Recently in Commentary Category

Included in among the many responsibilities borne by Dublin-based Sheikh (Dr.) Shaheed Satardien, are his roles as Director of the Intercultural Peace Centre, and President of the Muslim Council of Ireland.  As such Dr. Satardein was invited to the Gospel Festival Workshop 2011, at the Libertas Auditorium, Dublin, to address its conference FAITH, RACE & INTEGRATION on the topic, "Exploring the Role that Faith & Race can play in the integration of culures."

Dr. Satardein's message and insights are vital not only for Ireland, but surely for Europe, and in fact the essential guidelines offered by Satardein are applicable on a global scale.

As we see the wisdom in Sheikh Satardien's prescriptions, we should always be reminded that these grow from an explicitly Muslim worldview and lifestyle.

When we find the unique good in the thoughts of notable peace-makers, it is important to know that the impulses reflect not only their special gifts and talents, but the ideals and spiritual traditions in which they are nurtured.

Sheikh Satardien points out in the early part of his essay:

Many of us believe that God created humanity, some believe that God created a process by which humanity eventually evolved, but which ever way we have arrived; we are here now! ....and we are here in many different ways, with different coloured skin pigmentations, with different cuisines, with different ways of dressing and different ways of speaking; with different habits, cultures and religions.

These differences are magnificent, but difference always runs a risk of being treated as an outcast. The more different a community is the greater this risk and the more difficult it is to integrate with the wider community. So the greater the difference, the greater the effort towards integration would be required.

Sheikh Dr. Satardein seen here with
The Revd Andrew Orr, Rector of Castleknock

Please read the full remarks of Sheikh Satardein, which point the way, and offer important guidelines not only for Ireland, Irish Muslims, and European Muslims and nations, but also for life in the world at large.

 

September 7, 2011

An Anniversary Call to Arms
Douglas M. Johnston

       With the 10th Anniversary of 9-11, comes the opportunity to determine how it should be honored. Clearly it is an occasion to salute the memories of those who fell victim to the attacks, the heroism of the passengers on United Flight 93, the first responders who courageously braved untold hazards to rescue those in need, and  everyone else who put their personal safety at risk for the sake of others. Now that most of those who planned this onslaught have been brought to justice in one form or another, it also becomes appropriate to leverage this moment as a "call to arms" for us to wake up and develop a thoughtful strategy for preventing future attacks.
    

        Beyond our military interventions, the U.S. response in countering religious terrorism has thus far focused on addressing symptoms rather than causal factors. We have taken a number of defensive measures to protect the homeland--improving the security measures for our aviation system; taking action to protect critical infrastructure; increasing the nation's preparedness for a disaster; and enhancing information-sharing among federal, state, local, and international partners. Numerous other steps have also been taken, especially in the areas of intelligence and counterterrorism.

        Despite the obvious need to address underlying cause, how to do so remains a puzzle for most policymakers. Respectful engagement with other cultures and countries only takes one part of the way, since that has more to do with good manners than with religious faith. Its own religiosity aside, America's proven inability to understand and deal with the religious motives behind extremist violence has already led to uninformed foreign policy choices in such places as Iran, Lebanon, and, most recently, Iraq. To avoid similar mistakes in the future, we need to move beyond the rational world view that has governed our practice of international relations for most of the last century to a process that includes religion and other so-called "irrational" factors. It will also require that we broaden our basis for understanding the religious dynamics at play and optimize our opportunities for responding effectively. To continue discounting the impact of religion in the affairs of state when it provides the principal source of identity, meaning and purpose for 84% of the world's population would be foolish in the extreme.

This marks probably the most important recent development in religion, and in "church-state" relations in the world at present.

The unfortunate, temporary clash between Turkey and Israel arising over the Gaza flotilla blockade, creates difficulties for western governments, and difficulties for leaders in peace seeking projects.  It is hoped that Turkey and Israel quickly find the way to restore the special and visionary relationship that has long proved helpful in a troubled world.

In the mean time, this remarkable declaration by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a recent an iftar (breaking the fast) meal near the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan is great news for all who rejoice in positive steps toward peace.


Here in the ReligiousNewsBlog is the full report of this significant development:

Christian and Jewish communities to reclaim state-confiscated properties.

ISTANBUL, August 30 (Compass Direct News) - The Turkish government made a historic U-turn in state policy this past weekend, issuing an official decree inviting Turkey's Christian and Jewish communities to reclaim their long-confiscated religious properties.

Saturday's (Aug. 27) decree comes 75 years after the Turkish government seized hundreds of lands and buildings owned by its Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Jewish communities.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the surprise decision on Sunday evening (Aug. 28) in Istanbul, addressing a large gathering of Istanbul's non-Muslim religious leaders representing 161 minority foundations. Invited as the honored guest for an iftar (breaking the fast) meal near the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan, Erdogan declared, "The times when citizens in our country were oppressed for their beliefs, their ethnic heritage or the way they dressed is over."