c. 2008 Religion News Service

Indiana voters send second Muslim to Congress

WASHINGTON (RNS) Indianapolis voters on Tuesday (March 11) choose Andre Carson to fill a seat vacated by his late grandmother, making him the second Muslim ever elected to serve in Congress.

Like Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., who in 2006 became the first Muslim elected to Congress, Carson is a black convert to the faith.

The 33-year-old Indiana Democrat was raised Baptist and attended Catholic schools but converted to Islam more than 10 years ago.

Carson called himself a “a proud Hoosier … I just happen to be a Hoosier of the Muslim faith,” according to The Associated Press.

He said his legislative priorities include ending the “useless war” in Iraq, and that he plans to run for a full term in May during his party’s primaries.

Carson’s election “demonstrates the strength of our political system and the growing positive role of American Muslims in our society,” said Corey Saylor, legislative director of the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Before his election, Carson worked in Indiana law enforcement and with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

_ Daniel Burke

Conservative group ends Ford boycott

(RNS) The American Family Association ended a two-year boycott of Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday (Mar. 10), saying Ford met the demands of an agreement, which included not donating to gay organizations.

In the original complaint, AFA called on Ford to stop giving money and cars to gay pride parades, to end corporate donations to groups promoting same-sex marriage, and to stop advertising in gay media, according to AFA Chairman Donald E. Wildmon.

“Our principles have not changed,” Ford said in a statement. “We are committed to treating everyone fairly and with respect, including our dealers, customers and employees.”

Ford also said they would continue to advertise its products in ways that will bring in the most customers, but have reduced overall advertising and charitable spending in the past few years.

While it is unclear how much the boycott affected Ford’s sales, AFA believes that the more than 780,000 supporters played a “very significant role.”

“A few minor issues remain and we will continue to bring these to the attention of Ford,” Wildmon said in a letter.

_ Brittani Hamm

Bush defends war in speech to religious broadcasters

(RNS) President Bush gave a lengthy defense of his war policy in Iraq and Afghanistan in his last speech before the National Religious Broadcasters on Tuesday (March 11).

In a 42-minute address, he spoke of fighting against the “enemy,” including Taliban extremists in Afghanistan and “terrorists” in Iraq.

“I wish I didn’t have to talk about war,” Bush told the broadcasters gathered in Nashville, Tenn. “No president wants to be a war president. But when confronted with the realities of the world, I have made the decision that now is the time to confront, now is the time to deal with this enemy, and now is the time to spread freedom as the great alternative to the ideology they adhere to.”

Bush’s speech came nearly 25 years to the day after President Ronald Reagan used a speech before the National Association of Evangelicals to label the Soviet Union an “evil empire.”

Bush called the removal of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein “the right decision” and said he is determined to continue to work for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We undertake this work because we believe that every human being bears the image of our maker,” the president said.

Bush also spoke of his desire to prevent the “Fairness Doctrine” from being reinstated. The rule, which the Federal Communications Commission abolished 20 years ago, required that broadcast licensees to balance political content with different points of view. Some liberals on Capitol Hill have sought to revive it; conservatives are generally opposed.

“We know who these advocates of so-called balance really have in their sights: shows hosted by people like Rush Limbaugh or James Dobson, or many of you here today,” Bush said. “By insisting on so-called balance, they want to silence those they don’t agree with. … The country should not be afraid of the diversity of opinions.”

The president also mentioned that he has been praying for evangelist Billy Graham, who is recovering from recent surgery. “A lot of Americans love Billy Graham, and I’m one,” he said. “So, Billy, we’re thinking about you.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Palestinians start own `Birthright’ program

JERUSALEM (RNS) After seeing how successful Birthright Israel has been in acquainting young Diaspora Jews with Israel and Judaism, a Palestinian group has established Birthright Palestine to help youths of Palestinian descent connect with their roots.

The program is organized by the Palestine Center for National Strategic Studies (PCNSS), which is based in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, and the Siraj Center of Holy Land Studies in nearby Beit Sahour.

The program is intended for first-generation, Western-born Palestinians over the age of 18. Organizers hope to bring young Palestinians to their “ancestral homeland” so that “they can reunite and witness firsthand how their brethren are living under illegal Israeli military occupation, while assimilating them into Palestinian society.”

The program will involve education, touring, hospitality and volunteering. It was “created to maintain Palestinian unity on an international level and to make foreign-born Palestinians feel at home in their homeland,” a press statement said.

The program’s Web site (http://www.birthrightpalestine.com) tells potential participants that “we are assuming that your parents did not leave their native homeland by choice and rather unwillingly abandoned their homes due to the grave difficulties that they faced under occupation and war.

“Thus, your parents, as well as their descendants (you) are technically refugees. You are a refugee because the reason you are living in a foreign state is due to the fear of persecution in your homeland simply for being born an Arab.”

The first Birthright Palestine participants will come to the West Bank this summer, right after Israelis celebrate their country’s 60th anniversary. Participants will be housed by families living in the Dheisheh refugee camp.

Unlike Birthright Israel, which provides young Diaspora Jews with a free 10-day trip to Israel, participants in the Palestinian program will stay for two to three months and are expected to pay their own way.

Gidi Mark, international director of marketing for Birthright Israel, declined to comment on the Palestinian program. A Birthright Palestine spokesperson was also unavailable for comment.

_ Michele Chabin

Quote of the Day: Author and scholar Rabbi Brad Hirschfield

(RNS) “Jewish tradition celebrates flawed heroes, which doesn’t mean that Spitzer is Moses. (It) just means that good people do bad things, and bad people do good things. None of us should be judged by any single thing we have done.”

_ Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of CLAL _ The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, reacting to the prostitution scandal surrounding New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

KRE/LF END RNS

1,200 words