Show 6A Saturday March 30 1 Star 996 Religion American Muslims battle stereotypes negative O Moderation more typical than media representations many say Scnpps-McQatc- h Western Service LAS VEGAS - “You won’t find any great Muslim comedians” Mujahid Ramadan says which isn’t as oblique art entry into the subject of Muslims in the United States as you might think For many Americans it can be difficult to shake the craggy mug of Ayatollah d Khomeini as the face of Islam Our brains are likely to reflexively media-saturate- translate “Muslim” to “fundamentalist” We may have a swirl of vague notions: harsh warrior religion death sentences on supposedly blasphemous writers women treated badly Sports fans might remember Cassius Clay becoming Muhammad Ali or Lew Alcindor becoming Kareem Or the way fasting during the holy month of Ramadan hampered Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon Abdul-Jab-b- -- Religions mix m scholar’s ar Or more recently how Denver Nugcited gets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rau- f his Muslim beliefs in his refusal to stand for the national anthem But these impressions hardly apply to most of the 5 million or so Muslims living in the United States non of who are Khomeini Indeed some haven’t particularly enjoyed living in the shadow cast by Middle East extremists Donna Genena a Muslim since 1974 sighs as she talks of “trying to justify my religion in the face of Khomeini or Hamas” Most lead lives of quiet moderation Which is where the lack of Islamic funnymen comes in Mujahid Ramadan uses it as one illustration of the spirit of moderation and that lies at the core of Islam “Islam commands you to regulate your emotions” he says sitting in his office at Nevada Partners a youth jobs agency he oversees on Lake Mead Of the many books on his shelves one the Muslim holy book quite a few others also have to do with the forbids extreme humor on one hand” he says “but extreme depression on the other" Humor often involves exaggeration stretching the truth But under Islam there is nothing elastic about truth “In Islam there is no such thing as a little white lie” is the Koran reli-gion- he says Any Muslim comedian distorting the truth for the sake of a laugh risks a large thing - the blessings of Allah - for a small thing - chuckles from the cheap seats “He’s coming dangerously close to lying and in Islam a lie is a lie” No fun? Seemingly although Ramadan sometimes chuckles in a way that suggest he can be a fairly amusing Muslim when the urge hits But it also points out the discipline and the sense of strong values and self-contr- ol faith attractive to many And despite the bad press Islam some- -' times gets because of its more intolerant followers most Muslims would add como passion to that list Author Peter in "The Joy of Sects" a survey of world religions notes that Islam is Arabic for “submission” (to God) and "also derives from it salaam the Arabic word for Occhio-gross- peace If moderation and compassion don’t square with your understanding of Islam Muslims would tell you you’re not getting the full story If you must put a face on Islam try n Posey’s Until June 6 1986 she was a Baptist woman named Johnnie Simmons On that day she stood before her community and affirmed her belief in one God and his prophet The community was an Islamic congregation the god Allah the prophet Muhammad And since then she’s been Iman Sabreen Posey “I came up as a Im-a- See MUSUM8A spiritual absolutes that have made the School’s gold Huston Smith yW be subject of Bill television special vMoyers’ Western Service BERKELEY Calif - In his g house with a view in the Berkeley jhills scholar Huston Smith the day the way he has for Jhe past 25 years - the Islamic morning prayer to Allah in Ara- Z tnodest-lookin- be-Igi- ns bic He will repeat the prayer four 'more times that day as Muslims do Smith’s morning ritual then focuses on the body by way of Hatha yoga Finally he turns to a chapter from the New Testament This is Smith’s “overture” to the day in body (yoga) mind (meditative reading from scripture) and spirit (prayer) It is a daily regimen indicative of a lifetime spent exploring teaching and writing about the world’s religions His “The tko a Jew “At no point have I set out to ’immerse myself in one of these Religions” Smith said “Always it has been like a tidal wave that ijsort of came over me where I was” Soon he will experience a baptism of a different sort when he is the subject of a Bill Moyers spe-Jricalled “The Wisdom of Faith m al With Huston Smith” v! KUED Channel 7 this week said the special has yet to be scheduled into its programming College professors are well-a- o quainted with Smith and his book See HISTORY8A meets the day after the LDS Church's annual general conference in April to discuss the faith's annual meeting A panel moderated by Lavina Fielding Anderson will include ' Margaret Merrill Toscano Deborah Rossiter Victor Gener and Gene Mahalko Toscano cofounder of the v Mormon Alliance and member of the Mormon Women's Forum teaches classical languages at’ the University of Utah The panel will meet 6:30-8:3- 0 pm April 8 in the third-floauditorium of the Salt Lake City Main Library 209 E 500 South -- f opponent whose book was made into the movie “Dead Man Walking" will receive the 1996 Laetare Medal New Orleans The nun who is portrayed by Susan Sarandon in the movie serves as a spiritual counselor to prison inmates facing execution ' Prejean will receive the award 1 9 the May during commencement exercises at the University of Notre Dame the school said The Laetare Medal established in 1883 is awarded annually to a Catholic who illustrates the ideals of the church and has enriched the heritage of humanity Previous Laetare Medal recipients include President Kennedy and former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill Last year it was won by Catholic Cardinal Joseph L Bemardin of Chicago : ld USA NIPPStandarcTExaminer class in tying green and gold ribbons on the playground fence outside Chase Christeansen joins his Lutheran School The green ribbons represent the school’s color while the gold stand for the school’s anniversary this week LINKS TO THE PAST: first-gra- ld St Paul 50-ye- Lutheran school celebrates 50 years St Paul Lutheran Church teachers blend faith into most subjects By KIRSTEN SORENSON staff Standard-Examin- OGDEN - Fifty years of the St Church decided Ogden needed a Lutheran school for their children In the beginning Martin Kirch the school’s first principal taught 1 1 children in eight grades on picnic tables in the church’s basement But the Christian blossomed throughout the years to eventually get its own building next to St Paul Lutheran Church on Harrison Boulevard It boasts an attendance of 300 taught by 1 2 instructors in preschool through day-scho- ol eighth grade Principal John Macy said a large percentage of Lutheran churches have parochial schools as part of the faith’s emphasis on combining education with religion He said Kirch started the school for two reasons: to provide a school environment for Lutheran children and to offer an option for other people of other faiths in the community who wanted a Christian emphasis for their children’s education “We do it as a mission of the church to bring Christ to students and to bring Christ to families” Macy said He said about 20 percent of students in the school are Lutheran and 80 percent is “whatever is in the community “It’s a good mix of various re ligious backgrounds” he said That’s healthy he said because his students eventually will have to go out into the real world where not everybody believes what they believe The students have a religion class every day but teachers try to incorporate religious principles into every aspect of teaching Macy said “We try to teach the children life in evto live a erything they do” he said About half of the school’s graduates go on to St Joseph’s High School and half filter into the public school system said Sharon Trickey wife of Pastor Gary Trickey Trickey who teaches first grade said the school celebrated its 50th anniversary this week with several events God-pleasi- On Sunday Pastor Trickey dedicated crosses to be placed in all of the rooms in honor of the school’s first principal Kirch who died a year ago Valentine’s Day Monday the children tied ribbons to the school’s fence green for the school’s color and anniversary gold for the The children combined one event into a benefit for the community They decorated cereal boxes with their favorite scenes from the Bible and displayed them in the church’s parish hall After the anniversary the boxes will be donated to community food pantries Trickey said One box’s message quipped “St Paul school where praising God is cool” 50-ye- ar u - Church renovation honors Washington MALDEN WVa - The cabifj and church where Booker T Washington launched his career are being restored to form an Up From Slavery Center "Thousands of people pass-b- y the church near the West "" Virginia Turnpike and one of our heroes is not being celebrated" said James Thibeault who launched the project to honor the 19th century educator-historia- j‘Dead Man Walking’ delivers message of freedom Susan Sarandon won the Academy Award this week for her deeply moving portrayal of a true story of Sister Helen J Prejean spiritual adviser of a death row t inmate in the film “Dead Man Walking” J It is an extraordinary film that weaves a balance between revulsion J remarkable over the state's killing of a murderer and j the horror of his double murder of teenag-ter- s and its devastating impact on their families t Though Sister Helen is a vigorous op- ponent of the death penalty she visits who lost a daughter in the senseless 'murder Her mother sighs “You don’t know when you see your child leave through a door that you are never going to see her alive again If I had known I would have told her how much I love par-en- ts her” I - ed ry : Mormon The Alliance Conference Critique semi-annu- Sister SOUTH BEND Ind Helen Prejean the death penalty! tled “The Religions of Man”) has been the most widely used textbook to introduce students to religion since it was first pub-Jish- ’ Subject of movie to receive medal N ti- in 1958 ! The book has sold more than CIl5 million copies and has been translated into 14 languages Bom of missionary parents in ’’JChina Smith is still a Methodist ’His religious exploration however has placed hint in a Zen mon-'astestudying with a Sufi mystic in Iran spending a sabbatical fcmong Tibetan lamas in exile iand appreciating weekly shabbat through his daughter’s marriage Mormon Alliance schedules critique NEW YORK -- At a Mass attended by hundreds of police officers Cardinal John O'ConnOr repeated his personal opposition to capital punishment but said 'a good Catholic can be for or against the death penalty" In his recent homily at St Patrick's Cathedral O'Connor said church teaching acknowledges society's right to use the death penalty if “bloodless" means of punishment and deterring crime have proven ineffective He said Catholics should follow their conscience But O’Connor as he has in ! the past left no doubt that he like Pope John Paul II strongly opposes the death penalty “Capital punishment leads us lulls us into believing we are solving the massive problems of our society But what do we -really solve?" The cardinal spoke before hundreds of officers attending an annual Mass for the Holy Name Society a Roman Catholic police organization P Historian World’s Religions” (formerly RELIGION UPDATE O’Connor offers execution Insight bwn lifestyle ’ tdard-Examin- The girl and her boyfriend had been yanked from a car by two thugs who raped )and stabbed her and shot him Brief taste- fully shot flashbacks depict the rape scene from a distance The parents welcome Sister Helen believing that she changed her mind about being convicted killer Matthew Poncelet’s spiritual adviser When she says she WILL be his adviser they throw her out baffled as Catholics that their church cares more for the killer than his victims When a guard asks her if she doesn’t believe in the Bible’s call for “an eye for an eye” Sister Helen recalls the Bible also prescribes death for contempt of parents (Exodus 21:15) adultery incest homosexand prostituuality (Leviticus 20:10-13- ) tion For much of the film Poncelet asserts his innocence Though unsure Sister Helen finds an attorney who files appeals When they fail Poncelet asks for a lie detector test to prove his partner was the killer He fails on his last day of life and “can’t believe it” He remains defiant showing no contrition She tells him “I want to help you to die with integrity and you can’t do that if you don’t squarely own up to the part you played You might check out the words of Jesus that might have special meaning for you: ‘You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free’ ” She mentioned Mrs Bourques the mother of one victim: “She will live every day of her life knowing that her daughter died a terrible death Have you ever told the Bourques you’re sorry?” He replies “It’s hard ma’am to be having much sympathy for them when they are trying to kill me” “But look what these parents are going through Their daughter raped and stabbed and left to die in the woods Your last words can be either words of hate or of love and maybe the best thing you can do is offer the Bourques a wish for their peace” With only 15 minutes to live Poncelet breaks down in tears confesses his crimes to Sister Helen and accepts Christ She tells him to look at her during the execution: “I will be the face of love for you” His final words are for the parents: “I hope you get some relief from my death” But he adds “Killing people is wrong It makes no difference whether it’s citizens countries or government Killing is wrong” The film will move proponents and opponents of capital punishment to a more profound understanding of both sides A friend Susan Grigsby found the film “extraordinarily powerful because its underlying message is redemption - that the power of Christ’s love extends beyond even the most despicable and heinous crime Redemption comes when we can confess and admit our sins The truth will set you free’ ” When she first saw the film she said “I was so wired I could not sleep The second time I saw it I cried the whole way" Why? “I knew that God loves me I don't feel that a lot “It is the first movie I've seen which dealt successfully with Christ's message” n ' The African Zion Baptist Church has not been used in 20 years The adjacent cabin whece Washington slept which was tom down in the 1 940s when 1 US 60 was built will be rebuilt into a visitors center Hoop program provides alternative COLORADO SPRING- S- 1 Sagging shorts and gold earrings are the uniform of choice at a local church where dozens of teens gather to play basketball on Friday nights Street League a program offered by Pikes Peak Free Methodist Church offers teens a place to look cool shoot hoops and stay off the streets 1 "1 saw all these kids boys especially with nothing to do sp I put up some hoops outside the church and they began playing day and night" the Rev Sid Huston said Basketball isn’t the only thing on Huston’s agenda The teens also can participate in Bible discussion and craftmaking ' - Standard-Examin- er staff and wire services |