Christian and Muslim leaders came together recently to condemn the Christmas eve bomb blasts in Jos, Plateau state and Maiduguri, Borno State which together left 86 people dead and over 100 wounded.

Three days later, on Tuesday, unknown men fired shots in a teaching hospital in Maiduguri killing three, one of them a senior police officer, Reuters reported.

In a press conference in Lagos, Pastor Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, and Sultan Alhaji Mohammad Sa;ad Abubakar III of the Sokoto Caliphate and President General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, condemned the violence which they had a religious color but was politically motivated, The Nigeria Bulletin said.

The Sultan told the media, “We need to really go deep down to know what is causing these crises,” implying that local politicians may be using innocent Nigerians to foment the violence, The Guardian said.

Oritsejafor said, “There are people in the country, who do not want peace to reign, who do not want elections to hold, so they have devised strategies to make this country ungovernable,” The Guardian reported.

Elections are slated for April, 2011 and are hotly contested in a country of 140 million, making it the most populous nation in Africa, Reuters reported.

Oritsejafor noted that most Nigerians want elections to be held on schedule next year. He told media men, “Our advice to them is to uphold the ‘RSVP’ strategy, which means ‘Register, Select, Vote and Protect’ your votes,” The Guardian reported.

Both the Sultan and Oritsejafor co-chair the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, an organization that seeks to instill a culture of peace, unity and tolerance, according to The Guardian.

The leaders also decried Boko Haram, a sect in Maiduguri that has claimed responsibility for the attacks on its website. In a joint statement that they issued at the conference, they said, “It is ungodly, barbaric and inhuman to take the life of a fellow human being unjustifiably,” The Guardian reported.

Islam and Christianity are the dominant religions in Nigeria, and are roughly equal in number. According to Reuters, most Muslims do not espouse the views of the Boko Haram, which models itself after the Taliban in Afghanistan.

In English, Boko Haram means “Western education is sinful.” The group, which is based in one of the poorest regions in Nigeria, seeks to impose shariah law in the country, Reuters reported.

Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern recently over Europe’s growing “hostility and prejudice” towards Christianity, and said religious fundamentalism and secularism are alike in that they both inhibit religious freedom.

In his message slated for Jan. 1, which the Roman Catholic Church has declared World Day of Peace, Benedict said that religious fundamentalism and secularism are two extremes which obstruct genuine plurality, The New York Times said.

According to The New York Times Benedict said in his message, “It should be clear that religious fundamentalism and secularism are alike in that both represent extreme forms of a rejection of legitimate pluralism and the principle of secularity.”

Benedict’s message, entitled Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace, also condemned religious persecution in Middle Eastern countries where Christianity is a minority faith, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, Reuters reported.

The message, which was presented in a news conference by Vatican officials, stated that Christians remain the most persecuted faith group in the world, according to Reuters.

A Vatican official said up to 300 million Christians “face daily threats of murder, beating, imprisonment and murder and a further 350 to 400 million encounter discrimination in areas such as jobs and housing,” Reuters reported.

Europe was singled out most strongly, Reuters said, as some European institutions and governments attack the church for its stand on abortion, gay marriage, and take issue with Christian symbols in public areas.

In the message Benedict said, “I also express my hope that in the West, and especially in Europe, there will be an end to hostility and prejudice against Christians because they are resolved to orient their lives in a way consistent with the values and principles expressed in the Gospel.”

The pope also urged Europe to reconcile to its Christian roots, “which are fundamental for understanding its past, present and future role in history,” according to Reuters.

Vatican officials at the conference cited the proposed Equality Bill in the U.K. which will require churches to hire transsexuals or homosexuals, and “laicite” in France which has become grounds for taking issue with nativity scenes being displayed in public areas, Reuters said.

Europe’s top human rights court also banned crucifixes in schools in Italy, a ruling that Italy is appealing with the support of 10 European states, Reuters said. The pope referred to the above incidents as “sophisticated forms of hostility,” and “denial of history.”

Aggressive secularism

The pope also attacked aggressive secularism, comparing it to religious fanaticism in his message saying, “Whenever the legal system at any level, national or international, allows or tolerates religious or antireligious fanaticism, it fails in its mission, which is to protect and promote justice and the rights of all,” The New York Times reported.

The pope said, “The world needs God. It needs universal…spiritual values, and religion can offer a precious contribution to their pursuit, for the building of a just and peaceful social order at the national and international levels,” The Irish Times reported.

An Algerian court acquitted recently two Christians who were arrested for eating their lunch in the daytime during Ramadan.

A judge in a court at Ain el Hamman, about 93 miles east of the capital city, Algiers, quashed the case against Salem Fellak, 34, and Hocine Hocini, 33, saying that “no article (of law) provides for a legal pursuit” against them, according to The Star.

Fellak and Hocini were working on a building site last August when the incident occurred. During lunch hour, they ate at a discreet corner of the site, The Star said. However, they were arrested and charged with offending public morals, Reuters reported.

Prosecutors were requesting for a prison sentence of three years each for the Christians, BBC News said. However, Hocini and Fellak noted that they ate in a nonpublic place. Their lawyer added, “Algeria has ratified international conventions on the freedom of religion” and called the charges “a violation pure and simple of the constitution,” The Star reported.

As the verdict was read, a group of some seven Protestant Christians who were standing on the courthouse steps shouted, “Hallelujah!” Fallek told Reuters, “I am happy. I have not done anything wrong. I am a Christian and I do not fast.”

Some critics noted that although the government supports free practice of religion, minority faiths are often subject to pressure, Reuters said. Two similar cases will be heard in the coming weeks, according to BBC News.

While Islam is the main religion in Algeria, there are about 11,000 Christians, mostly protestants, among its population of 36 million, the ministry of religious affairs told BBC News.

Even as Christian aid groups like World Vision and Operation Mobilization continue to deliver aid to flood victims in Pakistan, the Taliban has hinted that foreign aid workers will be targets for attack.

Meanwhile the Pakistan government ordered the evacuation of Thatta, 45 miles east of Karachi, after a portion of the Indus Riverbank broke down nearby due to both receding floodwaters that flowed down the Indus and high tides from the Arabian Sea, Reuters said.

A U.S. official said the violent threats to aid workers came from Tehrik-e-Taliban, perhaps the nation’s most extreme militant group, the Daily News said. Meanwhile extremist-linked charities are stepping up relief work to exploit the situation by gaining popular support, Reuters said.

Most of the floodwaters in the country have receded from the monsoon that killed some 1,500, rendered five million homeless, and affected some 17 million with farms submerged and roads and bridges destroyed, the Daily News said.

There is also the danger of epidemics. Victims urgently need clean drinking water and fresh food. Critics say relief is too slow, even as the two-year-old Pakistani civilian government is stretching itself,   Reuters said.

World Vision’s Mike Bailey said a big difficulty is getting the aid to the victims. Bailey said, “In the northern  province, the one that was hit over three weeks ago, the estimates are as many as half the people that were affected still haven’t been reached with any aid at all,” CBN said.

Bailey said his workers have witnessed dangerous conditions in Pakistan relief camps even as he admits, “The numbers that we are reaching now as an international community are still very much smaller than the people in need,” CBN said.

OM noted the need for prepared meals for flood victims and hired a local cook. They have also distributed clothes, shoes and tents among others. Observing the many people who waited for hospital treatment, they opened a clinic for immediate needs such as fever, snakebites, stomach pains, and skin infections, ChristianNewswire said.

Om is appealing for financial resources for food and supplies for 3,000 more Pakistani families and say just $35 will provide two weeks of food for a family of six. Interested donors may click “Pakistan Flood Relief” at www.omusa.org, ChristianNewswire said.

The Pakistan government promised to clamp down on extremist-linked charities. They are also expected to request that the IMF lessen restrictions on a loan of $11 billion that was approved in 2008, Reuters said.

Analysts are concerned about the fallout that may be generated by the flood even as the U.S. is trying to gain support in the war against militants in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. Brian Katulis of the Center for American Progress said, “This is likely to unfold over weeks if not months. It is too soon to predict what the political implications are,” Reuters said.

In a beach resort in Italy, a DJ priest mixes Lady Gaga and other contemporary sounds with gospel teaching, and in Hungary, a skateboarding priest has become a YouTube sensation for God.

Every Wednesday since mid-June, DJ priest Don Roberto Fiscer, 33, has attracted a loyal crowd from age seven to 77 at Arenzano’s San Pietro resort for music and dance as Fiscer shouts, “Jesus is Number One,” AFP said.

Meanwhile Hungarian Rev. Zoltan Lendvai, 45, has become a YouTube sensation with his videos showing him skateboarding and getting some 170,000 hits. Lendvai says skateboarding can be used to lead young people to God, Reuters said.

In Italy’s beach resort you will hear throbbing disco as people dance to the music, and suddenly Fiscer will shout out, “I have a message for you that comes straight from heaven: without Jesus there is no future, without Jesus we have no love, no joy,” AFP said.

Sporting a tee with an image of the Madonna and child, Fiscer will play Italian singer Jovanotti’s “Baciami Ancora” (“Kiss Me Again”) or Britney Spears’ “123,” mixed with Dorothy Norwood’s “Shake the Devil Off,” AFP said.

Fiscer likes to alternate nightclub music with remixes of religious songs.  The former cruise ship entertainer says, “Through music, Jesus reaches their hearts,” AFP said.

It has become a weekly family affair for many, and although alcohol is served, what sells best is soda and ice cream. Fiscer says, “Believing in God doesn’t mean you have to be sad.” The priest meets people halfway, on their turf, to bring them to Jesus, AFP said.

It could be a line dance to “La Macarena,” but for Fiscer it is also a perfect time to shout through his headphones, “Remember, Father Jan is available for confession over there behind the sun umbrellas,” AFP says.

Meanwhile Lendvai, who preaches in a small village called Redics on Hungary’s border says he is inspired by St. John Bosco when he rides his skateboard. Bosco was a 9^th century educator and Italian priest who used games as a way to educate young children, Reuters said.

Lendvai said, “Many times, I have felt that this is the way I can bring many people a bit closer to Jesus.” He started skateboarding at age 14, but only realized very much later as a priest in a town called Kormend that this skill had a good impact on young people, Reuters said.

Three teenaged boys who never went to church before started to attend regularly when he befriended them and taught them skateboard tricks. His first skateboard had the pope’s coat of arms on it, and now a number of young parishioners have similar skateboards too, Reuters said.

In Hungary Lendvai is helping boys to learn to be good sports. And on a beach in Italy Fiscer is shouting into his headphones to the beat of disco music saying, “With Jesus, you’re always on holiday.”

Hollywood legend Zsa Zsa Gabor, whose condition is extremely serious, requested last night that a priest read to her the last rites in the Los Angeles hospital where she is being treated.

The 93-year-old actress was readmitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center due to two blood clots–complications from her hip replacement surgery days before, after she accidentally fell out of her bed on July 17, Sky News HD said.

Gabor was readmitted to the hospital because she was experiencing great pain, Sky News HD said. Since then her publicist said that her health has been “up and down,” and that although still conscious, she is now only able to speak “very little,” The Guardian said.

The Hungarian born actress was a Hollywood fixture for some 60 years since the 1950s. She acted in some 30 movies and a number of television programs and radio shows. She is memorable for calling everyone “dah-ling” in her Hungarian accent, Reuters said.

She and her two sisters Eva and Magda embodied Hollywood glamour in the 1950s to 1960s. Zsa Zsa, the middle child, was born in Budapest as Sari Gabor on February 6, 1918. She was raised by her two sisters, The Guardian said.

Zsa Zsa starred in the movies Moulin Rouge, Lili and Touch of Evil, Reuters said. She is also known because of the many wealthy men whom she married. Among her nine husbands was a Turkish diplomat, Jack Ryan who invented the Barbie doll, and Conrad Hilton the hotel magnate, Reuters said.

She and her husband Frederick Prinz von Anhalt, the 1986 Duke of Saxony (rendering her a princess), celebrated their 24^th wedding anniversary last Saturday in the hospital, Reuters said.

The Russian Orthodox Church called recently for creationism to be taught along with evolution in Russian schools, according to Reuters.

Senior Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion said, “The time has come for the monopoly of Darwinism and the deceptive idea that science in general contradicts religion. These ideas should be left in the past,” Reuters reported.

Hilarion, who is in charge of the external relations department of the Orthodox Church, made the statement to Russian Foreign Ministry officials in Moscow during a lecture where he pushed for a dialogue to unite moderate secularists and Catholics against what he called the “fanatical secularism” of liberals, Reuters said.

Orthodox Christianity is the predominant religion in Russia, and is the church that President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attend regularly, Reuters said.

Under the formerly atheist Soviet state, which ended in 1991, Darwin was used to prove the “falsehoods” of religion and is taught in all Russian schools, Reuters said.

Liberals in Russia expressed determination to fight against the inclusion of creationism in schools, and raised concern about the power of the Russian Orthodox Church, which may impinge upon the country’s secularist constitution, Reuters said.

Veteran dissident Lyudmila Alexeyeva promised that Russian liberals would do all it could to ensure that creationism continues to be excluded from school curriculums, Reuters said.

Alexeyeva said, “We overcame Communism as the state ideology and certain forces want to replace it with Orthodox Christianity,” and expressed concern that church pressure may lead to its being taught in some schools, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile similarities between the arguments for creationism that were raised by the Russian Orthodox Church and those of Christian fundamentalists in the United States have been noticed, The Huffington Post said.

The Huffington Post said that the fact that evolution is simply a theory is the same reasoning propounded in the United States by conservatives. They lamented the notion of creationists and proponents of intelligent design that evolution and religion are in direct conflict with one another.

An alternative view was posed by the Clergy Letter Project, in which 13,000 Christian, Rabbi and Unitarian Universalist clergy among others believe that evolution is not anti-God, The Huffington Post said.

Instead they say that the theory of evolution correlates completely with religious belief, and contend that only the evolutionary theory should be taught in schools, The Huffington Post says.

Protestant groups adhere to the creationist belief that the world was made in the literal way that was stated in the Bible, and that man was born with a purpose rather than simply came into being as an accident of nature.

People gathered at an intersection in Bloomington, Minn. to protest against the actions of the BP, the company formerly known as British Petroleum. The oil spill from a BP oil drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico has surpassed the Exxon Valdez spill, and it continues to gush oil as of the day of this protest.

The  “BP oil spill” in the Gulf of Mexico  is revealing the unsteady ground the country walks on, and people are feeling this more keenly now than ever before–more so because unlike the Haiti earthquake or the Indian Ocean tsunami, the oil spill is a man-made disaster.

Reverend Chuck Freeman in the Huffington Post feels an inner divide.  The pastor within mourns the loss to environment, lives and livelihood.  His prophetic side is frustrated that the country lives out of harmony with God.

Referring to Jeremiah in the Bible, Freeman notes that the oil spill is viewed as the largest in U.S. history.

He is appalled with himself as he wrestles with a callous urge, wondering if the harm is large enough for people to wake up to human limitations.

Will they, in the end, feel “rescued” by the human technology that caused the spill?  Will they become complacent afterwards, believing human genius can save mankind from any calculated failure?

Still photo from US government live feed of Deepwater Horizon oil spill in cooperation with BP. Taken May 11 2010.

Freeman wonders, too, if he can afford to think this way because he lives safely in Texas.

On the other hand Russell D. Moore, dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary feels the crisis keenly because it lies right at his doorstep in Biloxi, La.

In his blog, Moore to the Point, he says the oil spill exceeds Hurricane Katrina in that it makes him wonder if his children’s children will ever know what Biloxi was like.

The spill, he says, has endangered everything “from seafood to tourism, crabs and seagulls.”

It has also threatened national security because of the great dependence of the country on the ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico, which some have called Katrina meets Chernobyl.

Religion Link rues how the country depends so much on fuel and values consumption over conservation.  It raises the theological necessity to teach about creation care and of the apocalypse.

The spill occurred due to an explosion one mile below the ocean surface on April 20, and has been pouring up to 19,000 barrels (800,000 gallons) a day into the waters, killing 11 men and leaving idle thousands of fishermen, shrimpers and other seafood workers, as well as causing harm to the tourism industry, according to Reuters.

BP has sheared away the gushing well pile and lowered a cylindrical containment cap over the hole—a temporary and partial fix.  According to Reuters it will take some time before they can confirm if this works.

They are hoping that when the cap is firmly in place, they can funnel some of the escaping oil and gas into a large hose that would carry it from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico to the surface, where ships will collect and remove it, Reuters said.

Louisiana is hardest hit, but beaches in Mississippi and Alabama have been fouled by the oil, and there is the possibility that the oil sheen may hit Florida in days.

Plus, the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research projects the oil slick may by early summer reach the east coast up to North Carolina, Reuters said.

Moody’s and Fitch ratings say clean up costs alone may at worst exceed $5 billion in any one year.

Moore, turning in, says “For too long, we evangelical Christians have maintained an uneasy ecological conscience. I include myself in this indictment.  We’ve had an inadequate view of human sin.”

He rues the excess belief in the free markets, to the point that they expect corporations to protect the environment.

“But a laissez-faire view of government regulation of corporations is akin to the youth minister who lets the teenage girl and boy sleep in the same sleeping bag at church camp because he ‘believes in young people,’ ”  he writes in his blog.

Freeman, looking out, notes “…the addict has to ‘hit rock bottom’ before he can muster the humility and fortitude to move toward the light.  And even George W. Bush confessed that America is addicted to oil.  Do we need to suffer full-blown ruination to be awakened to our right mind?”

Pope Benedict XVI called the church of Cyprus a “bridge between east and west” recently and pushed for reconciliation and peace in that country.

The Pope is in Cyprus for a three-day visit to address the Christian presence in the Middle East, and to release the working document for an October meeting of the Synod of Bishops dedicated to the Middle East, CatholicCulture.org reported.

However in a meeting, Cypriot president Demetris Christofias told Benedict, “It is …disturbing that for 36 years our cultural and religious heritage in the occupied areas is being destroyed,”  referring to the portion of the island that falls under Turkish control, Reuters reported.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas preached in this Mediterranean island 2,000 years ago.

However, it has been split between its Greek and Turkish populations since 1974, when Turkey invaded its north after a brief Greek-inspired coup, Reuters said.

Benedict is only visiting the south of the island, which is run by Cyprus’ internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government.

He is staying at a Franciscan monastery in the buffer zone, no-man’s-land splitting Cyprus east to west and patrolled by United Nations troops, Reuters said.

Although the pope has largely skirted the issue of Cyprus’ division and says his visit is not political, he did frequently talk about reconciliation and peace, CatholicCulture.org said.

At an ecumenical service in the church of Agia Kiriaki Chrysopolitissa, Benedict, in a nod to archbishop Chrysostomos, who strongly supports ecumenical ventures, said CatholicCulture.org.

Benedict also called for “… a society distinguished by respect for the rights of all, including the inalienable rights to freedom of conscience and freedom of worship,” Reuters reported.

Turkey is currently in a bid to join the EU, where Greek Cypriots represent the island in the bloc and have the power to veto Turkish entry. Cyprus’ Greek Cypriots are predominantly Greek Orthodox, Reuters says.

The Cypriot government and church have repeatedly highlighted the “systematic desecration of churches in northern Cyprus,” saying that more than 500 churches and monuments have been destroyed since 1974, Reuters said.

Turkish Cypriot authorities acknowledged some damage but claim in turn that Muslim places of worship are being desecrated in the south.

They also said they were trying to restore and maintain churches, Reuters said.

On a visit to a museum Benedict was shown priceless mosaics from the 6th century that were hacked off the walls of a church in northern Cyprus, then sold on the black market.

The Cypriot Church won them back in a court battle in the United States, Reuters said.

Chrysostomos said Turkey is carrying out “a plan of national destruction” in the north.  He said Turkish forces have “turned the Orthodox Christians of Cyprus out of their ancestral homes,” CatholicCulture.org said.

During Chrysostomos’ meeting with Benedict, Muslim calls for prayer from a mosque could clearly be heard in the medieval capital of northern Nicosia, which is also divided, Reuters reported.

Decreased financial and political commitment was blamed recently for the rash of measles outbreaks in 30 African countries.

If the trend continues, by 2012 some 500,000 may die from measles, reversing the gains of the last 18 years that were made against the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Severe measles can incur complications such as blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhea and dehydration, ear infections or severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia.

Measles deaths among children under five years old fell to 118,000 in 2008 from 733,000 in 2000.

The disease tends to occur among poorly nourished young children with the most severe complications, according to Reuters.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the African countries that had the largest outbreaks are Zimbabwe, Chad and Nigeria.

Some 8,000 migrant children in Bulgaria also had the highly-contagious disease during the period,

WHO expert Peter Strebel said the World Health Assembly’s 193 member states, in their annual meeting in Geneva last Thursday, decided to aim for at least 90 percent measles vaccination coverage nationally by 2015, Reuters reported.

However these goals, while achievable, require a long and determined commitment by the states themselves.

Strebel said the assembly will also aim for 80 percent coverage in every district, and to reduce measles to less than five per million population, Voice of America said.

They also strive to reduce measles mortality by 95 percent compared to 2000 levels.  It costs less than $1 to vaccinate a child against measles, but two doses are required for full protection, according to Voice of America.

Meanwhile large cases of measles have also erupted in the UK, the USA and parts of Europe due to a flawed study that linked measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination to autism.

In Britain vaccination rates dropped below 90 percent last year following the autism scare, Strebel said.  However, after the study was proven to be flawed, in the U.K. in fact there have more recently been improvements in vaccination levels and disease spread has fallen to very low levels, Reuters reported.