c. 2000 Religion News Service
Survey: Muslim Voters Follow Issues, Not Party
(RNS) A “major block” of American Muslim voters say they have no particular allegiance to either the Democratic or Republican presidential contenders, and are more concerned with a candidate’s track record on social policy issues than party affiliation, according to a new survey released by a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group.
“We don’t see any particular affinity to a party,” said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “The Muslim vote is split along issue lines.”
Forty-three percent of the 755 voters polled by the council said they either believed the two major political parties did not best represent the American Muslim community’s interests, or were undecided about the matter.
Of respondents who had decided, 31 percent supported the Democratic Party and 17 percent supported the Republican Party. Though the Democratic Party’s positions on social and economic issues earned high rates of approval from respondents (56 percent and 41 percent, respectively), the Republican Party’s stance on moral issues such as abortion and same-sex marriages earned approval from 64 percent of those polled.
About 50 percent of respondents disliked or were undecided about Republican and Democratic foreign policy. Nearly 75 percent said they strongly believed American foreign policy was biased against Muslims, and cited conflicts in Chechnya, Kashmir and Iraq and the status of Jerusalem as foreign policy issues that deserved more concern from the United States.
The report also pointed out that 25 percent of respondents said they have yet to decide which presidential candidate they will support.
Among those who had decided, support for Democratic candidate Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush appears fairly evenly split, the survey concluded.
The Republican Bush garnered support from 28 percent of respondents, while Gore received support from 33 percent. Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader received support from 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively. of respondents.
Gore’s approval rating was a 13 percent increase over results of a similar poll conducted by the council in December. At that time, just 15 percent of respondents supported Gore, while 25 percent supported Bush and 24 percent supported then-candidate Bill Bradley.
“With Bradley no longer a candidate, Gore has been able to pick up some of his support,” concluded Mohamed Nimer, research director of the study.
IRS Advises Churches, Other Charities to Avoid Partisanship
(RNS) The Internal Revenue Service has issued an advisory warning churches and other charities not to endorse candidates or engage in political campaign activities during the election year.
Tax-exempt organizations are prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates for public office, the IRS said in a news release about the advisory.
“These organizations cannot endorse any candidates, make donations to their campaigns, engage in fund raising, distribute statements, or become involved in any other activities that may be beneficial or detrimental to any candidate,” the IRS said.
The tax agency said groups can sponsor forums or debates that educate voters but the organizations cannot state a preference for or against individual candidates.
If a tax-exempt organization is found to have taken part in prohibited campaign activity, it could lose its exempt status or be required to pay an excise tax on the amount of money spent on the prohibited activity.
Similar election-year advisories were issued in 1992 and 1996.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington-based watchdog group, welcomed the new advisory.
“The IRS statement provides an important reminder that religion and partisan politics just don’t mix,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Churches that ignore the IRS’s advice and engage in partisan politicking are playing with fire.”
Pope Hails Encuentro 2000 as a Celebration of “Unity within Diversity”
(RNS) – Pope John Paul II called on Catholics in the United States Thursday (July 6) to make Encuentro 2000, the nationwide gathering of Hispanic and other ethnic minority Catholics in the United States, a celebration of “fruitful unity within diversity.”
In a message to Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, Tex., president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the pope said he also prayed that the four-day meeting opening Thursday will “contribute to the spiritual renewal of American society.”
“In this Jubilee year, the Encuentro has taken as its theme `Many Faces in God’s House,’ and seeks to be a celebration of the rich cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity which marks the Catholic church in the United States,” John Paul said.
The pontiff said the Jubilee Holy Year calls all Catholics “to become ever more fully the sacrament of unity in a world tragically beset by division, violence and oppression.”
“It is significant,” he said, “that Encuentro 2000 is meant to celebrate not only the faith and the religious traditions by which Hispanic Catholics enrich the ecclesial life of your country but also to point to the important contribution which all Catholics together are urged to make to the mission of the church in the United States.”
Reform Movement Now Has More than 900 Congregations
(RNS) The number of Reform congregations has exceeded 900 for the first time, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations reports.
The Reform Movement grew to more than 902 member congregations in June. The union represents 1.5 million Reform Jews in North America.
“In just 12 months, 16 congregations have joined the UAHC,” said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, UAHC president. “Clearly, the strength of our programs and the power of our religious philosophy are important attractions to today’s Jews, who feel welcome under the broad tent of Reform Judaism.”
The 900-congregation milestone was reached when seven new synagogues were admitted to the union.
The membership of one of those congregations, Temple Beth Hatikvah, consists of 25 inmates at the Federal Prison Camp in Minersville, Pa.. It is the third UAHC member congregation located within a correctional facility. It holds services on Thursdays and Fridays, has a Jewish library and holds bar mitzvahs for its members.
The UAHC was founded in 1873 with 28 member congregations.
Update: Muslim Troop Leader Arrested in Indonesia
(RNS) At least four Christians died Thursday (July 6) in sectarian violence in a village in Indonesia’s eastern Maluku provinces, one day after officials arrested a leader of a Muslim paramilitary group believed to be responsible for violent attacks.
Muslim fighters may have killed as many as 30 people during the attack, which took place in Waai village, some 15 miles east of Ambon, the capital of Maluku provinces, a Catholic priest and a Muslim cleric told the Associated Press.
The attack came despite a nearly two-week-old declaration of civil emergency in the islands, known as the Spice Islands during the Dutch colonial era. Nearly 18 months of fighting between Christians and Muslims in the region has claimed about 2,500 lives on both sides.
On Wednesday (July 5), the Indonesian navy arrested Rusdin Damunwayang, one of the leaders of paramilitary Muslim troops in the group Laskar Jihad (or Holy War Troops), according to media reports. Some say the group is responsible for the renewed violence in the Maluku islands.
Navy officials discovered hundreds of weapons aboard a boat on which Damunwayang and 250 other passengers were traveling.
Christian Singer Gary Chapman Marries Again
(RNS) Christian singer Gary Chapman, who divorced Christian singer Amy Grant last year, has married again.
Chapman, who hosted “Prime Time Country” on The Nashville Network before it was canceled last year, married Jennifer Pittman July 1at his Tennessee farm.
Chapman’s dog, Simon, was the ring-bearer at the ceremony, the Associated Press reported. The singer waved a raw hot dog to attract the dog’s attention as it carried the ring.
“Even Apostle Paul said, `Bear with me in my folly,” said Chapman’s father, Texas preacher Terry Chapman, who performed the ceremony.
Chapman and Grant were married for 16 1/2 years and have three children. Grant married country singer Vince Gill in March.
Prominent Bible Teacher James Boice Dead at 61
(RNS) The Rev. James Montgomery Boice, a prominent Bible teacher, died June 15 of liver cancer. He was 61.
Boice had been the pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia since 1968. The church grew from 350 to 1,200 members during his tenure, the Associated Press reported.
He also was the teacher on “The Bible Study Hour,” a nationally broadcast radio program.
From 1977 to 1988, Boice was chairman of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy.
Boice wrote or contributed to more than 60 books on the Bible and theology. He started writing hymns in the last year that dealt with the theme of death.
“He was a man of tremendous integrity,” said the Rev. Philip Ryken, who knew Boice for five years. “For all his renown and popularity, his ministry has never been about his own personality. He was dedicated to God’s word.”
Quote of the Day: Evangelist Billy Graham
(RNS) “It seems the older I get the more I am asked who will succeed me. Well, the fact is that I am just one of thousands who has been called to be an evangelist. I don’t need a successor, only willing hands to accept the torch for a new generation.”
_ Evangelist Billy Graham, in a statement released in advance of “Amsterdam 2000,” an international conference on evangelism he is scheduled to lead from July 29-Aug 6. He was quoted by Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
DEA END RNS
