{"id":67983,"date":"2018-12-04T22:04:26","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T05:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=67983"},"modified":"2018-12-04T22:04:26","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T05:04:26","slug":"a-department-dinner-hanukkah-chinese-oppression-and-other-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/12\/a-department-dinner-hanukkah-chinese-oppression-and-other-matters.html","title":{"rendered":"A department dinner, Hanukkah, Chinese oppression, and other matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ahmadiyya<\/a>
This Ahmaddiya structure, the Fazl Mosque, is the oldest mosque in London
(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We had our annual Asian and Near Eastern Languages department Christmas party this evening at Provo\u2019s Bombay House<\/a> restaurant. \u00a0Have I mentioned before that Bombay House is one of the very good things about life in Utah Valley?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m in a good department, with good people who work in interesting areas \u2014 Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Hebrew, and Arabic.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, though, not everything in this world is so pleasant:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSaudi crown prince \u2018ordered, monitored\u2019 killing of Khashoggi, Corker says\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The justifiable outrage over the horrific crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul back on 2 October, however, should not overshadow or distract us from noting the outrages still being perpetrated by the tyrants of Beijing:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTurning the desert into detention camps:\u00a0China is accused of incarcerating hundreds of thousands of Muslims in detention camps that are rising from the desert sands in Xinjiang. A forensic analysis of satellite images of 39 of these facilities shows they are expanding at a rapid rate.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChina\u2019s repression of Uighurs won\u2019t stop until the international community intervenes\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The United States and other nations simply must take a stand on this. \u00a0Not to do so would be deeply shameful.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back to a more positive story, though. \u00a0I\u2019ve had a number of experiences more or less along these lines, and have enjoyed them very much:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cInterfaith encounter at a mosque:\u00a0The dialogue was good. The meal was even better.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Incidentally, the Ahmadiyya are sometimes referred to as \u201cthe Mormons<\/a> of Islam.\u201d \u00a0(See, for example, this short 2008 blog entry<\/a>, which bears that very title.) \u00a0For an interesting article on them (as well as on the Latter-day Saints), see Garth N. Jones, \u201cThe Ahmadis of Islam: A Mormon Encounter and Perspective,\u201d<\/a> in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought<\/em> 19\/2 (Summer 1986): 41-56.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah for 2018 began on the evening of Sunday, 2 December, and will end on the even of Monday, 10 December. \u00a0For a brief bit of background on the holiday, here\u2019s a link to an article on the subject that Bill Hamblin and I published back on 23 December 2016:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.deseretnews.com\/article\/865669856\/Hamblin\u2013Peterson-For-first-time-in-nearly-40-years-Hanukkah-and-Christmas-Eve-are-on-the-same.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And here is a recent article, written by an Israeli rabbi based in Jerusalem that, among other things, includes an interesting application of the familiar biblical prophecy, from Ezekiel 37, regarding the sticks of Joseph and of Judah:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA Hidden Lesson of the Hanukkah Story:\u00a0This is the dual lesson of Hanukkah and of Joseph and his brothers: disunity leads to defeat and exile; unity leads to redemption.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an interesting account of a good response to a significant problem in India:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen India\u2019s Interfaith Couples Encounter Threats, \u2018Love Commandos\u2019 Come To Their Aid\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 We had our annual Asian and Near Eastern Languages department Christmas party this evening at Provo\u2019s Bombay House restaurant. \u00a0Have I mentioned before that Bombay House is one of the very good things about life in Utah Valley? \u00a0 I\u2019m in a good department, with good people who work in interesting areas \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA department dinner, Hanukkah, Chinese oppression, and other matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    We had our annual Asian and Near Eastern Languages department Christmas party this evening at Provo's Bombay House restaurant. \u00a0Have I\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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