THE
ISLAMIZING OF AMERICA’S
CHURCHES HOW SOME
PASTORS ARE SELLING OUT THE FAITH
Berlin House of One: The first church-mosque-synagogue?
21 June 2014 Last updated at 23:01 GMT
Berlin
thinks it is making religious history as Muslims, Jews and Christians
join hands to build a place where they can all worship. The House of
One, as it is being called, will be a synagogue, a church and a mosque
under one roof.
The location is highly significant, according to one of the three religious leaders involved, Rabbi Tovia Ben Chorin. "From my Jewish point of view the city where Jewish suffering was planned is now the city where a centre is being built by the three monotheistic religions which shaped European culture," he told the BBC.
Can they get on? "We can. That there are people within each group who can't is our problem but you have to start somewhere and that's what we are doing."
The imam involved, Kadir Sanci, sees the House of One as "a sign, a signal to the world that the great majority of Muslims are peaceful and not violent". It's also, he says, a place where different cultures can learn from each other.
Each of the three areas in the House will be the same size, but of a different shape, architect Wilfried Kuehn points out.
He and his team of architects researched designs for the three types of worshipping place and found more similarities than expected.
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Find out more
You can hear Stephen Evans's radio report on the House of One on the Sunday programme at 07:10 BST on 22 June on BBC Radio 4, or catch up later on the BBC iPlayer
"What's interesting is that when
you go back a long time, they share a lot of architectural typologies.
They are not so different," Kuehn says. "It's not necessary for instance
for a mosque to have a minaret - it's only a possibility and not a
necessity. And a church doesn't need a tower. This is about going
back to the origins when these three faiths were close and shared a lot
architecturally".
In the past, different faiths have used the same buildings
but not usually at the same period. Mosques in southern Spain became
cathedrals after the Christian conquest. In Turkey, churches became
mosques. In Britain old Welsh chapels have sometimes become mosques as
areas change - and Brick Lane mosque in the East End of London started
as a church in the 18th Century, later became a synagogue before turning
to Islam, and has now become a place of worship for the newly arrived
Muslim community.But that's different from the three faiths worshipping as neighbours under one roof.
Pastor Gregor Hohberg, a Protestant parish priest, says it will be built where the first church in Berlin, dating back to the 12th Century, was once situated. St Petri's Church was badly damaged at the end of World War Two as the Red Army liberated Berlin. What remained was destroyed in the period after the war by the East German authorities.
Then, six years ago, archaeologists uncovered remains from an ancient graveyard and it was decided that something should be done to resurrect a community and its place of worship. The project expanded and changed from a single-faith building to the present three-faith plan. Money is now being raised to turn the architects' plans into bricks and mortar.
St Peter's Church in 1850, and graves being excavated in 2008
"Under one roof: one synagogue, one mosque, one church. We want to use these rooms for our own traditions and prayers. And together we want to use the room in the middle for dialogue and discussion and also for people without faith.
"Berlin is a city where people come together from all over the world and we want to give a good example of togetherness."
It was not always the Berlin way.
Vatican partners with Islamic museum for unique exhibition
For the first time ever, the Vatican is staging an unusual exhibition in
the Emirate of Shajah. The show is seen as a sign of openness and
cooperation between religions.
Ulrike al-Khamis has outdone herself. In a project that began six years
ago, the art historian from Germany was tasked with bringing the
extensive collections of the Emir of Sharjah into shape when the Sharjah
Museum of Islamic Civilization was renovated and re-opened. The
exhibition she is now presenting in a sparkling domed building almost
the size of a soccer field has exceeded expectations.
"It is the first collaboration of the Vatican with an Arab country," said al-Khamis. Indeed, the exhibition is one-of-a-kind - not only because it presents excellent artworks but also because it furthers dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
A mashup of Western arts, Islam and Buddhism
On display: a Chinese vase from the early 18th century bearing an Arabic inscription
The artworks on show from the Ethnological Museum of the
Vatican stem from the 12th to the 19th century, but also include
valuable objects from everyday life in the Arab world. Vases and
bracelets, seals and armor, tapestries and precious daggers are on
display. All the works come from the Islamic region between Morocco and
Sudan all the way to Western China, but are now owned by the Vatican.
Many of the objects embody the dialogue between the Muslim and Western worlds. There's a dime-sized Koran produced in a print shop in Glasgow, and yellow mugs from Western China that bear an Arabic inscription surrounded by lotus flowers, which are a Buddhist symbol.
"We had only one year to prepare this show," said Ulrike al-Khamis. When the German art expert began advising in Sharjah, one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates, she did not know what she was getting herself into.
"I traveled to Rome with my colleagues. We, the experts from Sharjah, and some Christian art historians searched the chambers of the Vatican together and discovered several pieces that had never been exhibited before," she recalled.
The result is a unique show in Sharjah that presents a comprehensive look at Islam.
"So that you may know each other" is the fitting title of the exhibition
Presents for the Pope
Most of the objects now on show had arrived in the Vatican in 1925 when Pope Pius XI hosted a kind of international cultural exhibition comprised of gifts presented to him from private donors and missionaries stationed all around the world. There were artworks by Australian aborigines as well as pieces from Latin America, Asia and Polynesia. From the Islamic world, there were swords and seals, jewelry and garments. It was a truly global exhibition.
Ulrike al-Khamis is pictured with the Emir of Sharjah, Sultan
al-Qasimi (center), and the director of the Ethnological Museum in the
Vatican, Father Nicola Mapelli (left)
Around 100,000 works of art were collected in Rome for the
show, but needed a permanent location after that. In 1926, the Pope
established a new museum to keep the works, the Ethnological Museum,
which was housed in the Lateran Palace. Half a century later, the museum
was relocated to its present site in the Vatican.
However, it has been shut down several times since then and never fully reopened. The museum's current director, Father Nicola Mapelli, has sought to make the collection's works available via partnerships with other cultural institutions - such as the Museum of Islamic Civilization in Sharjah.
The art of diplomacy
In the case of Sharjah, the Vatican's museum found a like-minded partner. The small emirate is led by Sultan al-Qasimi, an intellectual interested in culture who's written a number of books himself and is interested in furthering intercultural dialogue. More than 20 years ago, al-Qasimi launched the most important biennial for contemporary art in the Arab world, the Sharjah Biennial, and more than 40 museums have been established under his reign.
These boots from Senegal are included in the exhibition
The fact that Rome is lending its works for the first time is
an act of diplomacy in line with Pope Francis's current policies. While
Pope Benedict XVI had distanced himself from other religions, his
successor is pursuing a different policy. In October last year, during a
speech for the sponsors of the Ethnological Museum, Pope Francis
pointed out the unifying role of culture in religious, social and moral
matters.
In the exhibition catalog, the Vatican writes that it will treat the Islamic objects "with the same amount of respect as the Leonardos, Raffaels and Michaelangelos." Fittingly, the title of the exhibition is "So that you may know each other." which is actually a verse from the Koran in response to the question of why people are so different.
Mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims is exactly what the exhibition aims at. Taking history into account, dialogue between the religious groups cannot be taken for granted.
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=22878
Pope Francis can best be described as a man on a mission. That mission seems to be the unification of the Vatican’s Roman Catholic system with Islam. This demonic hybrid is what is more commonly known as Chrislam. Francis is building on the already impressive body of work in this field started by apostate Emergent Church preacher Rick Warren.
German website DW reports that for the first time ever, the Vatican is staging an unusual exhibition in the Emirate of Shajah. The show is seen as a sign of openness and cooperation between religions.
“It is the first collaboration of the Vatican with an Arab country,” said al-Khamis. Indeed, the exhibition is one-of-a-kind – not only because it presents excellent artworks but also because it furthers dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
"It is the first collaboration of the Vatican with an Arab country," said al-Khamis. Indeed, the exhibition is one-of-a-kind - not only because it presents excellent artworks but also because it furthers dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
A mashup of Western arts, Islam and Buddhism
On display: a Chinese vase from the early 18th century bearing an Arabic inscriptionMany of the objects embody the dialogue between the Muslim and Western worlds. There's a dime-sized Koran produced in a print shop in Glasgow, and yellow mugs from Western China that bear an Arabic inscription surrounded by lotus flowers, which are a Buddhist symbol.
"We had only one year to prepare this show," said Ulrike al-Khamis. When the German art expert began advising in Sharjah, one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates, she did not know what she was getting herself into.
"I traveled to Rome with my colleagues. We, the experts from Sharjah, and some Christian art historians searched the chambers of the Vatican together and discovered several pieces that had never been exhibited before," she recalled.
The result is a unique show in Sharjah that presents a comprehensive look at Islam.
"So that you may know each other" is the fitting title of the exhibitionMost of the objects now on show had arrived in the Vatican in 1925 when Pope Pius XI hosted a kind of international cultural exhibition comprised of gifts presented to him from private donors and missionaries stationed all around the world. There were artworks by Australian aborigines as well as pieces from Latin America, Asia and Polynesia. From the Islamic world, there were swords and seals, jewelry and garments. It was a truly global exhibition.
Ulrike al-Khamis is pictured with the Emir of Sharjah, Sultan
al-Qasimi (center), and the director of the Ethnological Museum in the
Vatican, Father Nicola Mapelli (left)However, it has been shut down several times since then and never fully reopened. The museum's current director, Father Nicola Mapelli, has sought to make the collection's works available via partnerships with other cultural institutions - such as the Museum of Islamic Civilization in Sharjah.
The art of diplomacy
In the case of Sharjah, the Vatican's museum found a like-minded partner. The small emirate is led by Sultan al-Qasimi, an intellectual interested in culture who's written a number of books himself and is interested in furthering intercultural dialogue. More than 20 years ago, al-Qasimi launched the most important biennial for contemporary art in the Arab world, the Sharjah Biennial, and more than 40 museums have been established under his reign.
These boots from Senegal are included in the exhibition In the exhibition catalog, the Vatican writes that it will treat the Islamic objects "with the same amount of respect as the Leonardos, Raffaels and Michaelangelos." Fittingly, the title of the exhibition is "So that you may know each other." which is actually a verse from the Koran in response to the question of why people are so different.
Mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims is exactly what the exhibition aims at. Taking history into account, dialogue between the religious groups cannot be taken for granted.
Pope Francis Orders Vatican To Create First Ever Art Exhibition To Promote Chrislam
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=22878
Francis carrying on Rick Warren’s work with Chrislam
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4Pope Francis can best be described as a man on a mission. That mission seems to be the unification of the Vatican’s Roman Catholic system with Islam. This demonic hybrid is what is more commonly known as Chrislam. Francis is building on the already impressive body of work in this field started by apostate Emergent Church preacher Rick Warren.
German website DW reports that for the first time ever, the Vatican is staging an unusual exhibition in the Emirate of Shajah. The show is seen as a sign of openness and cooperation between religions.
“It is the first collaboration of the Vatican with an Arab country,” said al-Khamis. Indeed, the exhibition is one-of-a-kind – not only because it presents excellent artworks but also because it furthers dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
CLICK IMAGE FOR CHRISLAM UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
The fact that Rome is lending its works for the first time is an act of diplomacy in line with Pope Francis’s current policies. While
Pope Benedict XVI had distanced himself from other religions, his
successor is pursuing a different policy. In October last year, during a
speech for the sponsors of the Ethnological Museum, Pope Francis pointed out the unifying role of culture in religious, social and moral matters.
In the exhibition catalog, the Vatican writes
that it will treat the Islamic objects “with the same amount of respect
as the Leonardos, Raffaels and Michaelangelos.” Fittingly, the title of the exhibition is “So that you may know each other.” which is actually a verse from the Koran
in response to the question of why people are so different. Mutual
understanding between Christians and Muslims is exactly what the
exhibition aims at.
