Daniel Tutt's blog

By Hafsa Kanjwal
October 13, 2008
Religion Dispatches

The caption at the beginning of Obsession: Radical Islam’s War against the West reads: “It’s important to remember most Muslims are peaceful and do not support terror. This is not a film about them.” Good, I’m thinking. They have the disclaimer right in the beginning. This film can’t be that bad. I was wrong.

The images are familiar—hundreds of thousands of Muslims swarming the streets in Lebanon, Iran, and Pakistan burning American flags; clip after clip of angry bearded men calling for the destruction of America and Israel. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that every day was like the Iranian Revolution across the Muslim world.

Read the rest of this story, here:  http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog/culture/611/islamophobia_v._islam...

Starting October 3rd through the 9th our new independent film, Allah Made Me Funny will be coming to theaters in over 15 cities nationwide. To be eligible for FREE tickets you have to bring together an interfaith group of no less than 10 people. You also have to respond by tomorrow, Thursday 9/25 or we'll be out of tix. Please email daniel@upf.tv to reserve your tickets. Right now we're offering FREE tickets for the following cities, where the film is showing:

We also have interfaith discussion guides available for your group.

Playing in Landmark Theaters from October 3rd - 9th

Boston: Kendall Square Cinema
Los Angeles: Laemmle's Sunset 5
Minneapolis: Lagoon Cinema
San Diego: Hillcrest Cinemas
Dallas: Inwood Theatre
Houston: Angelika
San Francisco: Opera Plaza Cinema
Seattle: Varsity Theatre
St. Louis: Plaza Frontenac Cinema

"Forget the fabricated fear factor and see Muslims for what they really are - a diverse range of normal people ... So put aside your duct tape, and let the laughter in!"
- Riz Khan, Al Jazeera

Watch the trailer at www.allahmademefunny.com
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A 15 page research paper on Bonhoeffer's theology of living a Christ-centered life for the other.
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer developed an ethical praxis for Christian personhood, community and concrete engagement in the world while imprisoned by the Nazis at Tegel prison. By radically reshaping his Christology to conform to proper ethical action in the secular and fallen world, Bonhoeffer’s work from 1940 up to his execution witnesses the development of a complex “ethical theology.” The role of “the other” throughout this period, finding greatest expression in the Letters and Papers from Prison and Ethics, is a central motif and ultimately the main ethical obligation for man facing a world “come of age.” This paper will examine the role of “the other,” and Bonhoeffer’s commitment to living for others in the development of his Christology, ethical theology and religionless Christianity project. Bonhoeffer’s martyrdom must be also understood in the context of this ethical theology, which was rooted in a deep commitment to living for the other.

Development of Ethical Theology

Wherever you fall on the over-used, albeit now household phrase “clash of civilizations,” you can’t help but recognize that the tension behind the rhetoric is real. Whether you fall into the camp of disbelievers, who claim the idea to be a crude characterization of a conflict which is far from Manichean, set in a world stage that simply can’t be divided into two warring blocs; or the camp that claims the clash is real and dangerous and must be averted by aggressively protecting ourselves from a culture and way of life that is violent, destructive and inhumane – we have to recognize this problem involves us all.

I won’t go into the other points of view to the “clash” thesis, expounded by Bernard Lewis and Sam Huntington in the late 1990’s, except to say that we have to agree on the core notion of the idea, wherever we fall on the spectrum, why?

Many faith communities have joined this movement, a sensible response to the hallucinatory actions of our policy makers.  Take the time to see if your candidates are answering these questions in their respective election debates and discussions...? Are they even able to articulate solutions to these grave problems?  I propose we go forward with this movement as it is mainstream, realistic and holds a patriotic vision of America.  This is no longer a partisan issue, this is a moral issue, the faith community needs to stand up to the challenge. website

As pasted from my reply to Zeus via e-mail and to his later post "Why Progressive Christians are neither Interfaith nor Simply focused upon Christians."

Zeus, I find your argument to be an interesting one, especially because it combines strong elements of different Christian liberationist strands of thought that I think are very relevant when taking a position on "progressive Christians and interfaith." Aside from my request that you omit language that I feel is too polemical, or exclusive, I think your overall model is effective and has a very distinctive progressive Christian voice. My main interest is to discuss why interfaith action does not produce: "FAITHFUL CHANGE." I don't want to challenge that statement, rather than provide an account of some of my own experiences working with interfaith causes and tackle more of the "why" interfaith is not "action-oriented." I think that interfaith action has a distinct and fresh set of priorities and objectives that are deeply rooted in the American experience of being a minority and in the post September 11th world of increased hate crimes and the growth of a milieu that does not promote inter-cultural respect and understanding. This focus does not warrant us to reject the movement outright, but ultimately we need to honor and respect its fragility and consider it with-in-itself to be a potent force for social change and justice!

Since when do Evangelicals hang out with Bono, spout warnings about the legitimacy of global warming and defend their flock in the face of liberal culture? They don’t do that, right? Or do they? The Reverend Richard Cizik, Vice President of Government Policy for the National Association of Evangelicals, isn’t seen on Fox, he doesn’t show up on Crossfire, yet he is transforming common perceptions about Evangelicals around the world. At about 6’5, with a gaunt, slender stature, dressed in an Armani suit, Cizik doesn’t hesitate to invoke what God thinks about the state of the world. Combining the idiom of a Gospel preacher with the verbosity of a college professor, Cizik’s charisma has been winning him fanfare from all corners. With that fanfare, one must wonder how his soapbox hasn’t melted from conservative elements inside the Evangelical movement.