Religion and Ethics Newsletter

Following is a brief outline of the stories Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly will be covering this week. Every Friday evening, new stories are uploaded to the Web site at http://www.pbs.org/religion. ————————————————–

Cover Story: Humanitarian Aid Update

Now that the war with Iraq is over, the U.S. focus is shifting to reconstruction and humanitarian aid. But even with supply convoys making their way into the country through the southern and western borders, relief organizations still have the daunting task of delivering enough food, medicine, water and other basic goods to the hardest hit areas — such as Baghdad and the northern territories. These efforts are further complicated by faith-based relief organizations trying to mix humanitarian work with an evangelical message – a move many fear could increase tensions between the American government and the Iraqi people. Kim Lawton explores the challenges faced by the U.S. government and other relief groups in providing humanitarian aid to post-war Iraq, as well as growing concerns over what some are calling “aid evangelism.”

Read past reports on Iraq humanitarian efforts at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/ week629/cover.html and http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/ week630/news.html

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week634/cover.html

News Feature: Religion in the New Iraq

With U.S. efforts to establish a democratic system in Iraq, Shiites, who account for at least 60 percent of the country’s population of about 25 million, will play a major, if not dominant, role in any future government. Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds also expect to share leadership duties with the Shiites in the formation of this new government. Lucky Severson reports on the dynamics between religion and politics in the region and how this could shape Iraq’s future governance.

For more about relations between the Sunnis and Shiites in post-war Iraq, click on the following link: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/ week631/news.html

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week634/news.html

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