An unprecedented amount of public attention focused on Muslim Americans in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The U.S. Muslim population has grown in the two decades since, but it is still the case that many Americans know little about Islam or Muslims, and views toward Muslims have become increasingly polarized along political lines.

There were about 2.35 million Muslim adults and children living in the United States in 2007 – accounting for 0.8% of the U.S. population – when Pew Research Center began measuring this group’s size, demographic characteristics and views. Since then, growth has been driven primarily by two factors: the continued flow of Muslim immigrants into the U.S., and Muslims’ tendency to have more children than Americans of other faiths.

In 2015, the Center projected that Muslims could number 3.85 million in the U.S. by 2020 – roughly 1.1% of the total population. However, Muslim population growth from immigration may have slowed recently due to changes in federal immigration policy.

The number of Muslim houses of worship in the U.S. also has increased over the last 20 years. …

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If the number of interviews I’ve been doing is any indicator, public attention toward Muslim Americans has been ramping up as we approach September 11, 2021. So I pulled together some @PewReligion work on Muslim Americans https://t.co/hNYFJMzg37

— Besheer Mohamed (@bmoham) September 7, 2021

The Bishop of Croydon, The Rt Revd Jonathan Clark, announced today that he will be leaving the Diocese of Southwark on March 21, 2022 – exactly 10 years to the day of his consecration as Bishop.

“I’m sad about all I’ll be leaving, as well as excited about what lies ahead,” said Bishop Jonathan, who will be moving to Orkney with his wife Alison, who will be continuing her academic and creative work. “I plan to write more and will be teaching, leading retreats and offering mentoring support to clergy,” he continued.

The Bishop of Southwark, The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, said, “Bishop Jonathan has served the Diocese of Southwark with energy, integrity and vision for ten years as the Bishop of Croydon. He has been a superb colleague and has also served the wider Diocese as Chair of the Southwark Board of Education as well as the national church in various additional roles, particularly on Ministry Council and as one of the lead bishops for refugee issues. I am grateful to him for all he has accomplished, for his companionship in episcopal ministry, and for his loving service of God’s people. He and Alison go with our prayers and gratitude as they move forward to the next stage of life and ministry.”

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The Bishop of Croydon, The Rt Revd Jonathan Clark, announces departure from the Diocese of Southwark https://t.co/fDlKLBWYcI

— Kenneth Thompson (@kennethsalford) September 8, 2021

Dean-Elect Jo Kelly-Moore’s appointment follows the departure of the Very Revd Jeffrey John who was Dean from 2003 to 2020 and who is now an Anglican Chaplain in Paris. The appointment of the Dean is made by the Crown on the advice of the Bishop and other leading figures in the diocese following a rigorous selection process involving a church and civic panel. The panel was chaired by the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, emphasising the reach of the Cathedral across all the communities of the Diocese of St Albans.

Speaking about the appointment, the Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, said:

“This is a timely moment to welcome a new Dean to the Cathedral and the Diocese after eighteen months of lockdown. Jo brings outstanding experience to our Cathedral from Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand and from a leading post in the Church of England as Archdeacon of Canterbury – a post also playing a key part in the ministry of Canterbury Cathedral with its international dimension.

“That makes Dean Jo well placed to build on the legacy of Dean Jeffrey in establishing public understanding of St Albans Cathedral as the home of Britain’s First Saint, St Alban.

“She will commend herself to the community in St Albans and more widely in the diocese and beyond through her warmth and the sense of quiet command that she conveys.

“I warmly welcome her.”

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I am delighted to share the news that The Venerable Jo Kelly-Moore, Archdeacon of Canterbury has been named as the next Dean of St Albans. Welcome, Jo!https://t.co/36yj1r7Rih

— Alan Smith (@BishopStAlbans) September 6, 2021

Even as COVID-19 cases start to level off in some Southern states, the virus is showing no signs of slowing down in South Carolina, where more than 20,000 confirmed and probable cases were recorded by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control over the Labor Day weekend.

Compared with the rest of the country, COVID-19 rates are very high in South Carolina. The New York Times calculated Sept. 7 that, once again, the rate of new cases in the Palmetto State is higher than anywhere else in the U.S….

Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, said on PBS Newshour on Sept. 6 that a South Carolina resident who is fully vaccinated now runs the same risk of catching COVID-19 as does a New York state resident who is unvaccinated.

“And that is simply because there is so much more virus circulating right now in South Carolina,” Gounder said, “that even with the protection of the vaccine, you could still get infected.”

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Even as COVID-19 cases start to level off in some Southern states, the virus is showing no signs of slowing down in South Carolina.

https://t.co/c0YmfJj6F9

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) September 7, 2021

Identity wars and conflicts based on differences in ethnicity, culture, language or religion are, once ignited, the most powerful forces in human affairs. And these forces persist in nations of all levels of development. Having witnessed Brexit and heard calls for Catalan independence, we shouldn’t be surprised that African peoples also want to exit distant and dysfunctional multi-ethnic unions to control their own affairs.

Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon are ripping themselves apart across ethnic or confessional divides. Separatist movements among the Arab, Kurdish, Azeri and Balochi minorities haunt the slumbers of Iranian mullahs. From the western Balkans through Turkey and the Caucasus to the “stans” of Central Asia, ethnic and religious divides are worrying governments and challenging the status quo.

The revisionist nationalism of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, India’s turn toward Hindu nationalism, and China’s increasingly xenophobic Han nationalism show that identity politics is returning to center stage even in large states. The eurocrats of Brussels are also struggling to contain populist nationalist opposition to European Union edicts. Many Americans wonder whether a common U.S. identity is strong enough to contain the forces that threaten to splinter the country permanently into hostile racial, religious and ideological camps.

Alongside the return of great power competition, the eruption of identity politics is the single most consequential political feature of our time. This fateful combination does not bode well.

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"Preoccupied by pandemic,climate change&intensifying rivalry U.S.&China,policy makers&pundits aren’t paying enough attention to news in Africa..What's happening offers insights into destructive role identity politics seems destined play in world politics."https://t.co/LiKU8oPHib

— Fredric U. Dicker (@fud31) September 7, 2021

Heavenly Father, whose beloved Son Jesus Christ felt sorrow and dread in the Garden of Gethsemane: Help us to remember that though we walk through the valley of the shadow, thou art always with us, that with thy philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, we may believe what we have not seen and trust where we cannot test, and so come at length to the eternal joy which thou hast prepared for those who love thee; through the same Jesus Christ our Savior, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

"Who am I ? How did I come into the world ? Why was I not consulted ?"

~ Søren Kierkegaard

"Repetition and Philosophical Crumbs" pic.twitter.com/0raNh5DTfT

— In Libro Veritas (@InlibroV) May 5, 2021

O God, who hast commanded us to walk in the Spirit and not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh: Perfect us, we pray thee, in love, that we may conquer our natural selfishness and give ourselves to others. Fill our hearts with thy joy, and garrison them with thy peace; make us longsuffering and gentle, and thus subdue our hasty and angry tempers; give us faithfulness, meekness and self-control; that so crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts, we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit to thy praise and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sunrise over London. This morning in 1940 Londoners were coming to terms with the first German bombing raid which had devastated the docks the day before. 1500 people had been killed or wounded. It was the start of the Blitz, and 57 consecutive nights of bombing. pic.twitter.com/u3wbxB4m8O

— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) September 8, 2021

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 1that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

–Philippians 2:5-11

What a beautiful start to the day #wicklow #weather #sunrise pic.twitter.com/NwAjAu67rO

— craigophoto (@craigophoto) September 8, 2021