EDS: RNS-Lisante-911 will not transmit today. It will publish tomorrow and can be accessed and downloaded from our website at that time. We will transmit it on Monday.
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Feucht-Trump: Donald Trump to join Sean Feucht worship concert on 9/11 at National Mall
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Evangelical Christian musician and activist Sean Feucht will hold a two-day concert event in the nation’s capital over the weekend, continuing a tour that has resisted pandemic restrictions and is slated to feature an address from former President Donald Trump. By Jack Jenkins. 440 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-911-Pilgrimage: New York pilgrimage celebrates interfaith solidarity in lead-up to 9/11 anniversary
NEW YORK (RNS) — More than 15 faith leaders spoke Thursday night (Sept. 9) at a prayer walk sponsored by the Interfaith Center of New York City. The walk, which one cleric described as a pilgrimage, started at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue and stopped at four other houses of prayer. At each stop, faith leaders and commissioners from New York City offices for social justice and human rights offered prayers and short sermons on uniting in love in response to acts of hatred. By Renée Roden. 650 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Collins-QA: Francis Collins: “a bit” frustrated with evangelicals amid COVID-19 vaccine push
(RNS) — A day after President Joe Biden announced sweeping policy changes to continue to address the COVID-19 pandemic, one of his administration’s top health officials said he doesn’t expect widespread use of religious exemptions to get around them. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, also acknowledged Friday (Sept. 10) that he is “a bit” frustrated with fellow evangelicals who have hesitated or refused to get the vaccine, even as the delta variant has led to an average of more than 1,000 U.S. deaths a day. By Adelle M. Banks. 1,450 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Moore-Moore: Beth Moore and Russell Moore share laugher, regrets at Nashville church
(RNS) — At a Nashville church, ex-Southern Baptist leaders Beth Moore and Russell Moore recalled leaving the nation’s largest Protestant denomination in a night filled with Bible verses, banter and a few regrets.By Bob Smietana. 1000 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Pope-Travel: Questions over immigration, communion loom over Pope Francis’ trip to Hungary and Slovakia
(RNS) – Pope Francis will embark for a jam-packed trip to the central European countries of Hungary and Slovakia Sep. 12-15. Despite his recent recovery from surgery, the pope will likely tackle hot-button issues, from immigration to communion and ecumenism. By Claire Giangravè. 1,100 words. (category i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-911-Profiles: ‘The story is still unfolding’: 10 Americans on how 9/11 changed their faith lives
(RNS) — The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, changed many Americans’ faith communities and spiritual lives as much as it did how we see our world and one another. Over the past month, Religion News Service sought out Americans of differing backgrounds to reflect on how 9/11 affected their faith lives and how faith has in turn informed their response to the day. By Yonat Shimron and Kathryn Post. 3,000 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Salkin-Oped: On the day they wounded New York
(RNS) — Twenty years ago, on September 11, 2001, 19 Islamist terrorists hijacked four airplanes and murdered nearly 3,000 people. Ever since that moment in American history — that moment that changed America forever — I have carried several sacred stories within my soul. By Jeffrey Salkin. 1,005 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Mogahed-Oped: 9/11 and Muslims’ mental health
(RNS) — Addressing Islamophobia among the public at large is critical and should concern all Americans. But what of the emotional and psychological impact of this toxic climate on Muslims’ worldview, a community that is rarely spoken of in terms of vulnerability or emotional wounds. What is the mental health impact of the past 20 years on those whose identity had become a “smear” for a political campaign to correct? By Dalia Mogahed. 996 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Kulkarni-Oped: Practicing Hinduphobia in the guise of academic freedom
(RNS) — Dismantling Global Hindutva, a virtual gathering that begins Friday (Sept. 10), bills itself as an academic conference, but its participants and sponsors show little respect for academic principles. This weekend’s conference, in dismissing and demonizing Hindus who don’t share their viewpoint, violates the letter and spirit of these principles. And when they are criticized for this, the organizers cry that any dissent constitutes a violation of their academic freedom. By Deepali Kulkarni. 613 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Sundarem-Oped: Hinduphobia is a smokescreen for Hindu nationalists
(RNS) —This weekend, the Dismantling Global Hindutva: Multidisciplinary Perspectives Conference is gathering online to address the ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism. Over the past few weeks, Hindutva-aligned organizations and individuals have been objecting to the conference, calling it a form of “Hinduphobia.” The fact is there is little evidence that Hindus on university campuses face widespread religious persecution, and their use of “Hinduphobia” is little more than a smokescreen. By Feminist Critical Hindu Studies Collective. 704 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Viswanathan-Oped: Claiming the freedom to decide who is Hindu American
(RNS) — Hinduphobia is a part of our historical and contemporary landscape. One group in particular, the South Asian Scholar Activist Collective, which includes scholars of Hinduism and South Asian studies, has been promoting the idea that Hinduphobia is not real and that Hindus have never been persecuted. By Indu Viswanathan. 697 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Safi-Oped: America and Muslims have come a long way since 9/11. We have a long way to go.
(RNS) — In the aftermath of 9/11, the very beings of Muslims are inherently politicized. Our very existence is a political fact for us and a “problem” for some. There is no inherently “apolitical” Muslim discourse. One of the challenges for my community is to insist that being Muslim is not about mere politics, but also about a way of being with God, in harmony with our fellow human community and with nature. 2,323 words. (category: k)
