Rabbi Alan Bright on fasting in Judaism

Ramadan went by with its usual speed this year, and we are nearing the end of Shawwal. Meanwhile, the Jews have celebrated the High Holy Days, one of which, Yom Kippur, involved one of the most important fasts of the Jewish calendar.

During Ramadan, all Muslims read or hear the Qur'anic verse "You who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be mindful of God" (2:183). "Those before you" refers to older communities of monotheists, including the Children of Israel. I therefore asked my friend Alan, rabbi of the Shaare Zedek synagogue here in Montreal, to share with us his perspective on fasting in Judaism.

Atonement through Affliction

by Rabbi Alan Bright

Islam follows a solely lunar calendar; as a result, the cycle of twelve lunar months regresses through the seasons over a period of about 33 years. Judaism, however, follows a quasi-lunar calendar or, as it has become known, a “lunisolar” calendar. As the Jewish festivals are quired by Torah mandate to fall in specific seasons, months are intercalated according to the Metonic cycle, in which 235 lunations occur in nineteen years. In our days, the Jewish calendar is predominantly used for religious observances; however, it is used by traditional Jewish farmers in Israel as an agricultural framework.

Due to the mechanics of both the Muslim calendar and the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, followed the holy month of Ramadan, the most sacred time of the year for Muslims, by approximately one week this year.

A question that is often asked of me;

“Is there a corollary between the fasting within the Judaism and Islam”?

Ask a Jew why he/she fasts on Yom Kippur (the most widely observed fasts of numerous fasts within the Jewish calendar) and the answer will most likely be “to atone for our sins”. Suffice it to say that this vague answer is only one facet of repentance for a Jew.

Ask a Muslim why he/she fasts during Ramadan and the answer most likely will be "to create a greater awareness of God". Awareness of God and his presence is called "Taqwa", a word that can also mean "fear of God", "piety" or "self-restraint". Another reason many Muslims give for fasting is "to feel more empathy for the poor and indigent".

While both these great Abrahamic faiths include fasting as part of their doctrine, they do so for very different reasons.

From sunset Sunday September 27th through dark Monday September 28th, Jews around the world observed the festival of Yom Kippur. For this year only, these dates correspond to the dates outlined in the Old Testament. In the book of Leviticus the following is found:

...In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work ... For on that day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the L-RD. -Leviticus 16:29-30

The name of the seventh month in the Jewish calendar is Tishrei. So from the evening of the ninth day of the month of Tishrei until the following evening, (Leviticus 23:32), the holiest day of the year in the Jewish calendar is observed.

Even though not stated directly, i.e., “on this day you shall abstain from eating”, this, however, is the place from whence the concept of fasting in Judaism is derived. The question that begs to be asked is how did the rabbinic sages arrive at an interpretation of “you shall afflict your souls” to mean an abstention from all food and drink?

Throughout biblical literature, we find cases of great people who took it upon themselves to abstain from food and indeed other luxuries in order to repent for wrongdoing. For example ,in the Book of Samuel II, we read that King David –- King of Israel -- atones for his unacceptable sexual proclivities towards Bathsheba by fasting while praying to God for forgiveness. This motif of fasting as atonement for prior sins either committed or even contemplated became an accepted mode of repentance throughout Jewish history to present day. Furthermore, we find the same not only for individuals, but also for congregational penance. It is believed that fasting arouses the compassion of God to forgive the penitent for not only negative behavioral situations, but also to implore God's protection in times of calamity either personal or communal.

To answer our question about how the rabbinic sages arrived at the interpretation of “you shall afflict your souls” to mean the abstention from all food and drink,

Rabbi Arnold Bienstok in his essay on Fasting in the Jewish Tradition states that the rabbinic commentators interpreted the Biblical phrase “affliction of the soul” to embrace a generic understanding of denying oneself physical pleasure on Yom Kippur. The prohibitions included not just eating and drinking, but also bathing, washing, and anointing. Sexual abstinence also becomes part of the rabbinic understanding of “affliction of the soul.” Even the wearing of leather is prohibited because of its association with luxury or rabbinic compassion for animal life (tsaar baalei hayyim).

As stated earlier, fasting is found in the books of the Bible. Throughout biblical Judaism, the prophets develop the concept of Divine appeasement by fasting as it serves to transform the individual spiritually. Bienstok further comments that for the prophetic voice, ethical perfection is the ultimate demand of the religious life. Ritual behavior is meaningful only if it is marked by the inner transformation of the character of the penitent. The prophetic voice condemns ritual expression that is not marked by spiritual transformation. Rabbinic tradition selected the Biblical readings of Leviticus 23 and Isaiah 58 as the readings of Yom Kippur to share a balanced perspective on fasting. Leviticus 23 presents fasting as a propitiatory offering of atonement. Isaiah 58 asserts that the genuine fast is self-evaluation.

* Rabbi Alan Bright, a native of London, England, is the spiritual leader of Shaare Zedek Congregation, Montreal Quebec. Born into a modern orth'odox Jewish family, Alan attended seminaries in the UK and USA, namely Jews' College (UK), Yeshivat Rivevot Ephraim and The Jewish Theological Seminary (USA). In addition to Orthodox ordination, Alan holds a Masters' degree from Concordia University, with a major in Ancient and Medieval Jewish History. Alan's area of interest is medieval Jewish death and burial rites and customs. Alan can be reached via email at rabbi@shaarezedek.ca.

Harper shows his religious side

In an interview with the Quebec City magazine Prestige, Stephen Harper has said that family is more important to him than political success, and the judgement of God more important than the judgement of future historians.

As Harper put it, "To be honest with you, I am a lot more concerned by God's verdict regarding my life than the one of historians".

Regarding his work-life balance, Harper said, "The important thing, for me, is to preserve family ties. I can win elections, but if I lose my family, it's a disaster."

BTW, Harper belongs to the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

Putting Divine judgement over human judgement and family before work is something I can agree with. These are values I share. The question is, then, why do I still find Harper so creepy?

For one thing, I think, it's because his attitude makes you wonder whether he cares about human beings outside of his family circle. And so, speaking of his concern with "God's verdict" (since he raised the subject), I wonder whether he actually thinks about whether God would approve of his particular actions, such as doing all he can to prevent Canada from taking meaningful steps to reduce its carbon emissions. If he does, I wonder why he remains as he is. Or perhaps he feels he has blanket immunity because of his faith alone?

Greyhound killer not culpable due to delusions

Vince Li, the 40-year-old Chinese immigrant who beheaded fellow Greyhound bus passenger Tim McLean, 22, near Portage La Prairie, Manitoba last year, has been found not criminally responsible for the act. Li claimed to psychiatrists who evaluated him that he had heard the voice of God tell him that McLean must be killed. When he was arrested after a standoff with police, Li reportedly told them, "I'm guilty, please kill me." Li has been found to be suffering from schizophrenia. He has been committed to a psychiatric institution in Manitoba, and can be released only once a board determines that he no longer poses a threat to the public (CBC).

This wasn't the first time Li, a Baptist, heard the voice of God; in fact, he told his wife Ana back in 2004 that he had seen God. In 2005, Li thought God's voice instructed him to walk from Toronto to Winnipeg (a distance of 1,518 km). Eventually, the police picked him up and took him to a psychiatric clinic in Toronto.

Li told a psychiatrist that "God choose me to kill him.... God choose my hand to kill, I truly believe that.... But sometimes I ask God why he picked me to do these things. I'm an average person. I still trust God. God is 90-99 percent good" (Ottawa Citizen).

What a tragic story. The Portage Daily Graphic/Central Plains Herald-Leader (seriously long-name for twin small-town newspapers) ran an editorial saying that Li should be jailed once the treatment for his schizophrenia is complete. First of all, what guarantee is there that Li will ever recover sufficiently to be released? Secondly, what Tara Seel of the Herald-Leader doesn't seem to appreciate is that Li clearly wasn't sane when he committed this horrible act. You can't blame someone for doing something unless he knew what he was doing. It's simple logic. It's also simple justice. Punishing a sick man is no solution to the pain of McLean's family, which must be deep indeed. I think the Manitoba justice system took exactly the right course of action in this case.

Today we are all Palestinians

Today was the 16th day of Israel's murderous Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. In order to stop Hamas and other rockets that, over the last several years, have killed 13 Israelis (including three children), the Israeli government has, to date, killed over 800 Palestinians. According to Palestinian Ministry of Health figures accepted by the UN, as of 8 January, the Israeli offensive had killed 257 children and 56 women. And who knows how many of the men killed by Israel were civilians? So who is the terrorist?

I am certainly not taking any kind of ambiguous stance towards the killing of civilians. When Hamas or another Palestinian militant group kills even one Israeli civilian, that is wrong. But what happens when Israel blatantly kills hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a few days? When are we all going to admit that an innocent Palestinian life is just as precious as an Israeli one? When are we going to proclaim loudly that killing a hundred Palestinians is no less evil than killing one Israeli?

As we are told by our Creator in the Qur'an,

We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people (Qur'an, 5:32; Abdullah Yusuf Ali's interpretation).

This is something that Hamas would do well to remember. But, in the current circumstances, these words from the sacred text of Islam apply especially to those who are mentioned in them in the first place. Over the years, the thing that has angered me the most about Hamas is their refusal to draw a distinction between the Israeli armed ("defence") forces and Israeli civilians. According to Hamas's logic, since most Israelis, at one time or another, serve in the armed forces, they are all legitimate military tactics. This interpretation, IMHO, very clearly runs counter to the long-established Islamic tradition of limiting warfare to clear military targets. However, Israel, which, despite its occupation of Palestine, has, for decades, been claiming the moral high ground on the issue of terrorism, is now, quite obviously, deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians in order to make Hamas look bad in the eyes of its civilian supporters.

This is an exceedingly slippery slope. Pretty much the only sympathy Israel enjoys outside the US is related to its civilians coming under attack every once in a while from Palestinian extremists. It has now proven that it is willing to do the same to the Palestinians, and on a massively higher scale. It may well be that the only well wishers Israel will have left if it continues down this path are going to be American Republicans.

Meanwhile, the mood on the streets of the world is decidedly pro-Palestinian. A demonstration here in Montréal, which my wife and I attended yesterday, drew "almost 10,000 people" according to the normally pro-Israeli Gazette. This time around, even the Gazette looked decidedly pro-Palestinian. And in London, somewhere between 4,000 and 15,000 pro-Israeli, largely Jewish, demonstrators, demanded a cessation of hostilities.

Olmert said to the Israeli Cabinet today that "Israel is nearing the goals which it set itself." If that goal is the destruction of Hamas, Israel has, in fact, taken a step back. If it is a secure future for Israel, Olmert has taken one giant leap back. One can only hope that he'll come to his senses.

Eid mubarak!

I'd like to wish all the Muslims of the world a blessed Eid. Eid al-Adha commemorates the readiness of the Prophet Abraham (pbuh) to sacrifice his son (pbuh) to God, and the willingness of his son to be sacrificed to God. When the two prophets had proven their faith and devotion, a ram was sacrificed instead. May this lesson of obedience to God inspire us always.

Since this story, in its essential features, is shared by Muslims, Christians and Jews, I would like to extend my best wishes to the People of the Book on this joyous occasion.

Here's an excellent article from Gulf News (ma sha' Allah), explaining the meaning and origin of Eid al-Adha.

David Nancekivell on the Christian view of Jesus (pbuh)

Here is the third installment in the series of articles by invited authors. This article is by David Nancekivell, who currently teaches Arabic at McGill University's Institute of Islamic Studies (I was in two of his classes during the 2007-2008 academic year). Mr Nancekivell was born in Fort William, Ontario (now part of Thunder Bay), and, outside Canada, has lived in Malaysia, China, the United States and Lebanon. He has a BA in French as a second language and an MA in French-English translation from Laval University in Quebec City. Mr Nancekivell is currently doing a PhD in Arabic at Harvard University.

Readers may find this article controversial, and perhaps rightly so. It does, after all, call on Muslims to adopt the Christian view of Jesus Christ (pbuh). I'd like to mention here that I was invited to speak at three different churches in Grinnell, Iowa, and presented the Islamic perspective on Jesus (pbuh) to Christian audiences there. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) received a delegation of Christians at his mosque in Medina, where he listened to their point of view and told them about the Islamic perspective on the matters that interested them as presented in the Qur'an. Thus, I see no problem with listening to what a sincere Christian has to say regarding the status of Jesus (pbuh). You can find my reply (based on the Qur'an) in the Editor's Note that follows the article.

Jesus as the Fulfillment of Abraham's Sacrifice

By David Nancekivell

One of the heroes of the three monotheistic faiths is Abraham son of Terah. He was told by God in Genesis 12 that "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (verse 3) and, in the Qur'an, Surah al-Baqarah v. 124 "Innii jaa'iluka lil-naasi imaaman" (I will make you a leader to the nations) . We admire Abraham for his courage in leaving Mesopotamia at the call of God for a destination far away. We admire him for his selflessness and faith in God, who gave him a son when he was already a hundred years old (Genesis 21:5). Abraham is the actual flesh-and-blood ancestor of the Jews and Arabs, and Muslims are enjoined to follow "millata abiikum Ibraahiim" (the faith of your father Abraham) in Surah al-Hajj v. 78.

Perhaps one of the most telling things about Abraham is the title he is given in both the Bible and the Qur'an. Surah al-Nisaa' v. 125 tells us "Wa-ttakhadha Allaahu Ibraahiima khaliilan" (And God took Abraham for a friend). James 2:23 tells us "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God." The word for friend in both the Qur'an and the Arabic Bible is "khallil".Darayabadi, in his translation of the meaning of the Qur'an (Vol. 1, p. 91a) says, "But the English word "friend" does scant justice to the idea of "khalil", which, in Arabic, denotes the dearest or most sincere friend who has no rival in the love and reliance placed upon him." Surely, then, God's decision to bestow such a title on Abraham points to a special relationship between God and Abraham. Close friends love and trust each other.

It is not without surprise, then, that we read the story in Genesis 22 and Surah al-Saaffaat, in which God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. We are surprised at two levels. One the one hand, Abraham agrees to offer up what, surely, is most precious to him. Any normal human father, if he sees someone attacking his son, would go to his defence immediately and without question. Yet here Abraham is asked to "attack" (sacrifice) his very own son, and he agrees! Scripture is silent on the inner struggle that no doubt ensued as Abraham contemplated obeying God, but we can imagine his agony.

On the other hand, we are surprised at God. God possesses all good qualities to the supreme degree. Thus human beings are somewhat righteous, but God is perfectly righteous. Human beings are somewhat patient, but God is perfectly patient. Human beings are somewhat loving and merciful, but God is perfectly loving and merciful.

In asking Abraham to be willing to sacrifice his own son, God was asking Abraham to part with his most precious possession. Why? Surely, if Abraham was willing to give up his most precious possession to God, then there is nothing he would withhold from Him. But if God is more loving than any human being, what love had God demonstrated for Abraham that would surpass Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son? Could it be said that Abraham was showing more love for God than God had showed for Abraham? This conclusion seems necessary unless it is true that, as the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16, says, "God loved the world so much that He gave His only son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

In the end, God did not allow Abraham to go through with the sacrifice. An angel intervenes and a ram is provided. But the Qur'an says, rather mysteriously, in Surah al-Saafaat, v. 107, "Wa-fedaynaahu bi-dhibHin 'aDHiimin" (We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice). The prophet Yahya ibn Zakariyya, when first introducing Jesus to his own disciples, declared, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus. in response to the Jews who asked him if he was greater than their forefather Abraham, replied, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56).

Indeed, what God did not, in the end, require of Abraham, He required of Himself. The near-sacrifice of Abraham's son was but a foreshadowing of the sacrifice that Jesus made so that those of us who believe in Him might not perish for our sins, but have everlasting life.

Editor's Note: As a Muslim, I completely disagree with Mr Nancekivell's point of view, and here is why. God says in the Qur'an:

O people of the book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not "Trinity" : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah. Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs (Qur'an, 4:171; Abdullah Yusuf Ali's interpretation).

To this, I would add the following verses: "Blessed be He in whose hands is Dominion; and He over all things hath Power;- He who created Death and Life that he may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving" (Qur'an, 67:1-2; A. Yusuf Ali's interpretation).

Finally, I welcome comments on this article from everyone. I would just like to remind Muslims wishing to leave a comment of the following verse:

And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say, "We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to Him we bow (in Islam)" (Qur'an, 29:46; A. Yusuf Ali's interpretation).

Peace be upon you!

My mother on the niqab

To celebrate the first anniversary of Notes on Religion, I asked several people to contribute articles on religion-related issues that they find important.

To start off the series, here's an article by my mother, Maria Tchooudkhouri (Chowdhury), who lives in Toronto, where she works as a pharmacy technician. She was born near Čavusy, Belarus, and has lived in Ukraine, Bangladesh and Kuwait. She has an MSc in geography from the Belarusian State University in Minsk. My mother runs a Russian-language blog on life in Toronto, called "Toronto through My Eyes".

When Culture Is Mistaken for Religion

By Maria Tchooudkhouri

When I walk to work, sometimes I meet a woman dressed fully in black, her face fully covered, not even her eyes showing. Her hands in black gloves hold her young child.

Another picture is from TV. A church somewhere in North America. Colourfully dressed people singing, then starting to dance, to clap, some of them jumping, twisting and screaming.

What is common between these two cases, besides people being religious?

The people in them are following the cultural, ethnic traditions of their respective ancestors, mistaking cultural elements with religious norms. Thinking that those elements are the norms.

In the deserts of the pre-Islamic Middle East, women had to carefully cover themselves from the burning sun, harsh wind, sand and dust to preserve their beauty. When Islam was introduced, the teaching of modesty in clothing was interpreted according to local cultural tradition.

With the spread of the religion, cultural elements from the Middle East were adapted far beyond the region. Covering the face became a symbol of religiousness for some people. Some Muslims and non-Muslims alike think that, if a woman is fully covered, she is a more "real" Muslim than those with open faces, not to mention those who wear non-traditional chlothes.

But let's not forget -- religion teaches us modesty, and not a rejection of our identity. Our face is our identity, given to us by God. We have the right, and probably even the obligation, not to hide it.

Editor's note: Notes on Religion does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by guest authors.

Deoband against eye donation

In an edict issued in April, Darul Uloom Deoband declared the donation or transplanting of eyes by Muslims undesirable. Their argument was based on the idea that humans are only temporary caretakers of their bodies, while ultimate ownership belongs to God. According to Deoband, a transplanted eye is impure. The edict added, however, that blood transfusion was permissible when it was needed to save lives (ExpressIndia).

What can I say? Using this logic, we could declare almost anything "undesirable". For example, how can we build a house of wood, when God is the ultimate owner of the forest? How can we wash anything using water, when God is its ultimate owner? The answer is simple: God gave us these things to use. According to the Qur'an, he appointed us His representative on earth. It is up to us to use our God-given conscience and intellect in order to utilise these resources in a responsible manner. And wasting an eye that could enable someone else to see is anything but responsible.

Govt-Hizbullah clashes break out in Lebanon

After years of peaceful confrontation, the standoff between the pro-Western Lebanese government and Hizbullah has turned violent. When the government sent in the Lebanese army to dismantle a phone network operated by Hizbullah, the militant movement decided to fight back.

According to the head of Hizbullah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, "This decision was a declaration of war and the start of war on the resistance and its weapons. Our response to this decision is that whoever declares or starts a war, be it a brother or a father, then it is our right to defend ourselves and our existence." However, Nasrallah said that his movement would stop fighting if the army withdrew from the streets.

There is a danger of the armed conflict spilling over into mixed Sunni-Shi'ite neighbourhoods in Beirut. In one such neighbourhood, Sunnis chanted "God is with the Sunnis," while Shi'ites responded with the words "The Shi'ite blood is boiling". Lebanese army soldiers acted as a barrier between the two sides.

This may be the closest Lebanon has come to a new civil war since the last one ended in 1990 (New York Times).

Let's hope it blows over. I think Hizbullah should know that the support it enjoys among Sunni Arabs would evaporate were it to start a real civil war against the government. I don't think it can afford to risk that.

Bulgarian Muslims pray for president

Prayers of thanksgiving have been held at mosques in five Bulgarian cities, including Sofia, after President Georgi Parvanov, a non-Muslim, returned safely to Bulgaria from a trip to Mexico. Parvanov's plane had had to make an emergency landing on the Azores on the way back to Bulgaria.

The prayer in Sofia was led by the chief mufti of Bulgaria, Mustafa Alish Hadji. Apparently, the Muslim leadership of Bulgaria decided to hold the prayers thanking God for rescuing Parvanov after getting several calls from Muslims asking them to do so.

Parvanov is popular among Bulgarian Muslims, who supported him in the 2006 presidential election (Novinite.com).

Happy Islamic New Year!

I'd like to wish all my Muslim readers a happy 1429!

May we be continuously inspired by the example of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) and his companions (may God be pleased with them), who emigrated from Mecca to Medina 1429 lunar years ago.

You can find news articles concerning the Hijri New Year here.

Bigger celebration in Bethlehem this year

According to the Mayor of Bethlehem, Victor Batarseh, 25,000-35,000 "pilgrims and tourists" visited his city on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. This is twice as high as last year's numbers.

As Bethlehem shopkeeper Jacques Aman put it, "This year is very much better than the last seven years for tourism. The atmosphere is better in general. There is relative calm, from the security standpoint."

After praying at the Midnight Mass, President Mahmoud Abbas, who is a Muslim, "We pray next year will be the year of independence for the Palestinian people."

Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said during the Midnight Mass that "This land belongs to God. It must not be for some a land of life and for others a land of occupation and a political prison" (BBC).

Merry Christmas!

I would like to wish all my Catholic and Protestant readers a Merry Christmas!

During this joyful season, let us remember the ties that bind together those who believe in God and Jesus (pbuh).

You can see some pictures showing Christians celebrating Christmas in nine different countries around the world here.

Muslim peers hope to secure teacher's freedom

The British Muslim peers Lord Ahmad and Lady Warsi are planning to visit Sudan on a private initiative to try to secure the release of Gillian Gibbons, a British teacher currently serving a 15-day sentence for insulting religion over the permission she gave her students in September to name a teddy bear Muhammad. The pupils named the bear Muhammad after one of their own number. The affair went to court after a member of the school staff complained to the Sudanese education ministry. The peers hope that President Omar al-Bashir and the chief justice of Sudan will find it possible to hand Gibbons over to their fellow Muslims, without appearing to bow to pressure from the British government.

The student named Muhammad, whose name landed his teacher at the centre of the controversy, has spoken out in support of Gibbons. He admitted that naming the bear Muhammad had originally been his idea. His family described Gibbons as "very nice".

Nevertheless, there was a demonstration against Gibbons in Khartoum after Friday prayer today. The protesters demanded a harsher punishment than the 15-day prison sentence Gibbons is serving. In fact, some of them chanted slogans such as "No tolerance -- execution" and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad" (BBC).

I sincerely hope that Lord Ahmad and Lady Warsi's mission to Khartoum will succeed. They're wise to have come up with a face-saving exit strategy that will hopefully allow Gibbons to go back home and put the ordeal behind her.

For the people who want Gibbons dead, though, I can't find the right words. Their ignorance and lack of human empathy is simply astounding. This whole sordid story reminds me of the plight of the Bangladeshi cartoonist Muhammad Arifur Rahman who got in serious trouble both with noisy Islamists and with the interim government after authoring a cartoon in which a little boy gives his cat's name as "Muhammad the Cat" after being told by a mullah to place Muhammad before any name. There, too, some demonstrator's bayed for Arif's blood, even though the poor guy was just making fun of overzealous preachers who'd like all men in Bangladesh to present themselves as Muhammad So-and-So.

Muhammad the Cat, Muhammad the Bear... are these attacks on the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)? A moment's reflection would tell us they're not. And yet there are plenty of people in various Muslim countries who jump at the opportunity to holler and shout until they're blue in the face, demanding the death of one person, the imprisonment of another, etc. etc. Why so much insecurity? Do they think the Prophet Muhammad can be hurt by someone naming a toy bear after him, even intentionally? The Prophet refused to invoke God's punishment on people who had their children throw stones at him until he bled. Instead, he prayed for the guidance of those people. So what have these noisy crowds, who claim to be defending the Prophet, learned from his life and deeds?

The Prophet (pbuh) was gentle even to a man who urinated in the middle of the mosque in Medina. We have to take a long and hard look at ourselves and ask whether we live up to the Prophet's example, or even try to live up to it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'd like to wish all of my American readers (including my wife!) a happy Thanksgiving.

Praise be to God, each one of us has much to be thankful for. As we celebrate, though, let us spare some thought to the less fortunate, such as the victims of Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh.

You can find many American Thanksgiving-related news articles here.

Rape victim faces 200 lashes in Saudi Arabia

A Shi'ite Saudi woman who was raped 14 times by a group of seven Sunni Saudi men has been herself sentenced to six months in prison and 200 lashes. The rapists, meanwhile, were given prison sentences ranging from two to ten years.

The woman's crime, according to the appeals court that doubled the number of lashes she was originally sentenced to receive, was that she had ridden in a car with an unrelated man. The reason the court doubled her sentence and added a jail term is that, according to them, she had tried to manipulate the judicial system through the media. The appeals court also doubled the rapists' jail sentences. Originally, the perpetrators were supposed to serve between a year and five years in prison.

The appeals court has also withdrawn the licence of the victim's lawyer, which means he that he is now barred from practising his profession (BBC).

The only word that occurs to me is "disgusting". On second thought, there are many choice words you could describe the actions of the Saudi court with, including "deranged", "apalling" and "highly, exceptionally un-Islamic".

According to the Qur'an, someone who has been found guilty of adultery should be flogged a hundred times. Now, the person who is to be flogged has to be found guilty of actually having engaged in extra-marital sex, not of merely being in the same enclosed space as an unrelated member of the opposite sex. So to sentence the victim of rape to twice the punishment prescribed by God for a confirmed adulterer or adulteress simply defies belief. On the other hand, this is Saudi Arabia we're talking about.

Bouchard-Taylor Commission hears about religion in Drummondville

On 6 November, the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, which is canvassing public opinion in Quebec concerning reasonable accommodation, held a session in Drummondville, a city of about 67,000 in the Centre-du-Québec region.

During the session, the commission heard from some Catholics who argued against the province's plan to drop the teaching of Catholicism at public schools in favour of the teaching of religion as a general subject. Gilbert Deshaies, a Drummondville resident, stated that "religious thought should be forged in a child before he submits his faith to criticism."

On the other hand, Lionel Émard, a Catholic priest, argued that it was not the role of the state to promote a certain religion, but rather the responsibility of the relevant religious community itself.

Aziza Aboulaz, an immigrant from Morocco, aimed to counter the negative image of Islam held by some by informing the audience that she did not have to get her husband's permission to address the commission, and that she had a car which she could drive. She also said she had worked in the banking sector in Morocco for 15 years. On the other hand, she asked what she called Muslim fundamentalists to be more realistic in the demands they made from Quebec society at large.

Finally, Gérard Malo, a World War II veteran, spoke out against what he considers to be a moral decline in the province. According to him, this decline has set in due to consumerism and a reduction in religious observance. In this regard, he said Christians had a lesson to learn from Muslims, who pray "a lot and well". Malo finished by praising God in six different languages (Radio-Canada).

US church gets fined for desecrating Marine's funeral

The Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church has been fined US $10.9 million (Canadian $10.2 million) by a court in Maryland for invasion of privacy and emotional distress resulting from its protests at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who died in Iraq in March 2006.

Members of the church attended Snyder's funeral with signs saying "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "You're going to hell".

The Westboro Baptist Church, which is not affiliated with any Baptist movement, claims that the losses suffered by the US in the Iraq War are the result of Americans' toleration of homosexuality. In their defence, members of the church argued that they had a constitutional right to free speech. The church plans to appeal the sentence (BBC).

What I don't understant is this: if the members of the church do think homosexuality is so offensive, why say "You're going to hell" at the funeral of a soldier who probably had nothing to do with that orientation? Why adopt a repulsive practice to fight something which the church considers repulsive?

Mother Teresa suffered decades of doubt

A compilation of Mother Teresa's letters, due to be published next month under the title Come Be My Light, reveals that she doubted the existence of God and heaven, and that she found no attraction in "saving souls," that is, converting people to Catholicism. While outwardly every bit the Catholic, she suffered from an intense spiritual drought in her heart.

At her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 1979, she proclaimed that "Christ is in our hearts, Christ is in the poor we meet, Christ is in the smile we give, and Christ is in the smile we receive." However, writing to Father Michael van der Peet, her spiritual adviser, she admitted that "the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see -- listen and do not hear -- the tongue moves but does not speak."

In fact, Mother Teresa, known after her death as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, believed that she was involved in the "verbal deception" of people who admired her.

While these revelations, which come from letters Mother Teresa wanted burned after her death (they were preserved on the Church's orders), may make her less popular with some, but others are already saying that she is as holy as they thought previously, only more human (Daily Mail).

Afghans angry at balls donated by the US

About 100 people have demonstrated in the Afghan city of Khost after US troops stationed in the area airdropped some footballs (soccer balls) aimed at children in the area. They were protesting the fact that some of the balls were decorated with, among other things, Saudi flags.

Since the Saudi flag contains the Muslim declaration of faith, "There is no god except God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God," the footballs would indirectly invite players to kick an object bearing the name of God.

A US military spokeswoman has expressed regret over the mistake (BBC).

This once again starkly highlights the need for understanding the US Armed Forces to understand Islam and Muslims. Any interpreter who took a look at one of those footballs would be able to flag them as inappropriate.