After Duke University reversed a decision to allow Muslims to broadcast their call to prayer from a bell tower, it’s been revealed that Muslims at UCLA have been broadcasting their call at UCLA.
The Islamic Student Association at UCLA broadcast the call to prayer near the Sunset Boulevard athletic field according to the video posted on YouTube. The students told their prayer inside the John Wooden Center.
“I bear witness that there is none worthy of being worshiped except Allah,” the common Muslim chant, known as the adhan, declares. “I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. … Allah is most great.”
Christian activists say while the Duke situation gained national attention, incidents like UCLA have been happening under-the-radar for years.
“The call to prayer is something that is blasted over loudspeakers in Muslim majority countries and Muslim enclaves around Detroit,” wrote Carol Brown of American Thinker, a blog that discusses the important issues of the United States. “We’ve already heard enough ‘Allahu Akbar’ for a lifetime.”
Many groups are wondering about the accommodation to Muslims that is not permitted to other religions on campuses. Several groups pointed out that UCLA has been a very anti-Christian campus with students who have taken bold anti-Christian actions.
A day after making national headlines for allowing Muslims to broadcast a call to prayer declaring Allah to be the only God, Duke University reversed course and said they will not allow the broadcast to take place.
The University said their plan met with “unintended backlash.”
“The idea was conceived with the best of intentions and the greatest of intentions to create unity,” Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, told WNCN. “It turned out to have the opposite effect and it was actually creating divisiveness that was neither intended nor valuable.”
The University will allow members of the Muslim community to gather outside the chapel before moving to its regular location in the chapel basement.
Many Christian leaders spoke out against Duke’s proposed action, including Rev. Franklin Graham.
“First of all, this chapel was given by donors, Methodists, from across this state and other areas, so that there would be a Christian chapel on the campus so that the students would have a place to worship the God of the Bible,” Graham said. “What I have the problem is using the chapel that was built to be a house of worship — to worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God — that they’re using this now so that they can put loud speakers and use it as a minaret.”
Duke, a private school founded by Methodists and Quakers, has a divinity school connected to the United Methodist Church.
Duke University will start broadcasting the Muslim Call To Prayer declaring “Allah Is Great” from their bell tower.
“Members of the Duke Muslim Students Association will chant a weekly call-to-prayer from the Duke Chapel bell tower beginning Friday, Jan. 16,” Duke Today outlined in a report on Tuesday. “The chant, called the ‘adhan,’ announces the start of the group’s jummah prayer service, which takes place in the chapel basement each Friday at 1 p.m.”
The university said that while the adhan is usually played five times a day for Muslims to pray, they’re doing it only once a week for the Friday high prayers.
“I bear witness that there is none worthy of being worshiped except Allah,” the adhan declares. “I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. … Allah is most great.”
University officials said the broadcasting of the Muslim prayer demonstrates the University’s diversity.
Local Christian leaders are asking Duke why they don’t permit Christians to recite the Lord’s Prayer from the university bell tower once a week.
The family of seven-time Grammy Award winning gospel singer Andrae Crouch is calling on his friends and Christians around the world to pray after a downturn in his health.
Sandra Crouch released a statement Monday confirming that Andrae has been hospitalized because of issues connected to ongoing health problems.
“On Saturday, Jan. 3, my brother, Andrae Crouch, was taken to the hospital so that medical staff could more directly address some serious health complications that had arisen,” Crouch’s sister said, according to USA Today. “At this time, Andrae is being attended by a medical team, and we are so grateful for their wonderful care.”
The latest hospitalization comes after a previous incident at the beginning of December that lead to the postponement of a tribute tour.
“We are also so grateful for the many thousands of people around the world who are praying for Andrae right now,” she said. “We ask for your continued prayer – that Andrae will respond positively to the medical attention being given to him at this time, and that he will fully recover from this current health complication.”
There are so many things I could speak of that I am thankful for that it’s hard to zero in on just a few, but I will try for the purpose of this writing. To tell of them all would be a book of which the volume is far too large for a blog like this.
But just to frame what I’m about to say, it’s important to remember how essential it is to have a thankful heart – a heart that is grateful for all things. This is more than just a cliché. This is a principal for living an overcoming life in the Kingdom of God. Being thankful comes against any prideful attitude that may hinder our spiritual growth. Thankfulness presupposes humility, which is in direct contrast to pride. And we all know that it was pride that got satan kicked out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15)! Continue reading →
A Christian teenager has sued his school after he was prohibited from praying, singing and discussing religious topics with classmates during the school’s “free period.”
Chase Windebank, a senior at Pine Creek High School, has been leading a group for the last three years that meets during what the school calls the “seminar” period. On Mondays and Wednesdays students can participate in a variety of activities and students with passing grades may also do so on Fridays.
“During the free time, students are permitted to engage in a virtually unlimited variety of activities, including gathering with other students inside or outside; reading; sending text messages to their friends; playing games on their phone; visiting the bathrooms; getting a snack; visiting teachers; and conducting official meetings of school clubs,” states Alliance Defending Freedom.
The school claims that because the “Seminar” is considered class time, they’re now banning Christian students from meeting. The school has not backed down despite it being shown that their actions are violations of the Constitution.
“Public schools should encourage the free exchange of ideas. Instead, this school implemented an ill-conceived ban that singles out religious speech for censorship during free time,” remarked ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco.
A Palestinian terrorist who attempted to kill a Jewish activist died after a shootout with police and security officers.
Moataz Hejazi shot and wounded Yehuda Glick, an American born settler who has been leading a campaign to allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. He has been a target of Muslims who believe Jews should be banned from even setting foot on Temple Mount.
“Anti-terrorist police units surrounded a house in the Abu Tor neighborhood to arrest a suspect in the attempted assassination of Yehuda Glick,” Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. “Immediately upon arrival they were shot at. They returned fire and shot and killed the suspect.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, ignoring the fact Hejazi attempted to kill a Jewish leader, said Israel’s police killing Hejazi is “tantamount to a declaration of war.” He called for a “day of rage” Friday against all Israelis.
Palestinians threw rocks at police as they attempted to capture and ultimately had to kill Hejazi. Hejazi had been in prison for 11 years for previous attacks on Israel.
Nina Pham, the first of the two Dallas nurses to contract Ebola from Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, has been declared virus free and has left the hospital where she had been treated.
The 26-year-old Pham was released Friday morning from the National Institutes of Health hospital near Washington.
“I am fortunate and blessed to be standing here today,” Pham told reporters as she left the hospital. “I would first and foremost like to thank God, my family and friends. Throughout this ordeal I have put my trust in God and my medical team.”
She thanked Dr. Kent Brantly for donations of plasma to help her strengthen her body’s response to the virus.
“I believe in the power of prayer because I know so many people all over the world have been praying for me,” Pham said. “I do now know how I can thank everyone enough for their prayers and expressions of concern, hope and love.”
Pham said she’s looking forward to going home and hugging her dog Bentley.