Sudan Council of Churches plans inter-faith workshop

Report from Radio Tamazuj Juba, South Sudan
Dated Thursday, 15 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan Council of Churches plans inter-faith workshop

The Sudanese Council of Churches has announced its intention to organize a workshop focusing on the clergy’s role in fostering peace in Sudan.

The workshop is scheduled to commence in March in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and will involve the participation of clergy members from both Muslim and Christian faiths.

Reverend Izz al-Din al-Tayeb Ali, the head of the Sudanese Council of Churches, highlighted in a recent interview with Radio Tamazuj that the upcoming workshop aims to engage Imams from mosques and priests from churches in efforts to promote peace within Sudanese communities.

Al-Tayeb urged the African and International Council of Churches to lend their support to the Sudanese Council of Churches, enabling it to carry out its mission effectively.

Additionally, he appealed to church organizations to extend humanitarian assistance to all Christians in Sudan following the conflict, emphasizing the significant damage inflicted upon churches during the ten months of strife.

“It’s crucial to recognize that the impact of the war extends beyond Christians to encompass all Sudanese people. Therefore, we urge Christian organizations to assist all Sudanese citizens,” Al-Tayeb emphasized.

Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group since April 2023.

More than 13,000 people have been killed and 26,000 others injured in the ongoing conflict in Sudan since last year, according to UN figures.

Sudan is now the world's largest displacement crisis. Within Sudan, over 9 million people have been displaced, 1.7 million people have fled to other countries surrounding Sudan.

Original: https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/sudan-council-of-churches-plans-inter-faith-workshop

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Sudan: Catholic Bishops say war obstructs creation of better society, interest of the people must be put first

The bishops of the Catholic Church in Sudan and South Sudan pledged to use “different platforms” to continue engaging “the leaders of the various Sudanese parties to put the interest of the people first, in their struggle for political power.” They stressed the importance of continuing “essential support” for those affected by violence. Read more.

From Radio Dabanga 
Dated Sunday, 07 Jan 2024, 11:33 Port Sudan/Juba - here is a copy in full:

Bishops: ‘War attempts to obstruct creation of better society in Sudan

St Matthew's Catholic Cathedral in Khartoum (File photo: Petr Adam Dohnálek CC BY-SA 3.0 CZ)

The bishops of the Catholic Church in Sudan and South Sudan have called on the United Nations, the ‘Troika’ of USA, the United Kingdom, Norway, and other members of the international community, to intensify their efforts to end the ongoing violence in Sudan. The bishops expressed concern that “the protracted fighting may aim to hamper solidarity among the people of Sudan”.

The bishops of the Catholic Church in Sudan and South Sudan pledged to use “different platforms” to continue engaging “the leaders of the various Sudanese parties to put the interest of the people first, in their struggle for political power.” They stressed the importance of continuing “essential support” for those affected by violence.

The condemn all the violations taking place in Sudan and that the conflict is causing massive destruction in human lives, property, and livelihoods, “which surprised many, who never expected such a deplorable situation”.

In their collective statement to mark the New Year, the bishops also express their regret for the challenges faced by the people in Darfur and Kordofan, where villages were burned to the ground, leaving citizens without shelter or housing.

The Catholic bishops “urge the people of Sudan not to be discouraged amid the protracted conflict, but to trust in God, who transcends all suffering and gives a sense of hope,” warning that the conflict may be an attempt to obstruct solidarity among the people of Sudan: “We have a strong feeling that the series of events in Sudan is an attempt to obstruct your aspiration for a better society in which people live as brothers and sisters.”

Pope Francis has repeatedly appealed for a negotiated solution to the conflict, and during his Urbi et Orbi address on Christmas Day, he recalled the suffering of the people of Sudan and asked the international community not to forget them.

“Let us not forget the tensions and conflicts that trouble the region of the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Sudan,” Pope Francis said.

Earlier in December, in a message to mark Christmas, Rafaat Mosad, the president of the Council of the Evangelical Community in Sudan, sent a Christmas message yesterday “to all Sudanese in and outside Sudan”, with special mention of refugees and displaced peoples.

In his message, Mosad wished “love, peace and abundant mercy” to all, wishing a good year on the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. He expressed his hopes that this Christmas will be the last one in which Sudan will witness war and conflict.

“We thank God for every church that celebrated Christmas within Khartoum and across Sudan despite the nation’s pain, as they eased the people and all those who suffer in the country by celebrating them.”

Christians in Sudan

During the Omar Al Bashir Islamic dictatorship (1989-2019), non-Muslims were regularly oppressed. Christian worshipers were prevented from visiting churches on Sundays, and a number of church buildings, many of them belonging to the poor Church of Sudan, were demolished. Since 2017, Christian schools were forced to follow the Muslim week from Sunday to Thursday.

One of the first decisions made by the then Transitional Military Council after the ousting of Al Bashir, concerned permission to enjoy Sunday as the official weekend recess day for Christian schools throughout Sudan.

View original:  https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/bishops-war-attempts-to-obstruct-creation-of-better-society-in-sudan

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Algeria becomes the second Arab nation to declare official support for Palestine and to confront Israel

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: While searching the internet for the latest news on Sudan and South Sudan, I saw this news report and thought it best to post it here for future reference. Some say Sudan is, or will be, part of a coalition of countries led by Iran intent on annihilating Israel. I am doing my best not to post inflammatory news here. No doubt, the horrors and humanitarian catastrophe in Israel and Palestine will adversely affect the people of Sudan and South Sudan, the delivery of enough aid, and set back progress and hopes for long awaited peace, development and prosperity.

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Algerian parliament authorizes President Tebboune to support Gaza amid Israeli assaults

Report at Al Bawaba 'The Hub of Middle East Content'

By Mansour Al-Maswari

Dated Thursday, 2 November 2023; 07:50 GMT - here is a copy in full:

Demonstrators march with signs in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during a rally in Algiers on October 19, 2023. AFP

Highlights

Algeria becomes the second Arab nation to declare official support for Palestine and to confront Israel.

(ALBAWABA) - In a significant move, the Algerian Parliament has officially authorized President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to enter the conflict in support of Gaza, with a unanimous vote of 100/100. 

This decision comes in response to the escalating Israeli massacres against the Palestinian population in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Algeria becomes the second Arab nation to declare official support for Palestine and to confront Israel. 

View original: https://www.albawaba.com/news/algerian-parliament-authorizes-president-tebboune-support-gaza-amid-israeli-assaults-1540187

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POSTSCRIPT from Sudan Watch Editor

Algeria is the largest country in Africa and the 10th largest in the world, it is a predominantly Muslim country of North Africa. Here are snippets from Encyclopaedia Britannica, maps of Africa, Algeria; recent news reports.

Map of Africa (Courtesy: Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Algeria

By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 31, 2023 - excerpts:

Algeria, large, predominantly Muslim country of North Africa. From the Mediterranean coast, along which most of its people live, Algeria extends southward deep into the heart of the Sahara, a forbidding desert where Earth’s hottest surface temperatures have been recorded and which constitutes more than four-fifths of the country’s area. The Sahara and its extreme climate dominate the country. The contemporary Algerian novelist Assia Djebar has highlighted the environs, calling her country “a dream of sand.”

The capital is Algiers, a crowded bustling seaside metropolis whose historic core, or medina, is ringed by tall skyscrapers and apartment blocks. Algeria’s second city is Oran, a port on the Mediterranean Sea near the border with Morocco. Less hectic than Algiers, Oran has emerged as an important centre of music, art, and education.

Map of Algeria (Courtesy: Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Land

Algeria is bounded to the east by Tunisia and Libya; to the south by Niger, Mali, and Mauritania; to the west by Morocco and Western Sahara (which has been virtually incorporated by the former); and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It is a vast country—the largest in Africa and the 10th largest in the world—that may be divided into two distinct geographic regions. The northernmost, generally known as the Tell, is subject to the moderating influences of the Mediterranean and consists largely of the Atlas Mountains, which separate the coastal plains from the second region in the south. This southern region, almost entirely desert, forms the majority of the country’s territory and is situated in the western portion of the Sahara, which stretches across North Africa.

Capital: Algiers

Population: (2023 est.) 46,116,000

Form Of Government: multiparty republic with two legislative houses (Council of the Nation [144¹]; National People’s Assembly [462])

Head Of State And Government: President: Abdelmadjid Tebboune, assisted by Prime Minister: Ayman Benabderrahmane

Official Languages: Arabic; Amazigh

Recent News

Oct. 26, 2023, 11:07 AM ET (Yahoo News)

Hamas-Israel conflict: Algeria offers to host Palestine's football matches – the bigger history

Oct. 10, 2023, 12:06 PM ET (AP)

Algeria forces Francophone schools to adopt Arabic curriculum but says all languages are welcome

View original: https://www.britannica.com/place/Algeria

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Related News

Algeria Intensifies Efforts to Stop the Fighting in Sudan

Echoroukonline report by Dalila Henache

Dated 30 October 2023 - excerpts:

Algeria is ready to intensify efforts with regional and international partners to stop the fighting between Sudanese parties, taking into account the supreme interest of their country and establishing a new era that meets the ambitions and aspirations of the Sudanese people, President of the National People’s Assembly, Ibrahim Boghali, announced.

During his meeting, on Monday, with the Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to Algeria, Nadia Mohamed Khair Othman, to review bilateral relations and ways to raise them to the level of the aspirations of the two peoples, Boughali explained, in this regard, “the keenness of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to resolve crises by giving priority to the language of dialogue and refusing to resort to force and foreign interventions,” according to a statement by the NPA’s Council.

Full story: https://www.echoroukonline.com/algeria-intensifies-efforts-to-stop-the-fighting-in-sudan

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Five new realities after four weeks of Israel-Gaza war

BBC News report by Jeremy Bowen, International editor, in southern Israel

Dated Friday, 3 November 2023 - excerpts:

One of the first things to understand about the reportage, analysis and commentary that has poured out since the Hamas attacks of 7 October is that no-one has the full story. Not only is it, as ever, hard to penetrate the fog of war to work out what is happening on the battlefield. The new shape of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has not yet emerged.

Events are still moving fast. Fears that the war could spread are very real. New realities in the Middle East are out there somewhere, but their shape and the way that they will work depend on the way this war goes for the rest of the year, and probably beyond.

Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67306902

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UPDATES - Sat 4 Nov 2023 14:08 GMT; 15:14 GMT:

UK Urges Iran to Use Influence to Prevent Escalation of Israel-Hamas Conflict

Report at Asharq Al-Awsat English by Rabi’ Al-Thani

Dated Saturday, 4 November 2023 - excerpts:

British foreign minister James Cleverly has urged Iran to use its influence with groups in the Middle East region to prevent an escalation of Israel's conflict with Hamas. 

Britain's Foreign Office said Cleverly spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday, telling him "Iran bore responsibility" for the actions of groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, that it has supported for many years. 

Cleverly also reiterated that Iranian-backed threats against people in the United Kingdom were unacceptable and must stop, a Foreign Office spokesperson said.

Full story: https://english.aawsat.com/world/4647391-uk-urges-iran-use-influence-prevent-escalation-israel-hamas-conflict

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Algeria Will Again Send an Ambassador to Spain After 19-Month Diplomatic Crisis

Report at Asharq Al Awsat English

Dated Sat, 4 Nov 2023 - excerpts:

A breakthrough in the strained relations between Algeria and Spain is looming after reports that Algiers plans to send a new ambassador to Madrid, ending a 19-month diplomatic crisis.

Senior Algerian political sources said the two countries are in the process of resolving their crisis, adding that their relations are about to return to normal.

Full story:

https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4647561-algeria-will-again-send-ambassador-spain-after-19-month-diplomatic-crisis

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Iran, Qatar Coordinate Efforts to Support Palestine

Report from Tasnim News Agency, Iran

Dated 15 October 2023 - 10:39 - excerpt:

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The foreign ministers of Iran and Qatar weighed plans for cooperation among Muslim nations to assist the people of Gaza and force the Israeli regime to end its brutal strikes on Palestinians.

Full story: 

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2023/10/15/2971951/iran-qatar-coordinate-efforts-to-support-palestine

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London synagogue rescues Muslim family from Sudan

THANKS to a Sudanese reader, living in England after fleeing war in Sudan 20 years ago, for this heartwarming story about courage, the kindness of strangers and remarkable work done by members of Britain’s oldest progressive shul, alongside others at a local mosque and nearby church.

They're home! Salih Adam with his wife and child at Heathrow on Thurs -JN

Article at Jewish News - jewishnews.co.uk
By LEE HARPIN
Dated Thursday 17 August 2023, 12:20 pm - here is a full copy:

London synagogue helps rescue Muslim family from war-torn Sudan

EXCLUSIVE: The family’s arrival in the UK comes as a result of the remarkable work done on their behalf by members of Britain’s oldest progressive shul.

They're home! Salih Adam with his wife and child at Heathrow on Thursday.

A Sudanese-born Muslim man who fled the war-torn state for a new life in Britain has risked his life for a second time to bring his wife and baby daughter to this country with the help of West London Synagogue.

Salih Adam, 35, who received UK citizenship this year, arrived at Heathrow this morning after completing a dangerous journey back to his homeland to rescue his wife Moram, 35, and 10-month-old Warif from the on-going civil war, which has seen more than one million people flee  the country.

The family’s arrival in the UK comes as a result of the remarkable work done on their behalf by members of Britain’s oldest progressive shul, alongside others at a local mosque and nearby church.

Nic Schlagman, head of social action and interfaith at WLS, who has become friends with Salih since he was directed to the shul’s homeless shelter by a local charity in 2014, praised his “absolute bravery and determination” to be reunited with his family.

He also reflected on the historical fact that help, often from strangers, had saved countless Jewish families from being wiped out during the Holocaust.

Photograph: Salih meeting the King at West London Synagogue in December 2015

Photograph by Elliott Franks

“Family members living in Germany at the time figured they could get my grandmother, who was five-years-old, out of a small town in Poland and onto a train to London to ensure her safety,” said Shlagman. 

“She was taken in and brought up by strangers in London who paid to do this themselves.

“I grew up in a household where we knew that the kindness of strangers was literally the only reason we were alive, when people around us wanted to kill us.

“Helping Salih and his family was not done out of self-interest but a sense that people in the world simply need our help. I feel a tremendous sense of pride that we have been able to complete a circle.”

Alongside other shul members, a group of volunteers had worked tirelessly to organise Salih’s risky route to his family, and their eventual journey back to the UK.

The family reunion was also made possible with the assistance of Rabbi Sybil Sheridan, renowned for her work in providing assistance to the Jews of Ethiopia, who provided a fixer for Salih as he risked his life on the border with Sudan to get passports to his wife and infant child.

Schlagman praised the Home Office, and staff at Labour leader Keir Starmer’s constituency office, near where Salih lives, for their critical help.

Schlagman also confirmed the Saudi Arabian embassy in the UK had also been supportive, as the family escaped the war-ravaged republic by flying out to the city of Jeddah, before catching a final flight to London.

Philanthropist Edwin Shuker, who chairs the Board’s of Deputies’ communities and education division, also had a key role in the mission’s success.

But Schlagman said: “Salih is the real hero in this story, someone who has travelled from Sudan, to Ethiopia, to Saudia Arabia to come home. What he has done is unbelievably brave. He has thrown himself into danger, just to be the best father and husband he could be.”

With his wife living at his mother’s home in Darfur, it took Salih two years to travel, first across Libya, then into Europe, and finally on a boat across the English channel before he would arrive in UK in 2014, with the promise of work through contacts to provide for his family he left behind.

Civil war in Darfur meant his life was at risk if he stayed there. Inside the WLS homeless shelter he was offered vital support, and shul members helped to pay for the doorman’s licence that allowed Salih to work.

At the time WLS shul members were also making monthly trips to Calais to help migrants in the “jungle” camps. Salih offered to volunteer on trips himself.

When Prince Charles visited WLS to celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2015, Salih was one of six people connected to the shul that he spoke with, as the future King praised the social action work of the institution.

Moving to council accommodation in Camden, Salih has continued to do voluntary work for the shul.

View original: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/shul-rescues-muslim-family-from-sudan/

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