Stories about Islam, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the West:
Only one wife gets benefits: province
Ontario's Minister of Community and Social Services said she is "perturbed" to hear claims that men with multiple wives are taking advantage of welfare and social benefits in Ontario. According to a published report, an official from the Canadian Society of Muslims estimated that "several hundred" GTA husbands in polygamous marriages are receiving benefits for their many wives.
National Post, February 9
Also: Vancouver Sun
The Archliberal of Ditherbury
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had better hope shariah law never takes hold in Britain, otherwise, as the leader of an infidel faith, he'll be among the first to be flayed alive in Ayatollah Khomeini Public Assemblage Area (formerly Trafalgar Square). The Supreme Council of the Islamic Republic of Great Britain will probably even hold his show trial in his own cathedral. To be fair to Dr. Williams, who has been eaten alive in the British press over the past 48 hours about comments he made regarding the inevitability of Britain permitting some form of Islamic shariah law, did not actually recommend that shariah replace British Common or criminal law. However, with a social tone-deafness and political ineptitude that could only be summoned by a dodgy, old Anglican vicar, Dr. Williams told first a conference at the Royal Courts of Justice and later a radio interviewer that it "seems inevitable" elements of Islamic law would eventually be incorporated into British law.
Lorne Gunter, National Post, February 9
Shariah in Britain
The United Kingdom, from common language and shared heritage, offers us our best window into what is happening in Europe. This is especially so when we try to come to grips -- if we have the courage to do so -- with the historically sudden irruption, and rapid spread, of Islam across Europe. There are parallel developments in all the nations on the Continent: high immigration rates from Islamic countries, comparatively high birth rates among that immigrant population, and the radicalization of their young in Wahabi mosques financed by the oil wealth of Arabia. But for many English-speaking Canadians, it is the British experience that brings the phenomenon home.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, February 9
Getting religious liberty wrong
On Monday, the Archbishop of Canterbury' took back what he said last week about the "inevitability" of accommodating shariah law in Britain. In a long and complex lecture, Dr. Rowan Williams had argued that space had to be left for plural identities before the law (e.g., both British and Muslim) and therefore that some limited accommodation of shariah tribunals might be apt for Britain's growing Muslim minority. The remarks set off a conflagration over the weekend, including a public rebuke from Dr. George Carey, Dr. Williams' predecessor.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, February 13
Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West
Other stories from the past week:
Protesters demand PM, churches reveal fates of residential school children
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the heads of Canada's Anglican, Catholic and United churches were put on notice Friday that protesters won't rest until everything is known about the tens of thousands of aboriginal children who disappeared from residential schools. Filmmaker Kevin Annett, who produced a documentary called "Hidden From History: The Canadian Holocaust," was among a group of protesters that marched in Toronto demanding closure for the families and victims of government-and church-sponsored residential schools.
Canadian Press, February 8
Earlier: Bishops meet with Assembly of First Nations chief for first time
Looking for a holy hole to fill
Church-cum-condo's windows need new home
National Post, February 9
'Knowledge of religion shallow, commitment deep' in U.S.
Stephen Prothero, author of the recently published Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- And Doesn't, agrees that the Good Samaritan story is germane to the immigration debate because it is all about how Jesus said we should treat strangers. Nor does he have a problem about infusing religion into the political debate -- not when 96% of Americans identify themselves as believers. But there is another problem: Americans may be some of the most religious people on Earth, but they are also incredibly ignorant about religion and the Bible.
National Post, February 9
Perchance to dream, perchance to find god
An alternative state of consciousness arrives in the night to the formally religious and to those who aren't
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, February 9
Tolle has valid insights, but not 'the answer'
Even though Oprah Winfrey's endorsements have catapulted Eckhart Tolle into one of the world's most famous living spiritual teachers, he still isn't taken seriously by the mainstream media.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, February 9
Earlier: Stories about the Vancouver-based Oprah Book Club author
A blasphemous good time
Life of Brian is British comedic gospel, but it wasn't always so sacred
Chris Knight, National Post, February 9
Earlier: Stories about the premiere of He's Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)
Anons plan 'polite' church protest
Demonstrations - sparked by viral spread of Tom Cruise promo video - planned in 14 countries
Toronto Star, February 10
Does our library know there's another word for anti-Semitism?
British novelist Martin Amis recently confessed to being at a loss for words whenever he encounters the hysterical, "endocrinal state" that seems to befall certain people when the subject of Israel comes up in conversation. "I just don't understand it," Amis said. "I know we're supposed to be grown up about it and not fling around accusations of anti-Semitism, but I don't see any other explanation." And this got me to thinking. If it's not anti-Semitism, then what's the proper word for it?
Terry Glavin, Vancouver Sun, February 12
Earlier: Stories about anti-Semitism and hate speech
Of money and ministries
A U.S. Senator demands financial information from six televangelists
National Post, February 13
Orthodox Jew in Winnipeg hospital stays on life support as dispute goes to trial
A Winnipeg judge ruled Wednesday that an 84-year-old Orthodox Jew will remain on life support until a dispute over whether a doctor can disconnect him without the family's permission can go to trial. Samuel Golubchuk's adult children, Percy Golubchuk and Miriam Geller, looked elated after Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Justice Perry Schulman ordered Grace Hospital to "provide full medical care" to their father until the end of a trial.
Canadian Press, February 13
Priest pinches perogies for church
It might seem bizarre for an orthodox priest (Ukrainian) to be talking about pinching perogies for the glory of god, but Father Roman Tsaplan is not someone you'd call flakey. Tsaplan is referring to the hugely successful Ukrainian dinner the church hosts on the first Friday of each month. It's an important fundraiser. "We don't have a tithe," he explains. "Without perogies it would be difficult to run the church." So twice a month, if he hasn't other commitments, he sits down with the "ladies" to pinch perogies for the dinner.
Vancouver Sun, February 14
The Israel and Lebanon war
It's my first time at the northern tip of Israel, coming up out of the Hulah Valley, in the shadow of snow-capped Mount Hermon, with the Golan Heights stretching to the southeast. It's a place of natural beauty, but the place names evoke instead military significance, for this is the uneasy ground where Israel, Lebanon and Syria meet.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, February 14
February 13/2008
