by Christine A. Scheller | Aug 6, 2012 | Feature, Headline News |
The man who shot and killed six people at a Sikh house of worship in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, yesterday was “a frustrated neo-Nazi who had been the leader of a racist white-power band,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Numerous media reports initially implied that the shooter, who had a prominent 9/11 tattoo on his arm and was killed by police, mistook the Sihk worshipers for Muslims. “Ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Sikhs have been victim to — by one count — more than 700 incidents of violence and murder at the hands of people who wrongly assumed they are Muslims,” The Week reported.
No solid information has yet been reported to conclude that he was targeting Muslims rather than Sikhs. Amardeep Singh, Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said in a blog post that after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Sikh community realized “it wouldn’t do to simply say, ‘Don’t hate me, I’m not a Muslim.'” The community has generally avoided that kind of rhetoric, he said. “The Sikh advocacy organizations that were organized shortly after 9/11, chief among them the Sikh Coalition, were very emphatic on the point that they were opposed to hate crimes directed against any group based on religious hostility,” said Singh.
Sikhism, “the world’s fifth most popular religion, is a monotheistic faith that believes in equality and service to others, Sikh officials told CNN. “Most Sikh men don’t cut their hair and wear turbans and beards,” the article said.
“Sikhs are not Muslims and Sikhs are not Hindus, but jumping to clarify difference leaves the unfortunate, if unintentional, perception that there is something wrong with those ‘others,'” said Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, senior religion editor at The Huffington Post. “Sikhs are not interested in being identified as ‘not Muslim.’ American Sikhs would rather their tradition be understood for what it is, rather than what it is not.”
A second “person of interest” who may have videotaped the slaying is being sought, The Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported. Heidi Beirich, director of the SPLC’s intelligence project, told JS that SPLC had been tracking the shooter since 2000, when he tried to purchase goods from a “well-known hate group” called The National Alliance. Its now deceased leader wrote “The Turner Diaries,” a book that “depicts a violent revolution in the United States leading to an overthrow of the federal government and, ultimately, a race war.” Beirich told SJ that the shooter “attended ‘hate events’ around the country.”
Last month, at The Huffington Post, Dr. Raj Persaud, a psychiatrist affiliated with the University of London, and Ramón Spaaij, a terrorism expert at La Trobe University in Australia, said there is evidence that mass killings are contagious. Citing a study that was published in the journal Archives of Suicide Research that tracked mass murders in Australia, New Zealand and the UK between 1987-1996, Persaud and Spaaij said there is “a complex web of multiple influences between the different incidents on the perpetrators, especially influenced by the colossal media coverage each tragedy received.”
Working from evidence that media reports on suicide can lead to a copycat phenomenon, the researchers concluded that “the same guidance and restrictions [recommended for suicide reporting] should now apply to media reporting of mass killings” because “of all kinds of mass murder, this type might be the most sensitive to and encouraged by media coverage.”
“It’s beginning to look like such blanket and graphic reporting is in fact encouraging some of the disturbed and disaffected all over the world to try their own hand at infamy, and a warped sense of power,” Persaud and Spaaij siad.
With this in mind, UrbanFaith is not reporting the shooter’s name. Instead, we’ll leave you with the Journal Sentinel victim list and ask you to join us in prayer for their families: “Satwant Singh Kaleka, the temple president, was killed Sunday after attempting to tackle the gunman. Kaleka’s brother-in-law, Deepir Singh Dhaliwal, identified the other victims Monday as: Sita Singh and Ranjit Singh, who are brothers; Subage Singh, Parmjit Kaur and Parkash Singh.”
What do you think?
Does it matter what group the shooter was targeting?
by Christine A. Scheller | Aug 3, 2012 | Entertainment, Feature, Headline News |
GIVING GLORY TO GOD FOR GOLD: Olympic gymnastics champion Gabrielle Douglas says her faith helps her manage the pressure of competing on a world stage. (Photo: Brian Peterson/ Newscom)
“Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” These are the first words 16-year-old gymnast Gabrielle Douglas tweeted after she won the all around gold medal at the London Olympics yesterday. On the stadium floor, Douglas also told a reporter that “the glory goes up to Him, and the blessings fall down on me.”
In a first-person ESPN article published after her win, she said she was “in some pain from a tweaked muscle” when she arrived in London and was “feeling a little down,” but her coach Liang Chow advised her to ignore the pain. “He got me refocused, and, of course, he was right. When I got to the competition and all the nerves kicked in, I didn’t feel a thing,” said Douglas.
Just months ago, Douglas’ coaches “didn’t believe that she had the mental tenacity to pull this off,” Jackie MacMullan said in an interview with ESPN, but Douglas told NBC News that she has been dealing with the pressure and gaining confidence by “meditating on scriptures.”
“Tonight, I didn’t think about avoiding mistakes — that’s what gets you into trouble,” Douglas wrote in her ESPN essay. “Instead, I just thought about going out there and representing Team USA, my coaches, my family and myself as best as I could. I just wanted to enjoy the moment.”
It took Douglas and her sisters two years to convince their mother that the then 14 year old should be allowed to move from their home in Virginia Beach to train with Chow in Iowa. In an inspirational video about what it takes to raise an Olympian, Douglas’ mother, Natalie Hawkins, said Douglas had been a child who would never leave her side, and during a 2011 family visit, Douglas was so homesick that she asked to come home. Her mother told her, “Life is not easy. You have to fight and just refuse to quit.” Now Hawkins says it was worth the sacrifices to see her daughter achieve her dream.
Douglas is the first African-American to win gold in the all-around competition, a fact that had former Olympian Dominique Dawes in tears as she reported on its significance for Fox Sports. Dawes was part of the 1996 “Magnificient Seven” gymnastics team that won the first U.S. women’s team gold. (This year’s “Fab Five” that included Douglas also took the team gold.) She said her tears were not only for Douglas and her family, but for the historical moment and what it would do to inspire young African Americans. Asked what advice she would give the young champion, Dawes said, “Keep God number one in your life. … Keep him first and foremost and only be guided by him.”
As Douglas manages what some are calling a meteoric rise to prominence, she’ll have to deal not only with accolades but with criticism. Already there has been criticism of the champion’s hair care. Ingrid Banks, Associate Professor of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told Loop-21 that this criticism “has deep historical roots dating back to the late nineteenth century [when] black people equated ‘proper grooming’ standards as a weapon in the fight against segregation.” Banks says the focus on Douglas’ hair “illustrates, in a painful manner, how black people continue to hold on to outdated ideas that are no less problematic today as they were in the past.”
Never mind that, though. Gabby “woke up in London on Thursday morning to the beat of raindrops on the roof, and she knew it was going to be a great day,” Phil Taylor wrote at Sports Illustrated. “‘My mom always told me that rain was God’s manifestation of something really special about to happen,’ she said. She was right, because by the time Douglas, the pint-size, 16-year-old gymnast, closed her eyes and fell asleep Thursday night — if she ever did — she was the Olympic gold medalist in the all-around competition, which will only change the rest of her life.”
Congratulations, Gabby Douglas! You’ve done us all proud.
by Christine A. Scheller | Aug 1, 2012 | Entertainment, Feature, Headline News |
SNOOP DOGG NO MORE : The eponymous rapper has been “reincarnated” as Rastafarian reggae singer Snoop Lion.
It can be difficult to take a spiritual awakening seriously when it’s presented as part of an album, film, and book promotion, but rapper Snoop Dogg said at a press conference yesterday that he has (at least temporarily) been christened “Snoop Lion” by a Rastafarian priest in Jamaica. Snoop was there working on his first reggae album, “Reincarnated” (with a documentary film crew in tow), and said “the spirit” called him to do it.
Explaining the new moniker, Snoop said he was visiting a Rastafarian temple when the high priest asked him what his name was. When he answered “Snoop Dogg,” the priest looked him in the eyes and said, “No more. …You are the light, you are the lion.”
When asked by Sway Calloway of MTV if he was converting to the Rastafarian religion, Snoop said he learned that Rastafara isn’t a religion, but “a way of life.” “I feel like I’ve always been Rastafari. I just didn’t have my third eye open, but it’s wide open right now,” said Snoop.
ReligionFacts.com says “the Rastafari movement is a ‘messianic religio-political movement’ that began in the Jamaican slums in the 1920s and 30s” and its most famous adherent was Bob Marley, whose music brought it to international prominence.
“There is significant variation within the Rastafari movement and no formal organization. Some Rastafarians see Rasta more as a way of life than a religion. But uniting the diverse movement is belief in the divinity and/or messiahship of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, the influence of Jamaican culture, resistance of oppression, and pride in African heritage. The Rastafarian lifestyle usually includes ritual use of marijuana, avoidance of alcohol, the wearing of one’s hair in dreadlocks, and vegetarianism,” the article said.
At Complex Music, Rob Kenner introduced his interview with the rapper by saying, “Snoop’s name change was not done on a whim. He was actually baptised in a sacred Rastafarian ceremony. For Rastafarians, the Lion is a symbol of the black God incarnate, His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia—also known as the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.”
Kenner also said Snoop has been referring to himself as “Bob Marley reincarnated” for some time now. “At first it seemed like a generic weed reference, or perhaps a touch of rebel flair. But at yesterday’s press conference it became clear that since his recent trip to Jamaica Snoop has been taking this ‘Reincarnated’ project very seriously,” said Kenner.
Marley’s son Rohan was at the presser and said his family is cool with Snoop’s claim. “Music in general is universal. Remember Jamaica is a part of music as well, you know, so we really don’t separate ourselves. And we embrace Snoop, not only through music, but through a divine order, because you see it’s all about life and what you’re going to give. So once you’re going to profess a positive vibration and give pack to the earth, and the land, and the people, and be an instrument of good, we receive that as well,” said Marley.
In his interview with Kenner, Snoop said the Rastafarian elders had given him a new sense of direction. “When you accept the role of leader, you have to know why you’re leading and where you’re leading. And I didn’t know. I always knew I was a leader. I was a good leader, but I needed information to make sure that I was leading people to the light as opposed to the darkness,” Snoop said.
Snoop wants to make music that his kids and grandparents can enjoy, he said. Not that he’s denouncing his gangster rapper past. Rap no longer challenges him though, he told a reporter. “The music I made as Snoop Dogg was who he was. I was young, I was fly, I was pretty, I was flamboyant, you know. I was the greatest of all time. That’s what it called for me to be. But now, I’m a grown man with a family, with kids, with wisdom, with guidance, with understanding, so it’s only right to pass this on,” said Snoop.
In response to another journalist’s question about his evolution, he added, “I could never become Snoop Lion if I was never Snoop Dogg. …Snoop Dogg created Snoop Lion, but Snoop Lion is the elevation of Snoop Dogg.” He’s one of a long line of musicians who’ve claimed spiritual awakenings. Check out these ten rappers who have at Newsday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x__9qYCNMQ&w=420&h=315]
The first single off “Reincarnated”is the upbeat “La, La, La,” which sets the tone for the record, Snoop said. Another song is “No Guns Allowed.” He described that one as “spirit inspired” and said it was a song he wouldn’t have been allowed to make as a “gangster.”
Reincarnated is an album, film, and photo book that emerged spontaneously, said Snoop’s manager Ted Chung. The trailer for the documentary, which will air at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, glides along in a haze of smoke. Given Snoop’s history with the drug and its religious significance in the Rastafarian movement, one assumes it’s marijuana smoke.
“This project, if you look at it from a business perspective, it’s this multi-platform media entity that’s going to have a very, very long life. And, what’s awesome about it is that it’s important on so many different levels, but the intentions were really pure,” said film maker Suroosh Alvi.
What do you think?
Is Snoop’s rebirth for real? And if so, is a marijuana-soaked message better for children than the one he was previously selling?
by Christine A. Scheller | Jul 30, 2012 | Feature, Headline News |
I thought we might do it. I thought UrbanFaith could avoid reporting on the latest media-fueled outrage storm. But then the public relations director of Chick-fil-A died of a heart attack amidst the frenzy, the Muppets were pulled from a deal with the company, and mayors in major cities began saying they would deny building permits over Chick-fil-A COO Dan Cathy’s outspoken opposition to same-sex marriage.
In case you haven’t heard, Cathy, a Southern Baptist, was quoted in a Baptist Press article as saying the family-owned restaurant chain supports traditional marriage. Here’s the quote that sparked the firestorm:
“Some have opposed the company’s support of the traditional family. ‘Well, guilty as charged,’ said Cathy when asked about the company’s position. ‘We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. … We are very much committed to that,’ Cathy emphasized. ‘We intend to stay the course,’ he said. ‘We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.’”
As the media criticism site Get Religion noted, Cathy’s views are old news, but the “offending” quote said nothing directly about same-sex marriage. However, as is often the case, there is a history behind the reaction to it. Cathy previously told a radio audience that “we’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,” according to The Washington Post. Those are fighting words in a nation as divided as ours is over same-sex marriage. But are they words a corporate executive should have uttered in public?
CHICKEN FIGHT: Dan Cathy, Chick-fil-A’s embattled COO. (Photo: Stanley Leary/Newscom)
At Bloomberg Businessweek, Diane Brady compared Cathy’s judgment with that of Bill Marriott, who is chairman of the Marriott hotel chain and a Mormon. Marriott personally opposes same-sex marriage, but “has long been reluctant to impose that view on the company his father founded.” So, although his church was involved in the fight against same-sex marriage in California, neither he nor the Marriott corporation donated money to the cause. “Instead, he stepped into the drama by publicly reinforcing his company’s commitment to gay rights through domestic partners benefits and services aimed at gay couples,” Brady reported.
Conversely, she said Cathy “crossed the line in letting his faith become less about inspiration than alienation” by openly condemning the beliefs held by a lot of potential customers. “Hearing polarizing rhetoric from the pulpit is one thing. Hearing it from a man whose business rings up $4 billion in sales each year is another,” said Brady. “As an individual, Cathy has every right to express his point of view. As president, he has a responsibility to talk about how those views affect the policies of Chick-fil-A. …The controversy at Chick-fil-A is less about the beliefs in its C-suite than the judgment therein.”
Perhaps this explains why some franchise owners are now “distancing themselves” from Cathy’s statements, according to The Los Angeles Times. But, politicians-turned-pundits Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum are publicly supporting Cathy by calling for a “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” on Wednesday, August 1, and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin also spoke up in support of Cathy, a fact that CNN reported to a musical backdrop of Pink’s “Stupid Girls” song. And round and round it goes.
But Chick-fil-A has garnered support from some surprising sources, like a gay internet celebriity, a James Beard award winning food writer, and the American Civil Liberties Union. “The government can regulate discrimination in employment or against customers, but what the government cannot do is to punish someone for their words,” Adam Schwartz, senior attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, reportedly told Fox News.
Of course, there have also been passionate pleas for restraint. At Christianity Today, Caryn Rivadeneira got fired up after someone used the occasion to out Christian author Jonathan Merritt as gay. So she bought herself a chicken sandwich and admonished readers to: “Remember the Chick-fil-A when we’re ready to jump on bandwagon-y boycotts or seek to silence or shut down those who offend us or whose beliefs run counter to ours. Remember the Chick-fil-A before refusing to shop stores that say ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas.’ Remember the Chick-fil-A before asking the Gay Pride Parade to reroute so it doesn’t disrupt church services. Remember the Chick-fil-A before you demand books be removed from high school syllabi. Remember the Chick-fil-A before ‘outing’ another person for whatever through gossip or rumor or prayer request. Remember Chick-fil-A whether or not you agree with Dan Cathy.”
Likewise, author Rachel Held Evans, who supports same-sex marriage, urged Chick-fil-A boycotters to “remember that not all Christians who speak out against gay marriage are bigots or homophobes, and calling them those names is as unjust as it is unkind.”
Somehow amidst all the fury, the internet barely noticed that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie announced that they are donating $2.5 million in support of Washington’s same-sex marriage law, which won’t go into effect unless it survives a referendum vote in November. “Amazon.com Inc. publicly supported the law earlier this year, along with other prominent Pacific Northwest businesses, including Microsoft Corp., Starbucks Corp. and Nike Inc.,” the Associated Press reported. Will Chick-fil-A supporters boycott these corporations in retaliation?
Before they do, perhaps they should remember the Disney boycotts from yesteryear. In 2005, after eight years of eschewing all things Mickey, the Southern Baptist Convention officially voted to end that endeavor. What were they protesting? US News reported that the boycotts were sparked by Disney’s involvement with the 1994 movie Priest, which was about a clergyman’s struggle over his closeted homosexuality.
“Activists for gay and lesbian causes welcomed the vote as a possible opening to what they hope will be a new dialogue with the SBC and other Christian-based opponents of gay and lesbian rights,” the article said. That was seven years ago.
What do you think?
Should Christian business leaders speak out on divisive political issues or stick to their corporate missions?
by Christine A. Scheller | Jul 27, 2012 | Entertainment, Feature, Headline News |
LET’S GO: First Lady Michelle Obama urged America’s athletes to ‘have fun, breathe a bit, but also win,’ when she visited their training base in east London today. Mrs. Obama is leading the US presidential delegation which includes a ringside seat at tonight’s ceremony. (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/Newscom)
The 2012 London Olympic games begin today with a ceremony that will turn London’s Olympic Stadium into “green and pleasant land” and will include “a wide array of animal,” E-Online reported. The “green and pleasant land” phrase comes from a patriotic hymn that is based on a William Blake poem, in case you’re wondering. But, amidst sounds of popular British music, there will also be “a game of village cricket as well as a giant replica of Glastonbury Tor in southwest England, with spectators filling up a mosh pit to reflect the Glastonbury music festival.” First Lady Michelle Obama and her husband’s presumptive rival Mitt Romney will be in attendance, the Associated Press reported. NBC begins its broadcast at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Why, one may ask, do the honorable games begin with such odd extravaganzas? “The Olympic opening ceremony embraces the elusive elements that keep bringing us back to sports: pageantry and excitement, the beauty of teamwork and perhaps deep down a sense that sports can somehow facilitate a long-sought-after peace and harmony in the world,” The New York Times reported. The games themselves are “a peaceful celebration of our warlike nature,” Times columnist David Brooks’ opined this morning.
Who knew? I just like to watch the runners and the tumblers. Then when I’m out jogging or doing cartwheels in my soon-to-be 48-year-old body, I imagine myself persevering or flexing my way through any number of personal or professional challenges. In other words, I watch to be inspired and to escape the drudgery of daily life.
PHOTO OP: Mrs. Obama met with members of Team USA this morning. Here she poses with the 2012 Women’s Basketball team. (Photo: Jeff Moore/Newscom)
Previously, we highlighted seven Christian Olympians of color who inspire.Then, Charisma featured some we missed. Among them are hurdler Dawn Harper, basketball players Kevin Durant and Tamika Catchings, weightlifter Kendrick Farris (who asked for donations to help him bring his family to the games), and decathlete Bryan Clay, who failed to make the team, but won Gold in 2008.
Clay was interviewed by author Chad Bonham, who has a book out about 18 Olympians of faith. Asked how he manages expectations vs. the reality that his identity isn’t wrapped up in results, Clay said, in part, “Does God care if you win a game or a race or a gold medal? I’m going to venture out and say, no, probably not. But what He does care about are the lessons you’ve learned along the way through the win or the loss. Whether you win or lose, I think God’s number one goal for you is that you bring glory back to Him. If that means you have to lose for God to get the glory, then that’s what’s going to happen.”
That’s a gold-medal lesson, if ever there was one.
If you still can’t get enough of inspiring athletes, Bonham has also published interviews with past Olympians like Dave Johnson (decathlon) and Shannon Miller (gymnastics), and has a preview up of this year’s competitors. The New York Times Magazine took a unique approach in a lengthy profile of White Christian marathoner Ryan Hall. Its story hinged on Hall’s contention that God is his coach. About.com interviewed Christian runner Sonya Richards-Ross, Elev-8 featured Boxer Claressa Shields, and Christianity Today highlighted basketball player Maya Moore.
If you’re interested in the race angle, The Root published a Black Olympian slideshow and The Grio asked if the games will “save East London’s multicultural community.”
Finally, Charisma reported that “Christian organizations will have volunteers on hand in pedestrian corridors and transport hubs to generate conversations with visitors through creative arts and acts of kindness, and to hold chapel services and other events for people attending the Games.”
I was going to conclude by suggesting you grab a bag of chips and put your feet up to watch the opening ceremony tonight, but I suppose I should suggest instead that you go for a brisk walk first, or, if you’re still at work, munch some carrots while you watch from the stair-master later. In any case, happy viewing!
