Archive
From January, 2004:
Mosque goes to court to bar
"transformed" cleric
The trustees of a Cleveland-area mosque
are going to court to bar Fawaz Damra from the facility and from
conducting his duties as an Imam. Damra,
was arrested on charges he
lied on his immigration papers about his prior involvement with
terrorist groups had been ordered by his
mosque's trustees to take a leave of
absence.
As noted here two weeks ago, the Imam was
profiled in a
January 2002, UC News article that claims he was "transformed" from his
past at a UCC-related seminary. Damra also received
support from
Rev. Stephen Coates of Brunswick United Church of Christ.
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UCC church saves 10 Commandments
Emmanuel United Church of Christ in
Pennsylvania has
enthusiastically agreed to display a 10 Commandments monument that
had been located in a city park since the 1950's until Americans
United for Separation of Church and State recently threatened legal
action. According to Rev. Kenneth Heasley:
| |
“They are doing us
a great favor making a stink about it,” Heasley said of the
Americans United. “The Ten Commandments are the basis for our
legal system and provide an understanding of how we live our
lives.” |
Ironically, Barry Lynn, Executive Director
of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, is a UCC
minister.
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Clergy Leadership Network
unleashed
The Clergy Leadership Network (the group
of mostly disgruntled and retired National Council of Churches
officials)
issued a response to the President's State of the Union address.
The response from the CLN was predictable and consistently dishonest.
Of note:
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"The President
persists in establishing a dubious link between his preemptive
invasion of Iraq and the imperative of stopping terrorism. He
addresses terrorism's consequences but not its causes. Terrorism
thrives where there is political oppression and economic
exploitation." |
The CLN isn't the only group trying to
exploit terrorism for it's own political agenda, but it is unsettling
that this is coming from a group of clergy. The Council on Foreign Relations
addresses this myth specifically:
| |
Does poverty cause terrorism
generally?
This is an immensely complex question, and people disagree.
Economists and terrorism scholars say that while some types of
terrorists (such as left-wing ones) do commit attacks in the name
of the poor, poverty does not necessarily lead to terrorist
activity. In fact, terrorism often reflects the sort of
political consciousness that comes with affluence. Any
connection between poverty and terrorism is indirect, they argue,
and pegging foreign-aid levels to the threat of terrorism can be
counterproductive in attempts to combat both poverty and
terrorism. |
In fact, when global terrorism is
examined, the distinction becomes much clearer: Whether it's the ETA
in Spain, Red Brigades in Italy, Aum Shinrikyo in Japan, the IRA in
Ireland or Timothy McVeigh, the reality reflects middle-class
alienation rather than poverty.
|
|
Not so ironically, Paul Sherry, former
UCC President, is a member of the Clergy Leadership Network.
Sherry defended and helped secure
clemency for the FALN terrorists (who were terrorizing in the
name of Puerto Rican independence) in the 1990's. |
_________________________
Bernice Powell Jackson on
Hypocrisy
It would be amusing if she wasn't actually
trying to make a point. In one breath,
Bernice
Powell Jackson chides President Bush for acting hypocritically by
laying a wreath at Martin Luther King's grave while enacting
legislation that she thinks is contrary to King's beliefs. In the next
breath, she chides the Democratic candidates for not attending any
activities honoring King.
Isn't that hypocritical?
_________________________
What schools need: They need you
While Jan Resseger scours the country in
search of a political solution for public education, some faith-based
alternatives are emerging that focus on the student instead of
politics. From the
David Waters article:
| |
What at-risk kids need the most is what all
kids need the most: a stable and reliable relationship with a
responsible and caring adult. |
The solution Waters identified:
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"Kids Hope USA has 250 mentoring programs
in 27 states that provide mentors for more than 4,000 kids. A
participating church must agree to work with only one public
elementary school in its neighborhood. It must provide that school
with at least 10 mentors, including the pastor." |
It's a simple concept that directly
addresses the problem... and it doesn't require a political solution
that creates an "us and them" environment.
_________________________
Education Spin
Jan Resseger has been conducting
"immersion-discernment visits"
on public education with
the most
recent in Pittsfield, MA. Ironically, the author of the article
badly mangled the spelling of Resseger's name and apparently some of
the quotes. The biggest concern Resseger seems to raise is the effects
of standards being applied to education as a result of the "No Child
Left Behind" act (NCLB):
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"There seems to be
this ‘soft bigotry’ of low expectations towards people who don't
go for the NCLB," Messenger (sic) said. |
This statement as written makes almost no
sense... it's only a guess, but it looks like the author mangled the quote... typically, folks
who oppose standards are accused of "soft bigotry" of
low expectations because it implies that minorities shouldn't be held
to universal education standards. Resseger may not like it, but it is
bigoted to suggest that a lower standard (or no standard) must be
universally applied based on the color of someone's skin or economic
status.
_________________________
"Transformed" Muslim leader
ordered to take leave
The Cleveland Imam, Fawaz Damra,
who was arrested last week on charges he
lied on his immigration papers about his prior involvement with
terrorist groups has now been ordered by his
mosque's trustees to take a leave of
absence. As noted here last week, the Imam was profiled in a January
2002, UC News article that claims he was "transformed" from his
past at a UCC-related seminary. Damra also received
support from
Rev. Stephen Coates of Brunswick United Church of Christ.
_________________________
Religion and politics in America
today
This is isn't specific to the UCC, but it
is an outstanding critique of religion and politics today.
RELIGION
A fightin' word in American politics by David Brooks.
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Blind support, twisted logic
He was videotaped making slurs against
Jewish people and admitted to fund raising for Palestinian causes...
but that hasn't stopped
Rev. Stephen Coates of Brunswick United Church of Christ from
proclaiming that Imam Fawaz Damra is innocent of charges he lied on
his immigration forms about his relationship to anti-Jewish and
anti-US terrorist groups. Yes, innocent until proven guilty... but
conventional wisdom says it might be better to say nothing and see
what the facts reveal first.
We've seen this
before with Mike Hawash - the
Oregon engineer who rallied the religious community for support only
later to confess to trying to join the Taliban.
The retort from a UCC minister then was that they were really just
supporting civil liberties since Hawash was detained for so long. Now,
in this case, the twisted 'catch-22' logic that Rev. Coates
professes... "Damra would be in a federal prison if the government had
a strong case" is ironic. How would have Coates reacted if the
government had detained Damra like they did Hawash?
_________________________
Blood on our hands
The Chinese government
continues to persecute Christians with complicity from the China
Christian Council. The
UCC national
office's relationship with the China Christian Council is
deplorable - and we (laity and clergy) are responsible for maintaining
this relationship with our silence. When will our denomination finally
figure it out?
_________________________
"Transformed" Muslim leader
arrested
Controversial Muslim leader Fawaz Damra
was arrested in Cleveland on Tuesday on charges that he failed to
disclose his links to terrorist organizations on his immigration
application. From
WKYC:
| |
A
federal indictment says that Damra failed to disclose on his
immigration application his membership to an Afghan refugee center
that was an alleged terrorism camp run by Osama Bin Laden.
The
indictment also says Damra lied about his involvement with one of
the deadliest terrorist groups in the middle east, The Palestinian
Islamic Jihad. |
Damra's past made headlines when the INS
released a video tape from the early 90's showing him making strong
anti-Jewish comments. A
January, 2002 UC
News article detailed Damra's troubled past with a headline
claiming he was "transformed" from his past at a UCC-related seminary.
From the UC News article:
| |
Damra himself admits raising money for "oppressed" people like the
Palestinians, but says he has never knowingly supported terrorist
organizations and always has cooperated with federal
investigations. |
Oddly enough... just below the
UC News article
about Damra is a list of resources to "reach out to the Muslim
community." One of the listed resources is the American Muslim
Council whose founder was arrested in October for his links to
terrorism (see October Archive)
as was the
Vice-President of the group.
It's too early to draw any conclusions
from the indictment on Damra, but it is another example of the poor
discretion used by the UCC national office in the types of
organizations that it chooses to align itself with. Whether it's the
American Muslim Council, China
Christian Council (who selectively support religious oppression in
China), the FALN terrorists or
baby Bell lobbyists, the poor
judgment of these alliances is a serious concern.
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And the clergy support...
There is something weird about public
political endorsements from clergy. Supporting or opposing issues and
policies is one thing, but supporting a specific candidate just
doesn't seem right whether it's coming from Jerry Falwell or Jesse
Jackson. Now,
a group of Detroit-area clergy are voicing their support for Dick
Gephardt. I will give them some credit - unlike the
Clergy Leadership Network (the
group of mostly retired members of the National Council of Churches
who oppose Bush), their beliefs and mission are at least honest and
transparent.
_________________________
More God and football
There almost seems to be as much press
this week about religion and football as there is about Howard Dean's
religion. From
GMtoday.com:
| |
"What we're seeing
is a marvelous display of what the human spirit can do in the face
of diversity," said Rev. John Tschudy, pastor of St. John's United
Church of Christ in Slinger. "God is neutral.
God even cheers for the Vikings,"
Tschudy said. |
Rev. Chuck Mize of Union Congregational
Church United Church of Christ also has a joke for
PackersNews.com.
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NEWSFLASH:
God not a Packers fan
Or so says
Rev. Franz Rigert at Pilgrim United Church of Christ...
| |
"I think that it’s
a little ludicrous to pray for a victory and think that God is
interested in our side more than another side," said Rigert. |
_________________________
Howard Dean one of many UCC
members
The UCC National Office answers the
question: What's a
Congregationalist?
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UCC Wedding to be aired on Cable
Television
The Learning Channel (TLC)
will air the wedding of Brian and Shontya Washington on the
popular television show, "A Wedding Story" on
January 13, at 2 p.m.
The wedding took place October 18, 2003 at Heritage United Church of
Christ in Reston, Virginia.
_________________________
New Year, New Spin
The New Year has brought new spin from
Executive Minister Bernice Powell Jackson. Her
first
column of the new year comprises two resolutions: to register more
voters and to raise the issue of health care wherever she goes. Both
are good, legitimate issues... so it's baffling that she (again) finds
the need to lie about it. From this week's column:
| |
The fact that the nation’s largest employer, Wal-Mart, for
instance, does not pay the health insurance costs for most of its
employees means that we all pay for their health care costs. |
There are plenty of reasons to jump on Wal-mart,
but this issue isn't one of them. According to the
Wall Street Journal:
| |
At Wal-Mart Stores Inc., for instance,
new hourly workers must wait six months to sign up for benefits,
and part-timers -- those who work fewer than 34 hours a week --
can join the plan only after two years on the job.
About 10% of
Wal-Mart's work force doesn't have, or has opted not to take,
insurance; about half are on the Wal-Mart plan, and the remaining
40% have insurance elsewhere. |
If it's health care she is worried about,
perhaps she should first look at our own denomination. As mentioned
last month on this website, the United Church of Christ has it's own
issues on health care.
Advocate Health Care of Illinois is affiliated with the UCC and
is under investigation by the Attorney General of the State of
Illinois regarding it's billing practices. According to the
Service Employees International Union's Hospital Accountability
Project: "Advocate is the leading price gouger of Chicago's
uninsured as it charges that group 139 percent more for the same
treatment than those with insurance coverage" and "The project
also claims Advocate is Cook County's leading predatory collector, as
it sues to recover uncollected bills at a rate three times more than
area hospitals."
The gripe on this site is not about the
issue of health care - it's about honest communication of the problem.
There are many components to the health care issue: rising malpractice
insurance costs, out-dated patent laws that keep drug prices high and
the exploitation of uninsured patients... and there's no reason
whatsoever to lie about the issue. It's also important to recognize
our own failings on the issue (especially when it concerns an
affiliated hospital). The problems at Advocate Health Care - and the
moral resolution of those problems - could be an effective witness to
the problem of rising health care costs.
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Happy New Year!
Even churches
celebrate! And the food they served... pork, sauerkraut,
sandwiches and desserts... mmmmmmm...
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Questions?
Comments? Email:
UCCtruths@yahoo.com
