Approaches, Issues, Applications edited by Steffen.docx

Approaches,
Issues,
Applications
edited by Steffen P. Walz and Sebastian Deterding
© 2014 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The gameful world: approaches, issues, applications/ edited by
Steffen P. Walz & Sebastian Deterding.
pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-262-02800-4 (hardcover: alk. paper) 1. Games-
Social aspects. 2. Play- Social aspects. 3. Creative ability-
Social aspects. 4. Social psychology. I. Walz, Steffen P ., 1973-
editor of compilation. II. Deterding, Sebastian, 1978-
editor of compilation.
GV1201.38.G36 2014
306.4'87- dc23
2014013731
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
POSITION STATEMENT
LOSING IS FUN
McKenzie Wark
If "Never work!" was the apex of critical strategy in
the twentieth century, perhaps "Never play!" could
be the same point of extreme negation for the twenty-
first. It is of course almost impossible to never work,
but it at least defines an ambition: to abolish wage
labor and the commodity form.
It was and remains a surprisingly popular ambi-
tion. The cycle of struggles in the overdeveloped
world in the late twentieth century took it as their
lodestar, whether unwittingly or not. The whole
counterstrategy of making work seem like some-
thing else, like play even, stems from the boredom

that both wage labor and the commodity form
generated.
This boredom is spreading even to what was once
called the underdeveloped world. By their tens of
millions, peasants left the land, in China and else-
where, and in some cases ended up in the factories
that make the world's commodities. But it's getting
harder to keep them there. The riots and suicides at
Foxconn are just the tip of the iceberg. Nobody much
likes to do this sort of work if there's any option.
In the overdeveloped world, work is only one of
the ways of creating a value chain and extracting a
profit. The more advanced form of spectacular
economy extracts value from play. This is why the
critical slogan of the times might need to be "Never
play!" Where play was some kind of alternative for
so many late-twentieth-century avant-gardes, from
the Situationists to the Fluxus movement to the New
Games movement, the overdeveloped world in the
twenty-first century is all about recuperating those
energies, those desires, those appetites, for the com-
modity form.
There are several versions of the recuperat ion of
play. Sony Playstation once had a perfect ~logan for it:
"Live in your world. Play in ours." The exciting, fun
stuff was not to be found in the world of work and the
everyday. It was to be found in another, much more
interesting world, one branded and metered by Sony
or one of its competitors. The meta-game among com-
peting firms was to find the best ways to commodify
all those playful urges that wanted something other
than what the commodity offers.

While we might like to think, when we turn on our
smartphones, that they are there for us to play with,
it's more that the possession of one turns you into a
nonplayer character. You are now emitting a string
of data, about location and activity, with which Apple
and Google and Facebook and Samsung and Amazon
and all the r est get to play the meta-game. The game
that seems to be for us is really for them. They play
against each other, with us as the nonplayer charac-
ters, the meatbots.
164
The goal of the game is to turn the push-pull of
data between us nonplayer characters and between
us and our devices into money. It doesn't really
matter how. It could be by selling things to the non-
player characters. It could be by selling the nonplayer
characters to others, to advertisers, for example. It
could be by harvesting data from us and looking for
patterns in that data that might suggest new ways of
commodifying the game.
There's both a game and a play aspect to this, closed
worlds and open-ended ones. The closed worlds are
games or game-like activities in which play can be
offered up, seemingly voluntarily, and from which
value can be extracted in an orderly fashion. There
will always be cookies. They are not for you.
The open-world play spaces are a bit different.
They concern the design of the games themselves.

Every interaction with your laptop or tablet or smart-
phone yields moves in the game, but are also play
actions that map the potential space and possible
design flaws of the games themselves. To play is also
to game-design, to yield up bits of an aggregate of
play-test data, which shapes the future iterations of
the devices and software themselves. One does not
buy products any more so much. One buys proto-
types, with which one plays to yield design cues for
the next prototype.
Its like Philip K. Dick's novel, The Game Players of
Titan. It seems like we are playing some vast and
incredible game, but really we are the tokens, not the
players. It's the Vugs that play, and they play on
Titan, on another world, in a meta-game of which one
occasionally gets hallucinatory glimpses. Apple or
Google or Samsung look in one light as if they are
terrestrial companies. In weird moments, one sees
them rather as the Vugs of Titan, playing their own
meta-game by their own rules.
MCKENZIE WARK
But there's another game, a meta-metagame. A
game both us nonplayer meatbots and the Titans
play. Both us and the Vugs like to think there's other
worlds. We get our Sony Playstation-type games to
play in, they get their meta-game that games our
interactions with those games. But both are just
subsets of the meta-metagame: a game that has
levels, of increasing difficulty, but in which you can't
start over. There's no reset. Its slogan is not Sony's,
but the slogan of Dwarf Fortress: "Losing Is Fun."

One version of the meta-metagame is called
climate science. It's a game that has a lot of distrac-
tors. We notice mostly the other players and make
our gamer identities based on our rank against each
other. Occasionally we see the Vugs. Your social
network provider changes the rules to extract more
value, so you quit and chose another one. Facebook
(or whoever) loses a meta-game point-but not to
you. They lose it to whoever you give your playtime
to next. As for the Vugs, they don't notice much. They
think they are on Titan. They think they have some-
place else to go.
But there really is only one meta-metagame. All
the games and meta-games are nested within it, like
Easter eggs. Games, in their separateness, always
have an externality. There's always a resource exter-
nal to the game that its internal resources draw on.
If it's a computer game, for example, there's always
the power cord or the battery that powers the game
and its internal decisions. This externality is doubled.
Play always has an external input, but also an output
that is put back outside the bounds of the game.
There is always waste. There is always something not
accounted for in the score, the result, the decision.
And so there is always a meta-metagame, beyond the
games and meta-games, the root game in which both
externalities meet.
LOSING IS FUN

To play the game is always to treat as purely exter-
nal the input of energy and the output of waste. And
while games are in a sense always systems, they are
always closed systems. We used to think that the
closed systems of our games and meta-games nested
inside an open system from which they drew freely
and into which they could quietly extrude any
remainder. But it turns out that the game at root is
also a closed world. It has an external input- sun-
light, source of all our power-ups. But it has nowhere
for outputs to go. The game is closed.
That's why, if there's a game that might be
emblematic for our time, it's Dwarf Fortress. It's a
165
game that has very little traffic with the meta-game.
Just go download it, play it, send its designers some
money as a gift if you like. There's no data trail
issuing from it. It doesn't help any Titan to battle
another for the world's resources.
And yet, despite its tiny size, it opens up into a
remarkable world, with a physics engine that gener-
ates realities your characters may not even touch in
their play. And if, like me, you are less than totally
dedicated to playing it, you will lose. Again and again,
and badly. And each time you play, and lose, the given-
ness of a whole world will appear briefly, then wink
out of existence. It's excellent training for these times.
Jewish Figures, Events PRIVATE

SOME KEY FIGURES AND EVENTS IN ANCIENT AND
RABBINICAL JUDAISM
1. MOSES: Liberator from Egyptian slavery and lawgiver who
makes a covenant between God and the Israelites (ca. 1250
BCE), that will form the basis of the Torah (instruction, law).
2. DAVID: Ancient Israel's second king (1006-965) who wrote
psalms, made the people secure from the Philistines (Goliath)
and other enemies, and moved the capital to Jerusalem.
3. SOLOMON: David's son and successor (965-930) who built
the first temple.
4. DIVIDED NATION: Period from 930-722 when the Jewish
nation was split between Judah (S) and Israel (N)(in 722
northern state was destroyed by Assyrians and fades from
history).
5. BABYLONIAN EXILE (587-538): Period after destruction of
temple and Jewish state when much of the Jewish population
was taken to Babylon to live in exile. They were freed by Cyrus
the Persian in 538.
6. NEHEMIAH: Jewish governor sent by the Persians to restore
Jerusalem by rebuilding its walls and repopulating the city
(445-433).
7. THE PROPHETS (ca.750-450): Figures such as Isaiah,
Jeremiah & Ezekiel called by God to talk about present
injustices and only secondarily about future events.
8. HILLEL (Ca. 50 BCE-20 CE): One of the founders of the
Pharisaic movement noted for his kindness and wisdom.
9. ROMAN OCCUPATION (63 BC-70 AD): The period of

military occupation during which the Romans crucified Jesus
and many other Jews. This led to a major revolt against the
Romans in which Jerusalem and the rebuilt (second) temple
were destroyed in 70. Jewish statehood ends then and is not
reborn until 1948.
10. RABBINICAL/TALMUDIC PERIOD (90-650 C.E.): The
period when a new type of Judaism takes shape, that of the
rabbis who compiled the Mishnah and the two Talmuds, as well
as the Midrashic literature (running commentaries on the Torah
and certain other books in the Tanakh/Old Testament that take
an allegorical approach to the meaning of the text).
-THE EVOLUTION OF BUDDHISM
Origins: under Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, in NE
India/Nepal about 530 BCE
Spread: under King Ashoka, (ruled from 268-239 BCE)
To: Sri Lanka and SE Asia
Division: into Theravada and Mahayana Schools in First Cen.
BCE
Further Expansion:
China (First Century CE)
In China, Buddhism encounters Confucianism (which stresses
social harmony) and Taoism (which stresses harmony with

nature) and adds a stress on inner harmony to the culture.
Japan (Sixth Century CE)
In Japan, Buddhism encounters Shinto (which stresses
veneration of kami, divine forces in nature).
Key Budd. Schools: Pure Land (devotional), Zen (meditation or
insight-centered)
Tibet (Seventh-Eighth Centuries CE)
Tibetan Buddhism is called Vajrayana (Thunderbolt/Diamond
Vehicle) or tantric Buddhism.
Key Figure: the Dalai Lama, believed to be a (re)incarnation of
past lamas (leaders) and of the Bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara.
U.S.A. and Canada (late 19th Century)
Buddhism comes to North America via Chinese and Japanese
immigrants and, since the mid-70s, via immigrants from SE
Asia, especially Vietnam. (About half of Orange County’s
approx. 190,000 Vietnamese are Buddhist, most of the rest
Christian.) There are an estimated 500,000 Buddhists in
southern California. The largest Buddhist temple in the western
hemisphere, Hsi Lai, is located in Hacienda Heights. In the
1990s the first comprehensive Buddhist university in the USA,
U. of the West, was founded in Rosemead CA. Not long
thereafter Soka Univ. opened in Laguna Hills.
Confederation: Formation of World Fellowship of Buddhists in
1952
_____________________________________________________
___________

THE FIVE SKANDHAS: form (the physical body),
feelings/emotions, will/volition, perceptions, and
awareness/consciousness. These are what
transmigrate/reincarnate from one life to the next (not the
soul=anatman).
THE KEY BUDDHIST INSIGHT: Impermanence—nothing lasts
forever. The unrestricted desire for impermanent things in life
(health, wealth, prestige, etc.) is what causes suffering.
ZEN TERMS
Zen is one school of Japanese Buddhism that, though fully
embraced by only a few, has influenced Japanese culture
significantly—and American culture as well among poets (e.g.,
Alan Ginsburg), artists and intellectuals.
1. ZEN derives from Chinese Ch’an, and goes back to Sanskrit
(Indian/Hindu) dhyana: the meditation that leads to insight.
2. ZAZEN: seated meditation.
3. KOAN: a riddle or puzzle that a Zen monk must ponder for
insight:
“Ride your horse along the edge of the sword
Hide yourself in the middle of the flames
Blossoms of the fruit tree will bloom in the fire
The sun rises in the evening
4. SANZEN: consultation with one’s master.

5. SATORI: a flash of insight/understanding/enlightenment; the
table of contents of Nirvana; a beginning not an ending.
6. THE HOPED-FOR, IDEAL RESULTS OF ZEN:
a. An experience of the goodness and wonder of life
b. Oneness with others and concern for their welfare
c. “Divine ordinariness”—seeing things as they really
are/awareness; doing all actions with harmony (e.g. the tea
ceremony)
d.
e. Total agreeableness to all situations: joy-sorrow, pleasure-
pain, success-failure, because the Zen practitioner has
transcended these opposites.
UNIFYING FACTORS WITHIN HINDUISM
1. Acceptance of the Vedas (composed between ca. 800-600
BCE) as the most important sacred scriptures. Two epic works
are also very popular and of almost as much importance, the
Mahabharata (which includes the very popular Bhagavad-Gita)
and the Ramayana.
2. Belief in Brahman (impersonal godhead, ultimate reality) and
its connection to (or identification with) Atman, the divine
“spark’ or manifestation within every human being.
3. Belief in many deities (as many as 330,000,000!) coupled
with devotion to one or several (especially either VISHNU
[Vaishnava Hindus] and one or more of his avatars/incarnations,
such as Krishna or Rama); SHIVA (Shaiva Hindus); or the
GODDESS (Devi) in one of her many manifestations, e.g.,

Durga, Kali, Lakshmi or Sarasvati (Shakti Hindus). Also
important are the elephant god Ganesha and the monkey god
Hanuman.
4. Belief in karma: any willed action produces an effect, god or
bad, on the individual performing the action, and this karma
determines your fate in a future life (see # 5).
5. Belief in rebirth/reincarnation by most Hindus. Your karma
from the previous life determines the situation of your rebirth
(into a higher or lower caste).
6. Belief in ultimate liberation or mokshafrom the cycle of
rebirth.
7. The celebration of numerous festivals (e.g., Dipavali
[Diwali], “Necklace of Lights,” celebrated on the new moon
between mid-Oct. & mid-Nov.)
8. The practice of one or more disciplines or yoga paths (cp.
English “yoke”) in an effort to attain liberation, e.g.,
devotionalism/bhakti yoga; the way of knowledge/jnana yoga;
and exercisesto promote well being and meditation/hatha yoga).
CSUF offers beginning & intermediate hatha yoga.
9. Remarkable tolerance for believers with different world
views (Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.)
10. Acceptance by most Hindus of the caste system which
includes four basic groups: Brahmins (priests & wise men),
Kshatriyas (warriors & administrators), Vaisyas (skilled
workers, bankers, merchants & farmers) and Shudras
(servants/unskilled workers). Beneath the four castes are a
large number of people—perhaps 350 million (i.e., 35% of the
population of India!)—called “untouchables” or “outcastes.”
Untouchability has been outlawed in the Indian constitution but
still persists in rural areas.
Note 1: There is no explicit founder of Hinduism, just
anonymous sages who wrote the Vedas and other scriptures.
Note 2: India’s population is about 1.2 billion, 80% of whom

are Hindu, 13% Muslim; remaining 8% Christian, Sikh, Jain,
Buddhist, Zoroastrian, & Jewish.
BUDDHISM BY THE NUMBERS
ZERO GODS (Buddha is an inspirer [in Theravada], or a type of
cosmic helper or savior [Mahayana])
ONE GOAL: Nirvana (an annihilating fulfillment)
ONE KEY INSIGHT: Nothing in life is permanent
THREE JEWELS:
1. I take refuge in the Buddha
2. I take refuge in the Sangha (monastic community)
3. I take refuge in the Dharma (the truth about existence as
taught by the Buddha; the teaching)
THREE PRINCIPAL BRANCHES:
1. Theravada (teaching of the elders; traditional form of
Buddhism prevalent in Sri Lanka and southeast Asia)
2. Mahayana (large raft; popular or devotional Buddhism;
principal form of Buddhism in China, Korea and Japan)
3. Vajrayana (thunderbolt vehicle or raft; principal form of
Buddhism in Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia)

FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS:
1. The truth of suffering (it is universal & unavoidable)
2. The truth of the origin of suffering (it comes from wanting
too much/”ego-craving” & getting frustrated
3. The truth of the cessation of suffering (there is a path to
serenity)
4. The truth of the eight-fold path to the cessation of suffering
EIGHT FOLD PATH:
A. Concepts:
1. Right belief or view (of the nature of reality)
2. Right aspiration/intention/purpose
B. Conduct:
3. Right speech
4. Right behavior/actions
5. Right livelihood/occupation
C. Concentration:
6. Right endeavor/effort
7. Right mindfulness/alertness; right focus
8. Right meditation/concentration/contemplation
FIVE PRECEPTS:
1. No killing

2. No stealing
3. No illicit/abusive sexual activity
4. No lying
5. No intoxicating beverages
FIVE ADDITIONAL PRECEPTS FOR MONKS/NUNS:
1. No eating after midday
2. No use of jewelry/ornaments
3. No Attendance at musical or theatrical performances
4. No handling of money
5. No use of soft beds
PROTESTANT AMERICA
1. Its great diversity from the beginning: “Denominationalism is
the shape of religion in America.” (Sidney Mead)
2. Its stress on hearing the word of God in worship services via
Bible reading, preaching and music.
3. Its dominance from colonial times so that even today the
nation is about 51% Protestant (vs. 21% Roman Catholic, and
less than 1% Eastern Orthodox).
4. Its great revivals: Great Awakening (1700-1770), Second

Awakening (1800-40), Third Awakening (1890-1914), Fourth
(?) Awakening (1973-2008?)
5. Its eventual split into two wings—liberal and conservative.
The split began with the slavery debate and was further widened
by (a) the controversy over biblical interpretation (leading to
the publication of “The Fundamentals” ca. 1910) and (b)
Darwinian evolution (Scopes Trial: 1925)
“MAINLINE”/LIBERAL PROTESTANTS
1. Liberal (non-literal) interpretation of the Bible
2. Strong emphasis on the “Social Gospel”/social justice (e.g.,
fighting poverty& homelessness; environmental issues, gay
rights)
3. Very prominent until the 1970s when memberships began to
slip (especially among Episcopalians, Presbyterians, United
Church of Christ members, Lutherans and Methodists)
4. Welcoming of LGBT people, but very conflicted on the issue
of ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians (e.g.,
Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire)
5. Generally pro-choice and strong on women’s rights
6. Endorses teaching of evolution, and concerned about climate
change
7. Favorable (mostly) towards universal health care or
Obamacare 2.0
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS
1. The “born again” experience is central
2. Belief in the centrality and inerrancy of the Bible

3. Great emphasis on convert making (evangelism)
4. Strong conviction that the end of the world and Christ’s
second coming are imminent
5. Very supportive of the State of Israel (see Genesis 12:2-3)
6. Intense opposition to abortion, gay marriage, and the
teaching of evolution (and endorsement of Creationism or
Intelligent Design)
7. Political conservatism in most cases (e.g., strong on national
defense, suspicious of the United Nations, supportive of gun
owners’ rights & the NRA, skeptical of climate change, opposed
to sexually explicit material on TV and in films, supportive of
the “Tea Party” movement). VERY PRO-TRUMP
8. Prefer the term “Christian” to “Protestant,” though Roman
Catholics, liberal Protestants & E. Orthodox are equally a part
of the Christian world.
� Pentecostal or charismatic Christians are often grouped with
Evangelicals. Though similar in most respects, they place more
emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit: tongue
speaking/glossolalia, healing, and a stronger emotional
component in worship.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF ANTI-SEMITISM
Anti-Semitism:”opposition to, prejudice or discrimination
against or intolerance of Jews & Jewish culture”
1. St. John Chrysostom (347-407). “It is because you killed
Christ...you shed the precious blood that there is now no
restoration, no mercy anymore, and no defense.”

2. Jews in the Christian Roman Empire after 389 C.E. (a) a
visible minority with different customs (kosher food,
circumcision, etc.), (b) forbidden on pain of death to make
converts, (c) characterized as rejecters of Christianity and
Christ killers.
3. Anti-Christianity in the Talmud: In three passages, the rabbis
make scurrilous, uninformed comments about Jesus: that he was
a sorcerer, a seducer, a bastard and his mother a prostitute.
4. The Crusades: 10,000 Jews murdered in Germany in 1096 on
eve of First Crusade—“Who kills a Jew has all his sins
forgiven” (crusader saying).
5. Well poisoning: during “Black Death”/Bubonic Plague (1347-
51) in Europe Jews were accused of poisoning wells; 12,000
were executed in Mainz, Germany and many elsewhere. [Iran is
claiming that Israel & Jews caused COVID-19]
6. Dissenting Christian Voices: Peter Abelard (1079-1142) &
Nicolaus of Cusa (1401-64) who admired & respected the
Jewish people.
7. Blood Libel: between 1144 and 1911, there were numerous
instances of the charge that Jews kidnapped Christian children
to make matzah (unleavened bread) for Passover. Chaucer
records one such alleged murder in his Canterbury Tales.
8. Expulsions: England (1290), France (1306 & 1392), Hungary
(1349-60), numerous German locales (1300-1500), Spain (1492,
Portugal (1496), & Italy (1497).
9. Spanish Inquisition (1481-1808): the fanatical attempt to
discover Jewish so-called marranos/pigs who had ostensibly

converted to Christianity. Method use of the rack, water
boarding and other means of torture.
10. Establishment of the Ghetto by Pope Paul IV in 1555.
11. Luther’s anti-Semitism: after being conciliatory towards
Jews in his early, post-Reformation years, L. gradually grew
frustrated with their refusal to consider conversion and urged
his followers to “burn their synagogues, destroy their houses,
confiscate copies of the Talmud and prayer books…and expel
them from the land forever.”
12. Dreyfus Affair (1894-1899): French Jewish army officer
falsely accused and twice convicted of treason despite
overwhelming evidence that he was innocent. Finally
exonerated thanks to esteemed author Emile Zola.
13. Holocaust (1933-45: “Not all the victims were Jews, but all
the Jews were victims” (E. Wiesel). Theological (Christian)
anti-Semitism laid the ground work for the racist, pagan Jew
hatred and annihilation that Hitler perpetrated.
14. The birth of a modern Jewish state in 1948 has fueled a new
kind of Anti-Semitism—Arab/Muslim hatred of “Zionists”
(which they try to distinguish from hatred of all Jews). It has
sparked: (a) a revival of the Blood Libel (b) denial that Jews
ever had a homeland in ancient Israel/Judea & Samaria (c)
religiously justified terrorism (d) promotion of the so-called
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS) throughout
the world (e) Holocaust denial, esp. in Iran (f) equating Zionism
with racism.
2018: 1,879 anti-Semitic acts in USA

RELIGIOUS 110
NOTE: Read this presentation together with pp. 303-21 in
Fisher’s Living Religions. PRIVATE
I.
THE COMPONENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
1. Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew,
Mark, and Luke are called “synoptic gospels” because of their
close parallels to one another. John is more symbolic and
theological.
2. 21 letters (13 of which were either written by, or attributed
to, the apostle Paul: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 & 2
Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, Romans [definitely written
by Paul]; 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 & 2
Timothy, Titus [probably written by someone else in Paul’s
name]). The other letters are: 1-3 John, 1 & 2 Peter, James,
Jude and Hebrews (which is attributed to Paul by some
conservative scholars)
3. One historical book: Acts of the Apostles. It focuses on the
missionary careers of Peter and Paul, and was written by the
author of Luke’s Gospel.
Peter (above) asked to be crucified by the Romans upside down
out of respect for his master Jesus
4.
One apocalyptic book (revealing insights about the end of the
world): Bk. of Revelation. Its primary purposes were to spur
certain Christian communities in Asia Minor (Turkey) to greater
devotion and to provide inspiration for Christians facing

persecution by the Romans through the use of symbolic
language which promised “a new heaven & a new earth” after a
period of tribulation.
II.
SOME WIDELY ACCEPTED HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT
JESUS OF NAZARETH
1.
His Jewishness (circumcision, attendance at Jewish festivals,
quoting from the Hebrew Bible, rabbinical teaching style, etc.)
2.
Charismatic healer from peasant stock, and exorciser of demons
(13 of Jesus 17 miracles in Mark's Gospel are exorcisms/driving
out evil spirits!).
3.
Prophetic critic of some aspects of Jewish religion (e.g., he
takes a liberal view of keeping kosher and observing the
Sabbath; and he criticizes the legalism and hypocrisy of some
religious leaders).
4.
Teller of parables (vivid everyday stories with a deeper
meaning, e.g., Parable of Good Samaritan [Luke 10: 29-37]).
Help comes from an outsider/Samaritan, not those who should
have helped
5. Preacher of a new era in Jewish history (the "kingdom [rule]
of God") (Mark 1: 14-15).
6. Controversial because of his association with social outcastes
(e.g., tax collectors and prostitutes).
7. Crucified by the Romans under Pontius Pilate’sleadership on

suspicion that he might lead a revolt against Roman rule.
Although someJewish religious authorities opposed Jesus and
put suspicions in Pilate’s mind, he executed Jesus for his own
political reasons.
JEWS AND MUSLIMS—WHY SO ALIENATED AND WHAT
CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT?
Historical & Personal Perspectives
COMMONALITIESUnitary monotheismA divinely revealed
scripture (Hebrew Bible, Qur’an which have some common
material, e.g., Abraham).Stress on religious practice (vs.
doctrine) and on a complex system of legal interpretation
(Halakhah/Talmud, Sharia) Prayer at set times (Muslims 5x,
Jews 3)Reverence for some common prophets (e.g., Noah,
Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, et al.)Ritual
circumcisionPeriods of fasting (Yom Kippur, etc.;
Ramadan)Dietary laws (Kosher, Halal)Centrality of Jerusalem
DifferencesMuhammad has no standing in Judaism. Judaism
monogamous, Islam polygamous (4 wives allowed, but not
common in most places)Alcohol: permitted in Judaism, not in
Islam Qur’an presents mixed picture of Jews: “people of the
book,” but “…they (ever) strive to do mischief on earth” S.
5:67Demographic anomaly: 1.4 billion Muslims, 14 million
Jews, i.e., 1,000:1!

A Mixed BeginningThe Constitution of Medina (ca. 622) “Their
relations shall be guided by mutual sympathy, wishing each
other well…” The “Christ killer”/deicide charge never part of
Muslim teaching—Muslims don’t believe Jesus was crucified
But, after showing some initial interest, the Jews of Medina
rejected Muhammad’s message and eventually were expelled
from the city.As the Muslim conquerors burst out of Arabia and
into the Christian lands of the Mideast, N. Africa, & Spain,
Jews sometimes welcomed them as an improvement on their
Christian rulers.Forcible conversions of Jews (and Christians)
by the Muslim conquerors were unusual.
The Spanish “Golden Age”From ca. 800-1046, Jews in Muslim
Spain (Andalusia) enjoyed considerable freedom and some
served in high positions (e.g., Hasdai ibn Shaprut, vizier/Prime
Minister of Cordova,& R. Samuel ibn Nagrila, vizier of
Granada). Jewish culture flourished, inspired by that of the
Moors .But it was a gold-plated age with second-class status for
Jews (& Christians):
No public religious ceremonies
No construction of new synagogues
No attempts to convert Muslims
No appointment to government positions (in theory!)
No carrying weapons, riding horses, or building houses larger
than Muslims’ And the Golden Age was followed by a period of
fanatical Muslim rule by the Almohads from Morocco.
Jewish Expulsion from SpainBoth Jews and Muslims were
expelled from Spain in 1492 (Portugal in 1496)Some Jews

found a haven in Holland but many others were welcomed to the
Ottoman Turkish—and Muslim—Empire, esp. to Salonika in
Greece.
The Zionist Movement and the Beginning of 100+ Years of
ConflictAfter Dreyfus affair in France, Theodor Herzl called
First Zionist Congress in Basel,1894. A Jewish homeland in
Palestine is envisioned.Increased Jewish settlement leads to
Arab riots in 1920s and 30s.Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al
Husayni, formed alliance with Nazis to thwart Zionism.British
closed doors to Jewish immigration in 1939 on eve of
Holocaust.
Israel Becomes a StateUN approves a Jewish state in Nov.,
1947.For Jews, a miracle, for Arabs a catastrophe.700,00
Palestinians either fled or were forcibly removed from their
homes & villages during the war that followed in 1948.
Ironically an almost equal number of Jews were forced to leave
the Arab states in subsequent years. Six wars ensue with
Israel’s survival at risk in four. But the Six-Day War of 1967
radically changes the equation. Israel takes control of Sinai
Peninsula & Gaza (Egyptian), Golan Heights (Syrian) & W.
Bank (Jordanian). Sinai is returned in 1978 as part of peace
treaty with Egypt; the rest become Israeli-occupied
territories.Over the next 40 years (1967-2007), Israel builds
settlements in these regions at a steadily increasing rate (though
Gaza settlers removed in 2005). About 400,000 Jews in W.
Bank today;16, 500 in Golan.
INTERTWINING DESTINIES

Palestine Becomes a Quasi-StatePalestine Liberation
Organization formed in1964 with an international governing
body, and a strategy of protest including terror (guerrilla--?)
tactics. Cp. Jewish IrgunOslo Accords of 1993 put Israel and
Palestinian Authority (PA) on path to permanent peace.
Perceived violations by each party (esp. new settlements built
by Israel & continued terror attacks by Palestinians) helped
scuttle the pact.Palestinian intifada (uprising) in 2000 threw the
peace process into disarray.The unofficial Geneva Accord of
2003 provided a spark of hope for peace but remains in
Limbo.Under pressure from the USA, Israel and PA had been
meeting in past years, but now the talks are off.
The Stumbling Blocks to PeaceThe settlements & calls by the
US & others to dismantle many of them vs. extremist Israeli
settlers in W. Bank convinced that God has given all of
“Biblical Israel” (Judea & Samaria) to the Jewish people
.Failure of Fatah (elected to govern the PA in 2006) & Hamas
(that now controls Gaza) to recognize Israel, coupled with
Hamas and Hezbollah terror. Repatriation of, or compensation
for, Palestinian refugees. The final status of Jerusalem: two
capitals or one? The emotional factor: Profound mistrust,
resentment and even hatred on both sides.
The Feelings of the Wider Jewish and Muslim
CommunitiesJewish contempt of radical Islam prompted by
statements and actions of Muslim politicians: “Israel must be
wiped off the map” (Ahmadinejad of Iran). “Israel is a tumor
which needs to be removed” (Khaled Mashal, Hamas

spokesman).Significant anti-Semitism in the Muslim world
(Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Blood Libel, etc.) and
Holocaust denial still exists.Muslims’ deep resentment at
Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. The perception by Muslims
that the U.S. favors Israel, which gets linked to feelings of
Muslim resentment, reaching back to the Crusades, and is
further complicated by U.S. invasions of Afghanistan & Iraq .
Tilting at Windmills for
Solution
s
Israelis, U.S. Jews, & all Americans must distinguish radical
Islam from moderate, peace-seeking Islam.Jews (and Americans
generally) must study Islam; Muslims must study Judaism.
Misinformation and stereotyping is massive & toxic.Muslims
must stop equating Jews with all that is evil: sexual license,
control of banks and media, etc. Jewish-Muslim dialogue and
cooperation is indispensable, e.g. the courageous views of R.
Eric Yoffie, Pres., Union for Reform Judaism, in a speech to the
Islamic Society of N. America (ISNA). Other Jewish leaders
should follow Yoffie’s example.The fatwa issued recently by
ISNA against suicide terror was commendable, but must be
followed by more concrete efforts to reach out to the Jewish
community.Muslim leaders need to condemn persecution of

Christians in Muslim-majority nations. The U.S Jewish &
Muslim communities must do more to convince our government
to press for a comprehensive Mideast peace. Jews and Muslims
need to find common philanthropic projects to pursue, e.g.,
AIDS relief in Africa, homelessness in America.
ISLAM BY THE NUMBERS
A Primer in Islam
FIVE PILLARS
CREED: “There is no God but Allah; Muhammad is his
prophet.”
PRAYER five times daily: dawn, noon, mid-day, sunset, before
bed
ALMSGIVING: 2.5% of one’s net worth (not simply one’s
yearly income)
FASTING and sexual abstinence during daylight hours of month
of Ramadan
PILGRIMAGE/Hajj: once-in-a-lifetime visit to Mecca
FOUR WIVES

Polygamy (i.e., polygyny) is permitted only if husband can
satisfy each wife financially, emotionally & sexually (not
common in much of Muslim world) Many Muslim-majority
nations have banned the practice (Egypt, Turkey, et al.)
Female genital cutting is not a Muslim practice. It predates
Islam, but is still common in Muslim-majority countries.
THREE HOLY CITIES
Mecca (Makka), where Islam originated and site of Kabah,
holiest shrine
Medina, where Muhammad fled from persecution & established
Muslim rule
Jerusalem, holy already to Jews & Christians and where
Muhammad experienced his night vision or prophetic call
TWO PRINCIPAL BRANCHES
Sunni Islam (larger and more democratic)
Shiite Islam (smaller, more hereditary—leadership is descended
from Muhammad; prominent in Iraq, Iran, Syria)
SUFISM: Less a branch, more a mystical movement
TWO SOURCES OF SHARIA/ISLAMIC LAW

The Qur’an (the literal word of Allah revealed to Muhammad)
The Hadith (collections of stories about how Muhammad dealt
with various problems during his day)
These two are coupled with logic and reasoning to solve
pressing problems not explicitly covered in Qur’an or Hadith
and result in Sharia/legal-religious rulings
CAUSES OF ISLAMIC EXTREMISM
The nine Crusades: 1096-1291 & their abuses
European Colonialism
End of caliphate & carving up of M. East after WWI
The emergence of Saudi Arabia in 1932 as a fundamentalist
Muslim state
Creation of Israel in 1948, leading to expulsion or flight of
700,00 Arabs from Palestine
Extreme revulsion at some aspects of W. culture
Alienation of European Muslims from the mainstream culture
ONE GOD
Arabic: Allah—a strict monotheism centered in submission to
God (“Islam” means submission, a Muslim is a submitter)

UNIQUE CUSTOMS
No alcohol or other intoxicants permitted
No Gambling
Strict separation of the sexes
Modesty in dress
Dogs usually not kept as pets
Hallal/dietary code somewhat similar to Judaism (e.g., no pork
products)
SUNNI, SHIA
Similarities & Differences
Commonalities
Five Pillars
Most holidays & common calendar
Most customs (e.g., no alcohol, gambling)
Divine nature of the Qur’an
Differences: Part One

Sunni much larger (ca. 85%), Shia ca. 10%, others (Sufis, etc.)
5%
Sunnis take democratic approach to leadership
Shi’ites follow hereditary line of headship by imams beginning
with Ali (cousin & son-in-law of Muhammad)
Because of the martyrdom of Ali’s son Hussein, martyrdom is
highly prized by Shi’ites & the holy day Ashura commemorates
Hussein’s death
Twelve Shia Imams followed Muhammad (both branches first
four). A separate group of Shi’ites accept only seven of these
hidden imams
12th imam, M. ibn Hasan (867-) is in a mystical state
(“occultation”) and will reappear at end of time as the Mahdi, a
messiah figure
DIFFERENCES: PART TWO
Shi’s believe that verses in the Qur’an referring to Ali were
removed from the text, apparently to minimize is significance
For Sunnis an imam is a religious leader but not a mystical
figure, as in the Shia branch
Shi’ism is the majority branch in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain &
Azerbaijan. Sunni Islam is predominant every else in the
Muslim world
In periods of political and economic stability, followers of the

two branches live side by side in relative harmony
ISLAM: A PRIMER
A quick overview of a much misunderstood faith
ORIGINS
Prophet Muhammad (570-632) born in Arabia.
Began receiving divine revelations in 610 & for rest of his life.
Compiled after his death as the Quran/Koran.
Fled from Mecca to Medina in 622 (=year 0 in Muslim
calendar), gains followers.
Mecca falls to Muslim forces in 630 after long struggle with
opponents.

PROBLEM OF SUCCESSION
M. left no instructions re a successor, so Abu Bakr, who had led
Muslims in prayer, became first caliph (632-34).
Followed by two of M’s close friends, Umar (634-44) & Uthman
(644-56).
Then M’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali, but his caliphate was soon
usurped, & he was murdered in 661.
Then Ali’s sons, Hasan & Hussein(who died a martyr).
THE BREAKUP
The party (=Shia) of Ali believed in a hereditary caliphate and
become the Shiites.
But the majority of Muslims, Sunnis, believed in a democratic
caliphate.
Hence, the split began & has divided the Muslim world ever
since.
MAIN DIFFERENCES
Sunni Islam is larger (85%), Shia smaller 15%, but dominant in

Iran & Iraq.
An imam is prayer leader in Sunni but a descendent of Ali in
Shia & bearer of further revelations.
Martyrdom accepted in Sunni, prized in Shia.
Quran interpreted traditionally in Sunni,
symbolically/allegorically in Shia.
Mahdi as messianic final imam in Shia.
SIMILARITIES
Quran as God’s (Allah’s) final & definitive revelation.
Practice of “Five Pillars” (recitation of creed, prayer 5x daily,
fasting during Ramadan month, pilgrimage to Mecca once in
life, charity).
Following of Sharia (Islamic law code).
DEMOGRAPHICS
1.8 mllion Muslims in 2019 (vs. 2.4 million Christians)
57 Muslim-majority countries in OIC

Islam will be largest religion by 2070 (Pew)
Map:
www.nature.com/news/specials/islamandsciencde/map/islam-
map.html
1% of US Muslims, and 3% worldwide, would justify terrorism
against civilians in defense of Islam
JAINISM
Radical non-Violence
MAHAVIRA (D. 527 BCE)
Contemporary of Siddhartha/the Buddha
From princely background but went on spiritual quest with
extreme asceticism/fasting, self-denial
Achieved liberation after 12 years
Gathered a group of monks & nuns

The Spiritual Program
To enable the jiva (higher consciousness/soul) to discover its
unchanging nature & thus transcend life’s miseries
To accomplish this by a life of profound ethical conduct and
dedication
KEY PILLARS OF JAIN PRACTICE
Ahimsa—total non-violence: Even the smallest life forms must
be protected. Some Jain monks/nuns wear masks to avoid
ingesting microbial life.
Gandhi very influenced by Ahimsa
Vegetarianism/vegan lifestyle
Strict code of ethical conduct
USA PRESENCE
Perhaps 50, 000 Jains with temple in Buena Park
About 4.2 million Jains worldwide, mostly in India
RELIGION AND NATIONAL POLITICS
RELIGION COVERAGE IN THE 2012 AND 2008
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Campaign 2012
In sharp contrast to the 2008 presidential election race, the
press, in the 2012 campaign, paid much less attention to the
candidate’s faith and much more to their perceived values. Both
President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney had
countervailing reasons for wanting to keep their religious
backgrounds on the back burner. For the president, his Muslim
roots via his Kenyan but absentee father; for the governor, his
deep connections to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints. Still, the religion angle was important in 2012 race and
the press provided important perspectives on why faith matters.
Mitchell Landsberg of the Los Angeles Times saw the trend
coming in a perceptive analysis on June 4, 2012: “…analysts on
both sides of the political spectrum say religion is perceived as
a no-win subject by both campaigns, and it is not likely to play
a prominent role in the 2012 election.” The Obama camp did not
want either the President’s former membership in controversial
preacher Jeremiah Wright’s church, or the belief still held by
about 16% of the population that he is a Muslim, to cause him
problems. Conversely, the Romney campaign did not want his
LDS faith, with its unique and theologically unorthodox
teachings, to become an issue.
However, Professor Diane Winston of USC put her finger on the

real issue in the campaign. She noted that religious labels might
be irrelevant in the race but not religious values. These
determine who is taxed, what is regulated, and how much help
is given to those in need (LA Times 9/9/12). One might easily
add to this list: who gets deported or given amnesty, who may
marry, and who gets access to contraception and safe abortions.
The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism
statistically confirmed the downplaying of religion in the
contest: Just 1% of campaign coverage by major news outlets of
all kinds focused on the candidates’ faith or religion’s role; and
only 6% of all election-related stories in major media outlets
even referred to religion.
Of the religion related stories, just 13% resulted from
statements or actions by either candidate, though Romney
received twice the religion-related coverage of Obama.
The most revealing finding in the Pew analysis was that, by the
end of the campaign, 82% of respondents to a Pew post-election
poll had learned “not very much” or “nothing at all” about
Mormonism. So it appears the press did not do an adequate job
of explaining the LDS faith to the public. Perhaps Romney’s
reticence in speaking of his faith (see below) was reflected in
the press’s avoidance of the topic.
Coverage of the Religion Factor in the Republican Presidential
Primary

Though religion took a back seat in the general election, that
wasn’t so in the Republican primary race. Former Senator Rick
Santorum’s conservative Roman Catholicism shaped a campaign
that denounced not only abortion and same-sex marriage but
artificial contraception as well. The latter issue became a cause
celebre for Catholic bishops who might have derailed Obama’s
campaign if the Catholic faithful had supported their leaders.
Santorum, according to New York Times columnist Charles
Blow (3-2-2012), sees the sexual revolution of the 1960s—and
its iconic event at Woodstock—as causing a shift in the
Democratic Party away from “blue collar working-class folks
with traditional values” to sexual freedom. The world, said
Santorum in a 2008 speech, has become “hedonistic, self-
focused…anti-American.” Santorum did manifest concern for
working people during his campaign, but his relentless attack on
abortion and contraception attracted most of the press’s
attention including his comment that contraception is unnatural.
A biting cartoon by Jim Morin in USA Today (Feb. 20, 2012)
pictures Santorum and a Catholic bishop in bed with a married
couple as the prelate states, “Mr. Santorum and I are here to
make sure the government doesn’t interfere with your lives.”
John Meacham wisely noted that Santorum’s intense focus on
religious appeals might inspire secularists to make the public
square devoid of religious wisdom—a far cry from James

Madison’s original insight (Newsweek, March 12, 2012).
One clear consequence of the former senator’s campaign was to
force candidate Romney to focus on Santorum’s values issues
rather than the economy and jobs, observed Ronald Brownstein
(LA Times, Feb. 13, 2012). And no doubt this contributed to
Romney’s defeat.
Coverage of the Religion Factor in the General Election
Governor Mitt Romney
Romney was massively covered and analyzed by the press. Most
of the reporting was competent, even outstanding at times, but
there were exceptions. Michael Tomasky and Martin Amis, both
writing in Newsweek, did very one-sided pieces on the
candidate. Tomasky called Romney a snob and a “true wimp”
who apologizes insincerely after gaffs, such as criticizing
London’s commitment to the summer Olympics, flip-flops on
issues and is risk-averse (August 6, 2012). There is substance to
these observations, but the governor’s strengths got little ink.
Amis, in a broadside of the Republican convention and its
nominee, eventually lambasted his religion: Joseph Smith had
87 wives, his successor Brigham Young incited a series of
murders to quell intra-church strife, and LDS members

massacred 120 men, women and children in 1857 (Sept. 17,
2012). All true (though the wife count is exaggerated), but
tragically similar to what most other faiths have perpetrated at
one or another time. Has Amis forgotten the Crusades, witch
burnings, the Inquisition and the endorsement of slavery by
southern clergy?
Jodi Kantor of the New York Times wrote two informative
analyses of the former governor. In the first, she described the
depth of his LDS faith which shaped his approach to business
and politics, for example, the importance of hard, dedicated
work and for observing rules both in one’s Mormon stake
(parish) and in the office. He prays frequently, attends church
services wherever he is on the campaign trail, and “bears the
marks of the theology and culture” of his church (May 20,
2012). She also made the important observation, noted by
others, that American exceptionalism is central to his political
philosophy, that we are nation “chosen by God to play a special
role in history” with a divinely-inspired Constitution.
David Frum accurately observed that Romney’s ardent LDS
faith might offset, “...the isolation from ordinary people
imposed by his wealth” (Newsweek, 6-18-2012). If the
renowned Mormon work ethic contributed to the former
governor’s financial success, it also influenced how his wealth
should be used to help the needy. Like most of his co-
religionists, Romney tithed and thereby donated millions to

charity, especially to the LDS welfare system known for
offering a hand up not a handout.
Romney finally let the press observe his faith up close in mid-
August when reporters were invited to a service he attended in
Wolfeboro, N.H. However, Kathryn Lofton, writing in Religion
Dispatches, noted that the candidate might well have won the
election had he stressed the power of his faith commitment.
Perhaps, but doing so had risks he wasn’t prepared to take. CNN
did an in-depth portrait, “The Making of Mitt Romney”
() that emphasized his profound commitment to his faith as a
missionary in France and a bishop in a Boston suburb. But the
governor didn’t say much about this himself. Again, as with the
President Obama, politics trumped theology.
Nicholas Lemann’s essay in The New Yorker, “Transaction Man
(Mormonism, private equity and the making of a candidate)”
(Oct. 1, 2012) is an incisive portrait of Romney that sees
aspects of LDS culture as central both to his business
philosophy and his approach to campaigning and governing.
Mormons are taught from childhood to be leaders, to be
responsible. They were persecuted and driven across the
country, so they must be resourceful. One of Romney’s role
models is hotel magnet and Mormon Bill Marriott who
constantly pushes his employees to be more efficient, more
customer-friendly. Lemann also describes how the former
governor linked lack of personal discipline to “free-spending,

fiscally irresponsible liberalism” that takes money from one
person’s wallet and puts it another’s, an approach that runs so
contrary to the LDS spirit of working “hands-on in an elaborate
church welfare system.”
President Barack Obama
The president’s religion was discussed much less frequently
than in the 2008 campaign. The Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne
decried the never-ending epithets thrown at Obama: a Muslim or
a secularist waging war on religion or an elitist or someone
possessed of a “Kenyan anti-colonial worldview.” (Feb. 23,
2012) In fact, argues Dionne, he is “a rather moderate politician
quite conventional in his tastes and interests.” Americans ought
to take some pride in having elected “a Christian convert who is
the son of a Muslim father and an agnostic mother” and who
brought the nation through a great economic crisis. Landsberg
echoed these sentiments, noting that the president maintained
the Office of Faith of Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships begun by President George W. Bush despite
objections from secular liberals (LA Times, Apr. 8, 2012).
Obama’s most serious faith-connected problem involved the
decision of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius in Feb., 2012 to require Catholic hospitals,
universities, welfare agencies, etc. to cover contraceptive costs
for employees. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, that

opposes artificial contraception, reacted strongly. They saw the
government as asking the church to violate its corporate
conscience by funding an immoral practice. Conservative
commentators on Fox News and elsewhere—and even some
liberal Catholics—criticized the Obama administration. In
response, Sebelius revised the mandate so that insurance
companies, not the church, would directly pay for contraceptive
coverage. The bishops remain unhappy despite the compromise
and have begun legal action to block it.
Overall, the press did a creditable job of covering the much-
less-prominent religion angle in the 2012 presidential race, but
the absence of fact-based information about the LDS Church
was a weakness.
Campaign 2008
Although the 1960 presidential race brought John F. Kennedy’s
Catholicism to the fore, and the 1976 contest Jimmy Carter’s
“born-again” background, no race in memory had a “religion
angle” as conspicuous as in election ’08. The Pew Forum
compiled an exhaustive content analysis of the election, “How
the News Media Covered Religion in the General Election”
which powerfully illustrates the extent to which religion
factored into politics. Among the study’s key findings:
1. Press accounts related to religion comprised 4% of the
general election’s “newshole,” the total space or time available

in a media outlet for news content. This was less than news of
the economic crisis (9%) or Iraq (6%) but equal to coverage of
the Republican National Convention and greater than news of
energy issues (2%) or the environment (>1%).
2. Religion storylines in which candidate Obama was the lead
newsmaker comprised 53% of all coverage of the presidential
and vice-presidential candidates. Most of these stories involved
controversy or had an unfavorable cast. The majority of the
Obama-focused stories dealt with rumors that he was a Muslim,
followed by his association with controversial pastor Jeremiah
Wright, Jr. By contrast, John McCain was the focus of just 9%
of religion-related coverage, and his running mate Sarah Palin
19%. Most of the Palin coverage involved family or personal
issues (especially her teen-age daughter’s pregnancy). Stories
about Joe Biden were scarce (0.7%).
3. All four of the candidates had pastor problems of some sort—
most notably Obama’s with Rev. Wright, followed by McCain’s
with Pastor John Hagee.
4. The Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency, moderated by
Pastor Rick Warren at his huge church in Lake Forest, CA, on
Aug. 16, 2008 garnered brief but intense coverage that
amounted to 10% of total news in the week of the event but

quickly faded.
5. Ethical issues involving religion and culture comprised less
than 1% of total campaign news—most of it tied to Palin’s
views on abortion.
Next, we turn to specifics—the subject matter and quality of
religion-related stories about the four presidential candidates
along with a brief discussion of the coverage of one candidate
from the Republican presidential primary, Mitt Romney. His
case is important for an understanding of how the “religion
angle” should be handled.
Barack Obama and His Outspoken Pastor
As noted, the controversial sermons of Senator Barack Obama’s
former pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Dr.
Jeremiah Wright, Jr., and their fallout on the Obama
presidential campaign were an important news focus. In fact,
they accounted for 9% of all religion-related campaign stories.
Some of Wright’s comments—taken in the raw without any
context—were very controversial and distressed many people,
including Obama. To say, “The chickens have come to roost”
(shades of Malcolm X’s comment after President Kennedy’s
assassination) following 9/11, is hardly endearing to the general

public. And “God damn America” made even political lefties
cringe. Those comments, however, were not uttered in isolation
but in the midst of highly emotional sermons about racial
injustice, America’s sometimes controversial foreign policy,
and the plight of some of Wright’s South Side Chicago
congregants struggling with unemployment and poverty.
Ironically, former Republican presidential candidate Mike
Huckabee, a former preacher himself, might have provided the
most insightful comment on the controversy: “There are things
that sometimes get said [in sermons] that, if you put them on
paper and looked at them in print, you’d say, ‘Well, I didn’t
mean to say it quite like that.’”
In any case, once excerpts from Wright’s fiery sermons hit
YouTube, the conservative commentariate—Rush Limbaugh,
Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly et al.—began to pillory Obama
without mercy (or context). To its credit, many centrist and
liberal newspapers and magazines tried to contextually situate
Wright’s blunt rhetoric. Stuart Silverstein of the Los Angeles
Times (3-19-08), for example, noted the very positive overall
thrust of Wright’s preaching philosophy—to uplift and inspire.
Thus, Wright told members of LA’s Church of God in Christ
several years ago, “Don’t give up on God!...Don’t give up on
the process of marriage.” Silverstein also noted Wright’s six

years of military service between 1964 and 1970. Lisa Miller of
Newsweek (3-24-08) also provided a balanced, insightful
analysis of the controversy, noting the extraordinarily good
work of Trinity United in its AIDS ministry, assistance to senior
citizens, etc.
But Obama had to respond fully to his pastor’s disturbing words
(which he had already disavowed in one of the presidential
primary debates). He did so in a powerful speech in
Philadelphia on March 18, 2008. Obama unequivocally
condemned Wright’s inflammatory rhetoric, saying that his
words, “…expressed a profoundly distorted view of this
country…that elevates what is wrong with America above all
that we know is right with America.” But he also lauded his
former pastor for his social justice ministry. Obama spoke
candidly of the anger still simmering in Black America, yet also
noted the struggles of working class whites. And he observed
that the African American community needed to “embrace the
burden of our past without becoming victims of our present.”
The New York Times editorialized on March 19 that Obama,
“Drew a bright line between his religious connection with Mr.
Wright, which should be none of the voters’ business, and
having a political connection, which should be very much their
business. The distinction seems especially urgent after seven

years of a president who has worked to blur the line between
church and state.” Steven Greenhut, writing in the
conservative-libertarian Orange County Register on March 22,
opined that the Obama speech sounded surprisingly
conservative at points, for example, his comment that economic
problems in the Black community had resulted both from “the
legacy of legalized discrimination, but also from ‘the erosion
of black families’ and failed welfare policies.” Greenhut also
mentioned the endorsement of Senator John McCain’s candidacy
by fundamentalist pastor John Hagee whose anti-Catholic
rhetoric was very troubling to many.
Writing in the Columbia Journalism Review’s on-line blog
March 14, Zachary Roth noted McCain’s calling mega-church
pastor Rod Parsely “a spiritual guide.” Parsely has called on
Christians to wage war against the “false religion of Islam” to
destroy it, and makes no distinction between Muslim extremists
and moderates. Yet, Roth couldn’t find one mainstream US
news outlet that even mentioned McCain’s connection to this
extremist pastor.
Later in the campaign, Obama severed relations with Wright and
resigned from Trinity United after the pastor made a number of
inflammatory statements during an appearance at the National
Press Club.

In summary, the Obama-Wright controversy is an example of
the importance of contextualization, balance and historical
memory
in reporting on political controversies, especially when there is
a religious dimension to the story.
McCain’s Pastor Problems
Though not as serious as Obama’s affiliation with Rev.Wright,
candidate McCain also got a lesson in the perils of connections
to outspoken pastors. Rev. Hagee, leader of an evangelical
mega-church in San Antonio, Tex., endorsed him early in the
campaign. However, Hagee, who later apologized, had said
Adolph Hitler’s anti-Semitism was a fulfillment of God’s will
because it would hasten the Jews’ return to Israel in accord with
his reading of biblical prophecy. (Hagee had also disparaged
Catholicism in some of his sermons.) When McCain learned of
these comments, he quickly distanced himself from the pastor
and the issue faded. A backgrounder on why some evangelical
ministers are prone to such bizarre interpretations of the Bible
would have been useful, but nothing surfaced in the mainstream
press.
Obama the Clandestine Muslim

Rumors that President Obama was a Muslim accounted for 30%
of all religion-related campaign news in the Pew survey. Two
other surveys by the Pew Research Center (in June and October,
2008) both found that 12% of the electorate believed the rumor.
Obama’s Kenyan father was born Muslim but had become a
non-believer; and his stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was a non-
practicing Muslim. Moreover, from age eight to 10, the
President while in Indonesia attended a private elementary
school—though not a Muslim madrassa—that had a largely
Muslim student body. However, he never converted to Islam,
and at ten was sent by his mother, also a non-religious person,
to live with her parents in Hawaii.
A June 21, 2008 New Yorker magazine cover depicted Barack
in typical Muslim dress and his wife Michelle as a Black Power
radical—shades of 1960s professor and activist Angela Davis.
Though the cover and the magazine’s accompanying story, “The
Politics of Fear,” were intended to dispel the Muslim rumor,
they kept the story alive. In fact, the Obama team, even before
the New Yorker story appeared, had set up a website, , to stem
the rumors.
Conservative commentators Limbaugh and Hannity criticized
the Obama camp over an incident, also in June, when his

staffers removed from camera view two women wearing Muslim
head scarves during a campaign rally. Appearing at around the
same time on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” former Secretary of
State Colin Powell, noted that Obama was, in fact, a Christian,
and then got to the heart of the controversy: “What if he is
[Muslim]? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this
country? The answer’s no. That’s not America. Is something
wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing
that he or she could be president?”
Writing in the Miami Herald on June 29, 2008, Leonard Pitts,
Jr. observed that candidate Obama had apologized for the flap
with the Muslim women. But he said the apology would have
seemed more sincere if Obama had been courageous enough to
point out there is nothing wrong with being an American
Muslim (`a la Powell) and “…hadn’t spent so much time
treating the American Muslim community as one does the
carrier of a contagious disease.”
Pitts does grant that candidate Obama was walking “an
unprecedented political tightrope, one part John F. Kennedy,
one part Jackie Robinson.” Still, Pitts felt the candidate’s
“standoffishness” towards American Muslims was a mistake.
In sum, with few exceptions, the press failed to sufficiently
investigate the roots of anti-Muslin sentiment in America and

make clear, as Powell and Pitts did, that there is no “religious
test” for public office in this country in accord with Article VI
of the Constitution.
The Personal Faith of the Presidential Candidates
Barack Obama
A June 21, 2008 Newsweek essay by Lisa Miller and Richard
Wolffe, “Finding His Faith,” was a fine exposition of Obama’s
faith journey. It was accompanied by a sidebar from the
magazine’s editor, Jon Meacham, which—like the Miller-Wolffe
piece—exhibited a high degree of religious literacy. Meacham
discussed the influence of the Founding Fathers, Abraham
Lincoln and Reinhold Niebuhr on Obama’s theological
worldview. Meacham quoted the then-candidate on the necessity
of having a “north star” of faith to guide a president, as it had
guided Lincoln during the dark night of the Civil War.
The principal locale for a discussion of Obama’s and McCain’s
faith was Rick Warren’s Civil Forum mentioned above in
connection with the Pew survey. Though the abortion debate
accounted for only 5% of the Forum’s content, it received most
of the coverage in mainstream media. By contrast almost 20%
of the Forum dealt with the candidates’ religious beliefs but

received scant notice. Yet, the candidates discussed significant
religious and ethical questions: the moral obligation to provide
for “the least of these” (Obama, alluding to the Gospel of
Matthew 25:45), the fortifying power of faith, personal moral
failures, etc. As in the case of Jimmy Carter’s personal faith
more than 30 years ago, the press largely failed to analyze the
implications of the candidates’ religious views for how they
would govern. It is important for political reporters to
distinguish between (a) using a politician’s religious affiliation
(Catholic, Evangelical, Mormon, Muslim, etc.) to question his
ability to govern fairly—almost always a mistake; and (b)
analyzing his or her core moral positions to determine how
these might affect a president’s decisions—a benefit.
John McCain
Turning to coverage of McCain’s faith, one notes far less
content, mainly because the Arizona senator said less about it
and didn’t have the significant pastor problems that Obama did.
McCain occasionally spoke of how faith helped him survive
captivity at the hands of the North Vietnamese, as he did in an
Aug. 18, 2008 Time Magazine interview. In the Saddleback
Forum, he expressed his theology in a single sentence: “I’m
saved and I’m forgiven.” Regarding his core moral positions,
whose importance to good reporting was just mentioned,

Michael Gerson, wrote perceptively about him in a Newsweek
essay on Sept. 8, 2008. He pointed out that McCain might be
reticent to speak about his faith, but his moral positions as a
senator—opposing torture, recognizing the humanity of
undocumented immigrants, condemning the slaughter in
Darfur—manifest “a code, combining a religious concern for the
weak and the oppressed with a military conception of national
honor…” And Mecham was eloquent in interviews on National
Public Radio on October 29 and 30, 2008 when he observed that
both Obama and McCain believed in doing the right, and both
saw the world as tragic, yet knew they must do their best to
improve or heal it.
Sarah Palin
Candidate Palin’s family and personal issues comprised about a
quarter of all the religion-related campaign stories, but most
involved the pregnancy of her unwed daughter and her
opposition to abortion and stem-cell research. A 2005 video of
Kenyan Pentecostal preacher Thomas Muthee laying hands on
Palin at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church while she was
running for governor of Alaska caused a brief media stir during
the presidential race. Two weeks before being tapped by
McCain as his running mate, Palin was asked about her
religious affiliation. “Christian,” she replied; asked whether she

was a particular kind, she responed, “No. Bible-believing.”
She had, though, attended the Wasilla Assembly for a number
of years. Harking back to Colin Powell’s retort about whether
there was anything wrong about a Muslim being president, how
about being a Pentecostal?
In a valuable background piece on Palin, Teresa Watanabe of
The Los Angeles Times (October 1, 2008) reported on the
candidate’s decision to accept the vice-presidential nomination
in light of her evangelical, Bible-centered faith. Three New
Testament letters (Ephesians, 1Timothy and Titus) state that a
woman’s place is in the home and she should be obedient to her
husband. Watanabe found a difference of opinion among
evangelical leaders. Some were dismayed by Palin’s decision,
others approved as long as her husband concurred and it was
understood that a woman could direct a nation or state but not a
religious congregation.
Joe Biden
Biden’s Roman Catholic faith generated scant news during
campaign ’08 except in connection with his pro-choice stance.
On NBC’S “Meet the Press Sept. 7, Tom Brokaw asked him
what he’d say if asked by Obama when life begins. Biden
replied that he knew when it began according to his Catholic

faith (at conception), but added, “…for me to impose that
judgment on others is inappropriate in a pluralistic society.” As
in the case of 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry—also a
pro-choice Catholic—several bishops were critical of Biden, but
the abortion issue faded both for Biden and for the electorate in
general.
Mitt Romney
Though former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney lost the
Republican primary, press (and public) scrutiny and suspicion
about his Mormon faith deserves comment. Because the LDS
church allowed polygamy until 1890, kept African Americans
from the priestly rank until 1976, and is viewed as a cult by
some conservative Christians, Romney began his campaign with
particular liabilities. Michael Kinsley, writing in Time on Sept.
17, 2007, wanted to know how candidates would deal with
“religion’s improbabilities.” And he was especially concerned
with those faith dimensions in the Mormon tradition. However,
all religions rest on improbabilities. So it is important for
journalists to temper their skepticism and realize that competent
politicians are able to separate matters of state from matters of
the spirit. President Kennedy didn’t take orders from the Pope,
despite the fears of some Protestants in 1960. Governor
Romney would not have taken his from the Mormon president.

This doesn’t mean that a candidate’s religious and ethical
convictions should not be factored onto one’s voting decisions,
but rather that his or her political views and record are of much
greater importance.
Final Observations on the Candidates’ Faith
The unprecedented amount of God talk in campaign ’08—and
the precarious pastor connections discussed here—led Peter
Canellos to observe that, in seeking to inject some religion into
their campaigns, the candidates learned that religion and
politics is a difficult mix.
On the whole question of a presidential candidate’s faith,
Nancy Gibbs, in a June 30, 2008 Time essay, wrote perceptively
that Americans have always said in surveys that they want a
person of faith in the White House. However, this time around
the bar was set so …
Hinduism Today
Movements, Missionaries & Politics
Mohandas (Mahatma/”Great Soul”) Gandhi

Father of the modern non-violence movement
Influenced by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
In turn, he greatly influenced ML King’s philosophy of non-
violent resistance to segregation/Jim Crow
Both Gandhi & King died as martyrs, following in the footsteps
of Lincoln
Vivekananda & the Modern Interfaith Movement
Spoke at the first Parliament of Religions, Chicago, in 1893
Inspired the global interfaith movement
Subsequent parliaments have been held in Chicago (1993),
Capetown, S. Africa, Melbourne & Toronto
American spiritual (transcendental) poets very influenced by
Vivekananda: Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Emerson, Walt
Whitman
Transcendental Meditation
Founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1960s
Claims that daily meditation (e.g., 20 minutes twice daily)
could enhance physical, mental, & spiritual health
Widely practiced throughout world

ISKON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
Brought to USA in 1965 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, a modern Hindu missionary
Advocated a monastic life style (vegetarianism, study,
meditation) with chanting:” Hare Krisha, hare Rama”
Quite aggressive proselytizing/missionary activity
Rebirth of Hindu Political Identity
Hindutva (Hinduness), the attempt to equate Hinduism entirely
with Indian religion
Fostered by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) under Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
Indian recently passed law denying immigration rights to
Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan,
etc. seeking to become Indian residents
Many Indians (esp. Muslim citizens) consider the law
unconstitutional
India’s Supreme Court takes the classic view of Indian/Hindu
tolerance & respect (see Fisher, p. 118)
CASTE SYSTEM

The Intermingling of Religion, Class & Culture
The Four Main Castes
Brahmins: priests, philosophers, the learned; the most pure
Kshatriyas: military leaders, CEOs, former royalty
Vaishyas: skilled workers, merchant class
Shudras: unskilled workers, servants, day laborers
The castes are further subdivided into hundreds of sub-castes
UNTOUCHABLES: Out-of-Caste
Perform the lowest duties: cleaning sewers, disposing of
corpses, etc.
Almost always marry other untouchables
Prescribed in Laws of Manu (ca. 200 C.E.)
As many as 25% of Hinduism’s 800 million adherents are
outcastes
India’s constitution (1948) forbids discrimination against them
They refer to themselves as “dalits” the oppressed
Ghandi called them “harijan,” children of God
Some dalits have converted to Buddhism or Christianity to
shake off the stigma

The Stages in Life
Student (from birth to completion of one’s education)
Householder (working/career and family-raising years)
Retired person
Sannyasi/renunciant (those who has left society behind and
devoted themselves to a devotional life via one of the yoga
paths). This stage is for the few not the many.
ISLAM: FACT & FICTION
1. ALLAH IS A MOON GOD. FICTION: There was a pre-
Islamic moon god Hubal who was worshipped at the Kaaba
before Muhammad cleansed the place. And the crescent moon
is a symbol of Islam.
2. MOST ARAB AMERICANS ARE MUSLIM. FICTION: 75%
are Christian. (10% of the Arab world is Christian, e.g. in
Lebanon and the Copts in Egypt.) So the majority of US
Muslims are not Arab—only 25% are. And worldwide only
15% of the world’s Muslims are Arab.
3. ISLAMIC VIEWS ON WOMEN ARE PREJUDICIAL &

BACKWARD. FICTION: Islam was ahead of the West on
women’s rights when the religion began. Women maintain
property rights after marriage and have full control over them
and any subsequent wage earnings. They also have inheritance
rights but at a level that is half that of male heirs. Female
circumcision/FGC is not condoned. Abuse of women is a
cultural phenomenon, e.g., honor killings in Pakistan.
4. ISLAM CONDONES SUICIDE TERROR. FICTION: Most
Muslim scholars, e.g., Dr. M. Siddiqi (head of Islamic Society
of OC), condemn suicide of all types. A minority does not,
especially in connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
the Afghan war, & ISIS
5. ISLAM IS A MILITARISTIC RELIGION. FICTION WITH
QUALIFICATIONS: Surah 9: 5—“But when the forbidden
months are past, kill idolaters wherever you find them, and
capture them and blockade them, and watch for them at every
lookout.” The context is that such killing was a last resort.
Jews & Christians are not “idolaters.” Also Jihad is primarily
spiritual struggle, not military struggle or “holy war.”
6. ISLAM IS A FANATICAL RELIGION. FICTION WITH
QUALIFICATIONS: There is clearly a fanatical type of Islam
today that sees the West as the “great Satan,” and wants to
destroy western democracies, esp. the USA (& Israel, “little
Satan”) They have succeeded in harassing and trying to

intimidate many moderate Muslims: Kalid Duran, Khaled Abou
El-fadl, Cairo U. professor Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd (declared an
apostate). They justify terror, suicide attacks, etc. in the name
of Islam. Yet the vast majority of Muslims reject this madness.
This fanatical and puritanical kind of Islam is aided and abetted
by the Saudi Arabian version of Islam—Wahhabism (after El
Wahhab) or Salafism.
7. ISLAM IS AN ANTI-JEWISH RELIGION. FICTION MIXED
WITH FACT: Most Arabian Jews rejected Muhammad’s
message after showing some initial interest. So some Qur’anic
verses reflect this (5: 64, but see 5:65-66). But, as with
Christian anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages, the negative verses
are emphasized, especially in light of the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict and the Iraq war: “The Crusaders and the Jews.” Anti-
Semitism is widespread in the Muslim world, though they call it
“anti-Zionism.”
8. MUSLIMS REVERE JESUS AS SECOND ONLY TO
MUHAMMAD, BUT DENY HE WAS CRUCFIED. FACTS:
Jesus is highly respected, but was not crucified
JUDAISM,
CHRISTIANITY & ISLAM COMPARED
JEWS CHRISTIANS MUSLIMSMonotheistic
Monotheistic Monotheistic

(Trinitarian)
Abraham Progenitor
Abraham Abraham
Jerusalem holy city
Jerusalem Jerusalem
Reverence for Heb. Prophets Rev. for
Prophets Rev. for Prophets
Hebrew Bib. accptd Heb.
Bib. accptd Not accptd
as canonical as
canonical but respected
No New Test. New
Testament Qur'an in place of,
(Talmud plays Church
Fathers but N.T. respected
parallel role)
Hadith suppl. Qur’an
Jesus not divine Jesus
divine & Jesus not divine,

nor a prophet
savior–messiah but revered
Muhammad not accptdM. not accepted
Muhammad accptd
as seal of prophecy
and revered
More stress on observance More
stress on faith Stress on observance
(613 commandments) (Nicene
Creed) (Five Pillars)Prayer 3x Daily
Daily Prayer Prayer 5x Daily
Sabbath observance Sunday
observance Friday communal prayer
Dietary laws/Kosher No
dietary laws Dietary laws/Halal
(elaborate system) (except a
few in Rom. Cath. (No pork products)
&
several in Orthodox Church)Circumcision Required
Not required Circum. required
Ethical conduct Ethical
conduct Ethical conduct
justice stressed

lovesubmission
Alcohol permittedAlcohol permitted No
alcohol
Afterlife
Afterlife Afterlife
not stressed
important important
Convert-making
Evangelization Islam should be
not stressed
very important spread
Monogamy
Monogamy Polygamy (up to 4
wives; not common)
Gambling reluctantly permitted in
moderation? Forbidden
HISTORICAL SOURCES OF CONFLICT:
A. JEWISH-CHRISTIAN
1. Bitter rivalry between rabbinic Judaism and early church
reflected in New Testament

2. Christianization of Roman Empire and subsequent centuries
of persecution of Jews--including "the teaching of contempt,”
Jews as Christ-killers
3. Modern anti-Semitism, especially the Holocaust, not strongly
resisted by most church leaders
B. MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN
1. Islam's initial expansion tied to conquest
2. The Crusades
3. Efforts by Muslim countries, especially Turkish Ottoman
Empire, to conquer parts of Europe
4. Second-class (dhimmi) status of Christians in Muslim
countries
5. Western imperialism, e.g., in the somewhat artificial creation
of new Middle East states after WW I
C. JEWISH-MUSLIM
1. Jewish rejection of Muhammad's claims to prophethood
(reflected in a few Qur'anic verses)

2. Second-class (dhimmi) status of Jews in Muslim countries
3. Founding of State of Israel in 1948 against strong objections
from Muslim and Arab nations, leading to subsequent Arab-
Israel wars, terrorism directed against Israel and refugee
problems for Palestinians
Signs of Hope:
a. Second Vatican Council's document on relations with non-
Christian religions (1965); Vatican's recognition of State of
Israel (1993)
b. Growth of Jewish-Catholic and Jewish-Protestant dialogue
movement
c. Gradual emergence of Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue
(e.g., Academy for Judaic, Christian and Islamic Studies), and
of Jewish-Muslim and Christian-Muslim dialogue
d. The American Islamic experience as a model for other
countries (“integrity and adaptation”)
e. Making common cause to solve global problems: hunger,
political repression, religious persecution, etc.
Continuing Sore Spots:

a. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Palestinian terrorism
answered by Israeli military repression
b. The perception by Muslims that America unfairly supports
Israel vis-à-vis Palestine
c. The invasions of Iraq & Afghanistan and their troubled
aftermath
d. Repressive or fundamentalist regimes in predominantly
Muslim countries
e. The use of terrorism by Muslim extremists (Al-Qaeda, ISIS)
to achieve political goals
f. The perceived moral laxity of predominantly Christian
countries, especially the USA, in the eyes of the Islamic world
Muslim Practices
The Muslim way of life rests on the Five Pillars:
1. The creed—“There is no deity except Allah and Muhammad
is his messenger”
2. Prayer five times daily (at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset,
and night)

3. Fasting from dawn until sunset during the lunar month of
Ramadan (no food, drink, or sexual relations)
4. Almsgiving (generally reckoned at 2.5 percent of one’s
savings)
5. A one-time pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca (or Makkah), Islam’s
holiest city, by all who are physically and financially able.
Muslim Holy Days
The Muslim day of communal worship is Friday, when Muslim
men are required to gather at noon in the mosque (masjid) for
prayer and a sermon by the imam or prayer leader. (Women may
also attend but are not obliged to do so.) Friday is not a day of
rest in the Jewish or Christian sense, but some Muslims may
take the day off—or part of it—where possible.
Eid al-Fitr[eed ul-FI-tur] (Festival of Fast-Breaking). The lesser
of the two holidays, Eid al-Fitr occurs immediately after the
Ramadan fast on the first day of the following month and is a
time of feasting and gift giving.
Eid al-Adha [eed ul-ad-HAA] (Festival of Sacrifice). Eid al-
Adha occurs on the 10th day of the twelfth lunar month when
pilgrimages are made to Mecca. Besides being a festive time,
Eid al-Adha is a period of sacrifice commemorating the prophet
Abraham’s willingness to offer up his son Ishmael. Because

Allah provided Abraham a ram instead, Muslims sacrifice an
animal as part of the rites of the Hajj (pilgrimage) and give
away one-third to needy families and one-third to friends.
Ashura [AA-shu-raah] (Martyrdom of Hussein). This holiday is
celebrated by Shi’a Muslims on day tenth day of the first lunar
month, and commemorates the defeat of Ali’s son Hussein at
Karbala (modern-day Iraq) while defending his Shi’a followers.

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