Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Visit www.pbs.org/religionandethics for additional information. Show #1848 will be fed over PBS at 5:00 p.m. EST on July 31 (check local listings).
The Aga Khan – Around the world there are approximately 15 million Ismaili Muslims, a sub-group of the Shia branch of Islam, which is distinct from the much larger Sunni branch. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Sunnis said the Prophet’s successors should be an outstanding religious leader. Shias, on the other hand, said their leader should be a direct descendant of the Prophet, and that split has fractured Islam ever since, often violently. The leader of the Ismailis is the Aga Khan, an enormously wealthy, little-known philanthropist who has made it his mission to fight poverty and encourage peace around the world with schools and hospitals, the arts and hope. Recently, the Aga Khan was in Canada, where he granted a rare interview to Lucky Severson.
The Singing Monks of Nursia – In Italy, in the town in which St. Benedict was born, there are Benedictine monks led by American Father Cassian Folsom. The monks gather nine times a day, every day, to worship God with their Gregorian chants and other prayers. Father Cassian spoke with Judy Valente about music and prayer — and brewing beer, which is how the monks support themselves. Also, Father Cassian spoke about how he views the return of the cancer he thought he had overcome.
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