c. 2005 Religion News Service

Talk Radio Host Suspended for Controversial Remarks About Muslims

(RNS) A talk radio host has been indefinitely suspended without pay after he made comments on his program referring to Islam as “a terrorist organization.”

Michael Graham, whose program airs on WMAL-AM in Washington, D.C., said on his July 25 show, “The problem is not extremism, the problem is Islam. We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based civil liberties group, contacted the station, saying that Graham should be fired.

At first, station executives stood behind Graham, saying that “Graham’s comments are justified in the context of a radio talk show.”

But three days later, on July 28, the station’s president and general manager, Chris Berry, said in a statement that Graham’s comments had “crossed the line” and “were irresponsible,” and that the host would be suspended without pay from the station.

In addition to requesting Graham’s dismissal, CAIR had urged its members to contact the station and its advertisers in protest of Graham and his remarks. At least one advertiser, Moore Cadillac Hummer of Vienna, Va., wrote a letter to CAIR denouncing Graham, though it did not pledge to pull its advertisements.

CAIR is now asking members to call WMAL to ask that Graham’s suspension be made permanent.

“It is time for WMAL to distance itself and its advertisers from bigotry by making Graham’s suspension permanent,” said Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director.

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Carter Addresses Fellow Baptists at Baptist World Centenary Congress

(RNS) Former President Jimmy Carter addressed fellow Baptists from around the world at the 100th anniversary meeting of the Baptist World Alliance, joining others in a call for interfaith efforts to combat terrorism.

Carter, who distanced himself from the Southern Baptist Convention five years ago, addressed the Baptist World Centenary Congress on Sunday (July 31) in Birmingham, England. Carter suggested that interfaith dialogues can help “build a common commitment” to combat terrorism as people of different faiths focus on shared principles such as peace, justice and the reduction of suffering.

“If we concentrate on those things, that would make the united front against terrorism more effective,” he said, according to an alliance news release.

In an earlier news conference, Carter told reporters that misunderstandings about links between Islam and terrorism have prompted divisions across the globe.

“I think now there is a general feeling, particularly in my country, and maybe now in more recent days here in the United Kingdom, that a person who is a Muslim may be less committed to peace and justice and truth and humility and benevolence and generosity than we (Christians) are,” he said. “That arrogant attitude _ to derogate others because of their faith _ is a mistake.”

Carter, a member of a Plains, Ga., church affiliated with the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, also said he considered the Iraq war to be a mistake and said the U.S. should shut down the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, because past mistreatment of prisoners at those locations is “a disgrace.”

Other prominent speakers included Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., and best-selling author Rick Warren. Campolo, like Carter, encouraged interfaith dialogues _ including meetings of youth over pizza. Warren said it is important to seriously consider the fight against terrorism as a battle against evil.

“I do not believe you can pacify evil,” Warren said. “I do not believe you negotiate with it.”

During the five-day meeting, which ended Sunday (July 31), Baptists also welcomed the Rev. David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, as the newly elected president of their global group.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Dozens Flock to `Blinking’ Jesus Statue in New Jersey

HOBOKEN, N.J. (RNS) While dozens of people continue to flock to Hoboken to see a statue of Jesus that many believe blinked its right eye, church officials aren’t claiming a miracle just yet.

Since Thursday (July 28), many witnesses say a Sacred Heart of Jesus statue _ the centerpiece of a Catholic shrine of cherubs, crucifixes and Madonnas created by neighborhood preacher Julio Dones _ opened one of its normally half-closed eyes. They believe it’s a miracle.

Dones said he was among the first to notice the occurrence, while he was cleaning the shrine. Visibly worn and peeling, the statue’s chipping paint falls away in a way that forms a cross on Christ’s forehead, which Dones also believes is a miracle.

Word got back to the Rev. Michael Guglielmelli of St. Francis Roman Catholic Church, where Dones is a parishioner. Guglielmelli is not dismissing what everyone believes they saw, but advises them to wait and see what happens next.

“As a priest, I’m always open to everything. Whatever lets a person pray is good,” Guglielmelli said. “If this is from God, one way or another he will let us know. If not, it will fade away.”

Whenever there is a case like this, it’s up to the local church how it wants to handle the matter initially, said James Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark.

The diocese doesn’t have a set policy for such events, nor is it taking any specific action at this time, Goodness said.

“Checking into these situations depends on what impression or sense the priest gets from the person,” Goodness said. “We don’t want to curtail people’s sense of faith. We are interested in hearing more about it.”

The tiny statue has drawn dozens of visitors. Some brought camcorders. Others, dressed neatly as if coming from church service, prayed intently at it.

Next to the spectacle was Dones. A 52-year-old man with a slight frame, Dones has preached intermittently to visitors, some of whom shook his hand.

“To me this is a miracle,” Dones said. “You don’t see a Sacred Heart of Jesus with one eye closed, then one eye opened.”

Guglielmelli said a miracle, in the view of the church, is something different.

“It would have to take an extraordinary event,” he said, like a statue crying blood or sweating. “Something where there’s no natural explanation for it.”

_ Lisa Vernon-Sparks

`Left Behind’ Authors Make Amazon.com’s Anniversary Hall of Fame List

(RNS) “Left Behind” series co-authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins are among the top 10 best-selling authors cited in Amazon.com’s 10th Anniversary Hall of Fame.

The Web site unveiled the hall of fame in honor of its opening on July 16, 1995.

“The hugely successful `Left Behind’ books, with their apocalyptic evangelical Christian vision, are the all-time best-selling Christian fiction series,” the listing notes. “More than 62 million copies have been sold.”

LaHaye and Jenkins were No. 9 on the list that was topped by J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books.

The other authors who placed before LaHaye and Jenkins are, in order, Spencer Johnson, Nora Roberts, Dan Brown, Dr. Seuss, John Grisham, Stephen King and J.R.R. Tolkien. The 10th author listed was Jim Collins.

The entire list of 25 authors included C.S. Lewis, author of the Christian classic “Chronicles of Narnia,” at No. 13 and John C. Maxwell, former pastor and author of leadership books, at No. 21.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: North Carolina contractor David Fortwengler

(RNS) “It’s not a matter of sitting down with a bishop for five minutes and him apologizing and (me) being able to move on _ it’s more than that.”

_ David Fortwengler, a former altar boy who was abused in the late 1960s at St. Columba Catholic Church in Oxon Hill, Md. The North Carolina contractor told The Washington Post that he appreciates payments by the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington for his counseling and a personal apology from an auxiliary bishop, but he has not completely healed from past abuse.

KRE/JL END RNS