January 2012
2011 Year in Review: World Views
(WNS)—Not all the notable religion news took place in America. In fact, those watching closely would argue that not even most of the notable news took place here. Here are a few headlines from the international wire in 2011.
Haiti Mourns on One-Year Anniversary of Earthquake. A thousand crosses cover a rocky hillside north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, serving as symbols of hope for the nation and as a memorial for the more than 200,000 people who are buried beneath them in a mass grave. Haitian President Rene Preval visited the site Jan. 11 to help place flower wreaths beside the crosses and call on the nation to remember lost loved ones on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the earthquake. Samaritan’s Purse began ministering to the people of Haiti within a day of the quake, providing emergency medical aid, food, water, and shelter in the name of Jesus. “At the first anniversary of this terrible earthquake, it’s important that we don’t forget about Haiti,” Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham said. “The need is so great and will be for years to come.”
Canadian Court Elevates Gay Rights. The Saskatchewan Appeal Court ruled Jan. 10 that marriage commissioners must perform same-sex marriage ceremonies even if they conflict with their deeply held religious beliefs. The case stems from 2005, when commissioner Orville Nichols, a Baptist, refused to marry a same-sex couple because it ran counter to his religious beliefs. Two alternative new laws protecting conscience rights of marriage commissioners went before the Canadian court for a preliminary opinion as to their constitutionality. The court said either law would “violate the equality rights of gay and lesbian individuals, saying they “overlook, or inappropriately discount, the importance of the impact on gay or lesbian couples of being told by a marriage commissioner that he or she will not solemnize a same-sex union.”
Islamic Extremists Attack Churches in Cairo. At least 12 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded when members of a conservative Muslim movement attacked two churches and surrounding Christian-owned homes and businesses in a poor section of Cairo on May 7. Salifis, a hard-line Islamic movement with extremist tendencies, set fire to one of the two church buildings, leaving most of it gutted. The arson attack on the Virgin Mary Church in Imbaba was one of many recent assaults on Coptic Christians by members of the Salafist movement, and the second time in two months that a church building in the country has been set ablaze. The event was one of several against Christians that came in the midst of or in the aftermath of so-called Arab Spring uprisings.
Muslim Extremists Burn Church Building, Homes in Nigeria. Christians from a local Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) congregation in the state of Plateau in Nigeria have been displaced after Muslim extremists set their church building and some homes on fire in April. The Rev. Ishaku Danyok of the church told Compass News Service that the Apr. 29 incident occurred after Muslims approached Christian music shop owner Gabriel Kiwase and told him that his music was disturbing them as they said their prayers. The young Christian man “quietly switched off the music set, and then the Muslims left, only to return about 20 minutes later to burn down the music shop and then go on rampage, burning down houses belonging to some Christians in the town,” Danyok said. The pastor of the church of 85 members told Compass that their building, his own home and the property of five other Christians in the town were damaged in the hour-long attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Speaks to Congress. In a speech to a joint meeting of Congress May 24, Benjamin Netanyahu drew standing ovations, bursts of applause, and raucous cheers, making little news but working his audience to show how strong support in Congress is for Israel. “Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel,” the conservative prime minister said, one of many applause lines. “In an unstable Middle East, Israel is the one anchor of stability. . . . You don’t need to do nation building in Israel. It’s already built. You don’t have to export democracy to Israel. We’ve already got it.” When a protestor stood in the middle of his speech and shouted about Israeli war crimes, he said young people in the Middle East are rising up so “that they’ll be able to do what that young woman just did.” Netanyahu also spoke of the imminent threat of a nuclear Iran: “Time is running out. The greatest danger of all could be soon upon us.”
Afghan Christian Sayed Mossa Wins Release—and Exile. Sayed Mossa, the 46-year-old Afghan jailed since last May for converting to Christianity, was subject to execution by hanging. But in late February Mossa – whose case had attracted international attention -- was freed by Afghan authorities and has been allowed to leave the country. Sources in Kabul, along with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C., confirmed his release Feb. 21. Mossa’s release ends a frightening ordeal for the former International Committee for the Red Cross therapist. An amputee, his case gained attention last fall after he sent written dispatches from prison saying that he was enduring daily beatings and sexual abuse from Muslim prisoners.
Conservatism on the Spanish Stage. An energized conservative movement in Spain brought the center-right Partido Popular (Popular Party) to power in elections in Spain this year. The results were something of a surprise. Even though the socialist policies of former government had resulted in economic collapse, it was not clear until shortly before the election that a conservative groundswell was building. Evangelicals account for less than 1 percent of Spain’s 46-million people. The Catholic Church has consistently opposed same-sex marriage and abortion. However, even though a large majority of Spaniards are nominally Catholic, the influence of the church has significantly diminished in the past generation, in part because of the Catholic Church’s close association with the repressive Franco regime.
Liechtenstein Keeps Abortion Illegal. On Sept. 18, voters in the tiny principality of Liechtenstein rejected a plan to legalize abortion by a margin of 514 votes out of 11,510 ballots cast. The official count put no-votes at 52.3 percent, ahead of 47.7 percent who favored the plan to decriminalize abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy or if the child is severely disabled. Opponents in the Catholic majority country warned that the proposal went too far and could lead to late-term abortions of disabled children. Hereditary Prince Alois, the country’s de facto ruler, said in a speech last month that he would use his veto power to block decriminalization. The outcome of the vote means a counterproposal backed by Liechtenstein’s two main political parties is likely to come before the country’s parliament and people soon. Under the alternative proposal, which Alois has yet to comment on, abortion will continue to be a criminal offense in Liechtenstein, but having an abortion abroad would not be punished.