Breaking Tweets » Religion

DC Comics to launch first Islamic superheroes comic book

Fahad Zuberi — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:35:13 +0000

DC Comics will be launching a new comic book series called The 99, the Islamic superheroes created by a Kuwaiti psychologist.

Gulf News reports, the creation of the Islamic superheroes is mainly intended to curb stereotypes associated with people of the Islamic faith. The characters fight evil and personify the 99 attributes of Allah.

Twitter users are fascinated by the first Islamic superheroes, but some feel it’s not a good idea.

leilangod (Toronto, Canada) loves that “DC Comics will launch a new comic book series depicting Islamic superheroes” http://bit.ly/hHziO. My favourite? Noora the Light 25 Oct 2009 from web

MXML (Lebanon) @bintbattuta Naif Al-Mutawa at Pop!Tech http://is.gd/4B6vJ Creator of the99, “the 1st group of superheroes born of an Islamic archetype” 25 Oct 2009 from web

rokapark (Tokyo, Japan)Does anybody see this? Seems interesting: superheroes in Islamic culture & society. http://www.the99.org/ 26 Oct 2009 from Echofon

rhaque (Boston) I’m sure someone will get into trouble for this – The 99: Superheroes inspired by the qualities of Allah http://bit.ly/2BM9Gi 31 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

zahidi1 (location undisclosed) Muslim superheroes maybe it will help give muslims a better image
http://tinyurl.com/ygr2kbn 03 Nov 2009 from web

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Crucifixes banned in Italian schools

Kari O'Rourke — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:26:44 +0000

The European Court of Human Rights has banned crucifixes in Italian schools citing that they run counter to a child’s right to freedom of religion, reports the BBC.

The ruling overturns a law dating back to the 1920s where it was a requirement to hang crucifixes in all classrooms.

Mixed reaction from all over the world popped up on Twitter:

anxioustomato (Glassgow, United Kingdom) Hurrah! Now if only the UK followed in Italy’s footsteps: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8340411.stm #religion #crucifix #ban 03 Nov 2009 from web

TheGodless (Undisclosed) No more bronze age torture devices? RT @anatheistnews Court says Italian schools should be crucifix-free http://anatheist.net/go/?x=… 03 Nov 2009 from mobile web

dockofthelake (Italy) EU saying no to crucifix in class: now, do they ever decide anything on something useful, or do they just waste time/money on bulls’t? 03 Nov 2009 from Twidget

euroinfo (North Wales) How long before someone blames this on the EU? RT @Berlaymont: European court: No crucifixes in Italian schools http://bit.ly/4kunFF 03 Nov 2009 from TweetDeck

lipsh (Ontario, Canada) Europe’s court of human rights says the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious and education freedoms. USA too! 03 Nov 2009 from web

LaCyn (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) Italy’s crucifixes in classrooms violate human rights http://tinyurl.com/italycross // wouldn’t not having them violate rights too? 03 Nov 2009 from web

Vingeviciute (Lithuania) Not free to believe.The European Court of Human Rights:no Catholic crucifixes in school allowed. http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/4148 03 Nov 2009 from web

ganhy (Singapore) This symbol banning is really starting to become overkill. (That said, I somehow find verses far more disturbing than crucifixes.) 03 Nov 2009 from TweetDeck

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Editorial: Scientology debate underway in France

Chasse Rehwinkel — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:09:31 +0000

“A Little Bird Told Me” is a weekly op-ed column that will appear every Monday on Breaking Tweets. It is part of an effort to add more opinions to BT, with the addition of an international roundtable discussion also in the plans.

On Tuesday, Oct. 27, a French court ruled that certain practices by the Church of Scientology were classified as fraud under French law, imposing a number of heavy fines and threatening jail time to a few church members.

The ruling did not restrict the practice of Scientology within France, but warned church officials that they should be aware of and operate under French law.

Of course, bloggers from all corners of the internet celebrated upon hearing the news in their traditional way of mass tweeting and, honestly, I’m with them, but let’s hold on one second and go over why France’s condemnation of Scientology’s practices is a good thing.

Note: Whether Scientology’s teachings are legitimate will not be debated within this article. I’m not a theologian and, so, frankly it’s none of my business or expertise to root through one group’s faith trying to show how they’re wrong. Instead this is a look at why Scientology’s loss in France was an important, and ultimately good, blow to the church’s current operating structure.

So, sorry there will be no Xenu, South Park or Tom Cruise references here–no mater how hilarious they may or may not be.

Anyway…

So, trying to use twitterers to take a look at the French ruling on Scientology is actually quite difficult. Some time ago, for whatever reason, it seems the entire mass of voices that comprise the internet decided to take up arms against the Church of Scientology.

Which is actually pretty cool–usually no one can agree on anything–but it’s a real pain if you want someone to say something more than “The Church of Scientology is convicted of organized fraud in France. YAY!” as detentiondnb did along with many others following the news from France.

However, good for me there was at least one twitterer who took the time and spent the money–bless her–to buy a Dianetics DVD and then tweeted about her experience with it–thanks WrongEyedEar!

After viewing of the first DVD installment of Dianetics, WrongEyedEar made two conclusions.

First, that the church was making blatantly false statements about psychology and misleading vulnerable viewers–again I’m not going to go into that–and second, that the DVD seemed to be a marketing/money making tool.

AH! There it is!

For every line WrongEyedEar tweeted about false statements and misleading facts there was invariably also a tweet about product placement and production value.

WrongEyedEar’s concluding statement about the DVD I think perfectly captures the underlying issue here, “conclusion: Scientology is a pyramid scheme.”

She also added, “..also I’m disappointed there was nothing about Xenu–okay one Xenu reference–on the DVDs. How much I gotta pay to get some Xenu–maybe two–action?”

So, what does this mean?

WrongEyedEar’s observations about the introductory Scientology DVDs shows that the French ruling is probably not the “modern inquisition” Scientology officials are painting it out to be.

Instead it’s a rational conclusion about an organization that is structured to make a profit marketing their “monopoly” on the answer to happiness.

Scientologists have to pay to be tested in order to find out what’s troubling them, they have to pay for an introduction to the answer to their troubles, they have to pay to move up in the church and–as WrongEyedEar explains–they have to pay to learn all the aspects of that oh-so-important answer.

This is actually not that unusually of a scheme. Many of the world’s major religions developed similar structures at one point in time, but forced reform changed them from money making scams into a legitimate religious organization, focused on solving man’s problem of finding answers to the major lessons of life.

Anyway, getting back to Scientology, one twitterer advocating for the end of the Church of Scientology I think has the absolute right idea.

As they state in their first tweet, the IFreezoneAssoc–the official Twitter account of the International Freezone Association–promotes the Scientology Standard tech as an alternative to the out tech church–meaning, primarily, that they are promoting a free Scientology church.

The account simply tweets news about the organization’s activities as well as deemed important lessons from Scientology, including passages from Dianetics and quotes from Scientology’s founder L. Ron Hubbard.

It’s an interesting account that puts one of the first Scientology splinters groups on display, a major crack in Scientology’s total legitimacy.

What, then, I hope comes from the French decision is a fundamental change.

Whether that means a group like the IFA taking over as the legitmate Church of Scientology or the death of Scientology altogether is unimportant to me, the point is no organization should ever operate under the guise of “the answer” and simultaneously drip vulnerable people dry so that they can make a profit.

Earn that tax exempt status Church of Scientology; libraries can dole out answers for free why can’t you?

Tweets Referenced in Column

IFreezoneAssoc Welcome to the International Freezone Twitter page. We promote Scientology Standard tech. An alternative to the out tech church. 28 Jun 2009 from web

detentiondnb The Church of Scientology is convicted of organized fraud in France. YAY! 28 Oct 2009 from Seesmic

WrongEyedEar http://twitpic.com/nwmam – Ah, Sunday evening…time to curl up with my Dianetics DVD! 01 Nov 2009 from TwitPic

WrongEyedEar 3 minutes in, they say memories/experiences from before you were born can have an adverse effect on you now – LIE, physically impossible. 01 Nov 2009 from Seesmic

WrongEyedEar 8 minutes in…branding spotted so far: Apple, Blackberry, Sony… 01 Nov 2009 from Seesmic

WrongEyedEar conclusion: Scientology is a pyramid scheme crock of shit wrapped in easy-to-understand concepts stolen from legit psychology… 02 Nov 2009 from Seesmic

WrongEyedEar …also I’m disappointed there was nothing about Xenu on the DVDs. How much I gotta pay to get some Xenu action? 02 Nov 2009 from Seesmic

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Thousands of Muslims flock to see ‘Miracle Baby’

Fahad Zuberi — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:52:40 +0000

Thousands of Muslims have been traveling to a town in southern Russia hoping to see verses from Islam’s holy book appear on the skin of a baby.

The Palestine Telegraph reports that sayings from the Koran are said to appear on nine-month-old Ali Yakubov’s back, arms, legs and stomach before apparently fading away and being replaced with new sayings. Doctors deny that the marks are from someone writing on the child’s skin.

Twitter users are fascinated by the miracle baby, but some think it could be a hoax.

Open_Sourcing (London, UK) Interesting, but is it real??? “Miracle” baby gives hope in Russian Muslim south http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59L0ZC20091022 23 Oct 2009 from web

magickalrealism (Minneapolis, Minesota) Muslim miracle baby – http://bit.ly/1CywUX – it sounds like a well-intentioned hoax, but maybe not. Miracles are lovely however they happen. 22 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

tonythefish2009 (Australia) Russians flock to see ‘Miracle’ Baby http://cli.gs/dn7sm… Wow! Mysterious writing on a babys leg, must be the work of god 25 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

TanaeDot ( location unidisclosed) In Dagestan, a baby has Arabic scripture birthmarks that read, “Allah is the creator of all things”. smh Now he’s a “miracle baby”. 22 Oct 2009 from web

miraclewatch (location undisclosed) Instead of stopping war, God writes on baby. It’s a miracle! http://bit.ly/2NKd9O 22 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

A Twitter user posted this TwitPic of the miracle baby.

(@zahidi1)

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Twitter accused of censorship after “No God” disappears from trending topics

Gracie Casella — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:25:29 +0000

A number of Twitter users are accusing Twitter of censoring content on the site after the trending topics “No God” and “Know God” combined into the single trending topic, “Know God.”

This happened even though the phrase “No God” had been tweeted far more times than the phrase “Know God,” and was even the top trending topic at one point.

Earlier today Rev Run Simmons, member of former hip hop group Run-D.M.C. and star of MTV’s Run’s House, posted this tweet causing a trending topic war between the phrases “Know God” and “No God”.

RevRunWisdom Know God… Know Peace. No God.. No Peace!. 20 Oct 2009 from mobile web

Many Twitterers are concerned that Twitter did indeed alter the trending topic list on the site by deliberately removing “No God” (which did result in plenty of spam and anti-religious remarks after some time):

TonyVenom (Chicago, IL)Twitter a free speech eating monster & pusher of spam is here to regulate you. 140 characters of agenda. #TwitterFail #Censorship 21 Oct 2009 from Power Twitter

morb01 (Chesterfield, UK) @Monicks i dont like religion but i hate censorship more, twitter was a place i felt safe to be atheist and free to discuss, now its church 21 Oct 2009 from Power Twitter in reply to Monicks

catgoesmeow (Undisclosed) This isn’t about “No God” or “Know God”; this is about #censorship Demand that Twitter rights this wrong! #censorship 21 Oct 2009 from web

hpboomzz (Tennessee) how is it right to censor “no god” and change it to “know god” some people dont believe in god, some do. fight #censorship 21 Oct 2009 from web

clamairy (Undisclosed) Twitter = censorship. For shame. no god 21 Oct 2009 from web

DieselDragon (Farnborough, UK) Let’s keep the fight for free speech up best we can…If Twitter goes down, maybe they’ll learn a much needed lesson! #censorship no god 21 Oct 2009 from web

Breaking Tweets has asked Twitter for comment and will post its response immediately, should one be received.

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Vatican opens arms to Anglicans wishing to join Catholic Church

Trish Donovan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:56:22 +0000

Pope Benedict XVI announced today that there will be room for Anglicans within the Catholic Church.

Due to a recent high volume of Anglicans requests to be part of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI says that they will still be able to keep Anglican rites but will be able to call the Pope their leader.

CNN reports that many of the requests to join the Catholic Church have come after women and openly homosexual partnerships have been welcomed within the Anglican Church.

Numerous people across the United States respond to the news:

Tuckertown (Colorado) New Vatican plan lets Anglicans convert. Pope welcomes disgruntled anti-gay Episcopals}}Glad they are leaving. More wine for the rest of us. 20 Oct 2009 from Seesmic

albertoconti (Maryland) Can it get more pathetic that this? “The Vatican said it has worked out a way for dissatisfied Anglicans to join the Catholic Church” 20 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

Wrygrin (Undisclosed) Catholic Church welcomes Anglicans dissatisfied with their faith. Sort of like offering trigonometry to those dissatisfied with math. 20 Oct 2009 from web

BlitheBabbler (Ontario, Canada) Anglicans allowed to join Catholic church while retaining rites. Wow… I really have no words right now. Very confused. 20 Oct 2009 from web

LydKing (Washington, D.C.) @theonion Can you PLEASE do a story about the catholic church opening its doors to Anglicans, but not the gay community? 20 Oct 2009 from web

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China skeptical of Dalai Lama’s plans to visit India

Trish Donovan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:11:12 +0000

The Dalai Lama is planning a visit to Arunachal Pradesh, India next month. While India has said they are not worried about this causing conflict with China, it has been made public that many Chinese do not like the presence of Dalai Lama in India.

His upcoming visit has become controversial due to a border dispute. Phayul.com reports, “India has reaffirmed the exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s right to visit its disputed border region with China in the face of objections from Beijing, a media report said Saturday.” The Dalai Lama hasn’t visited the state since 2003.

The Hindu also reported on the upcoming event, making note that this is a trip that supports him as a spiritual figure.

Indians respond to the Dalai Lama’s visit next month:

soleslide (Mumbai) PM should hold a summit with the Dalai Lama in Arunachal Pradesh to send a message to the Chinese. But that would need balls, wouldn’t it? 13 Oct 2009 from TinyTwitter

sayan12 (Kolkatta) @BDUTT I think sending Dalai Lama on a visit to Tawang is sending a message to China. 13 Oct 2009 from web in reply to BDUTT

aeronett (Mumbai) @Vikram_Sood It’s time India played the ‘Tibet’ card. The dalai lama shd be given more patronage & be allowd to openly critise China 13 Oct 2009 from web in reply to Vikram_Sood

IssuesFirst (Mumbai) @aeronett Agree on Tibet card. And Dalai Lama. We hv to be pre-emtive with China–even in gesture. Confucians understand art of dipl & war.. 13 Oct 2009 from web in reply to aeronett

IssuesFirst (Mumbai) Apart from MEA’s bold statement today warning China to lay off Illegally occupied Kashmir, India shd play Dalai Lama card with great finesse 14 Oct 2009 from web

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TwitPics: White House, India commemorate interfaith holiday of Diwali

Bryan Simpson — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:45:59 +0000

Per Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press, U.S. President Barrack Obama Wednesday commemorated Diwali, or “Festival of Lights,” by lighting a candle in the East Room of the White House.

AFP adds that Obama also used the event to sign an executive order setting up a commission, compiled of an eclectic group of government members, to conduct a two-year study of how to assist Asian-Americans.

@djparekh was at the White House for the event and took some TwitPics:

“In the east room of the white house for a signing and Diwali lighting of the candle….incredible.”

“Members of the presidents cabinet…”

“The president speaking on the contributions of asian Americans….”

“Lighting the Diwali candle….”

Diwali, a holiday celebrated across many faiths in India is not officially until Saturday. However, like Obama many Twitterers in India are celebrating the holiday early:

“#Diwali rangoli in our office! Early celebrations!” per @Shakti_Shetty:

“Outside the Isshinryu national H.Q. with the karate kids celebrating Diwali.” per @shihanhussaini

“Bay Decoration in my office as Diwali celebration.” per @NaughtyNaresh:

“Office decorated on Diwali… all thanx to Ruchi and Peeya… more pics to follow” per @sachinbee:

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Inter-religion couples attacked in Israel

Trish Donovan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:43:50 +0000

NPR recently reported how vigilante Jewish men in Israel are attempting to break up relationships and dates between Jewish women and Arab men.

The report describes a man named “David”, who has asked to have his name changed. In this report, David describes how upsetting it is to see a Jewish woman with an Arab man and the steps he takes in order to stop it. David says that vigilantes have not and will not use physical force with the women.

NPR quotes David: “(Through translator) Using physical force with the girls won’t work. Our goal is to talk to the girls and to convince them that their place is with the Jewish nation, not with our enemies. There are four girls that we have intervened with and saved since we started. Even if we rescued only one girl, we have done our part. We have done a good deed, and we thank God for it”.

People on Twitter responded to this interview:

Ktlinkelly (New York) holy shit, listening about jewish vigilantes in israel breaking up jewish women/arab men dates. “saving” the girls. disgusting. 12 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

BoydJones (Tennessee) An example of Israeli racism? – Vigilantes Patrol For Jewish Women Dating Arab Men : NPR – http://ow.ly/tVwu 12 Oct 2009 from HootSuite

gazebo72 (North Carolina) NPR story on Israeli vigilantes on mission to stop Jewish women from dating Arab men http://tr.im/BwwP – recipe for social disaster 12 Oct 2009 from tr.im

shaherose (Undisclosed) agreed – NPR on “breaking up” mixed Arab-Jewish young couples in Israel depressing. neutral POV by NPR also discouraging. (via @davemcclure) 12 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

beingboth (Undisclosed) Freaked out by vigilantes going after #interfaith teen couples. Had to blog again today. 12 Oct 2009 from web

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Meditation, yoga become part of everyday life for inmates

Trish Donovan — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:22:36 +0000

Eastern religions are not only popular among celebrities and twenty-somethings anymore, some inmates who have been sentenced to a life in prison have turned to meditation as a source of comfort and understanding.

CNN reports about a man named Kenneth Brown who lost his entire life when he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for an arson charge. Brown looked to Buddhist practices, meditation and yoga in order to find peace in an imprisoned life. These practices have been gaining popularity all over the United States, especially, most recently, in prisons.

CNN notes, “Meditation can help the convicts find calmness in a prison culture ripe with violence and chaos. The practice provides them a chance to reflect on their crimes, wrestle through feelings of guilt and transform themselves during their rehabilitative journey”, Buddhist experts say.”

As news spread of the article, people on Twitter responded positively:

babadubaday (London, UK) wat a great idea – yoga/meditation in prison http://bit.ly/qxpFh 2get prisoners interested they renamed it ‘Inner Martial Arts’ – clever! 07 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

binarystatic (Urbana, IL) @DannyMorr ha! yeah, was just reading an article about violent prisoners turning to zen meditation & thoughts turned to my own dualities… 09 Oct 2009 from Twitterrific in reply to DannyMorr

wardsnotes (Undisclosed) Inmates go Zen behind bars http://bit.ly/dvwy8 (via @cnn) #awesome -it’s abt time for self improvement in prisons. More programs needed. 10 Oct 2009 from CNN

nlitenmebabe (Undisclosed) Inmates go Zen Meditation isn’t just for celebrities and granola-munching hippies anymore 11 Oct 2009 from web

Jenstrikesagain (Dallas, TX) Zen in prison: Saw this article http://tinyurl.com/yh26rul and just sent an email to the Prison Dharma Network saying I want to help. 12 Oct 2009 from TwitterGadget

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