c. 2006 Religion News Service

Five Arrested for Stirring `Racial Hatred’ in Islamic Demonstration

LONDON (RNS) British police arrested five men on Wednesday (March 15) on charges of stirring up racial hatred in a Muslim demonstration protesting cartoons satirizing the prophet Muhammad.

All five were charged under a law forbidding the use of “threatening words or written material to stir up racial hatred,” and four of them were held on suspicion of incitement to murder.

The 12 Danish cartoons, one of which portrayed Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban on his head, stirred violent protests by Muslims around the world that left a number of people dead and injured.

During a Feb. 3 demonstration in front of the Danish embassy in downtown London, protesters waved placards calling for a “massacre” and the beheading of “those who insult Islam. Another read: “Europe you will pay, your 9/11 will come.”

That protest, together with another at the same spot the following day, was widely condemned, and among those demanding police action was the Muslim Council of Britain. But until now, the lone arrest was that of Omar Khayam, a muslim who was photographed dressed as a suicide bomber.

Khayam was not charged, but he was sent back to prison for violating terms of parole for a drug conviction.

One of the five apprehended by Scotland Yard police on Wednesday was identified as Anjem Choudary, a close associate of Omar Bakri Mohammad, a radical Islamic cleric who is currently in Lebanon and barred from returning to Britain.

Scotland Yard said it moved in on the five _ four in London and one in England’s West Midlands _ after studying photographs, sound recordings and 60 hours of video footage from CCTV cameras at the February demonstrations.

Police conceded they had received some 500 complaints about the protests and said they were trying to identify 22 of the demonstrators whom they think may have broken the law.

_ Al Webb

Leaders of Struggling Holiness Tradition Issue `Manifesto’

ASUZA, Calif. (RNS) National leaders from 10 denominations have released a “Holiness Manifesto,” pledging to get back to the basics of their historical roots _ the Holiness tradition _ to recover their zeal, overcome lagging attendance and increase their influence in society.

The manifesto said pastors have lost the ability to lead because they have “no compelling message to give, no compelling vision of God.”

“Therefore, in this critical time, we set forth for the church’s well-being a fresh focus on holiness. In our view, this focus is the heart of Scripture concerning Christian existence for all times _ and clearly for our time.”

The denominations, which recently completed the Wesleyan Holiness Study Project at Azusa Pacific University, represent about 20 million adherents worldwide and include the Salvation Army, Church of the Nazarene and Foursquare Gospel.

The three-year study project resulted in the Holiness Manifesto, a document completed Feb. 8. The manifesto, calling church members to Christlike living, was written because Holiness churches face a crisis, leaders said.

“In many cases they have left the passion for the message aside in search of a method,” said Kevin Mannoia, who was on the project’s steering committee and is former president of the National Association of Evangelicals and a former bishop in the Free Methodist Church.

The Holiness movement was born out of the Methodist Church in the 19th century. It is difficult to determine how many Christians have historic ties to the movement, but many consider the Holiness tradition the foundation of the Pentecostal movement _ which today numbers more than 500 million worldwide.

Generally speaking, Holiness embraces modest dress, caution toward popular culture and the rejection of “secular” activities like drinking, gambling and smoking. “Holy Rollers” is a pejorative term sometimes used to describe the group.

Holiness denominations have also been leading advocates against slavery and for women’s rights and ordination. And they are well-known for their ministry to the poor.

The Holiness Manifesto was created by about three dozen American and Canadian leaders, with the consultation of hundreds of pastors. Participants are now editing a book based on the project.

_ Marshall Allen

Editors: To obtain file photos of Bishop Harry R. Jackson go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject.

Deadline Extended on `Black Contract with America on Moral Values’

(RNS) After undergoing treatment for cancer, an African-American pastor has extended his deadline for seeking 1 million Christian signatures for a “Black Contract with America on Moral Values.”

Bishop Harry R. Jackson is the head of the High Impact Leadership Coalition and senior pastor at Hope Christian Church in Lanham, Md., which has 3,000 congregants. He originally set a Feb. 1 deadline for obtaining the signatures but has extended it to the 2008 presidential election.

Jackson would not name a specific figure, but said current signatures number “in the thousands.”

Jackson began treatment for esophageal cancer six months ago, putting the coalition’s goals temporarily on hold. He said he is in remission and has resumed public activities.

The contract outlines issues Jackson considers most critical in the black community: traditional family values, poverty reduction, education and prison reform, health care and aid for Africa.

The contract, said Jackson, is intended to stimulate the creation of “a voice for the new black church” in contrast to “the typical, stereotypical politically left-leaning African-American stance.”

Jackson, who is quick to point out that he is a registered Democrat, said neither Republicans nor Democrats address all the concerns of black evangelical Christians, and churches are ideally positioned to advocate on their behalf.

“The Bible talks about righteousness and justiceâÂ?¦,” said Jackson. “White evangelicals historically have only been interested in righteousness issues, personal responsibility and accountability. The black church has had to look at the issue of social justice as also a major biblical value.”

In coming months, Jackson said he hopes to increase public appearances and outreach to pastors to raise the profile of the contract among Christians of all backgrounds.

_ Anne Pessala

Gay Advocacy Group Plans Easter Egg Offensive on White House Lawn

(RNS) A gay rights advocacy group is planning an Easter offensive on the White House lawn, and the idea has already sparked outrage among religious conservatives.

Gay rights group Soulforce has sent out an e-mail to its members asking gay partners to appear in mass with their children to participate alongside other families in the White House Easter egg roll on April 17, the day after Easter.

The group said it hopes that the same-sex couples taking part in the egg roll, which has been held on the White House lawn each Easter Monday since 1878, will earn the gay community greater acceptance by other Americans.

“They will see our kids laughing, having fun, rolling hard-boiled eggs down a hill with a spoon, and once they do, there will be no going back,” the e-mail said. “This is not a protest _ it is a get-together with our fellow citizens on a grand scale.”

Soulforce spokeswoman Robyn Murphy said that her group would not be making a radical statement, even if it meets its goal of placing 1,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered families on the White House lawn for the egg roll.

“There have probably been participants from these groups all along that we just didn’t know about,” Murphy said. “We’ve probably been there all along. It’s amazing that it’s news.”

As the plan gained publicity, it was quickly criticized by religious conservatives. In a statement, the Institute on Religion and Democracy said that Soulforce “is planning to crash” the egg roll.

Soulforce had warned members that the Bush administration may declare the egg roll an invitation-only event if word of the group’s plan broke out, but Murphy said that she is confident the White House will keep the egg roll open to the public.

“It would be such a public relations snafu (to close off the egg roll),” she said.

_ David Barnes

Professor Finds Utah’s Mormons Weigh More than Non-Mormons

(RNS) A study shows adult Mormons in Utah are significantly heavier than non-Mormons, but the latest numbers indicate the gap between the two groups has narrowed.

A study on the relationship between religion and body weight conducted by Brigham Young University Professor Ray Merrill found that Mormons in Utah were, on average, 4.6 pounds heavier than non-Mormon state residents in 2003 and 2004. That’s a smaller difference than in 2001, when Mormons were on average 6.1 pounds heavier than non-Mormons, and in 1996, when Mormons were 5.7 pounds heavier.

His analysis was based on data from the Utah Health Status Survey.

Merrill said the research was prompted by his 1996 study showing Mormons in Utah to be slightly less physically active than non-Mormons.

He said higher education levels among Mormons could mean busier work schedules and less time to follow a healthy diet.

Health experts in Utah were hesitant to draw the same conclusions as Merrill has from the health statistics.

The director of public health at the University of Utah, George White Jr., said Mormons have been found to live about seven years longer than non-Mormons.

“In aggregate, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are significantly healthier than the general population, and that’s documented by a lot of research data that’s out there,” White said.

Dr. Richard Bullough, diabetes program director at the Utah Health Department, said he did not have a lot of confidence in Merrill’s analysis, noting it had not been peer-reviewed. Bullough said his department’s statistician recommended the agency not support the conclusions that the study draws.

Joseph Lyon, faculty member of the University of Utah’s school of medicine, said it would be “premature” to call Merrill’s conclusion a “new finding.”

_ Enette Ngoei

Quote of the Day: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg

(RNS) “I know that this decision will not satisfy extremists on either side of the political spectrum.”

_ New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announcing his Tuesday (March 14) decision to suspend the city’s top jail chaplain for two weeks after Umar Abdul-Jalil said in a speech that “the greatest terrorists in the world occupy the White House.” Bloomberg was quoted by The New York Times.

MO/JL END RNS