Plans for Church Named after Mother Teresa Angers Islamists...Islamic fundamentalists against church named after Mother Teresa

10/22/2010 13:06
INDONESIA
by Mathias Hariyadi




Plans to build a Catholic place of worship in Cikarang, some 60 kilometres east of Jakarta, is generating opposition among Muslim groups. At least six churches were attacked since last year. Several Protestant clergymen were also assaulted. The authorities have been criticised for failing to stem the wave of intolerance.

Very Peaceful Barbarians Muslims...

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Anti-Christian intolerance is raising its ugly head again. Islamic fundamentalist groups are increasingly trying to stop the construction of churches in areas where the Catholic Church is present. Government slowness in reacting to such phenomena has come under fire because it effectively adds more fuel to the flames of intolerance fanned by such groups (See Mathias Hariyadi, “Religious intolerance rising among Indonesian Muslims,” in AsiaNews 5 October 2010)
The most recent example of this trend involves the Saint Mother Teresa Parish in Cikarang, some 60 kilometres east of Jakarta. The situation here is the more worrisome since Indonesian authorities have shown little or no desire to intervene in the matter, and this despite sharp criticism from inter-faith and human rights groups.
In recent days, some provocative banners opposing plans to build a new church in Cikarang have appeared. “The Islamic Group Ukuwah Islamiyah rejects any plan to construct a church in Bunda Teresa Cikarang,” read one banner displayed in front of a local mosque in Taman Sentosa Cikarang.
Another one on Bandung Street, in Cinere, carried the same message but against another Christian place of worship slated for construction only 200 metres from a local police station.
In both cases, it is clear that the lack of action by the authorities against this kind of protests to ensure a spirit of harmony between religions has fuelled intolerance.
Opposition to the Mother Teresa Church in Cikarang started in September when someone began spreading rumours about the potential “Christianisation” of the Bekasi Regency (district), a predominantly Muslim area.
According to the rumour, a church and other buildings would be built that together would constitute the largest Christian centre in Asia.
Opponents to the Church charged that the latter would become a magnet for proselytising, thus threatening the district’s Muslim majority.
Saint Mother Teresa Parish was founded in 2004 and has a congregation of some 6,000 members. It does not have a church building, and has to celebrate Mass in the gym of a local Catholic school.
In recent weeks, Bekasi Regency has seen a number of episodes of intolerance directed at Christians from different confessions. Since 2009, at least six churches have been attacked and several Protestant clergymen have been the victims of assault.


http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Islamic-fundamentalists-against-church-named-after-Mother-Teresa-19795.html

Halal Hairdressers Promise Clients a 'Man-Free Zone'...Now it’s halal hairdressing: a snip for Scottish Muslims

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• Mahida Iqbal struck on the idea of a ladies-only salon after offering an at-home hair service to her Muslim customers.

Exclusive: Helen McArdle

24 Oct 2010

With its frosted windows, CCTV cameras, and tightly monitored security entrance, it is going to be one of Aberdeen’s most secretive business enterprises.

So, you could be forgiven for wondering if the shop has something to hide.

Well, it does – its customers. Or rather it is the customers who want to remain hidden. For this is Scotland’s first ‘halal hairdressers’ – a beauty salon which conforms to the strict rules of Islam; a place were Muslim women who wear the veil or headscarf can be seen uncovered without the risk of the gaze of men.

Discreet Creative Hairdressing, scheduled to open in three weeks, is the brainchild of 21-year-old Mahida Iqbal and her husband of nine months, Fueb Mieh.

The salon will be a ‘man-free zone’. The frosted windows will stop any inquisitive men passing by from gawping at the clients. No-one can get in without passing through a secure buzzer entry system with CCTV. All this means that the Muslim ladies who have come for a new hair-do can remove their headscarves safe in the knowledge that only other women can see them.

Our salon is completely discreet, completely hidden from the public, from men, whereas the salons here, men still walk past and they can still see in or come in. 

Mahida Iqbal

Iqbal hit on the idea when she began wearing the headscarf for the first time last year, although she credits her husband – a fellow entrepreneur who runs Indian takeaways – for coming up with the proposal.

“At first I was just going to open up a hair salon that was going to be ladies-only,” said Iqbal. “But then my husband suggested I should target the Muslim community because there isn’t a salon yet in Aberdeen that provides these services.” She spoke to Muslim women who wanted a ‘halal’ service, but had nowhere to go. “So I used to go and do homers for the ladies, or they would come to my house.”

While there are other salons in Scotland which offer a ladies-only service, Iqbal wants to offer something geared to the needs of the Muslim community.

She said: “There are hair salons in Glasgow that are ladies-only, but not like our salon. Our salon is completely discreet, completely hidden from the public, from men, whereas the salons here, men still walk past and they can still see in or come in. Ours has a buzzer entry system, and we’ve got CCTV so that we can see who’s actually approaching the door.

“We can allow people in and if there is a man there then we won’t let him in. And there’s the window frosting as well. There’s a big population in Aberdeen that are Muslim. There’s Pakistani, Bengali, African, black American, Arabic – there’s a very large Muslim community. And me myself, attending mosque and attending Muslim events, I’ve got to know a lot of the Muslim ladies, so I’m hoping to generate a lot of business by word of mouth.”

However, Iqbal is not content to stop at hair-styling alone. Her salon will be a haven to a whole range of the pampering needs for Muslim women, with a variety of specialist beauty techniques such as henna tattooing and facial threading – an ancient hair-removal technique – also on offer.

“We’ve got an African hair stylist because afro hair is different from European hair, so she’s going to be doing braiding and taking care of African clients. We’re going to have a make-up artist, a beautician, a nail technician, a henna artist, a threading specialist, and teeth whitening as well.”

“It is somewhere where customers can feel comfortable, feel pampered and relaxed, knowing that no-one is going to come in and disturb them,” Iqbal added. “Muslim husbands can feel relaxed knowing that their wife is safe, where no man is going to be able to see them, and then they can come home and show their beauty. Muslim clients have never experienced this ever. It’s a great feeling.”

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/now-it-s-halal-hairdressing-a-snip-for-scottish-muslims-1.1063415

Lebanese prelates caution Synod on problems of dialogue with Islam

October 22, 2010

Two Lebanese Catholic prelates questioned the feasibility of dialogue with Islam during discussions on October 21 at the Synod of Bishops.

Commenting on propositions advocating inter-religious dialogue, Syrian Catholic Bishop Flavien Joseph Melki of Dara, Lebanon questioned whether the suggestions were realistic:

Is it even thinkable that the Arabic countries of the Middle East, where fundamentalism is becoming more entrenched, will accept in the near future abandoning their theocratic regimes founded on the Koran and the Sharia, which constitute flagrant discrimination towards non-Muslims? To me this seems to be in the domain of utopia, for the centuries to come.

Archbishop Raboula Antoine Beylouni, also a Syrian-Catholic prelate from Lebanon, raised similar questions. Because the Muslim believes that the Qu’ran offers the absolute and complete truth, the archbishop said, “he comes to dialogue with a sense of superiority.” More ominously, he continued, the Qu’ran “commands the imposition of religion through force—with the sword.” As a result, the archbishop said, Muslims are unlikely to recognize religious freedom.

Archbishop Beylouni offered a practical suggestion for efforts at dialogue with Islam. Because the Qu’ran treats the Virgin Mary with great reverence, he said, “we should turn to her for all dialogue and all encounters with the Muslims.” He concluded his remarks with a reference to one very significant inter-faith agreement in his own country: “If it pleased God that the Feast of the Annunciation was declared a national feast day in Lebanon for Christians and Muslims, may it also become a national feast day in other Arab countries.”


http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=8029