homily, D’var Torah or Jummuah Khutbah, sample prayers for Darfur, and bulletin inserts for the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and interfaith traditions. All of these materials are available at www.SaveDarfur.org/faith.
“Today, millions of people are suffering from a preventable humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan,” said Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. “Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, but countless more can be saved.”
“While we and other organizations horrified by the human rights violations have been urging specific actions since the crisis began, the key decision makers now need to see that there exists overwhelming public pressure to force them to act,” said Imam Rauf, founder and CEO of the American Society for Muslim Advancement. “The Million Voices for Darfur campaign has been designed to help millions of Americans make their voices heard.”
“Currently, the only security on the ground is an undermanned African Union force that cannot protect civilians or aid workers,” said Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches. “To stop the bloodshed, the African Union will need a stronger civilian protection mandate, a major increase in the number of troops on the ground, and much larger logistical and monetary contributions from the UN, European Union, and NATO. Only the United States has the power to lead that effort.”
“We commend President Bush for asking Congress last month for $514 million in emergency supplemental funding for humanitarian and peacekeeping in Sudan,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs. “Now, we would like the Bush administration to do something more; we urge them to press the United Nations to approve a Chapter 7 mandate allowing the African Union to use force to protect both civilians and themselves and Congress needs to pass The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, so the perpetrators of this genocidal activity are held responsible for their crimes against humanity.”
“The decision of whether or not to stop the genocide in Darfur may be one of the defining moral questions of our time,” said Father Michael Perry, coordinator of the Africa region for Franciscans International. “When the cost of failure is thousand lives lost for every month the conflict continues, responsible nations of the world have a clear ethical and religious obligation to act.”
Anyone can send an electronic version of this postcard in just a few seconds by visiting www.MillionVoicesForDarfur.org. The postcards will be delivered to Washington, DC during the “SAVE DARFUR: Rally to Stop Genocide” ( www.SaveDarfur.org/rally) on April 30.
Rally speakers include Olympic speed skating Gold and Silver Medalist Joey Cheek, who donated his $40,000 U.S. Olympic Committee bonus to benefit the children in Darfur and Brian Steidle, a former Marine captain and U.S. representative to the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Darfur from September 2004 to February 2005.
The rally will conclude a 21,000 mile, 22-city photo exhibit and speaking “Tour for Darfur: Eyewitness to Genocide” hosted by Capt. Steidle to urge the Bush administration to take all the necessary steps to end the genocide and build a lasting peace in Darfur, and on Congress to provide the resources necessary to do so ( www.SaveDarfur.org/SteidleTour).
Christian Newswire
Recommended Reading for The Week
March 21, 2006
Here are some articles I was reading today and yesterday. Glance over them because they have many good points, or are interesting reads.
Unwelcome Here by Sally Bishay, this one is about the Coptic persecution and a new form of it.
The Free Copts, good source of news of Christian persecution
Copts United, which has an excellent Arabic site, and many good videos and updates.
