c. 2005 Religion News Service

Billy Graham Declines Invitation for London Crusade

(RNS) Evangelist Billy Graham has declined an invitation to lead evangelistic meetings in London later this year.

On Wednesday (July 13), The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association cited the health of Graham and his wife, Ruth, as factors for the decision, as well as the logistical aspects of conducting a crusade abroad. Graham, 86, suffers from Parkinson’s disease and other ailments and his 85-year-old wife has a degenerative back condition.

“After much prayerful consideration I determined I should not be that far from home,” Graham said in a letter sent to those who had invited him. “This was a difficult decision because London has played such a significant part in the life of my ministry.”

Graham’s association said his decision was made prior to the recent terrorist attack on London’s transportation system and the city’s selection as host for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

“Mr. Graham will continue his ministry of evangelism and resume work writing several books and contributing to other special projects he has begun in recent years,” his Charlotte, N.C.-based association stated.

A. Larry Ross, Graham’s spokesman, said no other crusades are planned nor are active invitations being considered. He said the evangelist felt he gained strength throughout a New York crusade in late June, had a good subsequent health check-up and is now ready for other projects.

“Anything is possible, but at this point there are no crusades in preparation,” Ross said, referring to crusades led by Billy Graham. “Only time will tell, with respect to a crusade, what’s on the horizon.”

Graham’s ministry plans a series of crusades to be led by his son, Franklin, who became president of the association in 2002, and the dedication of the Billy Graham Library at the ministry’s headquarters, probably in late 2006 or early 2007.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Some Muslims Worry About Chill on Free Speech After Scholar Sentenced

(RNS) A life sentence given Wednesday (July 13) to a prominent Muslim scholar in Fairfax, Va., is raising concerns among some American Muslim leaders that their rights to free speech may be curbed.

In April, Ali al-Timimi was convicted of soliciting treason, as he allegedly encouraged his followers to fight U.S. troops and join the Taliban immediately after the 9-11 attacks. He was also convicted for inducing others to use firearms.

A group of young Muslim men were also convicted of crimes related to the conspiracy. Called the “Virginia jihad network” by authorities, the men, over whom prosecutors said al-Timimi had influence, played paintball games in 2000 and 2001 and were said to be training for holy war.

The life sentence came as a surprise to area Muslims.

“This is like being convicted of murder, even though you haven’t killed anyone,” said Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director of Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va.,

Abdul-Malik said although many Muslims found some of the scholar’s statements inappropriate, “we never thought that impropriety on the part of al-Timimi’s speech, whether protected by the First Amendment or not, would be matched by such a severe sentence.”

Abdul-Malik said at his mosque Wednesday night, he observed “a numbing effect” among members who were “shocked” at the severity of the sentence.

“People who are speaking out and being critical of the administration, whether they’re Muslim or not, will take this as a clear sign that you need to be very careful not only about what you say, but the implications of what you say in the post-9-11 era,” he said.

Government officials said Timimi’s punishment was just.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg said Timimi “deserves every day of the time he will serve … Timimi hates the United States and calls for its destruction. He is allowed to do that in this country. He is not allowed to solicit treason.”

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

British Muslim Leaders Continue to Denounce Bombings, Address Backlash

LONDON (RNS) Despite Muslim denunciations of the July 7 bomb attacks in London, a number of British towns and cities have been targeted in an apparent backlash.

Mosques in two areas of London (Tower Hamlets, in the East End, and Merton in the southwest), Leeds, Telford (Shropshire), Bristol, Birkenhead and Norwich have been attacked.

In a letter sent on Monday (July 11) to Britain’s imams, ulema and mosque officials, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the recently knighted secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said they had been informed that police throughout Britain had been alerted to the possibility of attacks on mosques and similar institutions of other faiths.

Five people have already been arrested for trying to bomb a Sikh temple in southeast London.

Many Muslim leaders were quick to denounce the July 7 attacks as being totally contrary to the spirit of Islam and have called on British Muslims to cooperate in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The news Wednesday (July 13) that the bombings were probably the work of young British Muslims from Leeds and Dewsbury, Yorkshire, was received with “anguish, shock and horror” by Sacranie.

Reiterating the “absolute commitment and resolve” of British Muslims to help the police bring to justice all involved in this crime of mass murder, Sacranie said in a statement: “We are determined to work together with all concerned to prevent such an atrocity ever happening again.”

_ Robert Nowell

`Ten Commandments Judge’ Pushed for High Court by Conservative Group

WASHINGTON (RNS) A coalition of conservative activists armed with petitions are encouraging President Bush to nominate former Alabama Judge Roy Moore to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Putting Moore on the bench “could bring about a turning point in our jurisprudence and in our culture, back to biblical morality and forward to a restoration of the Constitutional design and system of liberty set forth by America’s founding fathers,” Howard Phillips, chairman of The Conservative Caucus, told reporters in a Washington news conference Wednesday (July 13).

Phillips, a three-time nominee for president by the Constitution Party, said Moore best represents the type of judge that Bush has said he prefers, one that would strictly interpret the law according to the U.S. Constitution.

“He would defend our right to acknowledge God in public prayer, in the Pledge of Allegiance and in displays which have the biblical message of God’s Ten Commandments,” Phillips said.

The Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, also endorsed Moore for the court, as did author and former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes. Their main issue was that Moore could counteract what they argue is an overreaching and unchecked federal judiciary that has issued decisions on social issues contrary to public opinion, such as abortion and sodomy.

“Above all, the appointment of Roy Moore would provide a genuine opportunity for the first debate before the whole American people over the critical question of judicial supremacy,” Keyes said.

Participants said Moore was not specifically consulted before the news conference, but they assumed he was aware of the petition drive, which began more than a year before Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her resignation. Efforts to reach Moore for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Moore was removed as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court when he refused to heed a federal court order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the lobby of the state judicial building in Montgomery. That history should not disqualify him, Phillips said.

“Judge Moore was upholding the law in refusing to submit to an unconstitutional opinion by a district judge,” Phillips said.

Moore’s chances appear slim. No major interest group or media organization has listed Moore as a potential candidate and the lead attorney for the Bush administration at the U.S. Supreme Court has said that Moore’s Ten Commandments display was likely unconstitutional.

_ Mary Orndorff

Weekend of Prayer Planned for Sudan

WASHINGTON (RNS) A National Weekend of Prayer (July 15-17) will mark the one-year anniversary of a House resolution that recognized genocide in Sudan.

Prominent religious leaders have joined with a bipartisan congressional group to back the commemoration to highlight the fact that the issue has not been resolved.

“The people of Darfur need our help,” said David Rubenstein of the Save Darfur Coalition, at a Wednesday (July 13) news conference. “As humans, we owe them our support and prayers. As Americans, we owe them our courage and experience. And as people of faith, we must do something to help those who suffer.”

Since February 2003, an estimated 400,000 people have been killed by violence and malnutrition in the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan. The violence is primarily attributed to the Sudanese government and Janjaweed militia.

The National Weekend of Prayer and Reflection will represent a movement by thousands of various religious congregations across the United States to draw attention to the plight of Sudan.

The Rev. Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals said evangelical Christians are obligated to pray for people persecuted for their religious beliefs.

“It would be unconscionable of conservative Christians not to do the thing they do best, namely pray,” Cizik said. “Darfur cries out like never before for the compassion, prayer and action of the evangelical churches of America.”

Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism called on all Jews to take part.

“In a moment of urgency and hope, I stand here before you to remind you that justice is our duty, to recognize the image of the divine in every human life, to renounce inaction in the face of enormous tragedy, and to demand an immediate and effective response on behalf of the people of Darfur,” Saperstein said.

The American Society for Muslim Advancement also issued a statement condemning the violence.

“Nothing is as antithetical to all religion, and especially to Islam, as the banditry, pillage and killing that we are now witnessing in Darfur,” it said.

_ Hugh S. Moore

Quote of the Day: Pope Benedict XVI

(RNS) “It is good that you englighten people about Harry Potter, because these are subtle seductions which act unnoticed, and by this deeply destroy Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly.”

_ Pope Benedict XVI, in a 2003 letter to a German author while he was still known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on the alleged dangers of the Harry Potter children’s book series. He was quoted by Reuters.

MO/JL END RNS