By Martin Surridge – Just a short entry this week. My apologies to those who were looking for an Article18 post last week. As a teacher, the end of May can be rather hectic, which is why this is the first post since the end of April. I wish I had the opportunity to do…
Church, State, and the Postal Service: The Contentious History of Sunday Mail Delivery
Between its inception in 1775 and 1912, postal employees delivered mail seven (7) days a week. In the early 1800s, religious leaders became concerned that employees were forced to work on the “Christian Sabbath,” or Sunday, and began to petition Congress to use its Article I powers to disallow Sunday delivery. This concern reached a fevered pitch in 1810 when Congress required post offices to open at least one hour on Sunday. Outraged that Congress had thus enforced Sunday desecration, religious leaders began to clamor for legislation that would outlaw Sunday operations.
OPINION: The Good Old Days? Not Quite
By Brent Buttler – In these days in which people’s rights seem up for grabs there is a tendency to wish we could go back to the good old days when people had more freedom to live as they chose to live. However, upon further research I have discovered that people’s freedoms have been eroding…
A Muslim American Reflects on Osama Bin Laden’s Death (Washington Post)
EXCERPT: By Arshad Chowdhury Osama bin Laden’s many victims include, first and foremost, those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, and their grieving families, the soldiers sent to war and the loved ones they left behind, and a new generation forced to grow up in a more polarized and paranoid world. For all of them,…
Hundreds of Christians, Muslims clash in Cairo (AP)
EXCERPT: Hundreds of Christians and Muslims are hurling stones at each other in downtown Cairo hours after mobs set fire to a church in violence that killed 12 people and injured more than 200. Christian activist Bishoy Tamri says Muslim youths attacked a large crowd of Coptic Christian protesters marching from the headquarters of the…
Muslim Leaders Say U.S. Pilot Refused to Fly With Them Onboard (FOX News)
EXCERPT: Two Muslim religious leaders say they were asked to leave a commercial airliner in Memphis on Friday and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard. Masudur Rahman, who is also an adjunct instructor of Arabic at the University of Memphis, said by phone from the terminal at Memphis…
Article18: India — Christian Pastor Bludgeoned in Front of His Children; Government Blames “Predatory” Evangelistic Efforts
By Martin Surridge – The Indian subcontinent has a rich and religiously diverse history. In addition to Hinduism, often called the world’s oldest religion, India is also the ancestral home to Buddhism, Sikhism, home to millions of Muslims, and countless indigenous belief systems. With these and other introduced faiths, religious tension has often dominated the…
Chinese Authorities Block Easter Service in Beijing (CNN)
EXCERPT: The site of a planned outdoor Easter service at one of China’s largest independent “house” churches was eerily silent Sunday as police blocked more than 500 worshippers from leaving their homes and detained more than 36 for attempting to attend religious services in Beijing, church officials said. The gathering place for worshippers was empty…
San Francisco Mulls Circumcision Ban (CBS News)
EXCERPT: Has the time come to cut out circumcision? Pro-foreskin forces say so, and some in San Francisco say they’ve collected enough signatures to put a proposal to ban circumcision before voters. The proposal would make it a misdemeanor to perform circumcision on a male under the age of 18 within the city. Anyone who…
Article18: Afghanistan — Quran Burning Protest Leaves Dozens Dead; Freed Christian Convert Flees Country
By Martin Surridge – Few countries around the globe can outdo Afghanistan when it comes to suffering and misery. Just in the last ten years alone, Afghanistan has been the permanent home for the Taliban, the temporary home for Al-Qaeda, the central battlefield for the Global War on Terror and graveyard for thousands of soldiers…