Christians try to reverse Mexican gay marriage law
MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Christian groups have said they had asked Mexico's attorney general to overturn a newly-voted Mexico City law allowing gay marriage and the possibility of adoption, because it was "unconstitutional."
The capital's legislature approved gay marriage on December 21, in the first such law passed anywhere in Latin America.
The Contraternice group of Evangelical churches and the College of Catholic Lawyers said they believed the new law that "allows marriage between people of the same sex and the possibility to adopt" was unconstitutional, a statement said.
The complaint was based on "Christian principles," but also included legal issues on which the Supreme Court should decide, including possible violations of the Constitution and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it added.
The Mexico City law changes the meaning of marriage from "a free union between a man and a woman" to "a free union between two people." The Mexican capital authorized civil unions for homosexuals in November 2006 and decriminalized abortion in April 2007, contrasting with mostly conservative policies across the largely Catholic nation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100108
Egyptian Christians riot after fatal shooting
Clashes between thousands of protesters and riot police shook Egypt on Thursday, 7 January after six Coptic Christians were murdered, prompting some of the worst sectarian violence the country has seen.
The victims were gunned down in a drive-by shooting as they emerged from church in the early hours of this morning following a Coptic Christmas Eve mass. Egypt's interior ministry said it believed the attack, in the southern town of Naga Hammadi, 40 miles north of Luxor, was in revenge for the alleged rape of a 12-year-old Muslim girl by a Christian man last year. A Muslim security guard was also killed.
"It is all religious now," said the church's Bishop Kirollos. "This is a religious war, about how they can finish off the Christians in Egypt."
By daybreak hundreds of Christians had gathered at the morgue where the bodies of the dead were being held, chanting anti-government slogans and facing down security forces who fired tear gas and bullets in an effort to disperse the crowd. Stones were thrown at police and a number of ambulances were destroyed by protesters. By lunchtime the number of demonstrators had swelled as locals flocked to attend the funeral of the dead, held in the same church where they were shot the night before, and sporadic rioting broke out across the area.
Evolution's Footprints in Human Genome Precisely Tracked
ScienceDaily (Jan. 8, 2010) — Fossils may provide tantalizing clues to human history but they also lack some vital information, such as revealing which pieces of human DNA have been favored by evolution because they confer beneficial traits -- resistance to infection or the ability to digest milk, for example. These signs can only be revealed through genetic studies of modern humans and other related species, though the task has proven difficult.
Now, in a paper appearing in the January 7 edition of Science Express, researchers describe a method for pinpointing these preferred regions within the human genome that offers greater precision and resolution than ever before, and the possibility of deeply understanding both our genetic past and present.
"It's clear that positive natural selection has been a critical force in shaping the human genome, but there are remarkably few examples that have been clearly identified," said senior author Pardis Sabeti, an associate member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and an assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University. "The method we've developed makes it possible to zero in on individual genes as well as the specific changes within them that are driving important evolutionary changes."
Positive natural selection is a process in which advantageous traits become more common in a population. That is because these traits boost an individual's chances of survival and reproduction, so they are readily passed on to future generations. Identifying such traits -- and the genes underlying them -- is a cornerstone of current efforts to dissect the biological history of the human species as well as the diseases that threaten human health today.
Exploring the fatal attraction that bounds Youth, Violence and Terrorism
What makes an educated young person turn guns and grenades on innocent people going home from work, eating out at a restaurant or just working/staying in a hotel? Apparently, he manages to dehumanise his victims. He watches them die, becomes numb to the pain of their loved ones and turns oblivious to the sufferings of the injured. Shouldn't a young man in his early twenties be busy enjoying friendships, creating a career, re-examining faith, exploring his many identities? Youth-hood should be about romantic relationships and discovering the beauty of life. Instead, we see young people turning into monsters who can gloat over a pyrrhic demonic victory, even where their own death is a foregone conclusion.
That young people are susceptible to developing a fascination for violence, is something we need to really grapple with. Be it in the Bajrang Dal, the Naxalite groups, the extremist Islamic organisations, Zionists, the LTTE, the mafia gangs, the school shoot outs or indeed the Armies of various countries, young people, especially young men, have demonstrated an attraction towards violence that is unnerving and dangerous. While each of these routes to violence is very different, eventually they share a common denominator of death as an outcome.
The incidents in Mumbai (in 2008) force an unflinching gaze on young Muslim youth and their journey to taking part in organised acts of terror. It is not yet clear whether these youth were from Pakistan or from Britain. It is important to point out that there have been significant differences between Muslim youth fighting within countries like Palestine, Turkey, Algeria, Somalia or Chechnya and those who have been recruited into trans-national networks like the Al-Qaeda. While the former are territorially defined and fighting against "occupations" or marginalisation or fighting to establish Islamic States within their countries, the supra- national de-territorialized networks are fighting against the American Imperialism and the "West". These networks often recruit radicalised Muslim youth living in Europe as well as the Middle East. Their targets too are global "agents" of American imperialism as demonstrated by terror strikes in various cities in Europe and other parts of the world, with Mumbai being the latest site of terror.
How does this international network appeal to young educated Muslims (as well as a few non Muslims who convert) to take on roles as suicide bombers and members of terror squads? Not only has the traditional Leftist Anti Imperialist discourse entrenched in parts of Europe been re-cast in religious terms, the need for solidarity with the suffering community is stressed through powerful narratives and visual imagery about death and humiliation in Kashmir, Bosnia, Palestine etc. Added to this is the heroism offered to young men and women who are convinced they would be avenging the humiliation of the brotherhood. Jihad as personal compulsory duty is invoked and the hope for salvation through sacrifice and death makes violence one of the main fascinations of the recruitment process. Such heroism has immense appeal to young people caught between cultures and inter-generational conflicts, unsure of their own identities and convictions. Second and third generation Muslim immigrants in Europe from Algeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of the Middle East are specially vulnerable on this score, making it easier for trans-national terrorist networks to recruit them.
A young person who respects religious diversity , who believes in democracy and dialogue, who is integrated into a multicultural society, who sees jihad as war within oneself and who celebrates a love of life will be able to condemn violence and fragmentation of humankind. The recent rise in the youths terrorism acts involvement points to the fact that there is the need to give our young people a grounding in values of social justice, pluralism and secularism through democratic dialogue even as they youthfully explore religion, culture and their multiple identities.
Anita Ratnam is a columnist with indiainteract.com
Islam and Terrorism: What the Quran Really Teaches by Mark A. Gabriel
Is it very rare that one comes across a book that is extremely open and honest, and in these ways critical of a faith, that is authored by someone who was held is such high regard by its followers, someone deep behind the lines, rather than potentially biased Westerners. Indeed, Mark A. Gabriel (a pseudonym the author has adopted from his original Muslim name to protect himself after being kidnapped and tortured by the Egyptian secret police for questioning his faith), is a former Egyptian Muslim and Islamic scholar whom now lives in exile in the United States of America. It is interesting to note the reasons why he changed his name. He informs the reader of this in great details at the outset of the book's introduction because he has "no desire to deceive Muslims, Christians or anyone else about" his name "in order to benefit" himself.
Dr. Gabriel, Ph.D. was a professor, one of the youngest hired at the prominent Al-Azhar University based in Cairo, Egypt. He began lecturing after he finished his master's degree and working to finish his doctorate in Islamic culture and history. Al-Azhar has operated continuously for more than one thousand years and is seen as the most respected and authoritative Islamic academy throughout the entire world. The book, `Islam and Terrorism', starts off with a personal testimony by Gabriel on his experience, knowledge and religious dedication to Islam and his subsequent questioning and departure of a faith that he held in such high regard; a departure that very nearly cost him his life. This testimony in itself is a terrifying tale that will grip you from beginning to end. But, it must be noted that the book goes into great lengths to point out that Muslims are not the main culprits behind terrorism but that it is in fact Islam itself.
Gabriel points out that "Islam is behind terrorism, not Muslims. Muslims are victims. Even the nineteen young people who hijacked the planes and were killed in the crashes-they we're victims. The criminal is Islam." It is all in the Koran, you just need to read it for yourself, but this book will be a welcome springboard to opening your eyes to the hidden seed of hate within the Islamic faith of Islam and it's holy book, the Qur'an. A prime example is Surah (Chapter) 9, Ayat (Verse) 123 which states in no uncertain terms, "O you who believe, fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them see how harsh you can be." and reveals the following of `naskh' which is a "system of Quranic interpretation where new verses override old verses" exposing the myths from the politically correct brigade, when the mention them at all (which is extremily rare) of the `loving' verses over the `not so loving ones'.
The books totality interprets every aspect of Islam in an easy to follow fashion and treats us to the history of Islam, its core beliefs and the inherent justification for terrorism within it's teachings from ancient times, looking at the example of Muhammad to the modern day `extremists' taking the Qur'an at it's literal word just as every good Muslim should do. Although not a Christian, I found it very interesting to learn the false image of Christianity that is presented to Muslims.
Also discussed are the ways in which the mainstream media deceivingly misinterpret Islam as a "peace loving religion" by informing the reader that Islam doesn't actually mean `peace' at all but in fact means `submission' to exposing the real agenda behind Islam, the agenda of global domination. It exposes the three stages in which Islamists carry out `jihad' all over the world and the real meaning behind that word which is so confused throughout the unenlightened Western world today and the justifiable use of lying to carry this out. An interesting topic covered are the rights of those - both men, women, believers and non-believers, living under Islamic rule to how mosques are increasingly being used to spread hate.
All this, again bearing in mind, that it is not written from a view point of someone from the outside looking in with a potentially biased approach, but from one so deeply and intricately involved within the faith itself. Indeed, at this point I feel it necessary to quote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's `Sherlock Holmes' when he stated: "To let the brain work without sufficient material is like racing an engine. It racks itself to pieces." And I recommend this book so highly because it quite simply gives you all the facts deemed necessary to make an informed and educated decision. It hides no truth, regardless of whom it may offend. For that reason it is a truly valuable asset.
I think that it is safe to say that you will by no means be disappointed with this book. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that you will encourage others to read it by buying the book for themselves and lending your copy out to friends and family. The knowledge and understanding that you will gain from reading this book of `true' Islam is well worth the small amount of your hard earned cash that you will fork out to get a copy. It is, quite simply, a rip roaring rollercoaster of a read, so don't delay, buy today and learn the truth about the hidden seed of hate within the worlds second largest religion and help prevent the Islamification of Britain!
Kenya 'expels hate cleric Abdullah al-Faisal to Gambia'
Kenya has deported to The Gambia a Jamaican-born Muslim cleric notorious for preaching racial hatred, Kenya's immigration minister says.
Abdullah al-Faisal was arrested last week and there have been conflicting reports about his whereabouts.
"We had problems deporting him because many countries, including the US, declined to have him even on transit," the minister, Otieno Kajwang, said.
Mr Kajwang said Faisal was being expelled for his "terrorist history".
The cleric has served four years in a UK prison after being convicted of soliciting the murder of Jews and Hindus.
"He chose Gambia and we have deported him there this morning," Mr Kajwang told reporters, AFP news agency reports.
"In fact the information we have is that he has already landed there and Gambia has received him."
There have been protests from Muslim human rights groups about his treatment. Al-Amin Kimathi, of the Muslim Human Rights Forum, said Faisal should have been sent to Jamaica.
"It was his wish that he be taken to Jamaica, but not any other place," Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper quotes Mr Kimathi as saying.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8445844.stm
Looking back, Peeping forward
Christmas is gone as well as year 2009. It is now time to look back to plans we were able to realize and those that remained on our to-do list.
Let me start with 'those we accomplished' in 2009. IHEYO tried very much to bring together qualities that are not often seen in many international organizations. It should be remembered that IHEYO as an organization is not only for youth, but also run by the youths. The responsibility for the network and its activities rests completely within the young people themselves which created a maximum learning experience for the youth on an international level, and even intercontinental level. This continues to make IHEYO one of the most unique youth international humanist organizations. We contacted many people from diverse backgrounds who stayed in touch with each other in an open space where they shared experiences and opinions on different topical issues. We still think that this is a very good quality and method of working with young people.
The successful hosting of our 8th International youth conference in Nepal peaked our 2009 activities. The Asian Working Group, which is strengthening South Asia through personal contacts and an active networking between humanist organizations and people interested in related issues, was mainly responsible for the conference. We have already reported about the outcome of that important event, but we are again happy and thankful that this could be realized. New Communications among the African Working Group have been made and a whole new board has been put in place to take the group to the next level. We hope, that these good signs from 2009 will lead into an active communication and good opportunities to strengthen our African friends again within our network. As we have three new members in the EC, who are originally from Africa, we believe strongly into that.
Unfortunately, IHEYO was unable to maintain a staffed office to coordinate the work of IHEYO on a daily basis. However, measures were taken to make it possible for IHEYO to keep a close contact with her members and making professional operations in the process of carrying out her targeted actions. At the moment, IHEYO tries to coordinate all administration work on volunteer basis and to realize all arising matters inside the EC or volunteer support from the outside. Much has been achieved with this strategy and we think soon we shall have the staffed office once again in place. We hope this will happen with the beginning of 2010. For that, the Executive Committee has made plans to become a more efficient structural organ and continued to be the central operations system of IHEYO. We have been able to have one face-to-face EC-meeting in Nepal in October with nearly all EC members present. This was supplemented with IHEYO’s EC-monthly meetings online on Skype to make IHEYO more efficient in delivering her services. The meetings held have made the EC more focused through several discussions on different crucial matters.
Furthermore, enormous hours and energy has been spent in finding possibilities of a closer relationship between IHEYO and IHEU. It has been a priority of IHEYO to strengthen our relation with IHEU; and we have continued to be present at the meetings of their Executive Committee in the second half of 2009. This has made the working relationship between the two organizations better and more firm. Both organizations are working towards a stronger relation between them. 2010 will lead us into the first tries of closer working methods. We hope for the best.
In totality therefore, 2009 had several challenges but all-in-all IHEYO was able to score above the average performance. Much was achieved and a firm foundation has been laid for 2010. We are greatly indebted in appreciation to our member organizations, funders, advisers, partners and current and previous members of the Executive Committee that have extended a worthwhile voluntary service to IHEYO. We deeply appreciate that. IHEYO knows that for such a unique international organization, challenges are bound to be part of our daily encounter and we know that this is more than a simple task but we treasure the experience that comes along with it and we think that the status of IHEYO is and will continue to be better than before! IHEYO will continue to develop and promote humanism among our member organizations on regional, continental and international level. We will still maintain our grip on the impoverished part of the world.
These in mind, we wish you all a wondeful start into the new year 2010 with lots of energy to overcome challenges and obstacles; lots of motivation to go again a step forward; lots of good advices and supports within your family, friends and IHEYO surrounding; and last, but not the least, lots of love and affection to people, who are close to you, who need your help and who are giving you the strength to face whatever comes your way. I hope IHEYO can be part of that. Maybe we cannot help you with our personal presence, maybe we cannot support you financially, but we shall try to be there for you mentally and with open eyes and ears to see and hear the important things, to react when reaction is needed, to stand by you when you need us, more or most!
Happy New Year.
Silvana Uhlrich.
President, IHEYO
Social Activism and Irreligiosity: A functional mix in Susan B. Anthony
Susan was born to Daniel Anthony and Lucy Read. Anthony's father Daniel was a cotton manufacturer and abolitionist, a stern but open-minded man who was born into the Quaker religion.He did not allow toys or amusements into the household, claiming that they would distract the soul from the "inner light." Her mother Lucy was a student in Daniel's school; the two fell in love and agreed to marry in 1817, but Lucy was less sure about marrying into the Society of Friends (Quakers). She was not a convinced Quaker and claimed that she was “not good enough” for them.
Lucy Anthony was a progressive-minded woman. She attended the Rochester women’s rights convention held in August 1848, two weeks after the historic Seneca Falls Convention, and signed the Rochester convention’s Declaration of Sentiments. Lucy and Daniel Anthony enforced self-discipline, principled convictions, and belief in one's own self-worth. Susan was a precocious child, having learned to read and write at age three. In 1826, when she was six years old, the Anthony family moved from Massachusetts to Battenville, New York. Susan was sent to attend a local district school, where a teacher refused to teach her long division because of her gender. Upon learning of the weak education she was receiving, her father promptly had her placed in a group home school, where he taught Susan himself. Mary Perkins, another teacher there, conveyed a progressive image of womanhood to Anthony, further fostering her growing belief in women's equality.
In 1839, the family moved to Hardscrabble, New York, in the wake of the panic and economic depression that followed. That same year, Anthony left home to teach and to help pay off her father's debts. She taught first at Eunice Kenyon's Friends' Seminary, and then at the Canajoharie Academy in 1846, where she rose to become headmistress of the Female Department. Anthony's first occupation inspired her to fight for wages equivalent to those of male teachers, since men earned roughly four times more than women for the same duties.
In 1849, at age 29, Anthony quit teaching and moved to the family farm in Rochester, New York. She began to take part in conventions and gatherings related to the temperance movement. In Rochester, she attended the local Unitarian Church and began to distance herself from the Quakers, in part because she had frequently witnessed instances of hypocritical behavior such as the use of alcohol amongst Quaker preachers. As she got older, Anthony continued to move further away from organized religion in general, and she was later chastised by various Christian religious groups for displaying irreligious tendencies.
After retiring in 1900, Anthony remained in Rochester, where she died of heart disease and pneumonia in her house at 17 Madison Street on March 13, 1906.[18] She was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery. Following her death, the New York State Senate passed a resolution remembering her "unceasing labor, undaunted courage and unselfish devotion to many philanthropic purposes and to the cause of equal political rights for women
DETROIT – Wearing a T-shirt, khaki-style pants and a chain at his ankles, a somber-looking Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas said he understood the charges against him, triggering the defense of a criminal case that could lead to life in prison.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's arraignment in federal court Friday took fewer than five minutes and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The 23-year-old said little, telling the judge simply that he understood the six-count indictment he faces and the maximum penalty.
Abdulmutallab's first court appearance came exactly two weeks after an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight in which passengers rushed to his seat and put out flames that could have caused a disaster. The FBI says Abdulmutallab tried to destroy Northwest Airlines Flight 253, which was carrying nearly 300 people, by injecting chemicals into a package of explosives concealed in his underwear.
The alleged attack has shaken up airport security worldwide. President Barack Obama considers it an attempted strike against the United States by an al-Qaida affiliate and faults his administration for not preventing it despite intelligence reports.
A grand jury this week indicted Abdulmutallab on six charges. The most serious — attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction — could land him in prison for life if convicted.
He replied "yes" when asked Friday if he understood the charges and said he had taken "some pain pills" after the judge inquired whether he had used any drugs or alcohol in the past 24 hours. He is being held at a federal prison in Milan, Mich., and had been treated at a hospital for burns.
http://news.yahoo.com
The Born-again teacher and her atheist pupil
A young woman teacher explains to her class of third graders that she is a born-again Christian. She asks the class if any of them are born-again Christians too.
Not really knowing what it means to be born-again, but wanting to please and impress their teacher, many little hands suddenly shot up into the air. There was, however, one exception. A girl named Sarah had not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asked her why she has decided to be different.
"Because I'm not a Christian."
"Then," asks the teacher, "what are you?"
"I'm an atheist."
The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks Sarah why she is an atheist.
"It's just that my family isn't religious. My Mom is atheist, and my Dad is atheist, so I am atheist."
The teacher is now angry. "That's no reason." she says loudly. "What if your Mom was a moron, and your Dad was a moron. What would you be then?"
"Then," says Sarah, "I'd be a born-again Christian."
http://www.cobourgatheist.com
The Center for Youth Empowerment,Ghana
The Center For Youth Empowerment formerly called the Liberian Refugee Youths For Sustainable Development was organized by war-strickened Liberian youths who fled their country during the height of the Liberian Civil War fearing persecutions and inhumane treatments and at present seeking refuge in Ghana at the Buduburam Refugee Camp. The civil upheaval destroyed many lives and created growing hatred among Liberians. In view of this we decided to respond to this disaster by organizing ourselves under the umbrella of the Center For Youth Empowerment to work together in pursuit of peace, development, education, good health and sanitation.
Postal adress:
Center for Youth Empowerment
Zone 7 H/NO 59, Buduburam Refugee CampC/O BOX 46,
State House Accra, Ghana
E-mail: ssennay@yahoo.com
Tel: +233243250447
Ugandan President Urges Softening of Anti-Gay Bill
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP)—A provision that would impose the death penalty for some gays is likely to be removed from the proposed legislation following opposition from Uganda’s president, the country’s ethics minister said.
President Yoweri Museveni has told colleagues he believes the bill is too harsh and has encouraged his ruling National Resistance Movement Party to overturn the death sentence provision, which would apply to sexually active gays living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. The proposed bill, though, says anyone convicted of a homosexual act would face life imprisonment and it is unclear whether Museveni supports that provision or not.
Gay rights activists say the bill promotes hatred and could set back efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in the conservative East African country. Protests already have been held in London, New York and Washington.
‘’The death penalty is likely to be removed,’’ said James Nsaba Buturo, Uganda’s minister of state for ethics and integrity. ‘’The president doesn’t believe in killing gays. I also don’t believe in it. I think gays can be counseled and they stop the bad habit.’’
Ruling party spokeswoman Mary Karoro Okurut said she also agrees with the president that some punishments in the bill should be dropped. But she said she will still push for a modified version of the bill when it comes to parliament in late February or early March. ‘’Although the president is against some parts of the bill, the bill has to stay,’’ she said. ‘’(Homosexuality) is not allowed in African culture. We have to protect the children in schools who are being recruited into homosexual activities.’’
Frank Mugisha, leader of Sex Minorities Uganda, said the gay-rights group will campaign for and support President Yoweri Museveni in the 2011 polls because of his opposition to the bill’s harsher provisions. ‘’If one scratches your back you also scratch his back,’’ Mugisha said. ‘’Museveni’s action shows that he is a true democrat. As a head of state he is doing the right thing of protecting all interests of its citizens including those of the minorities.’’
If you are reading this short piece, it means you made year 2010 and that you survived the mixed fun and dangers of 2009. Congrats!
Looking back, personally, I can't but be glad that at least, I still breath (and that am alive and kicking), despite the many religious crisis, economic dangers and security threats that engulfed the world, most especially my own 'consitutency', Africa, in 2009. The most annoying was the failed terrorist act that happened at the tail end of the year when everyone is almost ready to heave a sigh of relieve. Sincerely, am most glad for those lucky ones that survived the suicide bombing attempt carried out by that brain-washed Nigerian youngman, Farouk AbdulMuttalab. I am so sure that many of the survivors drank themselves to stupor at the eve of the new year.
Can you imagine? Just seven days to the end of the year! That AlQueda programmed robot in human flesh really meant business! But wait a minute, as a youngman, did Farouk took that decision on the eve of 2009? I mean, did he actually, while jotting some of his plans and aspirations for the new year, wrote down: "I will die fighting for Islam through any means"? Or, "I will detonate a bomb to prove that Allah is God"? Am curious to know if indeed he made that resolution or believe in resolutions at all.
Resolutions are annual rituals that many never fail to partake in. It involves taking a vow to uphold some decisions, plans and list of proposed actions for the new year. Resolutions are considered sacred in some cases because inability to fulfil them means the entire year was a waste. To make these vows year-in-year-out without fulfilling them could also means that such person(s) is (or are) failure(s). To avoid these self-defeating 'ghost' that often haunts into the new year, another new year, many often make die minute frantic efforts to fulfil their resolutions.
Ok. Did you now see my point? To me, Farouk, a Nigerian from a wealthy home is likely to be one of those that believe in resolutions. The attempt to blow-up part of Detroit, I insist, is an attempt to fulfil his 2009 (then new year) resolutions. As a trained suicide bombing 'muslim', to die in the process is a virtue that must be utilized in 2009, who knows the reward for suicide bombing might have reduced remarkably in 2010.
His failure, should be a pointer to many youths that although goals and action plans could be set/planned for the new year, what should be planned should not be destructive rather that which will promote a peaceful world, not that which will 'rock the boat'.
Make wise resolutions for 2010 if you make resolutions at all!