EVANGELICAL MARCH IN BRAZIL DRAWS 1.5 MILLION

SAO PAULO — More than 1.5 million evangelical Christians joined Brazil's annual "March for Jesus" on Monday, an event sponsored by a church whose leaders recently returned after being imprisoned in the U.S. for money smuggling.
Now in its 17th year, the march unites faithful from hundreds of evangelical churches and attracts dozens of Christian bands, preachers and local celebrities.
It is organized by the powerful Reborn in Christ Church, whose leaders said they expected 5 million people to gather around a central Sao Paulo plaza where the main stage was located.
Hundreds of thousands followed Estevam Hernandes Filho and his wife, Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes, along the 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) route of the march, and still more gathered at the plaza.
Police said more than 1.5 million people turned out by mid-afternoon.
The couple returned to Brazil in August after serving five months in prison, five months under house arrest in Florida and two months of probation for not declaring $56,000 in cash they were carrying on a flight from Sao Paulo to Miami. The money was hidden a child's backpack and a Bible case, among other bags.
Filho said the theme of this year's gathering — "March to Topple Giants" — refers to evangelicals' battle against "discrimination, misunderstanding and mainly the stereotypes" in Brazil.
Brazil is home to more Roman Catholics than any other country but has seen a steady increase in the number of evangelicals in recent decades.
According to the 2000 census, 74 percent of Brazilians identify as Catholics, down from 84 percent in 1990. Fifteen percent classified themselves as evangelical Protestants, up from 9 percent in 1990.
Andrea Pazin, a 33-year-old human resources manger, bundled her two young children and husband into a car and drove 150 miles (240 kilometers) from interior Sao Paulo state for the march.
"It's one giant party for Jesus," she said, standing among a noisy throng of revelers.
While this year's march is a homecoming of sorts for Filho and Hernandes following their stint in prison, Pazin said the parade was a show of force for a higher power.
"We march every year, with or without them. They are important to us — they founded the church," she said. "But what is happening here is bigger than them. It's a celebration for Jesus."

15,000 BIBLES SEIZED IN MALAYASIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian authorities have confiscated more than 15,000 Bibles in recent months because they referred to "God" as "Allah," a translation that has been banned in this Muslim-majority country, Christian church officials said Thursday.
The alleged seizure of the Bibles, imported from neighboring Indonesia, is certain to reignite complaints by religious minorities that their right to practice their faiths freely has come under threat as the government panders to the Muslim majority.
A growing sense of discrimination among the minorities is chipping away at Malaysia's reputation as a harmonious multiethnic nation that practices a moderate brand of Islam.
The Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, said authorities seized a consignment of 10,000 copies sent from Jakarta to Kuching in Sarawak state on Sept. 11 because the Indonesian-language Bibles contained the word "Allah."
Indonesian language is similar to Malaysian language, both of which use "Allah" as translation for God in both Islamic and Christian traditions.
Another 5,100 Bibles, also imported from Indonesia, were seized in March, said an official from the Bible Society of Malaysia, who asked not to be named for fear of angering the government.
A Home Ministry official said he was not aware of the seizures. He said he couldn't be named without his superiors' clearance.
Malaysia has banned non-Muslims from using the word "Allah" in their texts, saying the word is Islamic and may upset Muslims. About 60 percent of the country's 28 million people are Malay Muslims while 25 percent are ethnic Chinese and 8 percent are Indians. Many of the Chinese and Indians are Christians.
The Roman Catholic Church is challenging the "Allah" ban in court, saying it is unconstitutional and discriminates against those worshipping in Malay language. The case has been stuck in preliminary hearings for almost two years.
Shastri said the church council is concerned over the continued detention "of our holy book, which is depriving congregations ... and denying them the use of their Bible."
"For most of the Christians, this is not an issue of going against the authorities. They have been using (the word "Allah") for a long time," he said.
Church officials say Allah is not exclusive to Islam but is an Arabic word that predates Islam.
Besides the Bible seizures, Malaysia has been embroiled in other religious disputes. Some were over the conversion of minors to Islam and the religion of deceased people who are said to have converted to Islam secretly before their death. Hindus have also protested the demolition of several temples by authorities.

WORLD'S LARGEST CRUISELINER SET TO SAIL FROM FINLAND

HELSINKI: The world's largest cruise liner today began its maiden voyage to Florida, gliding out from a shipyard in Finland with an amphitheater, basketball courts and an ice rink on board. The 16-deck Oasis of the Seas spans 360 meters from bow to stern.

Its 2,700 cabins can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew. Commissioned by Royal Caribbean International, the ship cost euro1 billion ($1.5 billion) and took two and a half years to build at the STX Finland Oy shipyard in Turku, southwestern Finland. The liner has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.

There is also an ice rink that seats 780 spectators and a small-scale golf course. The Oasis of the Seas is due to make its US debut on November 20, when it will be unveiled on ABC's "Good Morning America" show at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.

The official naming ceremony will be 10 days later. The ship will embark on its first cruise, a four-day trip to the port of Labadee in Haiti, on December 1. The Oasis of the Seas left Finland's frosty shores today and is set to exit the Baltic Sea tomorrow, when it must squeeze under the Great Belt Bridge between two Danish islands.

OBAMA OFFERS NEW MULTI MILLION TECHNOLOGY FUND FOR MUSLIM NATIONS

The White House Friday highlighted a new multi-million-dollar technology fund for Muslim nations, following a pledge made by President Barack Obama in his landmark speech to the Islamic world.
The White House said the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) had issued a call for proposals for the fund, which will provide financing of between 25 and 150 million dollars for selected projects and funds.
The Global Technology and Innovation Fund will "catalyze and facilitate private sector investments" throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the White House said in a statement.
Eligible projects would advance economic opportunity and create jobs in areas like technology, education, telecoms, media, business services and clean technology, the White House said.
OPIC said sample projects could help foster the development of new computer technology or telecommunications businesses, or widen access to broadband Internet services.
Proposals must be submitted by the end of November, and managers of funds that make a final short list will make presentations in Washington in January.
Final selections will be announced next June.
In his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo last June, Obama argued that "education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century" and that under-investment was rife in many Muslim nations.
As well as the fund, Obama also said he will host a summit on entrepreneurship this year to deepen ties between business leaders in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
In his speech on June 4, Obama vowed to forge a "new beginning" for Islam and America, promising to purge years of "suspicion and discord."
In what may be one of the defining moments of his presidency, Obama laid out a new blueprint for US Middle East policy, pledged to end mistrust, forge a state for Palestinians and defuse a nuclear showdown with Iran.

NIGERIA : CHRISTIAN MOVIE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, SPIRITUALITY FUELS NOLLYWOOD'S BOOMING FILM INDUSTRY

While Fireproof, Facing the Giants, and The Passion of the Christ have generated talk of a Christian filmmaking renaissance in the United States, Nigerian Christians are actively contributing to the booming Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood.
Nollywood recently surpassed Hollywood in film production, according to a UNESCO survey released in May. The Lagos-based industry has existed for less than 20 years, yet produced 872 feature-length films in 2006, nearly twice Hollywood's 485 productions. (Both trailed India, which produced more than 1,000 films.)
Most Nigerian films, almost all of which are low-budget affairs shot on location and released on DVD, are spiritual in nature. About 20 percent are Christian, according to Obidike Okafor, an arts and culture reporter at Nigerian newspaper Next. Others champion Islam, animism and witchcraft, or simple morality.
The Christian-themed movies often aim at encouragement and evangelism more than sheer entertainment. Groups or churches often screen the films and follow them with discussions or an altar call.
"Nigerian movies are really watched," said Sunday Oguntola, religion reporter for Nigerian newspaper The Nation. "[People] like to watch stories. I rent an average of five movies every weekend to watch with my family."
Oguntola's Baptist church shows movies two or three times a month during the evening service. "People like to see life in movies," he said. "They can watch them for hours." Showing movies is usually more effective than preaching, and church leaders are capitalizing on that, he said.
The films are also a major part of witnessing in Nigeria, said Philip Jenkins, professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University. "This is particularly good where you're dealing with people who are technically literate but like to have their material packaged in a more interesting way," he said.
Unlike Hollywood, which looks nervously at devotional movies such as Mel Gibson's Passion, Nollywood can't be separated from the Christian film component, Jenkins said. "The lines between the two—Christian and secular—are actually pretty thin."
Some Nigerian Christians would disagree. While Nollywood looks remarkably Christian compared to Hollywood, some Lagos pastors and film producers think Nigeria's film industry is full of idolatry and social evils and don't want their ministries associated with it. In 1995 the National Film and Video Censors Board tracked almost 200 G-rated movies and few others. By 2005 over 1,300 movies rated 18-and-older were outpacing G movies by 6 to 1.
"Half of the Christian movies are not done by faith-based organizations, but by directors who want to take advantage of the strong religious inclinations of Nigerians to sell [movies]," Okafor said. "The others do it to promote their faith."
Independent companies, ministries, and large churches producing hundreds of Christian films often see themselves as an alternative to Nollywood. Nevertheless, they have enjoyed mainstream success and many of the films can be seen on state television channels.
Lagos pastor Olabode Ososami uses Christian films to evangelize youth but is very selective in the films he chooses. "I have not shown any of the Nollywood films because these are primarily actors not known to me as Christians. Indeed, they portray other violent, non-Christian roles in other films," he said. "The spirit in the actor is important for me to screen a film to congregations."
Not all Nollywood actors realize this distinction is important to Christians, Ososami said. Many professional actors have seen the large demand for Christian films and are cashing in on it.

Ososami said he is more comfortable with companies that produce only Christian movies, such as Mount Zion Films and Freegift International.
"I am very uncertain about Nollywood's agenda in the Kingdom and what is behind it—apart from money, of course," he said.
International Church Growth Ministries began producing films in Nigeria two years ago to show to church leaders. "They are very effective in that they are practical to what is happening in the church and people adjust their lives by watching them," said president Francis Bola Akin-John. Watching a lesson is more effective than listening to one, said Akin-John.
Nollywood's Christian films offer revelations into what one of the world's fastest-growing Christian populations believe, Jenkins said. "When people are discussing splits within [Nigerian] churches, or moral issues, it helps to know the supernatural vision underlying some of these concerns. … If you went to America in 1800 and wanted to find out about the nature of their religion, you'd listen to the hymns. These videos also give you a good snapshot [of what Nigerians believe.]"