B2


R


KLMNO ON FAITH washingtonpost.com/onfaith


Throughout the week, go to On Faith for updates, discussions, commentary and news about faith and religion. On Faith, led by Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham, is one of the online world’s most popular news and religion features, offering informative, interesting and insightful commentary every day on religion’s impact on Washington, national and international events. On Faith’s panel and contributors include distinguished theologians, scholars and thinkers on the subject of faith for believers and nonbelievers, as well as an award-winning blog, Under God.


I


Catholic America The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue denies that the church has a pedophilia problem. Anthony Stevens-Arroyo asks: How can we solve the problem if we can’t diagnose it correctly? Go to newsweek.washingtonpost.com/ onfaith/catholicamerica.


D


much has changed since the Scopes trial, but among the things that remain the same: God and Darwin are still fighting after all these years, at least in the hearts and minds of millions of Americans. Go to newsweek.washingtonpost.com/ onfaith/brad_hirschfield.


6


The Spirited Atheist Susan Jacoby says Bristol Palin and her fiance, Levi Johnston, are the poster children for the dumbing-down of America. Go to newsweek.washingtonpost.com/ onfaith/spirited_atheist.


Religion events


 Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.: A workshop on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd will be held at the Washington Theological Union, 6896 Laurel St. NW. Advance registration required; $35, includes continental breakfast and lunch. To register, go to www.nafim.org, call Barbara Lampe at 301-699-9500 or e-mail gnafim@aol.com.  Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m.: An all-you-can-eat crab feast will be held at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. 730 Bestgate Rd., Annapolis. $55; $20, ages 7 to 12. 410-266-9755.  Sunday, 8:30 to 9 a.m.: Chapel in the Woods will hold a service in an outdoor chapel behind Glenn Dale United Methodist Church, Good Luck and Springfield roads in Glenn Dale. 301-262-2299.  Sunday, 4 p.m.: A CD release concert for Gerald T. Smith and Young-N-Praise will be held at St. Paul Baptist Church, 6611 Walker Mill Rd., Capitol Heights.  Thursday, 8 p.m.: A Bible study focusing on the Torah through the Book of Numbers will be held at Kehilat Shalom, 9915 Apple Ridge Rd., Gaithersburg. 301-869-7999.


Send items to Religion Events, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071; fax to 202-334-5417; or e-mail rpevents@ washpost.com.


For God’s Sake Brad Hirschfield writes that


Guest Voices Reza Aslan says atheists want


you to think religious people are especially close-minded. But are they more fundamentalist than most religious believers? Go to newsweek.washingtonpost.com/ onfaith/guestvoices.


A mosque near Ground Zero?


washingtonpost.com/ onfaith


Excerpts from the On Faith panel at


Below is an excerpt from “On Faith,” a daily online religion section sponsored by The Washington Post and Newsweek. Each week, Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn engage figures from the world of faith in a conversation about an aspect of religion.


ANew York City community board has endorsed a plan to build a Muslim community center and mosque near the World Trade Center. Significant opposition to the project has emerged. Sarah Palin weighed in last week, calling the Ground Zero mosque an “unnecessary provocation” and a stab in the heart. Should there be a mosque near Ground Zero?


Trying to prevent another 9/11: This center is an attempt to prevent the next 9/11. What could be a better


monument to the victims of 9/11 than a community


center whose very presence is an affront to extremists everywhere?


Feisal Abdul Rauf, chairman, Cordoba Initiative


What do we gain by letting this happen? A mosque near Ground Zero is not about tolerance, but triumphalism.


Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist


No religious basis for 9/11: While opposition to the opening of an Islamic center at Ground Zero is certainly not surprising, it reflects a dismal level of intolerance, bigotry and ignorance that continues to plague our country.


Hadia Mubarak, researcher, doctoral student


Plan is insensitive; so are pandering politicians: I agree with Palin that the idea of building a mosque at Ground Zero is insensitive. . . . Still, I support the right of American Muslims to build a mosque near Ground Zero.


Herb Silverman,


president, Secular Coalition for America


Shouldn’t be prevented; shouldn’t be built: In a society like ours that embraces the free exercise of religion, it is shameful to forbid the building of a mosque near Ground Zero when we wouldn’t forbid the erection of any other house of worship. . . . Yet simply because something shouldn’t be prevented from being built doesn’t mean that it should be built.


Jason Poling,


founding pastor, New Hope Community Church


A mosque at the heart of America: Sarah Palin would have us believe that it is a stab to the heart to erect a mosque within a stone’s throw of the former twin towers. I say, the closer to the


Ahmadi Muslims in U.S. eager to spread message of nonviolence


nancy haught


portland, ore. — Like many teenagers, Saira Ahmad ques- tioned her religious faith — once she found out what it was. Born and raised in Saudi Ara- bia, Ahmad always thought that she was Muslim. The Portland woman’s family attended mosques and celebrated the holy days of Islam like most of the neighbors. But after a visit to relatives in


Pakistan, Ahmad discovered that her family was Ahmadi, members of an Islamic sect that is ignored or scorned by some mainstream Muslims. Her parents, fearing re- prisals, had kept the details of their faith a secret. “Why does everyone hate us?” Ahmad, now 35, remembers ask- ing her mother. “We follow Islam. We follow the Five Pillars. We ac- cept a messiah that the rest of the


world is waiting for. I was 16, and I just didn’t understand.” The Ahmadi movement was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghu- lam Ahmad, a native of India who said he was the messiah foretold by the prophet Muhammad. The movement’s London headquar- ters claims more than 10 million followers across 190 countries. Ahmadis are a small minority of the estimated 1.57 billion Mus- lims in the world. About 87 per- cent of Muslims are Sunnis, and 10 percent are Shiites, according to a 2009 study released by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.


Your Place to Save - Monday through Sunday in Metro


REPLACEMENT WINDOWS


Qualifying products up to $1500 Energy Tax Credit!


$189


WE SELL ENERGY STAR


703-378-7999 THE DAILY QUIZ


Where is the winner of the Mad Men Look contest from? (Hint: Check today’s Real Estate section.)


EARN 5 POINTS: Find the answer, then go to washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on “Quizzes” to enter the correct response.


Any Size White Double-Hung


Window INSTALLED!* *3 Window Minimum Up to 4ft Wide x 7ft Tall


of DC Inc.


“Simply the Best for Less” MHIC #1222286 VA License #2705274538 Class A 4116Walney Rd., Ste. - J, Chantilly, VA 20151


www.windowworlddc.com POINTS EVENTS


Ahmadi Muslims have been preaching peace since the move- ment was founded. Now, they say they are trying to get the rest of the world to listen. “Many, many Americans do not trust Muslims,” Naseem Mahdi, the national president of the community, told thousands of lis- teners during the Ahmadi move- ment’s 62nd annual convention in Chantilly last weekend. “Love of your homeland, your place of residence, is part of your faith,” Mahdi said, standing just steps away from a display that held the flags of the United States, Virginia and the Ahmadi movement. The community’s message of


nonviolence seemed particularly poignant after attacks on two Ah- madi mosques in Lahore, Paki- stan, on May 28 left at least 94 Ahmadis dead and more than 100 wounded. It’s a message that leaders say


got lost when the community was new to the United States, because it was young and full of im- migrants trying to assimilate. ‘’We cannot be silent anymore,” said Nasim Rehmatullah, the community’s national vice presi- dent.


Rehmatullah and other leaders are pushing the Muslims for Peace movement, a public aware- ness campaign started by the Ah-


Bonus Quiz: Earn 5 Points A Day! Don’t miss out! PostPoints members who are signed up for a weekly email tip from our editors can answer a bonus quiz question for 5 more points. The question will be about an editor’s tip. Not signed up? Here’s how: Whether you’re passionate about Sports, Travel, Parents & Kids, Food & Wine, Home & Garden, Electronics & Gadgets, or another special area, you can get a tip of the week just by checking your preferences at My Account Profile, washingtonpost.com/postpoints. Join the fun!


POINTS & REWARDS BSO at Strathmore


madi community. The campaign advertises Islam as a peaceful re- ligion, condemns terrorism and advocates for the separation of religion and state and human rights.


Ahmadis differ from main- stream Muslims on the issue of prophethood. Most Muslims be- lieve that Muhammad was God’s final prophet, but Ahmadis be- lieve that their founder was also a prophet. Otherwise, Ahmadis ob- serve almost all Muslim prac- tices, including reciting the Ko- ran, praying five times a day and fasting during the month of Ram- adan. In 1974, Pakistan amended its constitution to declare that Ah- madis are not Muslims; Ahmadis are not allowed to greet each oth- er as Muslims or refer to their houses of worship as mosques. Extremist Muslims, who see Ah- madis as heretics, have carried out a campaign against them in Pakistan ever since. Harris Zafar, 31, who was born into the faith, heard about the La- hore attacks in an early morning phone call. “I felt a mixture of feelings — devastation, sadness,” he said. “The loss of a life is trag- ic. And, in a minor way, there was anger as well, that these were not random attacks, that people are teaching such hatred and mis- leading others in the faith.” The Ahmadi motto is “Love for


all. Hatred for none.” To that end, the movement’s founder wrote 80 books and thousands of letters in an effort to rid Islam of what he considered fanatical beliefs. “The ink of a scholar is holier than the blood of a martyr,” Zafar said, repeating a quotation that Ahmadis attribute to Muham- mad but one that other Muslims say is fabricated.


—Religion News Service


Nancy Haught writes for the Oregonian in Portland. Religion News Service reporter Maggie Hyde contributed to this report.


DON EMMERT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES A New York City board has proposed a Muslim community center, nearly nine years after the 9/11 attacks left a hole in Lower Manhattan.


heart of America any mosque is built the better.


Clark Strand, author, speaker, spiritual leader


No better place than near Ground Zero: What better place for a mosque than near a place where some misguided followers of the faith corrupted its teachings and committed unspeakable acts?


Max Carter,


director, Friends Center, Guilford College


Good intentions aren’t enough: We may be facing the best of intentions, but no one group should symbolically claim the


suffering that afflicts first the families and next the nation.


Jack Moline,


director, public policy, Rabbinical Assembly


A symbol of religious liberty: If religious liberty is an American hallmark, then a mosque near Ground Zero would be an American landmark to our nation’s commitment to religious freedom for all.


Robert Parham,


executive director, Baptist Center for Ethics


Mosque as troubling reminder: I don’t know that I would be angry at all Muslims were I to see


the mosque at Ground Zero, but I would certainly be forced to come face to face with my anger over 9/11. I don’t want to be reminded in such an “in your face” way of that horrible day. I doubt many people would. The more I think about it, the more uncomfortable with it I become. I just do not understand, with all the things that could be built at Ground Zero, why a mosque should be among the chosen projects.


Susan K. Smith,


senior pastor, Advent United Church of Christ, Columbus, Ohio


A peacemaking mosque is needed: There are many reasons


why this mosque near Ground Zero is a good idea — it is a way to actually make a change for the better in this country, deal directly with the fear and suspicion directed at Muslims for no reason other than the fact that they are Muslims, and also address as yet often unacknowledged public sorrow for Muslims who lost loved ones on 9/11. It is, in fact, necessary to act your way into the change you


want to see. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, professor, Chicago Theological Seminary


Why not an interfaith monument?Why can’t Ground Zero be the place for healing? Why shouldn’t New York, and the U.S.A. in general, give the world a lead in interfaith understanding? It is truly amazing how we human beings, in what we would like to think of as the enlightened 21st century, have reduced religion to meaningless shreds.


Arun Gandhi,


co-founder, M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence


READER COMMENTS


TIMMY2: This one is such a no brainer. Disallowing a mosque to be built on private property is against the laws and constitution of the United States of America. As crazy as it sounds, if we try to disallow the building of that mosque near Ground Zero, the terrorists win.


DANIELINTHELIONSDEN: Muslims talk, talk, talk about what a great religion Islam is and what a peaceful religion Islam is. But is it really? This is a provocation that is unnecessary. If they are so peaceful, then why can’t they back down for once?


TMCPRODUCTIONS2004: I think the mosque should be the biggest, most in-your-face religious symbol on the block at the 9/11 site. It would say we are America, we are the home of the brave and we embrace the victims of both hijackings, the planes and the Muslims. Or is this country not big enough for that kind of a gesture anymore?


CRASHINGHERO: All this religious high-mindedness leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Christians, Jews, Muslims . . . who cares. They all murder, they all wage war.


KTM2EAST: I’ve never understood why it has to be just one religion’s house of worship. If you really want to make something symbolic of peace and reconciliation between people of different faiths (and what could be more appropriate at Ground Zero?), make it a prayer center, and not a mosque/church/ temple.


To read the complete essays and more “On Faith” commentary, go to washingtonpost.com/onfaith.


A complete list of PostPoints Spots can be found at washingtonpost.com/postpoints.


Exchange your PostPoints for a subscription concert package. See washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on Rewards. Dominion Electric Visit a showroom in Virginia or Maryland and let the experts help you choose just the right lighting fixtures. See dominionelectric.com. Home Escapes


Have you stockpiled your PostPoints? Reward yourself with a portable spa! See washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on Rewards. Lord & Taylor


Save now on the summer fashions you’ve wanted for months! See lordandtaylor.com.


SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010


washingtonpost.com/postpoints


Not a PostPoints member yet? Log onto washingtonpost.com/postpoints for more information about this exciting free program.


Payment Options


Available


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76