Good news today from Afganistan. In a face-saving move, it now appears that the Afgan court will free Abdul Rahman, the Christian condemned to death for turning away from Islam. (CNN, Officials: Afghan convert to be freed, 26 March 2006).
Any hopefully the international pressure helped end this situation for the better, although this is such a troubling story.
Coincidentally today I heard from Rev. Gendi Ibrahim Rizk, pastor of the El Saray Church in Alexandria, Egypt. His church is actively involved in helping the community. One of the biggest projects is a home and school for disabled children. And true to form, the school does not just reach out to Christians, but to Muslim children as well. In fact, some 70% of the kids being helped come from Muslim homes. He said that while the school can do much good, providing vocational training, education, and help for their families - the government does not allow the church to evangelize. That would be proselytizing, and is forbidden. But, he said, “They do let us love. And they do let them give us love.”
It’s inspiring to hear from people who risk so much for their religious beliefs, and insist on continuing to bring more good to the world. And even if it is not religious freedom, I am glad that the Egyptian government at least allows their to be some love in their lives.
As the horse continues to be beaten on the subject of Hurricane Katrina, NewsBusters summarizes the latest round-up from Popular Mechanics magazine - Debunking Katrina Myths. Very interesting wrap up on seven topics:
- MYTH: “The aftermath of Katrina will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history.”–Aaron Broussard, president, Jefferson Parish, La., Meet the Press, NBC, Sept. 4, 2005 FACT: The government responded rapidly. “One of the biggest reminders from Katrina is that FEMA is not a first responder.”
- MYTH: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event.”–New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, press conference, Aug. 28, 2005. FACT: Katrina wasn’t a superstorm.
- MYTH: “Perhaps not just human error was involved [in floodwall failures]. There may have been some malfeasance.”–Raymond Seed, civil engineering professor, UC, Berkeley, testifying before a Senate committee, Nov. 2, 2005 FACT: Flood walls were built properly
- MYTH: “They have people … been in that frickin’ Superdome for five days watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people, raping people.”–New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Sept. 6, 2005 FACT: Anarchy didn’t take over.
- MYTH: “The failure to evacuate was the tipping point for all the other things that … went wrong.”–Michael Brown, former FEMA director, Sept. 27, 2005 FACT: Evac plans worked. “Later investigations indicated that many who stayed did so by choice. “Most people had transportation,” says Col. Joe Spraggins, director of emergency management in Harrison County, Ala. “Many didn’t want to leave.” Tragic exceptions: hospital patients and nursing home residents.
- MYTH: “We will rebuild [the Gulf Coast] bigger and better than ever.” –Haley Barbour, Miss. Gov., The Associated press, Sept. 3, 2005 FACT: Government subsidies encourage bad planning.
- MYTH: “You have a major energy network that is down … We could run out of gasoline or diesel or jet fuel in the next two weeks here.”–Roger Diwan, managing director, Oil Markets Group, PFC Energy, Business Week, Sept. 1, 2005 FACT: The energy infrastructure survived.
You can read the entire PM piece at their website. They also have a surprisingly good collection of Hurricane Katrina resources.
