Two Muslim women from the Midwest were elected to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, making history as the first females of their faith to serve in Congress. The candidates secured their wins by running on a socially progressive platforms.

Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, will represent Michigan, and Ilhan Omar, once a Somali refugee in Kenya, will represent Minnesota. Both received an overwhelming majority of the vote in their respective districts on Tuesday and join a surge of Democratic women coming to the new Congress.

The women align with the left wing of the Democratic Party which focused its campaigns on vows to extend Medicare health coverage to all Americans and increase the minimum wage to $15. In 2016, Ms. Tlaib was arrested for disrupting a speech from then-candidate Donald Trump in Detroit, where she shouted at him that “our kids deserve better,” a move that cemented her progressive political credentials for some supporters.

Both Ms. Tlaib, 42, and Ms. Omar, 37, have made comments that are critical of Israel. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not a central campaign issue for either candidate, but their views on the matter could test Democrats in a narrow House majority. The party typically draws widespread support from Jewish voters and donors. Seventy-one percent of American Jews voted for the Democrats, as did 80% of Muslims, according to AP VoteCast, a pre-election and Election Day survey of about 90,000 people who said they voted in the midterms or intended to do so.

Ms. Tlaib has said she would vote against bills that include aid to Israel; Ms. Omar has drawn criticism for a 2012 tweet in which she says that “Israel has hypnotized the world” with its “evil doings.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Edited by Tom Bamat, Myla Leguro, Neil Bolton and Atalia Omer

Publisher: Catholic Relief Services (April 2017)

On April 26, 2017, Catholic Relief Services released a book examining Muslim-Christian peacemaking around the world. The publication looks at case studies from six countries including Serbia, Kenya, Egypt, and Philippines. Introducing the panel discussion at the event for the release of the book, Dr. Tom Bamat reminded attendees that Muslim-Christian relations have not simply been defined by conflict, but also by cooperation. In a number of the contexts examined in the book, Muslims and Christians have positive relationships and regularly interact in their daily lives; they don’t perceive themselves as separate communities. Dr. Atalia Omer and Dr. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana both highlighted the ways that Islamophobia and Orientalism often figure into discussions of ‘religion and peacemaking’ or ‘religion and violence’ in Washington, D.C. They also questioned the notion that religion alone is the source of conflict or peace. All the panelists, including Andreas Hipple, emphasized the importance of broadening perceptions of religious leadership to include young people and women in peacebuilding efforts.

Source: The Bridge Initiative

We see young monks in Myanmar, the experiences of a Muslim boy in Pakistan, the blush of first love set against the backdrop of a Holi ceremony in India, and a young girl navigating her parents’ divorce through her Catholic faith in Spain. We watch the ritual of weddings from Kenya to the Netherlands to Wyoming, and the calm and clarity that comes at the end of life, yearning for forgiveness or to forgive.

“Sacred” delves into the darker places of life where faith sheds light, including American prisons and Ebola cemeteries. Belief is deeply personal, despite the theatrics of ritual, which offer a space for collective ecstasy and catharsis. A young Jewish man says that for him, “to believe is some kind of unknowing.” It’s a resonant statement that captures the courage of faith on display in this film, even when it wavers in the face of death and darkness.

The film articulates a concept of universal humanity. No matter the religion or circumstances, we all have the same desires for peace and connection throughout life.

‘Sacred’

• Part of the One Take Documentary Series.
• Duration: 87m
• Director-producer: Thomas Lennon
• Executive producers: William Baker, Julie Anderson
• Production company: WLIW
• Distributor: Argot Pictures

Source: The Los Angeles Times