World Humanitarian Day

'Record number' of humanitarian workers killed in 2023, UN says

The United Nations on Monday condemned "unacceptable" levels of violence that are now commonplace against humanitarian workers after a record 280 were killed worldwide in 2023. It warned that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is potentially fueling even higher numbers of such deaths this year

Issued on: 19/08/2024 -

United Nations and Red Crescent workers prepare the aid for distribution to Palestinians at UNRWA warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, 23 October, 2023. © Hassan Eslaiah / AP

By: RFI

"The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere," Joyce Msuya, acting director of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day.

"With 280 aid workers killed in 33 countries last year, 2023 marked the deadliest year on record for the global humanitarian community," a 137 percent increase over 2022, when 118 aid workers died, OCHA said in the statement.

It cited the Aid Worker Security Database which has tracked such figures back to 1997.

The UN said 163 of those killed in 2023 were aid workers killed in Gaza during the first three months of the war between Israel and Hamas, mainly in air strikes.

South Sudan, wracked by civil strife, and Sudan, where a war between two rival generals has been raging since April 2023, are the next deadliest conflicts for humanitarians, with 34 and 25 deaths respectively.

Call to end impunity

Also in the top 10 are Israel and Syria, with seven deaths each; Ethiopia and Ukraine, with six deaths each; Somalia at five fatalities; and four deaths both in Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In all the conflicts, most of the deaths are among local, rather than visiting foreign staff.

"We demand an end to impunity so that perpetrators face justice," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Despite 2023's "outrageously high number" of aid worker fatalities, OCHA said 2024 "may be on track for an even deadlier outcome."

France condemns killing of Gaza NGO workers as US pressed to toughen stance with Israel

As of 9 August, 176 aid workers have been killed worldwide, according to the Aid Worker Security Database.

Since October, when Hamas-led militants launched a deadly raid into Israel, triggering the war, more than 280 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, the majority of them employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, according to OCHA.

Against this backdrop, the leaders of multiple humanitarian organisations and UN agencies sent a letter Monday to UN member states calling for the end of "an era of impunity."

"Attacks that kill or injure civilians, including humanitarian and health-care personnel, are devastatingly common," said the letter, signed by groups including the World Food Programme and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"Yet despite widespread condemnation, serious violations of the rules of war too often go unpunished."

Gratitude

Each year the United Nations marks World Humanitarian Day on 19 August, the anniversary of the 2003 attack on its Baghdad headquarters.

The bombing killed 22 people including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN special representative to Iraq, and injured some 150 local and foreign aid workers.

Marking World Humanitarian Day, the United States said "we owe humanitarian workers our gratitude for their service and our commitment."

"We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to this work and continue to urge international partners to join us in stepping up their contributions to address growing humanitarian needs around the world," said the statement from National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett, which did not mention the record death toll.

(with AFP)

UN warns of 'unacceptable' level of violence against aid workers

United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The United Nations on Monday condemned "unacceptable" levels of violence that are now commonplace against humanitarian workers after a record 280 were killed worldwide in 2023.

Issued on: 19/08/2024 

On World Humanitarian Day the UN lashed out at the 'unacceptable' violence that has led to the deaths of 280 aid workers in 2023 © Carl DE SOUZA / AFP/File

And it warned that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is potentially fueling even higher numbers of such deaths this year.

"The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere," Joyce Msuya, acting director of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day.

"With 280 aid workers killed in 33 countries last year, 2023 marked the deadliest year on record for the global humanitarian community," a 137 percent increase over 2022, when 118 aid workers died, OCHA said in the statement.

It cited the Aid Worker Security Database which has tracked such figures back to 1997.

The UN said 163 of those killed in 2023 were aid workers killed in Gaza during the first three months of the war between Israel and Hamas, mainly in air strikes.

Aid workers deaths at record high in 2023 © Valentin RAKOVSKY, Thierno TOURE / AFP

South Sudan, wracked by civil strife, and Sudan, where a war between two rival generals has been raging since April 2023, are the next deadliest conflicts for humanitarians, with 34 and 25 deaths respectively.

Also in the top 10 are Israel and Syria, with seven deaths each; Ethiopia and Ukraine, with six deaths each; Somalia at five fatalities; and four deaths both in Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In all the conflicts, most of the deaths are of local employees, rather than visiting foreign staff.

The UN Security Council "deplored that 2023 was the deadliest year in history for aid workers," Sierra Leone Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu, who became chair of the body starting this month, said on its behalf after a closed-door meeting.

"If the international community fails them, we fail everyone who is in need of humanitarian aid," he added, reminding those involved in armed conflict of their "obligation" to international humanitarian law.
'Era of impunity'

"We demand an end to impunity so that perpetrators face justice," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Despite 2023's "outrageously high number" of aid worker fatalities, OCHA said 2024 "may be on track for an even deadlier outcome."

As of August 9, 176 aid workers have been killed worldwide, according to the Aid Worker Security Database.

Since October, when Hamas-led militants launched a deadly raid into Israel, triggering the war, more than 280 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, the majority of them employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, according to OCHA.

Against this backdrop, the leaders of multiple humanitarian organizations and UN agencies sent a letter Monday to UN member states calling for the end of "an era of impunity."

"Attacks that kill or injure civilians, including humanitarian and health-care personnel, are devastatingly common," said the letter, signed by groups including the World Food Programme and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"Yet despite widespread condemnation, serious violations of the rules of war too often go unpunished."

Each year, the United Nations marks World Humanitarian Day on August 19, the anniversary of a 2003 attack on its Baghdad headquarters.

The bombing killed 22 people including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN special representative to Iraq, and injured about 150 local and foreign aid workers.

Marking World Humanitarian Day, the United States said "we owe humanitarian workers our gratitude for their service and our commitment."

"We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to this work and continue to urge international partners to join us in stepping up their contributions to address growing humanitarian needs around the world," said the statement from US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett, which did not mention the record death toll.

© 2024 AFP

Republicans accuse Biden of ‘impeachable conduct’ in report — but don’t offer any proof

The committees deferred the decision to impeach the president to the full House of Representatives

Kelly Rissman
THE INDEPENDENT UK

08/19/24

Jamie Raskin leads Democrat slap down of GOP Biden impeachment attempt

Three Republican-controlled House committees accused President Joe Biden of engaging in “impeachable conduct,” stating there is “overwhelming evidence” to support it, but admitted they have no evidence to prove that the president committed a crime.

Republicans on the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees released a 291-page report on Monday accusing Biden of abuse of power and obstruction of justice.


The report claims Biden, as vice president, “abused” his office to enrich his family in connection with his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings and mishandled classified information.

“The totality of the corrupt conduct uncovered by the Committees is egregious. President Joe Biden conspired to commit influence peddling and grift. In doing so, he abused his office and, by repeatedly lying about his abuse of office, has defrauded the United States to enrich his family,” the report states.

House Republicans also accused the White House of interfering with the investigation into Hunter Biden by instructing witnesses to not cooperate or to comply with subpoenas.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (left) and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan attend a hearing on oversight of the Secret Service in July 2024. The pair also lead two committees that conducted the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, claiming he engaged in ‘impeachable conduct’ in a new report (EPA)

However, in each of these circumstances, the House committees said they did not need to have direct proof that he committed these alleged impeachable acts.

Regarding the abuse of power allegation, the report says: “It is not necessary for the House of Representatives to show that the dealings involved a quid pro quo to rise to the level of an impeachable offense.”

The report also suggests that the House panels do not need to show that Biden accepted a bribe or committed a crime to show his “abuse of power”, but instead, argued that it is only necessary to show that Biden was “aware” of the scheme and participated in it. The House Republicans described that this threshold was due to the “ cheapening of the impeachment power by Democrats in recent years,” referring to the two impeachments of Donald Trump.

“In 2019, House Democrats asserted that impeachable offenses need not rise to the level of criminal conduct, noting that Congress reached the same conclusion during the impeachments of President Nixon and President Clinton,” the panels wrote. “The House may therefore impeach President Biden for non-criminal conduct that significantly impairs the political system or betrays the public trust.”

The same standard was applied to the obstruction of justice charge. “The House need not find that President Biden’s misconduct met the standard for obstruction of justice provided in federal statutes regarding obstruction of justice,” the report states, before referring to the 2019 impeachment of Trump.


The report also offered detailed descriptions of Hunter and James Biden’s “shady” business practices overseas, implying that he made millions in exchange for access to his father and influence in the US. However, House Republicans fell short of substantiating those claims.

“The Committees have obtained evidence of how the Biden family leveraged Joe Biden’s official position for financial gain. Indeed, in many ways, the entire business of Hunter Biden and James Biden centered around hinting at, alluding to, or outright promising what Joe Biden’s power could do for certain foreign interests,” the report states.

The Bidens have never been formally charged with any wrongdoing connected to their business ventures.

President Joe Biden disembarks Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. He was accused of ‘impeachable conduct’ by House committees on Monday (REUTERS)

The committees deferred to the full House of Representatives to decide on whether to pursue the “next steps.” The report states: “Although the Committees’ fact-finding is ongoing amid President Biden’s obstruction, the evidence uncovered in the impeachment inquiry to date already amounts to impeachable conduct. The Committees present this information to the House of Representatives for its evaluation and consideration of appropriate next steps.” Even if passed in the GOP-controlled House, the effort is likely to be unsuccessful in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The report arrived after 30 interviews, 30 subpoenas, six hearings, and after reviewing “millions of pages of documents,” the committees wrote.

But the inquiry into President Biden has been met with heavy scrutiny.

Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian businessman who traveled around the world with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani “tasked” to find “dirt” on the Biden family, testified in March that he had seen “precisely zero proof of the Bidens’ criminality.”

Additionally, in February special counsel Robert Hur, who was tasked with investigating the classified documents found at the president’s homes, recommended no criminal charges against Biden.

The GOP-led inquiry into Biden has not received total support from all members of their party while Democrats have repeatedly accused them of pursuing the impeachment inquiry as political retribution. Likely not by coincidence, the report was released on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, where later this week, Kamala Harris is expected to accept the Democratic nomination for president.

The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment on the report.

Meet Cathy, the new AI chatbot and Episcopal Church expert

Unlike many of her religious AI predecessors, Cathy isn’t posing as a pastor or guru but a virtual guide.
A new AI chatbot program called AskCathy offers entry-level access to learning more about the Episcopal Church. (Photo from Pixabay/Creative Commons)

August 6, 2024
By Kathryn Post

RNS

(RNS) — First, there was Xian’er, the cartoon-like, mantra-chanting robot Buddhist monk that China introduced in 2015. Then there was the German “BlessU-2” robot that dispensed blessings using ATM parts, and Pepper, the Japanese robot priest that delivered funeral rites.

Now a new generation of religious AI is emerging with the advent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT — some with mixed success. The latest AI chatbot geared for spiritual seekers is AskCathy, co-launched in June by a research institute and ministry organization and aiming to roll out soon on Episcopal church websites. Cathy draws on the latest version of ChatGPT and is equipped to prioritize Episcopalian resources.

“This is not a substitute for a priest,” said the Rev. Tay Moss, director of one of Cathy’s architects, the Innovative Ministry Center, an organization based at the Toronto United Church Council that develops digital resources for communities of faith. “She comes alongside you in your search queries and helps you discover material. But she is not the end-all be-all of authority. She can’t tell you how to believe or what to believe.”




AskCathy.ai logo. Courtesy image

The Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, the executive director of TryTank Research Institute at Virginia Theological Seminary and Cathy’s other principal developer, said all the institute’s projects attempt to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, and Cathy is no different. He told Religion News Service the idea for Cathy materialized after brainstorming how to address young people’s spiritual needs. What if a chatbot could meet people asking life’s biggest questions with care, insight and careful research?

“The goal is not that they will end up at their nearby Episcopal church on Sunday. The goal is that it will spark in them this knowledge that God is always with us, that God never leaves us,” Lebrija said. “This can be a tool that gives us a glimpse and little direction that we can then follow on our own.”

To do that, though, would require a chatbot designed to avoid the kinds of hallucinations and errors that have plagued other ChatGPT integrations. In May, the Catholic evangelization site Catholic Answers “defrocked” their AI avatar, Father Justin, designating him as a layperson after he reportedly claimed to be an ordained priest capable of taking confession and performing marriages.

The Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, chief innovation officer of Virginia Theological Seminary. Photo courtesy of Lebrija

Lebrija’s TryTank Institute teamed up with Moss’ Innovative Ministry Center to create a specific retrieval mechanism for Cathy tailored to the Episcopal Church. When asked a question, Cathy first searches her own library of resources for relevant information, then sends that context and the original question to ChatGPT before spouting off an answer. When possible, Cathy cites her sources. Her library, prioritized over the rest of ChatGPT’s resources, includes over 1,000 pages from the Episcopal Church’s website, The Book of Common Prayer and authorized publications from the Forward Movement, a ministry of the Episcopal Church.

Pauline Cheong, professor of human communication at Arizona State University who studies spiritual groups’ use of AI, told RNS via email it is “rather tenuous” to claim, as AskCathy’s FAQ does, that Cathy exhibits “remarkable accuracy,” given that religious chatbots powered by ChatGPT can provide “erroneous and outdated information with false references.”


Photo courtesy of Pauline Hope Cheong, professor, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University

“Religion and technology have a historically complex and contested relationship, so it is interesting how the presentation of Cathy appears to exhibit the optics of optimism and trust in AI technology,” she wrote.

However, Moss said Cathy incorporates “state of the art” technology as of spring 2024, and her capabilities aren’t comparable to previous religious AI chatbots.

As Cathy developed, Moss and Lebrija realized she could be useful in a range of scenarios: a lay minister leading a parish who is looking for TEC-specific liturgies, a church member parsing through the denomination’s complex bylaws, a priest looking to accelerate their service planning to spend more time with parishioners or a person curious about the denomination’s positions on controversial topics.

“She makes it possible to have a different kind of conversation, which is far lower stakes for people who want to talk about subjects that make them feel vulnerable or defensive,” Moss said. “For example, one of the questions that we’ve gotten quite a bit is about polyamory.”

Peter Levenstrong, an associate rector at an Episcopal church in San Francisco who blogs about AI and the church, told RNS he thinks Cathy could familiarize people with Episcopalianism.

“We have a PR issue,” Levenstrong said. “Most people don’t realize there is a denomination that is deeply rooted in tradition, and yet open and affirming, and theologically inclusive, and doing its best to strive toward a future without racial injustice, without ecocide, all these huge problems that we as a church take very seriously.”

In his own context, Levenstrong has already used Cathy to brainstorm Harry Potter-themed lessons for children. (She recommended a related book written by an Episcopalian.)

Cathy’s creators know AI is a thorny topic. Their FAQ page anticipates potential critiques. In terms of environmental impact, Cathy’s creators report she uses between 3.6kJ and 36kJ of energy per exchange. By comparison, a single Google search uses roughly 1.08kJ of energy, per the FAQ page, and driving to the library to do research has “much more climate impact,” Moss said.

Moss added, that, in terms of privacy, Cathy saves the texts of conversations but not usernames or IP addresses. But even if Cathy is relatively secure, some experts and potential users are concerned that she could become a substitute for human interactions.

David DeSteno, professor of psychology at Northeastern University. Photo courtesy of DeSteno’s website

“I worry about disconnection,” said David DeSteno, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University in Boston who hosts the podcast “How God Works.” “One of the big benefits when it comes to health and wellbeing in religion has to do with building community, coming together, having personal relationships. If people start relying on AI for guidance, or in some ways leading prayer ceremonies at home, I worry it could separate them from actual clergy themselves, who they can form personal relationships with.”

Levenstrong said while concerns about AI replacing human interaction are valid, he doesn’t see that happening as a result of Cathy’s development. He sees Cathy not as a replacement for a priest, but a resource for people who don’t have “an expert on speed dial.” Cathy’s FAQ page notes that Cathy isn’t equipped to provide counseling or spiritual guidance.

Still, DeSteno said users begin to perceive AI as more sentient and spiritual when it doles out advice and shows empathy.

“It can build trust and connection in ways, because you think this thing is understanding you,” DeSteno said. “And if it has malintent, whatever message it’s giving you about how to act or what you should believe, can be much more persuasive.”

In RNS exchanges with Cathy, the chatbot often responded to requests for advice in part by suggesting speaking with a trusted priest, spiritual adviser or professional counselor. In questions about scenarios involving divorce and domestic violence, Cathy expressed sorrow about the difficult situation before listing potential action steps, including ensuring people’s safety, listening non-judgmentally, encouraging professional help and respecting people’s autonomy. She also often offered potentially relevant prayers from The Book of Common Prayer.

RELATED: AI won’t be replacing your priest, minister, rabbi or imam any time soon

For now, AskCathy is still relatively new, and her impact remains to be seen. The designers initiated a “soft launch” at the denomination’s General Convention in June, and the website is live for anyone to use for free. Though AskCathy isn’t an official project of the Episcopal Church, nor is it on the denominational website, individual churches can fill out a form to have the chatbot embedded on their website for free as part of a pilot project.

If you ask Moss and Lebrija, AI is poised to transform the future of the church, regardless of whether the church is ready. To them, Cathy is just one way for the church to wield AI to its own advantage at a time when many in the church are struggling with burnout and a shortage of resources.

“I think the availability of information is going to explode in a new kind of way. We got used to what happened when the web opened up, and suddenly the church got pushed into the territory of livestreaming services,” Moss said. “This, I think, is the next step of that evolution.”

Faith leaders meet at White House for climate goals

One of the meeting's top priorities was to explain how faith communities can better use federal funds for clean energy initiatives.

Activists display prints replicating solar panels during a rally to mark Earth Day at Lafayette Square, Washington, April 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)

August 14, 2024
By Chloë-Arizona Fodor


(RNS) — The White House hosted more than a dozen faith leaders Tuesday (Aug. 13) to discuss President Joe Biden’s climate-related goals and how faith-based organizations can benefit from and support the administration’s climate agenda as the presidential election approaches.

One of the meeting’s top priorities was to explain how faith communities can better utilize federal funds for clean energy initiatives.

Houses of worship are eligible to use Direct Pay, a provision through the Inflation Reduction Act that helps tax-exempt entities benefit from federal clean energy tax incentives by issuing payments equal in value to tax credits. The system is meant to encourage nonprofits and other entities to proactively build clean energy projects. Religious leaders in attendance from across the country shared stories of the different ways their congregations have used Direct Pay, from increasing energy efficiency to preparing for natural disasters.

“The main thrust of the whole meeting was to help us religious leaders understand the initiatives well enough to go back to our various communities and share how they can get on board,” explained the Rev. Betty Holley, a presiding elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the Ohio Conference and professor of environmental ethics at Payne Theological Seminary.

Holley said the event aimed to help faith communities “be good stewards of what God has given us.”

“After the meeting, I was ready to go out with a sign saying ‘follow me to clean energy!'” she said.


Attendees of the White House Faith Leaders Convening on Climate, Clean Energy and Environmental Justice event pose together, Aug. 13, 2024, at the White House in Washington. Taylor-Rae West, far left, and the Rev. Betty Holley, fourth from right, were among those present. (Photo courtesy of Taylor-Rae West)

RELATED: The religion of opposing government climate action

Environmental technology and clean energy organizations also presented at the event to highlight collaborations with faith-based partners and seek more.

Bekah Estrada, Southern California director of California Interfaith Power and Light, was among attendees, representing the organization which engages faith communities in environmental stewardship and climate action.

Taylor-Rae West, an organizational leadership major at Langston University, intern at Reworld Waste and AME Church member, said that Reworld reaches out to churches in local communities when power grids go down due to natural disasters exacerbated by climate change. He described various initiatives begun by churches using funds from Direct Pay, such as energy audits and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment, biomass stoves, solar water heating and other energy efficient upgrades to worship buildings. West said that when natural disasters hit, many people are more comfortable “going to their homes of faith rather than a local community center.”

Another example of Direct Pay utilization included battery storage updates, which allow houses of worship to retain energy even when power grids are hit.

“One group talked about how they became a resilient community church. People could come to them to get their phones recharged, to get their medication stored in a battery-operated refrigerated machine, both of which were one of the church’s projects through this IRA initiative,” Holley said.

Holley believes that the initiative has helped level the playing field for many communities.

“I do know for a fact that renewable energy is the way for the future, and if we — the African American community, Indigenous persons and people of color — do not avail ourselves of this knowledge, energy companies will take advantage of us,” she said.

Holley believes that religious leaders should be a “beacon” for their communities in the environmental movement. If someone’s local church is involved in renewable energy, “that’s half the battle,” and parishioners will follow the church leadership.

“We’re looking toward sustainability. How can we sustain ourselves on earth?” she said. “You know, we all have but one home and one future, and we need to be able to get on board now, before we are forced to do this.”

The White House said that partnerships with faith leaders will continue to be a priority for the Biden-Harris administration.

ARYAN SUPREMACY

Opinion

Ram Mandir in the NYC India Day Parade is a symbol of hate, not heritage

As Indian Americans become more visible in politics and public life, there is a growing need to reflect on the kind of legacy we are building.

A general view of the audience during the opening of the Ram Mandir, a temple dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Ram, in Ayodhya, India, Jan. 22, 2024.

 (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

August 16, 2024
By Sunita Viswanath

RNS

(RNS) — This year’s India Day Parade in New York City on Sunday (Aug. 18), traditionally a celebration of India’s vibrant democracy and cultural diversity, will be marred with a float of a model Ram Mandir, the controversial temple to Lord Rama in Ayodhya, India. Organizers who included the float insist this is an expression of Hindu heritage in India, but this structure signals a divisive ideology that threatens the very values the parade seeks to celebrate.

India’s Ram Mandir stands on the site of the Babri Masjid, a centuries-old mosque that was illegally demolished in 1992 by a mob of Hindu extremists, sparking Hindu-Muslim riots that killed at least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. This violence was the culmination of a campaign based on the unproven claim that the mosque stood on the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram — a claim rejected by historians, the Archaeological Survey of India and, until recently, the Indian judiciary.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has promoted an increasingly authoritarian agenda in India, has recently faced setbacks, but the ideology of Hindutva — a Hindu nationalist movement — remains a potent and destructive force. This ideology’s threat to Indian society, particularly on Muslims and Christians, is profound and ongoing.

In the U.S., as Indian Americans become more visible in politics and public life, there is a growing need to reflect on the kind of legacy we are building. Our community must mature and take responsibility for the messages conveyed at events like the India Day Parade. The inclusion of the Ram Mandir float is not just a cultural statement. It’s a troubling emblem of exclusion and intolerance.

This marks a continuation of a disturbing trend that began in 2022 when the India Day Parade in Edison, New Jersey, featured a bulldozer — a symbol of the brutal tactics used by India’s current regime to demolish homes and lives, particularly those of Muslims. For many Americans, the inclusion of such symbols in a celebration of Indian heritage might seem perplexing. But this is more than just an internal issue for the Indian community; it’s an alarm for how dangerous ideologies can cross borders and influence communities far from their origins.

RELATED: A celebrated temple in India is also a symbol of the country’s anti-Muslim campaign

Awadhesh Prasad, center, is blessed by Swami Ram Das and other Hindu clerics at Sidh Peeth Mandir in Ayodhya, India, on June 5, 2024, the day after Indian elections. (Courtesy photo)

Yet, there are signs of hope that the days of Hindutva rule may be numbered. In a surprising turn of events, a BJP parliamentarian was recently unseated in Ayodhya, the very city where the Ram Mandir stands, replaced by Awadhesh Prasad of the socialist Samajwadi Party. Despite its predominantly Hindu population, Ayodhya chose to reject Hindu nationalism in favor of a Dalit candidate, signaling a desire for a more inclusive and compassionate vision of Hinduism. Prasad has spoken in the press as a devotee of Lord Ram: “No one can be a greater devotee of Ram than me. I am a native of Ayodhya, so who could be closer to Lord Ram than me?”

Swami Ram Das, the mahant (temple chief) of Sidh Peeth Mandir in Ayodhya, was among those who supported Prasad, even offering him his blessing along with other local Hindu religious leaders. Their cooperation sent a message that resonates far beyond India’s borders.

Speaking to me after the election, Swami Ram Das said: “Ayodhya is the land of Lord Rama, the supreme deity who accepts all people, especially marginalized people, and people of all religions and cultures. Real Hinduism teaches us love, unity and respect for other beliefs. Rama doesn’t belong to one person, one party or one religion. He exists in all of us.”

Swami Ram Das further highlighted the irony that despite the grand inauguration of the Ram Mandir being livestreamed in Times Square, he and most Ayodhya-based religious leaders were not invited. Laughing, he told me: “Why do I need to go? Ram is in my heart.”

RELATED: India’s Hindu nationalism is exporting its Islamophobia

The people of Ayodhya voted out the BJP and its divisive Hindutva politics. Instead, they embraced the inclusive Hindu faith that Swami Ram Das represents. New Yorkers can do the same.

The dangerous ideology that the Ram Mandir float represents has no place in a city known for being a refuge for the persecuted and marginalized. After all, the same Hindu nationalist regime that promoted the Ram Mandir has been credibly accused of assassinating its critics outside of India, including attempting to kill a New Yorker.

New York City, which proudly stood as a sanctuary during former President Donald Trump’s Muslim travel ban, must reaffirm its commitment to combating hate and Islamophobia. The Ram Mandir float in the New York parade is not a symbol of heritage. It is a symbol of hate. Indian Americans must ensure that our cultural expressions in public spaces reflect the diversity, inclusivity and democratic values central to both our Indian and American identities.

(Sunita Viswanath is the executive director of Hindus for Human Rights. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

New York’s India Day Parade will not remove controversial Hindu tribute

The centerpiece float of Lord Ram at this year's parade has been met with fierce criticism from those who say it represents anti-Muslim sentiment.

FILE - Participants march during the India Day Parade on Madison Ave. Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

August 16, 2024
By Richa Karmarkar

NEW YORK (RNS) — This year’s India Day parade in New York City, a long-running celebration of the birth of Indian democracy and the diversity of the diaspora, has stirred dissent for its plans to prominently feature a float of the Hindu deity Ram and a model of a controversial temple recently built over a demolished mosque.

The parade, to take place Sunday (Aug. 18), is the largest of its kind outside India. Grand marshals, usually A-list Bollywood celebrities, lead hundreds of marchers with fanfare through Manhattan’s tree-lined Madison Avenue. This year’s theme is “Vasudhaiva Katumbakum,” a Sanskrit phrase translating to “the world is one family.”

“We celebrate our unity in diversity, and we celebrate inclusiveness — that’s our India,” said Avinash Gupta, the president of the parade’s organizer, the Federation of Indian Associations.

Gupta said the parade is meant to honor all Indians from diverse regional, linguistic and religious backgrounds, to recognize their freedom from British rule 78 years ago and also to celebrate “how well the Indian diaspora has done here in the fields of science, technology and now politics.”

A Hindu, Gupta hoisted India’s tri-color flag in Times Square on Thursday (Aug. 15), Indian Independence Day, to celebrate next to his “Muslim, Sikh and Christian brothers,” he said.

But this year’s centerpiece float featuring an 18-foot-long, 9-foot-wide and 8-foot-tall statue of Lord Ram and a replica of the recently opened Ram Mandir (temple) in Ayodhya, India, has sparked fierce criticism from those who say the float represents anti-Muslim sentiments while misrepresenting Indian and Hindu values.
RELATED: Ram Mandir in the NYC India Day Parade is a symbol of hate, not heritage

The temple to Ram was opened early this year and built after a Hindu extremist mob demolished a 16th-century mosque on that site in 1992, believing the contested claim that the Mughal emperor Babur constructed the mosque on the exact birthplace of Lord Ram. The deadly Hindu-Muslim riots that followed killed over 2,000 people across the country, mainly Muslims. 

A general view of the audience during the opening of the Ram Mandir, a temple dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Ram, in Ayodhya, India, Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

After many disputes, India’s top court finally ruled in 2019 that a new temple dedicated to Ram could be built on the site.

While many devotees see the newly opened mandir as an overdue homecoming of baby Ram and a rejection of Islamic conquest, some others see the temple itself as a symbol of Hindu exclusivism and are reminded of the painful rift it exasperated between the two communities.

“The inclusion of the Ram Mandir float in this year’s parade is not a celebration of cultural pride, but a glorification of both a violent history and a violent ambition,” said David Kalal, communications director for the progressive organization Hindus for Human Rights, speaking at a press conference. “Given the growing political activity and influence of Indian Americans, the debates within our community have broader implications for American society as a whole.”

On Wednesday (Aug. 14), representatives from several faith-based groups, including Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the New York State Council of Churches, held a press conference outside of City Hall to condemn the float and to call for its prompt removal.

More than 20 groups signed a letter to Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul, arguing that the sponsors of the float, the Hindu nationalist organization Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America and the Hindu denomination BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, plan to use the parade to “propagate hate and instill fear among American Muslims.”

“If there is a float or a person in the parade that is promoting hate, they should not,” Adams said on Wednesday.

The Hindu American Foundation, the largest advocacy organization for Hindus in the U.S., sent a letter today (Aug. 16) urging Adams to “support freedom of expression” and the inclusion of the float, arguing common narratives about the mosque dispute miss historical context.

According to Gupta, no city officials or law enforcement agents have reached out to FIA to remove the float.

To Gupta, the float is nothing more than a prideful tribute to the temple.

“There are a lot of people here who cannot go to India to visit the temple because of their age, because they have medical conditions, or they simply cannot afford to go, so this will be a good opportunity for them to see the replica of the mandir, which was built after a 500-year wait,” Gupta said.

While the Ram float will not be taken down, Gupta doesn’t want it to represent the parade as a whole, which he said includes floats from Muslim, Sikh and Christian Indian organizations. Instead, he hopes non-Indians see the parade as a celebration of the diaspora’s rising power, now more than 5.4 million strong.

“I feel very proud that we collect, we gather, we bring together all of the Indian diaspora, of all states, all faiths, all religions, and we march together,” Gupta said. “We all have to be united, and that way, we’ll have our voice heard.”

The Rev. Chloe Breyer of the Interfaith Center of New York, a longstanding institution that partners with faith groups throughout the city, said she approaches the complicated situation with an acknowledgement of “the deep ties between Hindu New Yorkers and the sacred geography of India,” and an affirmation of the group’s right to religious freedom.

But instead of religious freedom, she said, the float seems more like “religious boasting that is definitely viewed as the opposite of what they’re proud of.” In a statement released on Aug. 12, Breyer and ICNY cautioned the organizers to be more mindful of current religious relations in the U.S. and abroad.

“That question of this contested site is not one that a press conference is going to solve, and it’s not one I’m going to solve,” she said. “However, if you’re in New York City and you’re having a parade to celebrate your heritage, I would just say, know your people and know your context. Your neighbors are some Hindus and some not Hindus.”
RELATED: In India’s new Ram temple, some American Hindus see a new beginning

Uma Mysorekar, president of the Hindu Temple Society of North America in Flushing, Queens, an ICNY partner, says the controversy is painting Hindus as intolerant, which she feels contradicts the purpose of an Independence Day parade. Describing herself as a “very religious person,” Mysorekar said she understands why this float would be a source of pride for many Hindu Americans.

But the timing of the float, she said, is like “adding more fuel to the fire,” given that the temple came “only less than a year ago,” and that there are “so many other ways” to symbolize India’s vast and beautiful diversity. In private conversations, she said, many Hindus going to the parade agree with her sentiment.

“Indian Independence Day has nothing to do with religion,” Mysorekar said. “Independent India consists of all kinds of people, and we represent the beliefs and thoughts of everybody. … I think we must respect that and uphold India’s integrity. That’s really important.”

Opinion

At Buddhist-Christian dialogue, finding solidarity amid shifting religious landscape

In a polarized country renegotiating the role of religion in civic life, interfaith\ partnerships are critical.

Participants in the National Buddhist-Christian Dialogue at University of the West in Rosemead, Calif. (Photo via National Council of Churches)

July 10, 2024
By Michael Woolf

RNS

(RNS) — Recently, a group of more than 30 Buddhists and Christians gathered to form relationships and discuss ways to collaborate as part of the National Buddhist-Christian Dialogue.

As one of the Christian participants, representing the American Baptist Churches USA, I participated in the dialogue against the backdrop of white Christian nationalism. Recently, Louisiana passed a law mandating the Ten Commandments be posted in classrooms of the state, and Oklahoma issued a directive for all public schools to teach the Bible. Our public spaces ought to be free from religious dogma and such laws represent a growing trend of Christian nationalism. The efforts are part of a slew of new laws that seek to enforce Christian hegemony, as backers eye a sympathetic Supreme Court that has recently supported prayer at school functions.

Hosted at University of the West, one of the country’s only Buddhist institutions of higher learning, and co-sponsored by the National Council of Churches, Hsi Lai Temple, University of the West, Claremont School of Theology and the Guibord Center, the May 29 dialogue was one of several the National Council of Churches has co-convened with interfaith partners, including dialogues among Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus.

I was struck by how often I have been in Christian spaces for interfaith dialogue and how rarely the dialogues have been hosted by a Buddhist institution. Signs included invitations to a dharma group, and Chinese characters and calligraphy were posted on the walls. It was a joy to be in another faith tradition’s space as a guest. My only hope is that members of other faiths feel so welcomed when they are in Christian spaces, a task made more difficult by the current climate of Christian supremacy.

One of the most moving takeaways for me is how much we shared in common as religious leaders in a quickly secularizing society — the struggle to attract and retain new members, the hard work of building youth groups, the concern over what the future might hold. Moving beyond dogma helped us realize there is a need from both of our traditions to engage young voices in leadership.

The data on this is clear in Christianity. According to the Faith Communities Today 2020 study, the median age of those in congregational leadership is 57, up from 50 in 2000. While the statistics are a little harder to come by for Buddhist leadership, anecdotally one Buddhist participant in the dialogues remarked, “It’s hard to convince young men to become monks these days.”

As we were joined on a Zoom call by two United Methodist young adults and their in-person Buddhist counterparts from Hsi Lai Temple, we heard familiar themes: the need to act now on the climate crisis, the importance of authenticity, the gap between belief and practice. Those voices were augmented and complemented by distinguished leaders from both traditions, who spoke eloquently about aging and the deep knowledge developed over a lifetime.

Some of the most moving conversations centered on the Transformative Hope Project, led by Tammy Ho and the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative. The project brings together resources and educational materials, including videos, that center Asian American elders and their diverse religious responses to increased hate crimes since 2020.

The panel on peacemaking highlighted the need for faith-based voices to speak into the many crises in our world. In particular, there was a strong commitment from those present to speak out against injustice and be in solidarity with the vulnerable. As one Buddhist participant put it to me, “Once we get past the basics — we have no God, you do — then we can get to the really important conversations.”

As we left the one-day meeting, I felt a sense of hope. We shared how much we admire each other’s traditions and talked about real issues facing our communities and how we can address them together as religious leaders.

In a country that is polarized and shifting its understanding of the role of religion in civic life, these interfaith relationships have the capacity to develop strong networks that can respond to racism, white Christian nationalism and climate change from a faith-based perspective, understanding that what unites us is so much more than what divides us.

(The Rev. Michael Woolf is senior minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois, and co-associate regional minister for white and multicultural churches at the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago. He is the author of “Sanctuary and Subjectivity: Thinking Theologically About Whiteness and Sanctuary Movements.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains

The ‘Laughing Buddha’ shows how people have adapted Buddhism to different cultural and historical contexts.

August 19, 2024
By Megan Bryson

(The Conversation) — With his delighted expression, round belly, bald head and monastic robes, the “Laughing Buddha” is instantly identifiable. However, astute observers might wonder why this buddha does not look like the historical Buddha, who lived in India about 2,500 years ago.

A third-century standing Buddha statue, from ancient Gandhara, in Pakistan.
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Images of the historical Buddha, known as Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni, depict him with a neutral expression, slim build, tightly coiled hair and monastic robes. If the Laughing Buddha isn’t the historical Buddha, who is he, and how did he become so popular?

As a scholar of East Asian Buddhism who studies how and why deities transform over time, I see the Laughing Buddha as a key figure that shows how people have adapted Buddhism to different cultural and historical contexts.
The Zen monk who became the Laughing Buddha

One of the names for the Laughing Buddha is “Cloth Bag,” which is pronounced “Budai” in Chinese and “Hotei” in Japanese. Cloth Bag was the nickname of a Chinese Buddhist monk who lived in the 10th century. He belonged to the Zen school of Buddhism, which is known for its stories about monks who reject conventional pursuits like wealth and fame.

Cloth Bag got his nickname because he wandered from town to town carrying a cloth bag full of treasures that he shared freely with children.

Chinese Buddhists, seeing Cloth Bag’s legendary generosity, compassion and joy, concluded that he must not be an ordinary monk, but that he must be a human incarnation of the future Buddha, whose name is Maitreya. Artists in China depicted Cloth Bag as a plump, laughing monk often surrounded by children or animals. In a traditional East Asian context, his round belly represents his generosity and abundance, and also symbolizes the positive qualities of wealth and fertility.

From China, images of Cloth Bag as the Laughing Buddha traveled in two directions. They spread first in East Asia to countries such as Vietnam, Korea and Japan. Zen is a popular form of Buddhism in all of these countries, but it was Japanese Zen Buddhism that attained global popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries. This means that many images of the Laughing Buddha in the West are based on Japanese models.
Displaying Chinese porcelain

Images of the Laughing Buddha also spread west from China to Europe, where 18th-century elites showed their aesthetic sophistication by displaying Chinese-style porcelain, including statues of the Laughing Buddha.

The Laughing Buddha’s transformation into a global icon results from both the fascination with Chinese porcelain in 18th-century Europe and the 20th-century spread of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

Today we see the Laughing Buddha in stores, homes and even as a brand name. A lot of people may know what the Laughing Buddha looks like, but few may be familiar with who he is or how he became so popular.

(Megan Bryson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

RIP

Phil Donahue, Legendary Talk Show Host Fired by MSNBC for Airing Antiwar Views, Dies at 88

DEMOCRACY NOW!

Story August 19, 2024
This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today.Donate



The pioneering TV host Phil Donahue, who revolutionized daytime television by tackling major social and political issues in front of a studio audience, has died at the age of 88. The Phil Donahue Show, later renamed Donahue, ran from the 1960s through to 1996, and the affable host won 20 Emmy Awards and received a Peabody Award throughout his career. In 2003, Donahue was fired from his primetime MSNBC talk show for airing antiwar voices during the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when most of the corporate media was cheerleading the Bush administration’s drive for war. Donahue spoke with Democracy Now! about his firing in 2013, describing it as a decision “from far above” in the network. “They were terrified of the antiwar voice,” he said. Donahue is survived by his wife Marlo Thomas, his four children and his grandchildren.

The Exonerated: Meet Two Chicago Men Wrongly Imprisoned for Decades, on Police Torture, Death Row & More

DEMOCRACY NOW!

Story August 19, 2024

Guests

Jimmy Soto
longest-serving exonerated prisoner in Illinois history, exonerated in 2023 after being incarcerated 42 years for a murder he did not commit.

Stanley Howard
former death row prisoner who was later exonerated for a 1984 murder he did not commit.

Links"Tortured by Blue: The Chicago Police Torture Story"

As Chicago hosts the 2024 Democratic National Convention, we look at the city’s long history of police misconduct, including the use of torture under police commander Jon Burge, accused of leading a torture ring that interrogated more than 100 African American men in Chicago in the 1970s and 1980s using electric shocks and suffocation, among other methods, to extract false confessions from men who were later exonerated. Illinois has one of the highest rates of wrongful convictions in the United States, and a disproportionate number of the wrongfully convicted are Black or Brown people. For more, we speak with two men from Chicago who were exonerated after serving decades in prison: Stanley Howard spent 16 years of his life on death row for a 1984 murder that he confessed to after being tortured; Jimmy Soto was released from an Illinois prison in December after a 42-year fight to prove his innocence.

This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today.Donate

UK buyer sought for Alan Turing’s Second World War papers

19 August 2024

A wartime collection of notebooks and sheets show the famed mathematician’s development of a portable encryption system

A temporary export bar has been placed on Alan Turing’s unpublished Second World War papers, which document the ‘Delilah’ project

The wartime papers document Turing’s development of a portable encryption system for use in military operations.

The papers are valued at £397,680 and are at risk of leaving the UK unless a domestic buyer can be found to acquire them. DCMS is hoping to find an organisation to take on the documents before November 2024.

The papers consist of two bound notebooks and six separate gatherings of loose sheets. It comprises the notes of Alan Turing (1912-54) and Donald Bayley (1921-2020) relating to the World War Two project.

Arts Minister Sir Chris Bryant said the pares “offer unique insights into the extraordinary mind of Alan Turing, who is famed for decoding the Enigma machines, being instrumental in ending the Second World War and saving many lives.”

The Minister’s decision follows the advice of the Arts Council’s Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.

Its Chair, Andrew Hochhauser KC added: “The United Kingdom owes a debt of gratitude to Alan Turing. His extraordinary work on the Enigma project at Bletchley Park played a major part in winning World War Two and saved so many lives.”

The decision on the export licence application for the papers will be deferred for a period ending on 15 November 2024. The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for four months.