=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. AUM guru may undergo mental tests

=== Falun Gong
2. falungong leader savages ''wicked'' Chinese leadership
3. China's crackdown on falungong sect rooted in fear and ignorance: members
4. China Jails 13 More Falun Gong Activists

=== Unification Church
5. Ministers upset by Moon visit
6. Rev. Moon's event raises local hackles
7. In Oakland, Moon Stresses Family
8. Rev. Moon delivers message in Oakland
9. The Reverend Moon's Comeback

=== Islam
10. 2 Bamyan Buddhas completely destroyed, reports AIP
11. Taliban vows to keep thumbing nose at the world
12. Taliban close BBC Kabul office
13. The anti-Buddhist fury in Afghanistan

=== Catholicism
14. Ranking Congressmen Support Suspect Religious Group

=== Mormonism
15. Skinhead Church
16. 'It Isn't A Sunday Religion. It's A Lifetime Change.'

=== Hate Groups
17. FindLaw Forum: Court should have heard KKK case
18. Haider the Rightist Is Firing Up Vienna's Election With Slurs

=== Other News
19. Novato 'Diploma Mill' Shut Down by State
20. Leader Of Religious Group, Son Charged With Molestation
21. Man charged with DUI and fired after drinking kava sues employer
22. Elementary may be closed due to polygamists withdrawal
23. 'Fairy' pictures fetch £6,000

=== Faith-Based Initiatives

24. Christian leaders pan Bush's faith plan
25. Cult fear hits Bush plan to fund by faith
26. Poll: Americans approve of Bush
27. Delay on Faith-Aid Plan Puts Time on Bush's Side
28. Senate To Introduce Religion Plan

=== Human Rights Violations

29. Amnesty International Condemns Sentencing of 14-year-old Boy to Life Imprisonment Without Possibility of Parole

=== Noted
30. Hearing From Dearly Departed Proves a Hit on Sci-Fi Channel

=== Trends
31. Claim of 'Post-Denominational Era' Defied
32. It's chic to be a Protestant in France



=== Unification Church

5. Ministers upset by Moon visit
Detroit Free Press, Mar. 13, 2001
http://www.detroitfreepress.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
An upcoming visit by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon touched off fireworks among some of Detroit's best-known Baptist pastors on Monday.

A pair of nationally known Detroit preachers denounced Moon's staff for claiming the two pastors are cosponsoring Moon's March 21 visit to the city. The Rev. Frederick Sampson of Tabernacle Baptist Church, listed among Ebony Magazine's Top 10 U.S. preachers, and the Rev. Eddie Edwards, famous for his community development work, expressed their frustrations with Moon in a live television broadcast.

Earlier this month, Moon's Michigan staff sent a letter to many metro Detroit churches inviting the religious community to Moon's March 21 appearance at Historic Little Rock Baptist Church in Detroit. To try to build greater acceptance with members of other religious groups, Moon is making a whirlwind tour of 49 cities that began Feb. 25 in New York City.

The letter announcing his Detroit stop listed 43 local clergy as cosponsors of the event, including some clergy who say they had no connection with the event.

''I went on the air to clear my name,'' said Edwards. ''It is important to let people know that I am not in support of this event.''

Edwards was especially concerned about distancing himself from Moon, because he had accepted a two-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Washington for President George W. Bush's inauguration from the Unification Church. Edwards said he had no idea who was paying his bills until the group was taken on a tour of the Moon-owned Washington Times newspaper. Although he took the trip, Edwards said he opposes Moon's ministry as contrary to Christian teaching.

Because of ill health, Sampson did not appear in the one-hour show on low-power Christian television station WLPC-TV (Channel 26) on Monday, but his concern was expressed on the air.

''Rev. Sampson was very upset,'' said the Rev. Glenn Plummer, the host of the television show, who plans to continue his own criticism of Moon in a second live show at 11 a.m. today.

Sampson, Edwards and Plummer said they are mainly opposed to claims by Moon's church that he is a new messiah sent by God to complete work left unfinished by Jesus. Their criticisms drew both an apology and a defense of Moon's tour from Unification Church officials.

Moon's Michigan director, the Rev. David Kasbow, said, ''I want to offer a heartfelt apology for the list of names. We got excited about this event and we were overzealous in listing names.''

The Rev. Phillip Schanker, the church's national spokesman, said Moon's interfaith appearances have gone smoothly in 15 other states.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

Sun Myung Moon's religious message is decidedly anti-Christian. Christians should not engage in any kind of interfaith effort with false ''messiahs'' like Moon.

6. Rev. Moon's event raises local hackles
The Arizona Republic, Mar. 13, 2001
http://www.azcentral.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Tonight's prayer dinner designed to bring religious faiths together has upset some Christians because the controversial Rev. Sun Myung Moon is the keynote speaker.

The Arizona Ecumenical Council, which represents 700 Protestant churches in Arizona, would not have been a sponsor for ''America Come Together'' if its leaders had known the Unification Church founder was a speaker and the main sponsor, said the Rev. Paul Eppinger, executive director of the council.

Eppinger said he is uncomfortable about the ties to Moon but will attend anyway.

Rep. Mark Anderson, R-Mesa, said the $25-a-plate dinner tonight at the Phoenix Airport Marriott stems from President Bush's creation of a White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

''There are controversies on both sides of the aisle,'' said Anderson, a Unification Church member who was married during a mass wedding ceremony in New York's Madison Square Garden.

''There are people who are worried that churches are going to overtake the government. And churches out there are worried that government is going to take over churches,'' he said. ''The concept of the dinner is to attract people from all different faiths and religions.

''It's been very clear from the beginning that Reverend Moon would be one of the speakers,'' Anderson said. ''The invitations state that. There's been no attempt to conceal that fact at all.''

Moon, 81, formed the Unification Church in 1954. In 1992, he and his wife declared themselves ''the Messiah and True Parents of all Humanity.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


7. In Oakland, Moon Stresses Family
San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 13, 2001
http://www.sfgate.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Seeking to forge a new alliance with African American churches, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon barnstormed through Oakland last night on the latest stop of a 50-day, 50-state tour. Moon, the controversial Korean-born sect leader and founder of the Unification Church, spoke before a crowd of about 2,000 at a banquet to ''celebrate faith and family'' at the Oakland Convention Center.

Two wide screens helped broadcast his message -- emphasizing how men and women have to come together to unite humankind -- to the enthusiastic, largely Asian audience.

''There are 6 billion people in this world right now, but there are two kinds of people -- man and woman,'' Moon said. He went on to say that every woman should bear a child, and if she did not, ''I'm sorry to say, you're disqualified as a woman.''

At a news conference earlier in the day, the U.S. leader of Moon's messianic religious movement, which now calls itself the Family Federation of World Peace and Unification, defended his church against charges that it is a dangerous cult.

''All the prophets of history are misunderstood,'' said the Rev. Michael Jenkins. ''Jesus was called a cult leader.''

Since the 1970s, Moon's critics have accused his church of brainwashing its members, and using their labor to amass a global business empire and media network to promote his religious and political views.

In recent years, Moon has sought to strengthen ties with the African American churches, as well as with the equally controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, the Rev. Louis Farrakhan.

Jenkins worked closely with Farrakhan on the Million Family March last October in Washington, D.C.

''We believe the honorable Louis Farrakhan is another man anointed by God,'' Jenkins said.

Unification Church teachings that the 81-year-old Moon is a new messiah destined to unify the world's religions has kept many mainstream Christian leaders from working with the Korean evangelist, while others have no hesitation in associating with him.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


8. Rev. Moon delivers message in Oakland
The Mercury News, Mar. 13, 2001
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
The Rev. Sun Myung Moon made his first Bay Area appearance in five years Monday night in Oakland, where the controversial minister made calls for racial and religious harmony as well as for a restoration of family values.

Speaking to a crowd of about 1,500 at the Oakland Convention Center, the 81-year-old Moon spoke often about the themes of love and family. With many audience members visibly moved by his presence, Moon called upon listeners to place family as a priority.
(...)

The visit is the outgrowth of the Million Family March in October, at which Moon, the leader of the Unification Church, and Louis Farrakhan, the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, called for a day of ``atonement, reconciliation and responsibility.''
(...)

``I think a lot of religions have generated a lot of controversy,'' said the Rev. Jesse Edwards, who is touring with Moon's group in his role with the Pentecostals of Philadelphia. ``What we're getting together for is to make a stand regardless of controversy.''
(...)

``We don't care about our doctrinal differences,'' Edwards said. ``The one thing that we agree on is rebuilding families.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


9. The Reverend Moon's Comeback
AlterNet, Mar. 13, 2001
http://www.alternet.org/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
In one of his first moves as president, George W. Bush signed a proclamation designating the day after the inauguration as a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving. Hold onto your prayer shawls my friends, because behind the most prominent Inaugural weekend prayer event was the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Out of the pomp and pomposity of the inauguration comes the rising of the Rev. Moon.

The January 19, pre-inaugural prayer luncheon was attended by some 1,700 religious, civic, and political leaders. The guest list included a host of Religious Right luminaries; the ubiquitous Rev. Jerry Falwell, former National Evangelical Association President Don Argue, Trinity Broadcasting Network's Paul Crouch and a host of leaders from the Southern Baptist Convention including President James Merritt, Executive Committee President and CEO Morris H. Chapman, and Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Richard Land.

According to a front-page story in the Moon-owned Washington Times, Sen. John Ashcroft, who had not yet been confirmed as President Bush's attorney general, dropped by and ''brought down the house with a tale of amazing grace.'' One of the featured speakers at the luncheon was Dr. Tony Evans, head of the Texas-based group, The Urban Alternative (http://www.tonyevans.org). Dr. Evans, an African American, is an entertaining and unrestrained speaker with a penchant for saying outrageous things. He is frequently a featured speaker at assorted Promise Keeper events around the country. He is also a close friend and confidant to President Bush. Several months ago, The New York Times reported Bush often calls upon Evans for spiritual guidance. According to its website The Urban Alternative proclaims itself ''a ministry that seeks to equip, empower and unite Christians to impact individuals, families, churches and communities for the rebuilding of lives from the inside out.''
(...)

One of the Unification Church's desired outcomes from sponsoring a prayer gathering of this magnitude was to indicate that the Rev. Moon could still bring together a diverse group of religious and civic leaders.

Rev. Moon's Unification Church, which enjoys 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status, is once again finding fertile ground for its political mission.
(...)

For a period of time during the past few years, things weren't looking so good for the Reverend and his family. In 1998, Moon's former daughter-in-law, Nansook Hong, wrote an explosive book, ''In the Shadow of the Moons,'' detailing her stormy relationship with Moon's eldest son, Hyo Jin Moon, including alcoholism, drug abuse, wife beating and his cavorting with prostitutes. In October 1999, another of Moon's sons, Phillip Youngiin Moon, committed suicide by jumping from a 17th-story balcony at Harrah's hotel in Reno. According to Don Lattin, Religion writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, revelations in Nansook Hong's book, coupled with the death of his son were important because they strike at the heart of Moon's teachings ''that he and his wife are the True Parents of a new spiritual lineage born without original sin.'' Last year, Lattin reports, the Unification Church published a history of its U.S. ministry, ''40 Years in America.'' The book ''ends with the clear anointing of Hyun Jin Nim, a graduate of Harvard Business School.''

The much-publicized disfunctionality of Rev. Moon's family was in part responsible for keeping him out of the public spotlight recently. However, in recent months the Rev. Moon has reemerged, participating in a series of high profile events aimed at what the church calls unification - meaning the ''melt[ing] down [of] all denominational barriers to form one body of Christ,'' according to the Rev. Michael Jenkins, a top Moon official.

In mid-October, Moon's Unification Church provided critical financial and organizational support to Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan's Million Family March in Washington DC.
(...)

Moon's minions were also intimately involved in the vote counting fiasco in Florida. On December 1, according to Church & State, the monthly publication of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, ''Moon's American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) sponsored a press conference in front of the Supreme Court to coincide with legal arguments before the justices over the Florida election results.'' This event was another interfaith call to ''unite upon the common ground of America's tradition of faith in God to prevent the continued partisan struggle over the election results in Florida from further polarizing the nation.''

Rev. Moon's Unification Church non-profit front groups might become beneficiaries of President Bush's recently launched faith-based initiative that allows religious organizations to compete with secular groups for government funding for social service programs. Mose Durst of Berkeley, Ca., a former national president of the Unification Church, told reporters that ''you have to open it to all religions or no religions.'' And, according to The New York Times, the Unification Church is already planning to stake its claim on these funds.
(...)

Over the years, the Bush family has developed a close relationship with the Rev. Moon. During his run for the presidency George the elder enjoyed the unequivocal support of the Washington Times. According to veteran reporter Robert Parry, ''Moon-affiliated organizations paid for speeches by former President Bush in the United States, Asia and South America. The price tag for the speeches has been estimated at from hundreds of thousands of dollars to $10 million'' according to a senior Unification Church official. During the 2000 presidential campaign the Washington Times threw their whole-hearted support behind George W. Bush.

As we move into the new millennium, the Rev. Moon has begun to repackage himself and his Unification Church. His intention remains true - to unite all Christians under the authority of the ''True Parents,'' which, of course, are the Rev. Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

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