Religion news 15 August 2022

Image credit: Bill Swersey, Asia Society CCLicense2.0

Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie “on the road to recovery

The author of The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie, is said to be on the road to recovery, off the ventilator and able to talk, after being stabbed multiple times and suffering serious injuries to his neck, liver, arm and eye at a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution, western New York. In 1989, Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a “fatwa”, edict, calling for Rushdie’s death and offering a $3million bounty. The Satanic Verses, published in 1988, outraged Muslim clerics who believed it was blasphemous and insulted the Prophet Muhammad.  There has been widespread condemnation of the attack, including from the Muslim Council of Britain who said such violence is wrong.  The Associated Press reports that Iran’s state-run newspaper, Iran Daily, praised the attack on Rushdie as an “implementation of divine decree”; and the newspaper, Kayhan, said it was “divine revenge” that would partially calm the anger of Muslims. After the fatwa was pronounced, Rushdie went into hiding for nine years. In 2007, he was knighted. Hadi Matar, aged 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault.

Professor Ali Ansari, St Andrews University, has written a Twitter thread on fatwas here

Another thread on the original disputed Satanic verses in Islamic literature is by Assistant Professor Ahab Bdaiwi, University of Leiden, here  

Ten part BBC podcast series “Fatwa” on why it was called and the consequences

40 dead and many injured in fire at Coptic church in Egypt

More than 40 people died and dozens were injured when fire spread through a four storey Coptic Abu Sifin church in Egypt yesterday. It’s believed that it was caused by an electrical fault, but the ire blocked an entrance and people were trapped inside, some jumping from top floors to escape. It’s reported that hundreds had gathered for Mass including many children.

Criminal investigation into Southern Baptist Convention’s  handling of sex abuse

 The Houston Chronicle reports that federal investigators are probing the Southern Baptist Convention over its handling of sexual abuse following the publication of a report that found abuse survivors were silenced amid fear of legal action.  In a statement, the Convention’s Executive Committee, said the Department of Justice is looking into “multiple” Southern Baptist entities and they will cooperate fully with the criminal investigation while continuing to lament past mistakes.

Minority ethic adviser to Archbishop of Canterbury resigns after 18 months

The Archbishops’ adviser for minority-ethnic Anglican concerns, Dr Sanjee Perera, has resigned, making public her letter of resignation on Twitter.  She says it has not always been easy to work with significant organisational changes within the National Church Institutions, where the Archbishops’ Racial Justice Commission has started work and a new director of racial justice is about to be appointed. The Commission had been demanding of her time and had been “increasingly directive” and the work of the new director of racial justice would overlap with her own role. She was deeply sad to leave her position, which she had found fulfilling. Dr Sanjee Perera is an academic with research roles at various universities and is an honorary lay Canon of Liverpool Cathedral.

Catholics in Scotland want change and a church more up to date

The Catholic Church in Scotland has compiled its official response to the synodical process, where the Pope has asked all Catholics for their views on issues of concern. The role of women was raised many times and people called for women to contribute at decision making levels, but the report warned that suggesting women do the same things as men “reduces dignity to activity”. Catholics were concerned at young people leaving the church and the report called for chaplains and Catholic schools to talk to young people more.  Many said the church was out of date and must “update to the pace, style, and tastes of modern life”. The report’s response was that to update “in order to offer less of Jesus Christ to the world would be a betrayal of the Church’s identity and mission”.

Transparent rock crystals found in Herefordshire burial site from 6,000 years ago

A group of archaeologists from the Universities of Manchester and Cardiff, with Herefordshire County Council, have discovered rock crystals within burial sites on a dig at Dorstone Hill in Herefordshire. They are investigating the significance of these rare, transparent quartz crystals which emit rainbow colours in the sun. They have been found scattered on a site with 6000-year-old timber halls, burial mounds and enclosures from the Early Neolithic period, when farming and agriculture arrived in Britain for the first time. The archaeologists believe the crystals were intentionally gathered and deposited within the burial mounds over many generations, for up to 300 years. The crystals are thought to have come from Snowdonia in north Wales or St David’s Head in south west Wales.  

Bid for Creating Connections to come to your city

Our Creating Connections series in 2021 brought together local journalists, representatives from religious groups, religious education teachers, academics, civic leaders and interested parties, in five cities in England. They were united in the aim of forging greater understanding and inclusion in their areas around Leeds, Plymouth, Nottingham, Birmingham and Manchester. New links were forged and 90 per cent of those who attended said their view of the media was enhanced and they had a new appreciation of the religious landscape in their area. Now thanks to generous funding from Culham St Gabriel’s Trust and The Rank Foundation, we can announce our next round of Creating Connections, to take place over this academic year. This time we are offering the opportunity to bid for your city to be included in our planning – just fill out the form before 1 September here

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