Name: Texas Imam: "We're really at a crossroads." by Matthew Bell - Radio
Duration: 59 s
Description: Omar Suleiman is a resident scholar at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center in Irving, Texas. We talked with him today about reaction from the Muslim community in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to the shooting in Garland. And we asked him about this particular moment in history for Muslims in the US.

Omar Suleiman is a resident scholar at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center in Irving, Texas. We talked with him today about reaction from the Muslim community in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to the shooting in Garland. And we asked him about this particular moment in history for Muslims in the US.    

Texas Imam: "We're really at a crossroads."

Next time on THE WORLD, we're in Bethlehem.
 
Where tourists buy cheap souvenir pictures of Jesus, often mass produced in China.
 
But a British artist thinks local painters can do a better job.
 
CLIP: "This is the place where you get the first physical image of God, ever in history. "

The face of Jesus - handpainted in Bethlehem - by Palestinians.
 
That story -  on THE WORLD

PREVEW: The face of Jesus - hand painted by Palestinians

After accepting more than a million migrants, mostly from Muslim countries, Germany now is wrestling with the issue of child marriage. Authorities say 1,500 cases of child marriage are officially registered, but one activist tells The World's Matthew Bell that estimate is too low. German lawmakers are working on new legislation that would ban marriage for anyone under 18.

Germany is taking a harder look at child marriage

Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has more megachurches than any other city in the world. But right now, Protestant evangelical leaders in South Korea don’t have the best reputation.

The biggest megachurch on Earth is facing a ‘crisis of evangelism’

Photo: Steve Smith

Next time on THE WORLD.
 
A religious group in South Korea is growing fast.
 
And people outside its community are concerned.
 
They say members of the group are losing touch with their own families.
 
Critics call it a religious cult.
 
Our religion reporter goes to services, and meets the group's founder.
 
Inside Shincheonji  - plus the news-  on THE WORLD.

PREVIEW: Cult or religion in South Korea

Michelle Chang is a 27-year-old theology lecturer for the Shinchonji Church of Jesus in Southern California. The church was founded in South Korea by Lee Man-hee and has attracted followers in numerous countries. It’s controversial in Korea, where many Christian leaders say Shinchonji is a destructive cult. Religion reporter Matthew Bell spoke with Michelle Chang about how she came to be a part of Shinchonji and how she feels about some of the most controversial aspects of the group.

Michelle Chang discusses Shinchonji

There's a serious word that's been thrown around a lot since Donald Trump held a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday. It's the word "treason." The thing is, Trump is not guilty of treason as the US Constitution defines the term.

Did Trump commit treason in Helsinki?

Starting in early 2017, China has carried out a widespread crackdown against Uighurs and other ethnic Turkic Muslims in the northwestern province of Xinjiang. Credible reports say that as many as 1 million people are in "re-education" camps. China says it's combatting Islamic extremism. But human rights advocates say the Chinese government is carrying out massive rights abuses. The World's Matthew Bell reports.

Chinese crackdown in Xinjiang

Germany's Angela Merkel gave the commencement address at Harvard on Thursday. In the era of Trump and "America first," Merkel has been seen as a forceful voice for shared western values of democracy, human rights and multilateralism. But Merkel is stepping off the global stage in 2021. The World's Matthew Bell reports.  

After Merkel, who is the next 'leader of the free world?’

Our introductory episode to ReligioPolitics, our six-part podcast series, focuses on the successful campaign in early 2019 in Ukraine to create a Ukrainian Orthodox Church by then-President Poroshenko who later lost in a landslide to Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian that had impersonated him on a popular show. Joining the program to explain its implications for geopolitics in Eastern Europe is Dr. Gene Lemcio, Affiliated Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the UW.

ReligioPolitics

ReligioPolitics Episode 1: Ukraine

Correspondent for PRI's The World, based at WGBH in Boston. 

Texas Imam: "We're really at a crossroads."

Matthew Bell - Radio

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