Oct 31 - Ann Coulter and Jews

Ann Coulter is famous for her controversial opinions. Recently she has upset many people because of her opinions on the Jewish religion. She has claimed on national television that she believes the United States would be a better place if there were no Jews. Realistically I think she just says controversial things just to get attention and be in the news.

Oct 30 - Candidates and Prayer

The Democratic Presidential candidates were asked about their views and stance on prayer. Each offered a response to the topic. I believe that John Edwards' response was the most clear and knowledgeable. He offered a response that would not be offensive and did not show any bias or too extreme.


"I do believe in in prayer and rely on prayer consistently throughout my life...I am big on faith." - Hilary Clinton

"I have prayed most of my life...There are some things beyond our control. It is important to look for God, in my case Christ, for wisdom. But I don't think you can prevent bad things from happening through prayer." - John Edwards

"I believe in the power of prayer and through prayer we strengthen ourselves in not only adversity but we can also find the strength, power, compassion and will to deal with problems we can control." - Barack Obama

Oct 29 - Ramadan

The month of Ramadan in the Muslim religion follows a 30 day fast in order to show one's faith to the religion.


The validity of fasting depends on the following:

1. Abstaining from food, liquids and sexual activity from dawn to sunset.
2. The intention to fast must be made every day before dawn. The intention (niyyah) may be made during night before going to sleep or it can also be made at the time of Suhoor before dawn. Suhoor is eating before fasting. It should be as close to Fajr time as possible.

Oct 26 - When Politics and Religion Mix

Many people know that religion must remain outside of politics. However, there are some who do create an overlap in the two genres. The image above helps to show a comedic explanation of what happens when religion and politics combine.

Oct 25 - Religion in American Politics

Here is a speech by President Bush that helps to show the existence of Religion within American Politics. Politics and Religion should never be involved together and should be kept apart in order to maintain a fair and equal political system.

Oct 24 - Arsonist Attacks Jeruselem Church

Arsonists burst into a Jerusalem church and set the building on fire, church officials said Wednesday, raising suspicions that Jewish extremists were behind the attack.

Members of the four denominations who use it today include foreign workers, Sudanese refugees who came to Israel through from Egypt and two congregations of highly controversial "Jews for Jesus" who believe that Jesus Christ was the Jewish Messiah.

"We all still need to learn the lessons of tolerance and to accept the different among us," said Charles Kopp, an American who is the pastor of the church. He said Jewish extremists may have set fire to the building.

Oct 23 - Saudi Women Say Progress Slow But Steady

Religious restrictions continue to be prevalent in Saudi Arabia. There are more than 7 million women in Saudi Arabia and not one of them can drive a car, vote or appear in public without covering her hair. There are many restrictions on where they can work, where and when they can travel or even be seen in public. Despite the veiled society, women work as doctors, teachers and even business leaders, but progress has been painfully slow for many.

"A lot of people here they are not used to see women dealing with such fields," Buthaina Nassr, the news anchor, told "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts. "Men, they were worried that their daughters would follow my steps, because they don't believe that the woman should appear with her face."

More women are also fighting for the right to get behind the wheel of a car. In the last two months, two Saudi television shows tackled the topic. One show portrayed a woman dressing up as a man to drive a taxi.

Oct 22 - Pope Says Faith Doesn't Justify Violence

The Pope tells religious leaders from around the world that under no circumstances can faith justify violence. Visiting one of Italy's most crime-ridden cities, Pope Benedict XVI told ayatollahs, rabbis, priests and patriarchs from around the world Sunday that religion must never be used to justify violence. The pope told the Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist leaders they must work for peace and reconciliation among peoples.

"In a world wounded by conflicts, where violence is justified in God's name, it's important to repeat that religion can never become a vehicle of hatred, it can never be used in God's name to justify violence," he said. "On the contrary, religions can and must offer precious resources to build a peaceful humanity, because they speak about peace in the heart of man."

Oct 19 - Republicans Court "Religious Right"

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney touched on his Mormon faith on Friday to a mostly evangelical audience of social conservatives as he and other Republican contenders in the 2008 White House race tried to woo them at a Washington gathering of "values voters."

Some evangelicals are throwing their support behind Romney who said he would be a "pro-life president," but his biggest weakness in the view of some analysts is his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Mormon religion is formally known. There are varying opinions on who people will vote for based on their faith.

"There is no way that I can vote for a Mormon. I'm a Southern Baptist and I've always been taught that Mormonism is a cult," said Filipe DaCosta, a supporter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a staunch evangelical conservative due to speak on Saturday.

Oct 18 - Parents Use Religion to Avoid Vaccines

There is a small but growing number of parents who are laiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinating their children when the real reason may be skepticism of the shots or concern they can cause other illnesses. Some of these parents say they are being forced to lie because of the way the vaccination laws are written in their states.

"It's misleading," Rahim admitted, but she said she fears that earlier vaccinations may be to blame for her son's autism. "I find it very troubling, but for my son's safety, I feel this is the only option we have."

"Do I think that religious exemptions have become the default? Absolutely," said Dr. Paul Offit, head of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and one of the harshest critics of the anti-vaccine movement. He said the resistance to vaccines is "an irrational, fear-based decision."

"When you choose not to get a vaccine, you're not just making a choice for yourself, you're making a choice for the person sitting next to you," said Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the CDC's Immunization Services Division.

Oct 17 - Romney Speaks to Republican Jewish Coalition

Governor Mitt Romney addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition this afternoon, pushing for stronger international organizations as well as calling for the United States to pull out of the UN Human Rights Council.

Romney spoke extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as his usual stump subject of the "threat of violent, radical Jihad." Romney tried to tie the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with past wars, saying that "there is only one way we can lose. And that is if we as a civilized world, becomes deniers."


After a follow up, Romney said that while there are those who say they wouldn’t vote for a Mormon candidate, polls also showed some people wouldn’t vote for a candidate over 70 and others who wouldn’t vote for someone who had been divorced many times, but that "those things are at their mind. At the front of their mind, they want to know who can lead America."

Oct 16 - Religious Extremist Rehab

A counseling program that employs Muslim clerics to rebut extremist views of detainees has steadily reduced their numbers over the past four years in Singapore, suggesting that religious-based rehabilitation may offer an alternative to indefinite detention without trial in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Faced with swelling detention centers, U.S. military commanders in Iraq have begun to take note. In recent months, they have introduced religious-education programs for adults and juveniles that are modeled, in part, on Singapore's and on a much larger program in Saudi Arabia.


"Deprogramming is not 100-percent successful. Among suspects that you rehabilitate, some will go back (to militancy). But it's the only intelligent thing to do," says Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert at Nanyang Technological University and a consultant on the Singaporean program. "We've planted a seed. ... Iraq was the beginning. I believe America can take this idea to Guantánamo, Afghanistan, and other areas."

Oct 15 - Religion and Culture War in America

A group with Evangelical and progressive members released proposals Wednesday. Extreme partisanship and polarization have stymied the country's political process. Now, calls for a truce are coming from a group of leaders from the Evangelical and progressive communities, long at odds with each other. They're pointing the way toward common ground on the most polarizing issues, with aims of a new civility and concrete progress.

"There's new movement within both communities to call for the beginning of the end of the culture war," says Rachel Laser, director of the culture project at Third Way, the progressive "strategy center" in Washington that initiated the effort. "We actually want to be in the same room and find ways to move forward together."

As group members have worked together, stereotypes have crumbled. Evangelicals have found that progressives are not all hostile to religion, and progressives have found Evangelicals to be diverse and nuanced in their views. Several Pew polls have found similar results.

Oct 12 - Abortion

In recent years, abortion has been an ongoing controversial issue. So far, the partial birth abortion has been banned. ow, those advocating life believe that women who wish to get an abortion must view an ultrasound of their fetus. This is a further attempt to make the mothers feel guilty for aborting their child. In my opinion, I believe that it is the woman's choice if she wished to keep a child. If a woman is not capable of taking of her child it is unfair to put an innocent child in her care.

Oct 11 - Islamic Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood, established in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, has been outlawed by the Egyptian government since 1954. Today, it packages itself as a moderate organization, and its members hold 88 seats (about a fifth) in the Egyptian parliament as independents. Many Egyptians have long sympathized with the Muslim Brotherhood in its struggle against an increasingly authoritarian regime. It was hard not to feel for the banned organization when its members faced the harsh treatment of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's military tribunals.

Still, having gone since 1928 without releasing any official party platform, the Muslim Brotherhood has escaped an honest and critical review – until now. In publishing this draft, it missed a golden opportunity to prove its pro-democratic stance.

Many people used to believe that the Muslim Brotherhood was simply a political movement using religion to gain support and present itself in contrast to the ruling National Democratic Party, but now it appears that the inverse is true. The Muslim Brotherhood is a religious movement using politics to spread its values and beliefs.

Oct 10 - Islam is Irelands 3rd Largest Religion

Muslims now make up the third largest religious grouping in Ireland, latest statistics have revealed. The figures show a 70% increase in the Muslim population between 2002-2006. Last year's Census revealed that in the previous decade 420,000 of the population were born outside the country

Immigration and returning Irish emigrants meant the population rose to 4,172,013 - the highest since 1861. Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) said Islam was the third largest faith group after Catholicism and Protestantism, with 32,500 people saying they were Muslims. More than 55% of those said they were either Asian or African nationals, while 30.7% had Irish nationality, said the Census.

Oct 9 - American Muslim Survey

A survey was recently taken to evaluate the opinions of Muslims in America and their opinions on various subjects. Most attention has focused on the extent to which American Muslims do or do not support al Qaeda and suicide bombing.

Some findings include:
One of the most striking results was the fact that American Muslims are indistinguishable from other Americans in economic terms.

Muslims here are not a ghettoized, discriminated-against group. Most observers assume this makes them less susceptible to radicalization.

Some American Muslims defend suicide bombings under at least some circumstances

Oct 8 - Romney's View on Evolution

At the first Republican debate, there was a question of Mitt Romney's stance on evolution. He later expanded on his belief in an interview. This view could put him in opposition to some conservative Christians. Seeing that Mitt Romney needs the vote of the conservative Christians to win the election, his view is quite controversial.

In the interview Mitt Romney said, “I believe that God designed the universe and created the universe,” “And I believe evolution is most likely the process he used to create the human body.”

He was asked: Is that intelligent design?

“I’m not exactly sure what is meant by intelligent design,” he said. “But I believe God is intelligent and I believe he designed the creation. And I believe he used the process of evolution to create the human body.”

Oct 5 - Muslim Terrorist Recruitment

I saw a video earlier this week about how the terrorists recruit other people to join their groups. The groups use the internet and various chat rooms in order to teach other people and persuade others to join their terrorist groups. They have many different videos and tutorials in order to teach viewers how to be suicide bombers or how to get involved in other terrorist activities.

Many organizations have started to go undercover in order to try and put an end to these websites and terrorist organizations. I think it is scary and even disgusting to see how easy it is for people to get involved in such violent actions. This is similar to the Virginia Tech Massacre, because sites like these have made it acceptable for people to be violent and detrimental to the lives of others.

Oct 4 - Bomb Iran?!

Politics and Religion have no place being mixed together. Many times, countries themselves, such as Iran, come to be tied with a specific religion. Politicians who tie in religion may be offensive in their actions. As an Iranian-American, I was completely shocked to see that John McCain would sing bomb Iran to the tune of the Beach Boys song... I pretty much don't know what to say. Although this was taken as a joke, I was very offended to see such a serious matter taken so lightly. I don't think that a bombing and war is something to be taken as a joke.

Oct 3 - Abortion Rulings

In the past year the Supreme Court made the decision to uphold the nationwide ban on the partial-birth abortion. Each individual has their own opinions on the topic. Religion plays a great role in shaping opinions. Each of the candidates made statements about the decision. The republican candidate's responses varied greatly between the candidates. McCain and Giuliani's responses vary drastically, as McCain strongly opposes abortion except in rape or incest cases, while Giuliani may disagree but believes it is the woman's decision.

Mr. McCain:

Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life and integrity of the judiciary. The ruling ensures that an unacceptable and unjustifiable practice will not be carried out on our innocent children. It also clearly speaks to the importance of nominating and confirming strict constructionist judges who interpret the law as it is written, and do not usurp the authority of Congress and state legislatures. As we move forward, it is critically important that our party continues to stand on the side of life.

Mr. Giuliani:

The Supreme Court reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial birth abortion. I agree with it.

Mr. Romney:

Today, our nation’s highest court reaffirmed the value of life in America by upholding a ban on a practice that offends basic human decency. This decision represents a step forward in protecting the weakest and most innocent among us.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Democrat:

This decision marks a dramatic departure from four decades of Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman’s right to choose and recognized the importance of women’s health. Today’s decision blatantly defies the Court’s recent decision in 2000 striking down a state partial-birth abortion law because of its failure to provide an exception for the health of the mother. As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal; the rights and lives of women must be taken into account. It is precisely this erosion of our constitutional rights that I warned against when I opposed the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.

John Edwards, a Democrat:

I could not disagree more strongly with today’s Supreme Court decision. The ban upheld by the Court is an ill-considered and sweeping prohibition that does not even take account for serious threats to the health of individual women. This hard right turn is a stark reminder of why Democrats cannot afford to lose the 2008 election. Too much is at stake - starting with, as the Court made all too clear today, a woman’s right to choose.

Senator Barack Obama, a Democrat:

I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman’s medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman’s right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women.

Oct 2- Voting on the internet

It's amazing the effect websites such as YouTube and MySpace have had on the youth of the country in the first few years of their establishment. Already, MySpace has added pages addressing political candidates as well as political messages to get across. The youth who are on MySpace daily can go online and register to vote on a site to their convenience rather than searching and visiting an unfamiliar site. The political candidates have each made their own site as well in order to educate the public on their positions and to get their message across.

Visit the site to learn more about the registration process as well as the political candidate pages:
http://www.impact.myspace.com
http://www.myspace.com/declareyourself

Oct 1 - Introduction

Hello, my name is Jasmin and the real reason I'm starting this blog is because I am enrolled in a class at the University of California Irvine dealing with religion and politics in the media. I have never really had a blog before so I really don't know where to begin. I will be blogging daily about interesting political topics within the media so hope you enjoy it!