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Stories about Harry Potter:
This is how it will go down
Here's how it should go down: Harry both dies and lives. It can be done. Rowling once said that she keeps her belief in God private "because if I talk too freely about that, I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming." Hmm. Guided by this comment, I think Harry could invert the Christian myth, and sacrifice his "godly" wizard identity -- death of a sort -- and be "reborn" a humble Muggle. I'm not sure of the mechanics of it all, but in the end he would accept this (prophecy-fulfilling) martyrdom as the price for vanquishing Voldemort in some apocalyptic confrontation.
Barbara Kay, National Post, July 18
Churches co-opt Potter's magic
Poor Harry Potter. As if battling Voldemort, Death Eaters and Dementors wasn't enough, the boy wizard has also endured the wrath of religious conservatives in the decade since J.K. Rowling's books first found their way into the hearts of young Muggles the world over. There have been book burnings, book bans and even a declaration by one Catholic Church official last year that Harry Potter is "the devil." But with Potter fans already lining up ahead of the final book release this Saturday, some Christian denominations are now eschewing condemnation for praise, embracing Ms. Rowling's tales as powerful religious fables for our time.
Globe and Mail, July 19
Harry Potter, Good or Evil?
globeandmail.com has invited an inter-faith panel to debate these issues online and to take questions about Harry Potter and religion from our readers. The first two mini-essays are printed below. We asked the panelists to answer two questions: What does your religion/faith/creed say about magic, witchcraft and wizardry? How does your faith deal with the phenomenal interest among children -- and adults -- in Harry Potter's fictional world?
Globe and Mail, July 19
Earlier: Harry Potter touches on current events, deeper themes
Stories on Darren Lund, Stephen Boissoin and "hate speech":
Prof hopes pastor's anti-gay letter will put limits on free speech in Alberta
A Calgary man hopes his five-year fight to get an anti-gay letter branded as hate literature will provide clearly defined limits to free speech in Alberta. "Freedom of speech is a precious thing that we need to preserve," Darren Lund said Monday outside an Alberta Human Rights Commission hearing into the issue. "But there are very clear limits on that freedom and when expressing yourself takes away the rights and safety of others, that's where the limits need to be drawn."
Canadian Press, July 16
Pivotal gay rights case starts in Calgary
More than five years after a controversial letter was published attacking gay activists as being "just as immoral as pedophiles," a human rights panel will begin a hearing today that one lawyer calls Alberta's most important human rights and free speech case to date. The complaint launched against Rev. Stephen Boissoin by University of Calgary professor Darren Lund has led gay rights organizations, Christian lobby groups and even the Alberta government to weigh in -- and not all of them in the corners most would expect.
Calgary Herald, July 16
Letter 'fostered hate' that led to attack: professor
A controversial letter that compared gays to pedophiles and called for action against the movement for homosexual rights "fostered the hate" that led to an alleged assault two weeks later on a gay man, a human rights hearing in Alberta was told yesterday.
CanWest News Service, July 17
Earlier: Calgary's bishop supports accused pastor
Stories on Islam and the West:
A woman's clothing
Should a man have the right to an opinion about how a woman dresses? We could argue about this all day, but the short answer is, yes. Women may obviously comment on what men wear, and I'm tired of conceding "rights" to people who do not recognize my own. An example is the Pakistani police woman, in Islamabad this last week, who found Maulana Abdul Aziz wearing a full-length burqa. She did not think this was an appropriate way for him to dress, and turned him over to her male colleagues for their opinion.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, July 8
Chinese court rejects appeal of Canadian Muslim jailed for terrorism
A high court in far west China on Tuesday rejected an appeal from Huseyin Celil, who was sentenced to life for terrorism in April in a case that has strained Beijing's relations with Canada.
Associated Press, July 10
Stunning debut for Toronto-bound treasures
On the top floor of the Ismaili Centre in London there is an architect's model for a building that will one day be built across the Atlantic Ocean: the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. The museum, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, combines Eastern influences with concessions to its host country's climate.
Globe and Mail, July 11
'Little Mosque on the Prairie' wins prizes at television festival in Italy
"Little Mosque on the Prairie," a first-season hit on CBC, beat the popular programs "West Wing" and "Torchwood" to take the best series award at an international television festival in Italy. The decision by the 30 judges at the annual Roma Fiction Fest was unanimous, said a release Wednesday from the show. The series, produced by WestWind Pictures, also won the award for best writing.
Canadian Press, July 11
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Imam's lawyer pins hopes on Olympic spirit
Huseyin Celil's last hope for freedom may well depend on whether China's Communist regime is filled with the Olympic spirit, the lawyer for the Burlington imam says. . . . A decision was handed down yesterday in far west China rejecting an appeal from Celil, 38, who was sentenced to life for terrorism in April in a case that has seriously strained Beijing's relations with Ottawa. A member of the Uyghur minority group in Xinjiang, Celil was convicted of the crimes of "separating China" and "organizing, leading and participating in terrorist groups."
Toronto Star, July 11
Behind the Red Mosque
In the spring of 1965, Pakistani military dictator Ayub Khan rigged an election to hold on to his presidency. This triggered outrage among the people, especially in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Students and trade unionists joined lawyers and academics in the streets chanting the slogan, Ayub kutta, hai, hai (Ayub the dog, shame, shame).
Tarek Fatah, Globe and Mail, July 11
Bountiful case has wide ramifications for Canadian law
Muslims anxiously watch polygamy case on religious freedom
Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun, July 13
The question of jihad
Mr. Fatah joined us online Friday to take your questions about Islamic radicalism, the doctrine of jihad, Pakistan and the global tide of extremism.
Tarek Fatah, Globe and Mail, July 13
True to reason
Lee Harris is among the few living writers who do not, as the saying goes, "subtract from the sum total of human knowledge" with each new essay. I've puffed him before, and will puff him again, the more shamelessly in the knowledge that his new book, The Suicide of Reason, is probably not even available in Canada. As usual, Mr Harris is skiing uphill against the assumptions his American countrymen and others through the West have brought into the inaptly-named "war on terror."
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, July 14
Managing Islam's civil war
Less than six years after 9/11, the great Clash of Civilizations has fizzled out. It's been replaced by a civil war within a single civilization. Consider these news events from recent weeks, and the pattern becomes clear.
Jonathan Kay, National Post, July 17
Earlier: Stories on Islam and the West
Other stories from the past week:
Sikh refugees who landed on N.S. beach 20 years ago now settled across Canada
Most of the 172 men and one woman had already left their native India to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. Sandhu, who had been living in Germany for more than a year, says the European countries where they were seeking refuge appeared unwilling to let them stay for much longer.
Canadian Press, July 11
Hird's words garner non-fiction awardHird combined his concern with Canadian youth culture, the conviction of his faith, personal stories, and his passion for Canadian history in Battle for the Soul of Canada: Raising Up the Emerging Generation of Leaders. In mid-June, the book won the Word Guild Award for non-fiction.
Abbotsford News, July 12
Earlier: Two Anglicans tell important tales about Canada
Top court rejects opt-out for non-biological parent
Legal wrangling over whether a Calgary man should be allowed to opt out of being a father highlights the evolving definition of family in Canada, says a family law expert. On Thursday the Supreme Court dismissed an application for leave to appeal by a woman who wanted to absolve her common-law husband of responsibility for a child she had through artificial insemination.
Canadian Press, July 12
Nothing Sacred
Across Toronto, churches are putting their buildings up for sale, and developers are swooping in with ecumenical zeal, converting century-old buildings into condo developments or reducing them to rubble: Riverdale Presbyterian, at Pape and Danforth avenues, is now Glebe Lofts. The Anglican church of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Cyprian, at Westmoreland Avenue and Bloor Street, has been transmogrified as Westmoreland Lofts. Howard Park Pentecostal, at the corner of Sunnyside and Howard Park avenues, is now a 24-unit development called the Abbey. And Willoughby Baptist, at Indian Road and Annette Street, has been razed to make way for four townhouses.
National Post, July 14
Everyone's welcome at Crossroads
Kindness, caring and good sportsmanship are central teachings of the Christian camp, and all denominations are greeted with open arms
Toronto Star, July 16
Councillor reveals fine, suspension
City Coun. Tim Stevenson is not resigning his council seat, but says a drunk driving incident that he kept secret for more than a year is "a huge wake-up call." Stevenson, a Vision Vancouver councillor and former NDP cabinet minister, pleaded guilty in court Monday morning to charges of drinking and driving from an incident last May. . . . Stevenson said he was so embarrassed that until recently he told only his partner -- United Church minister Gary Paterson -- a close friend and a lawyer.
Vancouver Sun, July 17
Sin and expiation
This week's sexual abuse settlement in L.A. is a welcome development
Fr. Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, July 19
Earlier: Documentary filmmaker explores Catholic abuse scandal
July 19/2007
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