Category: Religion

The Mufti of Rwanda, Sheikh Ibrahim Kayitare, has called on the faithful to stick to rightful Muslim values to avoid being lured into terrorist acts in the name of ‘jihad’.

Mufti Kayitare was speaking to hundreds of Muslims who gathered at Kigali Muslim Cultural Centre in Nyamirambo, yesterday, for Eid al-Adha prayers.

“Conflicts in the Middle East relating to terrorism acts are the result of some people moving away from the Godly doctrines; Allah asks us to be united as stated in Quran. When unity is lost, as we see it in some parts of the world, we get to know for sure that some Godly principles have not been respected as they should,” he said.

“We call upon Muslims to stay calm, live in harmony and condemn anything that can bring about conflicts.”

Eid al-Adha, also known as the ‘Feast of Sacrifice’, is the second of two annual religious holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide after Eid al-Fitr.
It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of submission to Allah’s command, before Allah then intervened, through Angel Jibra’il and informed him that his sacrifice had already been accepted.

The meat from the sacrificed animal is preferred to be divided into three parts. The family retains one-third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbours; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.

“This day requires us to be humble and faithful before God, and relates to the history of our Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail and his wife. This is a day when Muslims should share and celebrate together,” Mufti Kayitare said.

“Muslims should reflect on the family relationship between husband, wife and children considering which kind of discussions they can engage in to bring about spiritual and physical development.”
He also urged the youth to shun Islamic State (IS) ideology and stick to true principles of Islam that call for peace and unity among all people.

“Our nation is not an island, we call upon Rwandan Muslims, young and old, to stand up against terrorism and evil in general, to stay true to Godly principles and shun those wrongful beliefs, which have destroyed some countries in the Arab world,” said Kayitare.

The Islamic State is a radical Sunni Islamist militant group that has seized large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq.

Luqman Tuyishimire, 16, said fellow youth should seek Quran-based guidance in whatever they do in the name of the Muslim faith.

In so doing, they will be part of national development rather than being destructive like some Muslim youth who have been lured into terrorism acts, he opined.

Mbarushima’s comments were echoed by Khalid Mwiteteri, 19.“We hurt when we hear of innocent youth being deceived to subscribe to wrongful jihadist beliefs. The Jihad that we know from Quran, is showing people the right way but not killing them. My fellow Muslim youth should seek Allah’s knowledge and guidance and be mindful of such wrong Muslim ideologies,” said Mwiteteri.

Halima Kampire, 38, said Eid al-Adha should be a day of repentance and asking Allah to reveal the true Godly principles.

“Jihad is not about killing and doing all the wrong things, Jihad, is about doing the rightful things in society, to everyone whether a Muslim or not. The youth should know that radical Jihadism is not what Quran teaches us, God should forgive us,” Kampire said.Kayitare also dedicated a prayer to the nation; praying for peace and security.

“We pray to Allah to protect our nation, and safeguard the development we have attained thus far. We pray that He will continue to look after our peace and security and all the initiatives that are aimed at bringing prosperity to Rwandans. We will continue to pray for our leaders so that they are able to fulfill their duties,” Kayitare interceded.

The NewTimes

{ {{• 500 delegates to attend, including top scholars from around the world
• The event to discuss true image of Islam and building global peace }}
}

Dakar, 28 July, 2015 – { Under the double patronage of his Majesty Mohamed VI, King of Morocco and Senegalese President Macky Sall, of Senegal, the two day international Conference on Islam and peace is to open on July 28 in the Senegalese capital.}

About 500 delegates are expected to take part in this interfaith and multicultural dialogue.

The conference aims at promoting exchanges around the issue of peace in the world. It will look at enhancing the contributions of women and youth into a sustainable global peace. It also aims at identifying and defining the roles and responsibilities of communities in promoting a culture of peace and sharing good practices for community life.

The event is organized by the Medina Baye Peace Initiative, through the Senegalese branch of the Jamhiyatu Ansaarud -Din association (JAD), with the active support of the Senegalese government. His Excellency Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal and his Royal Highness, the King of Morocco are the official sponsors of the event. Mr Macky Sall will attend and chair the opening ceremony.

The participants invited in Dakar include scholars from different religions, academics and researchers, religious and spiritual leaders, policy makers and civil society activists, representatives of international organizations, peace activists from around the world, as well as technical and financial partners.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to restore the image of Islam which is totally different from the one portrayed by some of its so-called followers, or the one described by its fiercest critics “, said Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Khouraichi Niass, Chairman of the the Senegalese branch of the Jamhiyatu Ansaarud-Din. “Through reflection and dialogue between communities, we will demonstrate how Islam can contribute to the achievement of a sustainable global peace”, he added.

Various topics will be discussed during the conference, including solidarity and the role of Islam in the development of interfaith dialogue, or questions about extremism and terrorism, which are a threat to peace.

(Vatican Radio) { The orderly development of “a civil, pluralistic society requires” that the “authentic spirit of religion” not be “confined” to “personal conscience but that its significant role in the construction of society is recognized,” said Pope Francis in his remarks to the Italian president.}

Pope Francis met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Vatican Saturday morning. It was their first meeting since the president’s election on 3 February.

“The Church offers everyone the beauty of the Gospel and its message of salvation and, to carry out its spiritual mission, it needs conditions of peace and calm, which only public authorities can promote,” the pope said, reflecting on the collaborative relationship between the Holy See and the Italian state, as defined by the Lateran Pacts and the Italian Constitution.

“On the other hand, public authorities—who are primarily expected to create the conditions for a just and sustainable development, so that civil society can develop all its potentialities—can find a valuable and useful support for their action in the commitment and loyal collaboration of the Church,” he said.

Though independent, church and state share “the common responsibility” of meeting people’s “spiritual and physical needs…with humility and dedication,” he said.

The Pope spoke of the impact of Christianity on Italian culture, including art, architecture, customs and family life. He emphasized the need to care for the environment and to develop employment opportunities for Italian youth.

He also expressed gratitude for Italy’s commitment to welcoming numerous migrants who land on the country’s shores and urged Italian authorities to petition the European and international communities for greater commitment to assistance in the area of migration.

{ Islam will be the world’s largest religion after 2070 if current demographic trends continue, projections released Thursday by a leading research group show.}

Between 2010 and 2050, Muslims are projected to increase by 73 percent while the number of Christians is projected to grow by 35 percent, at about the same rate as the global population, Pew Research Center said.

As of 2010, Christianity was the world’s largest religion with an estimated 2.2 billion adherents, 31 percent of all 6.9 billion people on Earth, according to Pew demographers. Islam was second, with about 1.6 billion followers, or 23 percent of the world population.

According to the projections, by 2050 there will be near parity between Muslims and Christians, possibly ending two millennia of Christian dominance in the world.

Some scholars say Christians always have been more numerous than Muslims around the world, while others say the number of Muslims may have exceeded the number of Christians during the Islamic golden age between 11th and 17th centuries.

Globally, Muslims have the highest fertility rate, an average of 3.1 children per woman, the Pew report said. Christians are second, at 2.7 children per woman.

The projections showed that, if current demographic trends continued, the Muslim share of the world’s population would exceed the Christian share after the year 2070. By the year 2100, about 1 percentage point more of the world’s population would be Muslim than Christian.

All of the world’s major religious groups except Buddhists are poised for some growth in absolute numbers in the coming decades, Pew researchers said.

They said low fertility rates and aging populations in countries such as China, Thailand and Japan would keep the global Buddhist population stable.

The projections also revealed that Christians would drop below 50% of the population in several countries including Australia, France, the Netherlands and the U.K.

As of 2050, the largest religious group in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands is expected to be the “religiously unaffiliated,” which include atheists, agnostics and others who do not affiliate with any religion, although this group is projected to shrink as a percentage of the global population, the report said.

In Europe, the Muslim share of the population is expected to increase from 5.9 percent in 2010 to 10.2 percent in 2050 due to migration and other demographic factors, the projections showed.

Hindus are projected to grow by 34 percent, from a little over 1 billion to nearly 1.4 billion, by 2050. Jews are estimated to grow 16 percent, from a little less than 14 million in 2010 to 16.1 million globally in 2050.

In 2050, the world’s total population is expected to rise to 9.3 billion, a 35 percent increase from 2010’s 6.9 billion, according to Pew demographers.

{{Worldbulletin.net}}

{Pope Francis has reiterated his call for Sri Lankan reconciliation by canonising the country’s first saint as a model for national unity and visiting the war-ravaged north to pray at a shrine revered by both Sinhalese and Tamil faithful.}

More than half a million people packed the seafront park in Colombo for the mass on Wednesday, with some spending the night under the stars to ensure a good spot. Seemingly rested after a gruelling first day of his Asian tour, the pope arrived well ahead of time to greet the crowd, getting off his popemobile to kiss the sick and disabled.

Bells rang and the crowd applauded when the pope declared the Rev Joseph Vaz a saint at the start of the service. Vaz was a 17th century Indian missionary who revived the faith in Sri Lanka during a time of anti-Catholic persecution by Dutch colonists, who were Protestant Calvinists.

The Catholic church considers Vaz a great model for today’s faithful, ministering to the believers of both of Sri Lanka’s main ethnic groups and putting himself at great risk to spread the faith.

The pope told the crowd that Vaz lived at a time when Catholics were a minority and often persecuted and yet he ministered to all, regardless of their ethnic or religious background.

“St Joseph shows us the importance of transcending religious divisions in the service of peace,” the pope said in his homily, delivered in English and then translated for the crowd in Sinhalese and Tamil. “As the life of St Joseph Vaz teaches us, genuine worship of God bears fruit not in discrimination, hatred and violence but in respect for the sacredness of life, respect for the dignity and freedom of others, and loving commitment to the welfare of all.”

He said the Sri Lankan church wanted to continue Vaz’s legacy of service to all, asking only for the freedom to preach in return. “Religious freedom is a fundamental human right,” he said.

To underscore that point, the pope gave Sri Lanka’s bishops a replica of a 17th-century decree from the then king of Kandy, allowing Catholic conversions of Buddhists – a somewhat provocative message given the recent upswing in violence against Muslims and some Protestant churches by Buddhist extremists who want Sri Lanka exclusively Buddhist.

After mass, the pontiff flew to the northern city of Madhu to pray at the Our Lady of Madhu shrine, a Catholic pilgrimage site that is also a destination for people of other faiths. It is the first visit by a pope to the northern Tamil territory, devastated by Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war, which erupted over Tamil demands for an independent homeland because of perceived discrimination by the Sinhalese majority.

The pope is expected to call again for reconciliation between Sinhalese and Tamils and people of different faiths to overcome the wounds of the war.

Upon his arrival in Sri Lanka on Tuesday, the pope called for reconciliation but also for the truth about injustices committed during the conflict, which ended in 2009 with the army’s violent crushing of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Catholics make up slightly more than 6% of Sri Lanka’s population of 21 million. They are by far the largest Christian denomination in the country, but are a distinct minority compared to Buddhists, who make up about 70%, with Hindus comprising 13%. Muslims make up about 10% of the population.

Most Sinhalese are Buddhist and most Tamils Hindu, but the Catholic church counts both ethnic groups as its members, and as a result considers itself a source of unity for the country.

The Guardian

{The number of Catholics in the world has increased with growth registered across all five continents. The figures are taken by the Fides news agency from the latest edition of the Church’s Book of Statistics updated to 31 December 2012. }

These show that on that date the number of Catholics in the world stood at 1,228,621,000 with an overall increase of more than 15,000,000 compared to the previous year. The Americas and Africa registered the biggest increases followed by Asia, Europe and Oceania. The world percentage of Catholics stood at 17.49 %, a decrease of 0.01% compared to the end of 2011.

The total number of priests in the world increased by 895 to 414,313. Europe once again registered the largest decrease (-1,375) followed by the Americas (-90) and Oceania (-80). In Africa the number of priests grew by 1,076 and in Asia by 1,364.

There was an overall decrease in the number of women religious worldwide, whose numbers dropped by 10,677 to 702,529. Once again Africa and Asia showed increases whilst Europe and the Americas showed the biggest decrease in the number of women religious.

The number of lay missionaries in the world is 362,488 with an overall decrease of 19,234.

In the field of education, the Catholic Church runs 71,188 kindergartens, 95,246 primary schools and 43,783 secondary schools. Charity and healthcare centres in the world run by the Church are 115,352.

{As Christians around the world celebrate Christmas, historians and theologians question whether the holiday really celebrates the birth of the so called ‘son of god’ or the ‘sun-god’. {{}}}

Christians around the world celebrate Christmas, which is marking what in common Christian culture is believe to be the birthday of Jesus Christ. This is a tradition that is centuries old, and dates back to the mid-fourth century when the Romans officially accepted the Trinitarian narrative of Christianity at the Council of Nicaea in 325.

A Roman Christian scholar by the name of Valentinus produced the first documentation of Christmas being celebrated on December 25 as a special feast in the year 354. Particularly, a Greek Saint from that era called Saint Nicolas, who lived in what is today known as Turkey, was also well-known for delivering presents to children on that day. His tradition continued, developing into the character of Santa Claus. Although in the past century, which has seen the rise of secular materialism and a decline in spirituality, it can be argued that Christmas has lost its significance as a religious holiday, but it is still nonetheless celebrated worldwide, albeit in a commercialized fashion.

However, it is virtually impossible to find any evidence that Jesus and his disciples celebrated on December 25. In fact, it is highly unlikely that he was even born on that date. Christians of the East Orthodox Church traditionally celebrated Christmas on January 7, while Jeffery Sheler’s 1996 report ‘In Search of Christmas’ states that a document found in North Africa dated back to the year 243 suggests that Jesus was born on March 28. Furthermore, Luke 2:7-8 clearly states that Jesus was born in a time when the shepherds of Palestine were out with their flocks, which due to the cold, is not possible in the winter.

Regardless of when exactly Jesus was born, the date of December 25 has always played a significant role in the calendar, even before Jesus was born. In pre-Christian pagan belief, December 25 marked what was known as the Winter Solstice. Sol is the ancient Latin word for ‘Sun’, and Stice literally means ‘standing still’. It was celebrated by sun-worshippers as the day signaling the middle of winter, the shortest day of the solar calendar. This day was celebrated in different ways by different people all over the world.

For the pre-Christian Romans, December 25 marked their most important holiday, Saturnalia. This was later renamed to ‘Sol Invicti’, which means ‘the unconquerable sun’, in honor of the Syrian sun-god Apollo. Ancient Egyptians also used to celebrate December 25 in worship of Ra, or Horus, the sun-god child of Isis and Orisis. In Mesopotamia, the mythical god Marduk, who was believed to fight against the cold and darkness, was also worshipped on this day. The Aztecs on this day would sacrifice children in worship of their sun-god, Huitzilopochli. North-western Europe hosted festivities for the Nordic god Balder, while the Ancient Greeks dedicated the day for Adonis and Dionysos. For the Ancient Persians, December 25 represented the birth of Mithra, the sun-god.

Mithraism in particular was transferred to Europe from its land of origin, Iran, via the Greeks, who had conquered the Persian Empire under Alexander of Macedon in the fourth century B.C.E. It became widespread throughout Europe, and was even existent at the time the Romans had decided to adopt Trinitarian Christianity.

Before its adoption, Christians were heavily persecuted by the sun-worshipping Romans, and was not so much seen as a religion, but rather a renegade sect of Judaism, which mainstream Jews themselves rejected. Trinitarian Christianity finds its roots in the teachings of Paul, an ex-bounty hunter of Jewish origin who used to persecute Christians under the command of his Roman masters. However, after he claimed to have a vision in which Jesus supposedly told him that he was the son of God, he began to preach Trinitarianism – the concept of three gods in one. His counterpart, a Jewish companion of Jesus by the name of Barnabas, who is believed to have preached the oneness of god, was against preaching to the non-Jews, unlike Paul. Meanwhile, the Jews in the Roman Empire were revolting. Barnabas himself was killed during one of these revolts in his homeland Cyprus.

However, the idea of one god – otherwise referred to as Unitarianism – lived on and thrived, particularly in North Africa. Arius, a Libyan Unitarian, represented the call for one god during the early fourth century, while the strand of Trinitarian Christianity preached by Paul also flourished. Ultimately, after Roman Emperor Constantine chose to convert to Trinitarianism, Arius was killed along with many of his followers. The rise of Trinitarianism then saw the gradual merger of Jewish traditions and Mithraism, or Roman sun-worship, with the celebration of December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ as a symbol of this unholy marriage.

World Bulletin

{The Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 was waterproofed to withstand a future flood. St. Paul mocks the Roman Empire in Acts 26. And King Herod’s appearance in Matthew 2 explains the context of Jesus’s arrival on earth. But these and many other central facts about the Bible’s narrative escape the modern Bible reader.}

The problem is that background information that was once too obvious to write down has now been largely forgotten.

Just as modern publications don’t remind readers that France is in Europe, or that Hitler was evil, or that Democrats and Republicans disagree, some facts were so widely known 2,000 years ago that there was no reason to include them in the Bible. But readers today lack this once-common knowledge, so they are often unable to appreciate the original depth of the Bible. Fortunately, other ancient sources fill in the blanks, restoring the Bible’s original impact. Here are three examples.

According to Genesis 11:3, the Tower of Babel was crafted with “brick for stone” and “bitumen for mortar.” Modern readers pay little attention to these engineering specifications, so they don’t appreciate the importance of the bitumen.

A 1st-century AD historian named Josephus helps out. He explains that the bitumen was to make sure that water didn’t enter the tower. Bitumen, it turns out, was a common waterproofing agent, used here as well as for Noah’s ark and for the basket that carried Moses safely down the Nile. The point of the Tower of Babel was to defend against a future flood, and Babel marks the end of the Flood narrative. But modern readers who are not experts in ancient materials sciences miss the role of the Tower and its connection to the Flood.

A second example comes from St. Paul’s imprisonment. After being arrested in connection with his disputes with some Jews, the Christian leader defends himself before a series of Roman rulers. Modern readers generally ignore the names — Felix, Festus, and Agrippa — and focus instead on Paul’s words. But the names are the key to understanding what Paul says.

Acts 25:13 refers to “King Agrippa and Bernice” who travel together. The obvious assumption is that Bernice is Agrippa’s queen, and that she has nothing to do with Paul’s observation in Acts 26 that Agrippa is “especially familiar with all the customs” of the Jews.

But we learn from Josephus that Bernice is actually Agrippa’s sister, and that the king is having an incestuous affair, in violation of the most basic of Jewish (and Christian) customs. Paul publicly praises the Roman for his knowledge of all things Jewish while inwardly ridiculing the man for his most heathenly, non-Jewish (and non-Christian) behavior. The trial is a farce. But most modern readers don’t know it.

Thirdly, few biblical passages are more familiar than Matthew 2:1: “In the time of King Herod,” wise men, or magi, came to Jerusalem after Jesus was born. Modern readers focus on Jesus and on the wise men, and disregard Herod. But Herod is central here.

Herod was widely seen in his day as an especially vicious Roman tyrant. For ancient readers, the brief reference to King Herod would have evoked images of a heathen monarch smothering God’s holy city of Jerusalem, much the way “Stalinist Russia” sets a dismal tone today.

Matthew’s point in chapter 2 is not just that Jesus has been born. It’s that a savior has arrived just at the time when the denizens of Jerusalem most need him. In this context, the arrival of the Messiah takes on heightened importance.

In these places and many more, the full impact of the Bible comes through only in light of the background to the text. But readers have to search elsewhere for that background.

{Dr. Hoffman is author most recently of The Bible’s Cutting Room Floor, which explores the relationship between extra-biblical material and the Bible itself.
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