Religion and politics

Two stories highlighting the tensions where religious sensibilities and politics clash

(1) Via GoogleNews - report from Associated Press on Israel's opening up of the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus on the River Jordan to visitors on a daily basis - a scheme which is opposed by both the Jordanians and the Palestinians

(2) Report from Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper (online) on demands by Turkey's Syriac Christian community to be able to use traditional Syriac surnames (a law of 1934 had banned the use of "foreign" surnames in Turkey)

Syrian Christianity: 2 news reports

Syrian Christian texts preservation project
Report from the MSN website outlining a new project to "trace, catalogue and digitise lost documents relating to religious practices, culture and heritage of Syrian Christians of Kerala"

Threat to Syro-Orthodox monastery
Report from Zenit website on the accusations of proselytism against the monks of the Mor-Gabriel monastery in Turkey (founded in the 4th century AD) and other claims by the local community that are threatening the monastery's survival.
(Zenit is a non-profit Roman Catholic news organisation that aims "to view the modern world through the messages of the Pope and the Holy See")

David and Solomon: Biblical archaeology vs. land rights and politics

Article from the latest issue of National Geographic (cover date December 2010) looking at the historical and  political controversy that has arisen from the excavation a Bronze Age settlement in Jerusalem, including what is claimed by some to be the palace of King David