Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Jewish Blood Is Cheap
posted on July 23, 2012At Tablet, Deborah E. Lipstadt responds to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) refusal to dedicate a moment of silence at this year’s opening ceremony to the memory of the Israeli athletes who were murdered at the Munich games 40 years ago. “The athletes who were murdered were from Israel and were Jews—that is why they aren’t being remembered,” Lipstadt writes. “The only conclusion one can draw is that Jewish blood is cheap, too cheap to risk upsetting a bloc of Arab nations and other countries that oppose Israel and its policies.”
Trayvon Martin Shooter Tells Parents He’s Sorry during ‘Hannity’ Interview
posted on July 20, 2012In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, George Zimmerman, “the neighborhood watchman charged with murdering unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin,” described the night of the shooting, reports Trymaine Lee for The Huffington Post. During the interview, Zimmerman said, “it was all God’s plan and not for me to second-guess it or judge it.” Shortly after the interview, Martin’s father condemned Zimmerman’s comments. Tracy Martin stated, “We must worship a different God because there is no way that my God would have wanted George Zimmerman to kill my teenage son.”
‘God’s Warrior’ Jerry Boykin to Join Family Research Council
posted on July 20, 2012The Family Research Council recently announced “that it has hired controversial retired Lt. Gen. William ‘Jerry’ Boykin as its Executive Vice President,” Kelley Vlahos reports for The American Conservative. Vlahos writes that Boykin and Family Research Council president, Tony Perkins, “represent the extreme right wing of the [Republican] party, at a time when movement conservatives (and mainstream Americans) have been shifting their views away from the virulent anti-gay and anti-Muslim rhetoric espoused by Perkin’s group and Boykin himself.”
Read at The American Conservative
Rev. Anthony Lee Gets Tested for HIV in the Pulpit to Promote AIDS Awareness
posted on July 20, 2012The Huffington Post’s senior religion editor, Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, interviews Rev. Anthony Lee on his efforts to increase AIDS awareness in his own Washington D.C. area church. Raushenbush writes that Lee “gets tested for HIV in front of his entire congregation” four times a year. Lee says, “HIV is a preventable disease. We have to get out there and be relevant enough and realistic enough to deal with it.”
Why Bachmann’s Witch Hunt Matters
posted on July 20, 2012In light of Michelle Bachmann’s recent request that fellow Minnesota congressman, Keith Ellison, investigate “potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration into the United States Government,” Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald profiles Faisal Gill, a lawyer, and former Bush administration White House official. Gill left government to enter the private sector, but he found it difficult to find work after being accused of failing to report his affiliation with the American Muslim Council. Many law firms, according to Seitz-Wald, explained to “[Gill] “explicitly that it would be a PR problem for them to bring him on board.”
Ramadan Fast Poses Challenge for Muslim Olympians
posted on July 20, 2012At Religion News Service, Omar Sacirbey describes the challenges Muslim Olympians face if they choose to fast for Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, which coincides with the London Games. Some athletes say fasting doesn’t affect their performance, but many of the 3,000 Muslim competitors “will not fast, a decision that has been sanctioned by religious authorities.” Zahed Amanullah, an American Muslim living in London, agrees with the decision to allow athletes to forgo fasting. “This demonstrates that Islam is not about doing things to the maximum all the time. It’s about being balanced and moderate and reasonable,” says Amanullah.
Vatican Passes Financial Transparency Test – But with Poor Grades
posted on July 20, 2012After the Council of Europe tested the financial transparency of the Vatican’s Institute for the Works of Religious (IOR), the so-called Vatican bank, the Council’s report found that the IOR “was either ‘non-compliant’ or ‘partially compliant’ in 23 out of a total of 45 areas,” reports The Guardian’s John Hooper. While the Council states, “The Holy See has come a long way in a very short period,” it also notes that more “important issues still need addressing in order to demonstrate that a fully effective regime has been instituted in practice.”
Playing the Mormon Card
posted on July 20, 2012At the Lost Angeles Times, Michael Kinsley argues that Romney should emphasize his Mormon faith in his presidential campaign. According to Kinsley, “It’s becoming clear that Romney can’t run exclusively as a business genius.” Openly discussing his faith, something that is clearly a central part of Romney’s “inner life,” could “humanize him,” writes Kinsley.
Federal Judge Clears Way for New Tennessee Mosque to Open for Ramadan
posted on July 20, 2012A controversial mosque in Tennessee could be open “in time for the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Thursday,” CNN reports. After the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro planned to build a new mosque, “[f]our county residents filed suit to block the mosque in September 2010, arguing it posed a ‘risk of terrorism generated by proselytizing for Islam and inciting the practices of Sharia law.’” However, U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell issued a ruling on Wednesday, instructing state inspection officials to review the building, which if up to code, could open as soon as next week.
Bachmann Hunts for Traitorous Muslims; McCain Shames Her
posted on July 19, 2012Slate’s Dave Weigel reports on Michele Bachmann’s recent 16-page letter to fellow Minnesotan Keith Ellison, the first Muslim in Congress. The letter detailed her inquiries into “potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration into the United States Government.” In the letter, she also questioned how Huma Abedin, a top aide for Hillary Clinton and wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner, got her security clearance. Yesterday, John McCain “took to the Senate floor … to unload,” saying:
These sinister accusations rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma’s family, none of which have been shown to harm or threaten the United States in any way. These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis, and no merit. And they need to stop now.