c. 1998 Religion News Service
Pakistani leader introduces measure to establish Islamic law
(RNS) The prime minister of Pakistan introduced legislation Friday (Aug. 28) to establish Islam as the sole basis for his nation’s entire legal system.
The constitutional amendment is expected to pass handily since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif controls a two-thirds majority in Pakistan’s parliament.
But human rights activists and Sharif’s political opponents, led by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, were quick to condemn the effort.”In the name of Islam, Nawaz Sharif is trying to perpetuate a fascist rule,”Asma Jehangir, a lawyer and human rights activist, told the Associated Press.”It repeals the entire constitution.” In a televised speech to parliament, Sharif promised that Pakistan would become a”true Islamic welfare state”by exclusively basing all of its laws on the Koran and the Sunnah, the body of spoken directives and customs of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam’s founder.”Simple changes in laws are not enough,”Sharif told the lawmakers.”I want to implement complete Islamic laws where the Koran and Sunnah are supreme.” Under the new law, the federal government would be”obliged”to enforce prayers five times a day and collect annual tithes, the AP reported.
However, Sharif assured Pakistan’s minority religions, which constitute less than 5 percent of the nation’s 140 million citizens, that the new laws would protect their civil rights. Even under current Pakistan law, Pakistan’s small Christian community routinely complains of persecution by the Muslim majority.
Sharif also emphasized his support for women’s education in an attempt to ease concerns that Pakistan’s interpretation of Islamic law would be as restrictive as that of neighboring Afghanistan, where the Taliban government bans women from schools and the work force, and prohibits them from traveling unless accompanied by a close male relative.
Still, Sharif’s assurances did not appease his critics, who said the proposed law mentions nothing about the rights of women.
Mother Teresa’s order hoping to seek sainthood for famous nun
(RNS) As the anniversary of her death approaches, Mother Teresa’s religious order has announced it is gathering details on miracles attributed to the famous nun in hopes of beginning the process leading to Roman Catholic sainthood.”We have received a number of miracle documents and we are processing these for submission before the pope,”said a Missionaries of Charity sister. She spoke on condition of anonymity Friday (Aug. 28), the Associated Press reported.
Mother Teresa gained fame for her work helping the poor in Calcutta and elsewhere. She died Sept. 5, 1997.
The Catholic Church requires Vatican confirmation of two miracles attributed to a candidate for sainthood before canonization.
The nun said one of the miracles for which Mother Teresa was given credit reportedly occurred in the United States. A French woman broke several ribs in an auto accident, but was miraculously healed of her injuries when she wore a Mother Teresa medallion around her neck.
Mormons announce leadership changes, new temple sites
(RNS) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Saturday (Aug. 29) it has named three new members to its top leadership ranks. The church also announced plans to build two new temples in the United States.
Elders D. Todd Christofferson, Marlin K. Jensen and David E. Sorensen, all of Salt Lake City, were named to the seven-man Presidency of the Seventy, a rung of church leadership following the president, the three-member First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve.
The men had been serving in the First Quorum of the Seventy, the church’s fifth level of leadership.
The new leaders are filling two spots left open by retirements. The other post became vacant after Elder Monte J. Brough was named president of the church’s North American Southeast Area in Atlanta.
The Mormon Church, which claims more than 9 million members worldwide, also plans to open two new temples in the United States: in Detroit and Spokane, Wash. Each temple is expected to serve some 13,000 Mormons.
There are 53 Mormon temples worldwide. Another 36 _ including the Detroit and Spokane temples _ are either under construction or on the drawing board.
Torah made available in English on Internet
(RNS) For the first time, a contemporary, English-language version of the Five Books of Moses _ the Torah _ has been made available in cyberspace.
The Torah is available on Jewish Community Online, an Internet site available on American Online, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency news service reported Sunday (Aug. 30).
The Torah translation offered is the Jewish Publication Society’s 1962 version of the Five Books of Moses. The online version is currently available by chapters. Marc Klein, the publisher of Jewish Community Online, said users will eventually be able to access the Torah portions as they are divided for weekly Sabbath services.
Quote of the Day: funeral director Thomas Lynch
(RNS)”Is the impulse to maximize our responses to the deaths of icons a compensation for our tendency to minimize our responses to the deaths that really matter _ our own people, family and friends?” _ Thomas Lynch, a funeral director in Milford, Mich., and the author of”The Undertaking”and”Still Life in Milford,”writing in the New York Times on Monday (Aug. 31), the one-year anniversary of the death of Britain’s Princess Diana.
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