Empowering the next generation of Muslim peace builders
Plus more top headlines from Religion Unplugged
Hi ReligionUnplugged readers,
This summer, Pakistani-American interfaith activist Anila Ali led a historic delegation to Israel to develop relationships between Abrahamic faiths. Ali, a former teacher, noticed the sharp uptick in anti-Muslim sentiment after 9/11. She was also talked down to by Muslim men for trying to do important work — and she noticed that many young Muslims were adapting harmful antisemitic views.
When she founded the American Muslim and Multifaith Women Empowerment Council, her goal was to solve those problems in her community and more.
Contributor Isabella Meibauer spoke to Ali about her work overcoming prejudice against her religion, gender and more.
“For Muslims, saving a life is saving humanity,” she said. “That is the commandment of God. I want to save lives. I don’t care what life — if it’s Palestinian or Israeli or Pakistani or Hindu, I want to save lives.”
See you next week! If you like what you read, share this with your family and friends.
Q&A With Anila Ali: Empowering The Next Generation Of Muslim Peace Builders
One Year Later: How Cuban Evangelicals Powered The Revolution ‘11J’ by Yoe Suárez
July 11, 2021, was the largest protest seen in Cuba in 62 years, since the socialist Cuban Revolution. Everyday Cubans risked attacks and harsh jail sentences to speak out against their government, many inspired to do so by their Christian faith. The series of protests lasted seven days, triggered by a shortage of food and medicine and the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pope Francis Retirement Rumors Grow: Will He Follow In Benedict's Footsteps? by Clemente Lisi
(NEWS ANALYSIS) The speculation over whether Pope Francis’ age — he turns 86 on Dec. 17 — will cause him to resign has increasingly become a story, first in the Italian press, and subsequently around the world. It is something that will preoccupy reporters throughout the summer.
Pro-Life Ministries Stay The Course To End Abortion In A Post-Roe Nation by Kim Roberts
With the United States Supreme Court’s decision last month in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case to overturn almost 50 years of a federally recognized right to abortion, anti-abortion ministries across the country are not closing their doors.
FBI Raids Several House Of Prayer Churches In Connection With Alleged GI Bill Fraud by Anne Stych
The FBI has raided four churches in connection with an investigation into alleged abuses of the GI Bill education program by House of Prayer Christian Church’s Bible seminaries. GI Bill benefits help veterans pay for college, graduate school and training programs.
Why Pope Francis Could Make His First Papal Visit To Serbia by Jovan Tripkovic
Over the last 20 years, Serbia has been slowly improving its relationship with the Holy See. Last fall, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States, visited Serbia. During his visit, he met with the country’s president and prime minister as well as recently-elected Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, telling the Serbian press that “Pope Francis is open for all invitations.”
Norm Macdonald Wades Into Questions About Life And Beyond by Terry Mattingly
(REVIEW) Comedians frequently take shots at taboo targets, but that wasn’t what Norm Macdonald was doing when he addressed Down syndrome while recording what became the new “Nothing Special” stand-up special on Netflix.
What Can We Learn From Abortion Movies? by Joseph Holmes
(ANALYSIS) After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion is a more divisive topic than ever. These abortion movies share three key insights about the debate and hopefully increase empathy on both sides.
Christian Adoption Agencies Offer Insight Into Impact Of Abortion Bans, Restrictions by Audrey Jackson
Christian adoption agencies help women with unplanned pregnancies make a way forward for themselves and their babies. But with new abortion restrictions, they are seeing a flood of new women seeking assistance.
Opinion
Roe V. Wade Overturned, Plus The Supreme Court's 4 Other Biggest Religion Cases Of 2022
In Friday’s Weekend Plug-In column, Bobby Ross Jr. highlights the U.S. Supreme Court’s five biggest religion cases of 2022 — including the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Don’t forget! You can subscribe to receive Bobby’s column early on Fridays for only $5 a month. Click the button below to subscribe!
Key Anti-Trump Evangelical Ponders What Seven Years Have Wrought In America by Richard Ostling
Don’t miss our latest podcast
Running on Faith: Mary Keitany
Senior Religion Unplugged Contributor Dr. Robert Carle is in Baringo, Kenya for this episode, interviewing world record-holding long distance runner, Mary Keitany. She won her first world record in 2010, at the Berlin 25 kilometre race, with a time of 1:19:53. She also has won world records for races in 2011 and 2017. Now retired, Keitany talks to Dr. Carle about her history in racing, the importance of her Catholic faith in her life, and the public school she helped start in her hometown. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or listen directly on our website.
In case you missed it
Editorial picks from our archives
Satanic Panic Drives A Small Town To Unjust Violence In ‘Stranger Things 4’ by Jillian Cheney
The fourth season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” once again teleports audiences back to the 1980s — and this time, that includes the historical background of the satanic panic. When the small town of Hawkins succumbs to the blind hysteria common in that period, it brings the show’s heroes additional difficulty. It also offers the audience a “God’s eye view” of the actual satanic panic and proves it did nothing but create irrational fear.
Christian Support For Prison, Police & Policy Reform Under Pressure Amid Crime Surge by Paul Glader
Some critics suggest that soft-on-crime policies have gone too far in recent years and perhaps even damaged efforts to help the homeless, drug addicts and prostitutes. The tensions around rising murder rates in major cities around the United States in recent years are also creating hurdles for the loose coalition of conservative, Christian and libertarian nonprofits and billionaires who have collaborated with progressive left activists in the cause of prison reform and deincarceration.
Thanks again for reading!
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