Magic Statistics

Yesterday I blogged the text message that led 1000 Muslims to gather outside a Malaysian Catholic church.  The text message suggested that some Malays were to be baptised, but in fact the church was celebrating the first communion of about 100 ethnic Indian children.  More details have now come to light.

A mufti has previously made false claims about Muslims converting to Christianity.

A local mufti in the state of Perak, Datuk Seri Harussani Haji Zakaria had earlier claimed in February that 250,000 Muslims, of which 100,000 were Malays, had apostatised themselves, while 100,000 more had submitted applications to do so, reports say.

Police intend to question the Muslim cleric.

Perak Mufti Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria will be questioned by the police over an SMS which alleged that several hundred Malays were to have been baptised at a church in Silibin on Sunday.

State police chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Bulat said the Perak mufti was not a suspect in the case, but his name was among those mentioned in the SMS which had been circulating since last Thursday.

A Muslim women’s group, Sisters in Islam, condemns the false text messages as deliberately inflammatory and intended to sow mistrust against Christians.

Malaysian law prohibits encouraging Muslims to change their religion.  Apostasy is likewise illegal throughout Malaysia, which is about 60% Malay Muslim, 25% Chinese Buddhist and Christian, and about 10% Indian Hindu and Christian.

h/t for Catholic News link: Big News Network.com - Breaking Religious News
h/t for New Straits Times link: Western Resistance

UPDATE (22 Nov.): A Muslim woman named Raja Sherina has been arrested.
h/t: Big News Network.com - Breaking Religious News

A 22-year-old Egyptian student and blogger named Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman was detained by State Security agents in Alexandria, Egypt, yesterday.  His arrest is believed to be motivated by his writings, which are critical of Islam and the Egyptian Government.

His detention was the latest crackdown on political opposition by Egyptian authorities following arrests and beatings at street protests earlier this year, despite calls from Egypt's U.S. ally for political reform.

'The accusations directed against him are that he published opinions aimed at disturbing public order, insulted the head of state and defamed Islam,' said Sally Sami, programme officer at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo), which is representing him.

'It is becoming more and more obvious that the government is not keen to reform or allow true democracy where differing opinions can be voiced.'

The security forces did not specify which of his writings led to the arrest.

Mr Suleiman was until recently a student at al-Azhar University, one of the country’s top universities, but he was expelled earlier this year.

Suleiman has criticised al-Azhar's dominance in religious thought and said Muslim clerics were partly responsible for sectarian strife that followed a knife attack on Christian worshippers in Alexandria in April, according to Gamal Eid, executive director of HRInfo.

Egypt has arrested several bloggers, leading Reporters Without Borders to add it to the list of worst suppressors of internet freedom.

h/t: Big News Network.com - Breaking Religious News

Previous related post: Egyptian blogger beaten, jailed

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has tried to use his country’s abundant oil to embarrass adversaries and reward friends.  One recent example is his offer to sell discounted oil to poor Alaskan native Indians.  Most of the natives took the deal, but some refused it out of loyalty to their country.

But now Chavez’s generosity to foreigners in the face of widespread poverty at home is threatening his chances for re-election.  Thus, a meeting with London Mayor “Red Ken” Livingstone to close a cheap oil deal for Londoners has been abruptly cancelled.

The Mayor of London had been due to arrive in Caracas from Cuba yesterday to sign a pact with Hugo Chávez, the President of Venezuela, who is engaged in a fierce battle for re-election.

The trip was cancelled at the last minute, raising questions about whether the deal to provide aid to one of the richest cities in the world was seen as politically risky, with the elections less than a month away.

The main opposition leader in Venezuela attacked the plan as “a crime”, and appealed to the London mayor not to take money from Venezuela’s poor.

“That is political corruption,” Manuel Rosales, the opposition candidate, told foreign journalists. “I ask the (London) mayor not to commit that injustice to Venezuela, because he is taking a part of our wealth and doing grave harm to the country.
. . .
“For me, it’s a crime that there is hunger, unemployment, poor services, hospitals that don’t work, roads that are a disaster — and the Government is giving away our wealth,” Señor Rosales said.

Señor Rosales pledged that, if he is elected, he will cancel all cheap-oil agreements.  He also said that, if Ken Livingstone cares about the people of Venezuela, he should refuse the deal.  Mr Livingstone remains hopeful that the formal agreement will be signed in the near future.

The election will be held on 3 December.

Previous related posts:

• Your gas money at work
• Hugo Chavez and The Jackal: good Venezuelan friends
• Mayor of London to welcome Hugo Chavez

Buried at the bottom of a Globe and Mail story about Stephen Harper skipping a Canada-European Union meeting at which the issue of climate change was to rear its ugly head is this fascinating tidbit:

Given the cancelled Canada-EU summit, European leaders have made it clear that if Ottawa reneges on its Kyoto commitments, the other signatories to the protocol will hold to account the politicians responsible for that failure.

It’s a shame the story ended just when it was beginning to look interesting.

I have a few questions.  How exactly do EU members propose to "hold to account" Canadian politicians?  What exactly do they plan to do?

Even more importantly, where has the EU been for the past decade?  The Liberal Government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien signed the Kyoto protocol in 1997; greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continued to rise during the rest of his time in office.  Liberal Paul Martin took over as PM in December 2003; GHG emissions continued to go up.

During the eight years that Liberals governed Canada after Kyoto was signed,  emissions rose virtually unabated, yet the EU did not try to intimidate any Canadian politicians.

Stephen Harper has been prime minister for less than one year, and only now does the EU warn “politicians” to bring Canada into line on Kyoto—or else.  There wouldn’t be any political motivation behind the EU’s new-found role as Canada's GHG enforcer, would there?  Perish the thought.

The EU’s bluster is impossible to take seriously, especially when EU member countries are failing miserably to restrain their own GHG emissions.

No word yet on whether the EU intends to hold Japanese politicians responsible for Japan’s failure to reduce its emissions.

Previous related posts:

• New projections show EU falling short of Kyoto targets
• CO2 emissions up in Europe, stable in US
• Spot the comedian

The Diocese of the Arctic has appointed Rev. James C. Barlow as its cathedral dean, although the diocese presently has no cathedral building.  The previous St Jude's Cathedral, Iqaluit, was destroyed by arson in November 2005.  One of Rev Barlow's top priorities will be to assist efforts to raise funds for a cathedral building.

Rev Barlow's previous appointment was priest-in-charge at St Francis of Assisi Parish, Estes Park, Colorado, an Anglo-Catholic church belonging to the Anglican Church in America, and part of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC).  St Francis is thus not in communion with the Anglican Church of Canada.

Anglican Journal goes on a bit about St Francis Church and the TAC, before telling us about Rev Barlow's previous work in the Anglican Church of Canada and how he came to be chosen as dean.

According to St. Francis’ Web site, the American branch was formed in 1977 “to preserve traditional Anglo-Catholic doctrine and forms of worship in the face of rampant changes in liturgy, morality and order by liberals within the church.”

The Traditional Anglican Communion does not ordain women, opposes revisions to the Elizabethan Book of Common Prayer and opposes ordaining homosexuals or blessing gay couples. TAC claims about 400,000 members on six continents.
. . .
Mr. Barlow, who is 55, grew up in Wisconsin and has previously worked in Canada, serving as rector of St. Timothy’s parish in Rigolet, Labrador from 1995 to 1997.

He and his wife, Ligaya, who is Filipino, liked the North and he applied for a parish vacancy in Kugluktuk. Earlier this year, however, Arctic suffragan (assistant) bishop Larry Robertson called Mr. Barlow and asked if he would let his name stand for the dean’s position at St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit, a position made more complex by the fact that the igloo-shaped church burned down in November, 2005.

Rev Barlow says he is not opposed to women's ordination and, on the issue of ordaining non-celibate homosexuals, he defers to his bishop and synod.  The Diocese of the Arctic has made plain its opposition to homosexual practice.

Until a new cathedral is built, services are being held in the parish hall.

May our Lord richly bless Rev Barlow as he commences his ministry in the Arctic.

Previous related posts:

• Iqaluit urgently needs its Cathedral
• Arson blamed for Cathedral fire