While America’s eyes have been laser focused on its 2020 national election campaign, significant events have occurred elsewhere. Look what has happened the last couple of weeks of October.
Middle East
On October 23rd, Sudan became the third Arab nation to sign a 2020 agreement with Israel referred to as the Abraham Accords. These three join Egypt and Jordan in bringing the total to five so far to sign any deal.
Jews and Middle Eastern Arabs commonly acknowledge Abraham as the ancient father of their peoples, but each traces their lineage though a different son. Abraham is also greatly revered as a prophet of God by both Judaism and Islam.
Elsewhere, political developments have been decidedly different.
Europe
Since October 16th tensions have ratcheted up between currently nominally Christian Western Europe and the Muslim world.
That was the day a Muslim extremist decapitated a French teacher, Samuel Paty. He’d shown his students cartoons said to be mocking Islam’s founder Mohammed. They were in a French satirical magazine, and the high school class was on free speech. These are the very same cartoons that led to the 2015 attack on the magazine’s headquarters.
On October 24th, France recalled its Ambassador from Turkey. Anti-President Macron protests erupted in multiple predominately Muslim countries.
On October 27th, DW News covered this and more in “France Muhammad cartoon row: what you need to know”. However, that was before the magazine’s publisher released the October 28, 2020 issue with a caricature of Turkish leader Erdogen on its cover.
On October 29th, apparently in retaliation, another Muslim extremist killed several people and injured others at a Catholic church in the French city of Nice.
DW TV News noted it occurred just before a major Catholic holiday. It’s the three day period known as Allhallowtide and is dedicated to remembering all dead Catholics. Halloween (aka Hallow Eve or All Saints Eve) begins the observance.
Photo Credit: Jerusalem by Jennifer Stahn, License: CC BY-NC 2.0.
