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Given the recent launching of 50 tomahawk missiles at Syria by the US government, it is easy to get lost in context and think of it as an unfounded and erratic act by Donald Trump. This video helps explain the origin of the war, its key players and tricky alliances that make the whole thing even messier. 

During the Arab spring 2011, the protests against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad were met with violent attacks. In retaliation, protesters, former members of the Syrian army, and Jihadists form a group known as the rebels, they are backed up by oil-rich middle eastern states. Sunni powers support the rebels and Shi’a powers support Assad. The US got initially involved during the Obama administration, by training and later on sending Syrian rebels to fight Assad’s regime. 

But what is the nature of the US involvement in this war?

Under President Obama’s administration there were a couple of programs to train and send soldiers back to Syria to fight Isis, one of the extremist religious groups that are part of the Jihadists. After the use of chemical weapons on the town of Ghouta during the year 2013, the risk of attack to Syria incremented when Obama drew chemical attacks as a “red line”. With Russia as a middle man, the US agreed not to attack Assad as long as he abstained from using chemical weapons. 

Currently, under Trump’s administration, there is a debate regarding the incoherence of his 2013 tweets urging President Obama to not intervene and his decision. The missiles were sent to the airbase from which the chemical attacks were produced, sending the message against these weapons and not Assad himself or his regime. But why does the US keep interfering in international conflict and why does it keep acting as police to other countries? Regardless of the US' separation of church and state, this war on Muslim extremism can be thought of as a war between Christianity and Islam. The political order can be altered by our religious culture and influence our side of the conflict. Violent ideology like the one imposed by terrorist groups can be linked to westernization as a response to an increase in liberalism. The US role as international steward for peace might be linked to our country's history of Christianity.  

It might seem unclear what the role the US will be playing in this war, but it will be a historic development we will experience very soon. 

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This article describes how conservative christianity has made use of “scapegoats” in the history of the US and its politics.  (It dates back to when Trump had been named president elect...)

African americans prior to and during the civil rights movement, atheists during the Red Scare, and [currently] Mexicans and Muslims have all been used as scapegoats during historical periods in our country’s journey. These social minorities have been blamed of even the most insignificant social issues with the purpose of diverting the public’s attention from greater political agendas. 

The article makes light of this situation, most recently, under Donald Trump’s presidency. There are big things coming up during his term, and not necessarily good ones...

The EPA will be dismantled (or at least severely limited) in 2018, Planned parenthood will be defunded, the department of education will be terminated, among other not so exciting legislation is being introduced by congress. Yet the public is too concerned with hate speech, fear mongering and blatant racism to raise their voices against issues that concern ALL US citizens. 

In RELS 390B, the religious right has been represented (Jerry Falwell, moral majority..) as an ultra conservative, almost extremist group that holds Christianity, and its scripture, as the ultimate doctrine to be followed. Trump’s plans for the pro-life agenda seems to be why most conservative Christians supported him. 

If there is one thing I hope humanity has learned from history, is that scapegoats, and retaliation against them, only provide some sort of temporary “unity” (because the strongest bond you can have is between two people who hate the same person, right?) and a temporary solution: but as a country we must look past that and remind ourselves what the REAL problems (no, its not immigrants stealing your jobs) are and how we can fix them. 

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As I mentioned in the previous post, there ARE groups of Jewish people who are not in favor of the state of Israel.

The Neturei Karta, an ultra orthodox group based in London, have been likened to Muslim extremists by the Jewish community in the UK. 

Zionism is the movement in favor of the State of Israel. Rabbi Beck, the main interviewee in the video, claims that it is God’s mandate for the Jewish people to live in exile before the coming of the Messiah, and has commented on the Holocaust being “God’s will.” I can see how these type of comments, strictly adhering to the Torah and other Jewish scripture, can cause anger among the Jewish community. The ultra orthodox synagogue where the Neturei Karta study and pray has come under attack several times by Zionist Jews. The video shows the Neturei Karta joining Palestinians in protest for Nakba day, the day they were displaced from Israel, which angered many Jews at the protest. 

It was interesting to see how the Jewish holiday of the Sabbath did not allow any of the members of the Neturei Karta to carry their protest signs, not being able to take public transportation, and even quirky laws like not being able to talk directly into the microphone, and having a non-jewish man walk between the female interviewer and the Neturei Karta. 

Conflict within religion can lead to branching and violence. I will say that the Neturei Karta’s religious duty is something to admire, but then again, how can the people outside determine it is an uncompromising faith and not extremism?

anyway... here’s a GIF of a rabbi skating. 

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In 1967 Israel began occupation of Gaza. Hamas, a fundamentalist Sunni-Islamic organization, took control of the Gaza strip in 2006 after winning elections. Its most recent conflict erupted in the summer of 2014 and both Israel and Palestine have been accused of engaging in war crimes. 

Israel has imposed a travel ban on people and products. this article focused on the human rights sector in particular. Arguing that the state of Israel has not allowed members of activist groups access to the Gaza territory. These groups seek access to Gaza with the purpose of documenting violations on human rights. 

Mitchell Barak, a political analyst based in Israel, argues that terrorist organizations use human rights workers and medical workers to smuggle money or weapons into Israel. He concludes that no war crimes were committed during the 2014 conflict in Gaza.

The creation of Israel in the 1950′s was in part orchestrated by the US government, during Truman’s presidency. Judaism and Islam as religions of Israeli and Palestinian citizens respectively have created hostility between both groups and other groups involved in the region. Although many Jewish American citizens have Israel in mind as one of their international priorities when it comes to political action, other groups are not so much in favor.

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Michigan has experienced an economic and water crisis for the past years. It is a state that voted for Trump during the 2016 elections. El-Sayed is an experienced politician who ran the health department during Governor Snyder's term as governor. 

 El-Sayed states that his term as Governor will focus on the people's needs and solving the water and economic crisis in Flint and Detroit respectively. Opposite to the business like approach Snyder took during his term, as El-Sayed states "cutting corners". When asked about how he thinks this election will turn out, considering Michigan voted for trump, a candidate with an anti- Muslim rhetoric, El-Sayed answers that he believes people will look past the traditional politician characteristics (white, Christian) and focus on what beneficial changes can be possible in the future. 

 Although I am rooting for this guy. Obviously because it would be interesting to see how Islam as a religion affects El-Sayed as a politician. I don't mean to seem pessimistic, but I think in the end religion has very little to do with how good or bad a political agenda is. So hopefully, El-Sayed will be able to accomplish whatever changes he has in mind for Michigan. Go El-Sayed!!

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Vissarion: Jesus of Siberia

Cults in the US have been known for their crazy ideologies, their secretive modus operandi and in the case of scientology for example, their celebrity members. Cults usually have a negative connotation among the media. 

This documentary is about a cult in Russia that follows a man named Vissarion. The film shows a harmonious settlement with progressive characteristics. They have a vegan based diet, renewable energy and pretty much live off of their land. The doctrine instilled by Vissarion is not very clear in the documentary but he does identify as the Messiah. 

In RELS 390B students learns that separatist religions have diminished political clout because of several factors. In the case of the sect of Vissarion their hidden location 100 miles away from civilization in the Siberian forest is a crucial factor. I can see how the separatist cult can seem appealing. The footage shows harmonious communities with people dressed in pastels and great musicians playing music. But beneath the surface, how controlling can a cult become? and how different is it from an established religion?

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I was walking on campus yesterday when I heard a man yelling from afar. The yelling was not quite clear, but I suspected it was based on some sort of religious message. I came closer and heard the man distinctly say the familiar “Jesus”, “salvation”, and “sin” among other Christian rhetoric keywords. As I walked next to him, I looked around curiously to see how pedestrians around me were responding,  most were looking at their phones, some didn’t care and some gave me confused looks. The man was “preaching” while he stood on a bench, and next to him was a young woman handing out flyers. I passed next to them and the woman reached out to hand me one of the flyers. I asked her if she was with the man who was preaching, she said yes and then I said no thank you. The whole interaction took me less than ten seconds but after saying no thank you she said “Im Christian- Baptist”. I said cool and kept walking.

After that I kept thinking about the correlation between ethnicity and religion. In RELS 390B students have learned that the majority of African Americans are baptist, as were the two young people who I am referring to in the above paragraph. More than being interested in the relationship between ethnicity and religion, I am interested in understanding how being a Baptism appeals to these people and what sort of religious or doctrinal motivation they have for preaching in public or handing out flyers (evangelical?). Having a Catholic background, Christian denominations within Protestantism are unknown to me. So I researched a little about them and came across this video.

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A yogi that “incites violence against Muslims” -how ironic. Yogi Adityanath was elected chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, a state in India. The state has a population of 220 million. Adityanath has called for it to become India’s official religion and has stated that anyone who opposes the practice of Yoga should “leave the country or drown themselves in the sea.” -doesn’t seem like the kind of message someone who practices Yoga would say. 

Adityanath’s election was problematic because Uttar Pradesh is a state that has been known to have disagreements amongst its minority groups and sects. He has praised Trump’s muslim ban and has called for India to impose the same policy. So, if 20% of Uttar Pradesh’s population is muslim, how can Adityanath represent the state as a political leader? and why are so many countries experiencing Nostalgic Nationalism? 

There has been a rise in the number of politicians around the globe who choose nationalist and conservative ideologies as their political platform. Brexit in the UK, Trump (and his alt-right supporters) in the US, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, and Marine Le Pen in France, are all examples of a nationalist (some would even say xenophobic) movement happening in politics. 

 This Nostalgic Nationalism could be occurring in response to liberalism becoming the “new normal,” as a movement that seeks to go back to the conservative periods of each country. Populism, could also be considered one of the factors advancing this movement. But looking at Adityanath’s case, religious fundamentalism could also play a part in said shift. 

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PURIM and the resilient Jewish spirit

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Purim is a holiday that celebrates the resilience of the Jewish community throughout history. This year it was celebrated on the weekend of March 11. Its a pretty cool holiday, you get to dress up, eat hat-shaped cookies, drink until you can’t tell two phrases apart. check it out here... 

Since January 1st 100 bomb threats were made towards Jewish Community Centers (JCC) in 33 US states. According to CNN, looking specifically at New York, the NYPD released a report that shows an increase in hate crimes towards the Jewish community since the beginning of 2017. Fortunately, none of these threats were real. 

The Jewish community has been historically persecuted. In the United States, Jewish people have been part of civil rights movements. “Thou shalt not stand idly by” is a phrase that comes to mind when thinking about Jewish culture. As an ethno religious community with high political and economic clout, the Jews in the US have been considered a crucial part of modern day American society that has helped shape the “American- fight for your rights” culture we have today. So why is Anti-semitism so pervasive ?

The resilient Jewish spirit is certainly something to admire. In spite of the continuous demonstrations of Anti-Semitism across the globe, the Jewish community has become an elemental component of the “American melting pot” and has prevailed as a culture rich in tradition, history and delicious bread. 

L’Chaim!

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I came across this article on the Huffington post today and I just knew I had to resume my procrastination on the Tumblr assignment for my religion and politics class...

This is a lawn sign. If you zoom in on the image, you will be able to see the text written in arabic, hebrew, spanish, korean (?). The message is the same. “Love thy neighbor”. 

I’ve had my ups and downs with religion for a while now and I am currently riding the Agnostic wave. I can say I have faith in something that is beyond our comprehension, I have faith in some form of life after death (or state of existence), and I have faith in the essence of humanity that is the soul; but I don’t believe in human [flawed] establishments of religion. I rarely ever think of religion as being a positive influence in modern culture, because the messages I’ve heard often have more exclusive than inclusive undertones. This lawn sign however, immediately made me think of the influential Christian message in the Gospel of Mark. It is an amazing message, utopic really. 

In the past couple of months since the establishment of Donald Trump as POTUS, there have been a series of hateful events [and legislation] directed towards racial/religious groups that foment the overall feeling of hostility towards these groups of people. 

The Together for One Royal Oak lawn sign’s message reject this. It is reminding its readers of the collective progress that can be achieved from unity and that the US is a country made up by people of incredibly varied backgrounds. It holds a populist message that challenges the “establishment”, and pushes the people to unite in light of respect, acceptance and love. A very religious AND political message if you ask me...