Welcome. Im bob abernethy. Its good to have you with us. This week president obama was in myanmar for the east asia summit, a meeting of regional leaders. It was his second visit in two years to the country, which emerged from military rule four years ago. Obama pressed lawmakers in the largely buddhist country to speed up reforms, such as protecting the rights of the Rohingya Muslim minority. Many rohingya are considered stateless, and the u. N. Has called them one of most persecuted minorities in the world. Here in the u. S. , an emotional welcome home for two americans who had been jailed in north korea, kenneth bae and matthew todd miller. They were released after a top u. S. Intelligence official visited north korea, although its unclear what exactly led to their freedom. Bae is a devout christian who was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly plotting against the north korean government. He is now recovering from ailments he suffered in prison. Dr. Craig spencer returned home this week from a new york City Hospital after testing free of the ebola virus. He had been diagnosed with the virus three weeks ago after treating ebola patients in guinea. Vice President Joe Biden praised faith groups for their efforts to fight the disease in west africa. He said their ability to understand cultural differences makes them effective. In liberia, the state of emergency was lifted due to the declining rate of infections, though the country remains on alert amid reports of new outbreaks in rural areas. A Human Rights Group said this week that u. S. Led airstrikes against Islamic State militants in syria have killed more than 860 people, including 50 civilians. The syrian observatory for human rights said women and children were among the civilian deaths. Meanwhile, the u. S. Continued its assault on isis around the Syrian Border town of kobani. In recent weeks kurdish fighters from iraq have arrived to help defend the strategic town. Isis and other extremist groups have been waging an active campaign, especially on social media, to recruit muslims in other parts of the world to join them. Studies show that only a tiny percentage of american muslims are committing terrorist acts or leaving to fight with isis. Still, in the face of the challenge, more and more us muslim groups are launching new initiatives to prevent violent extremism from taking hold in their communities. And as kim lawton reports, some of the efforts have been controversial. Reporter in washington, d. C. , Imam Zia Makhdoom and his wife Fatimah Popal are participating in an annual interfaith unity walk. Theyve brought along members of make space, the group they founded in 2012 for young muslims. Its been a full day of learning about other religious traditions, and doing a Service Project making meals for the homeless. The couple says activities like this build a positive selfidentity among Young American muslims. And they believe that will help prevent the youth from becoming susceptible to extremist ideas. We want to feel as though we are part of this society. You can be a muslim and an american at the same time. You cant just say im an american and then not give back to your country. So this is an opportunity to bridge gaps and to create dialogue and positive dialogue. Reporter as isis, alqaeda and other terrorist groups ramp up their recruiting efforts in the west, many islamic organizations in the us are launching new initiatives aimed at preventing radicalization. They say while the number of americans muslims seeking to commit acts of terror is small, the issue must be addressed. Our biggest problem as muslims and what were facing right now is extremism. We need to nip it in the bud. And that is through creating these Healthy Communities and not just here in america but all around the world so that muslims can talk about these issues in an open environment and really take back our faith. Reporter but its been a controversial prospect. Some muslims fear new projects to combat extremism will imply that the problem is bigger than it really is. And other muslim voices are pushing for even more internal critique. The pathway to get there does involve airing dirty laundry, does involve open public acknowledgement that we have core interpretations, not the scripture, but interpretations of the scripture, that need to be modernized and are used by radicals. Reporter earlier this year, the Muslim Public Affairs council, mpac, released its safe spaces initiative, which the group describes as a toolkit to help mosques and local Community Centers combat violent extremism. Mpac National Policy analyst Hoda Elshishtawy says they recommend a multistep process which starts with holistic projects to help prevent extremism from ever taking hold. Usually what weve found in, in a majority of these cases, is that troubled individuals really have underlying issues whether its Mental Health issues, family issues at home, that these issues are not being dealt with. So our prevention programs are creating these safe spaces so that people can talk about issues and grievances that they have and work through them in a healthy way. Reporter imam makhdoom says his makespace group tries to provide a constructive platform for discussion of grievances about things like perceived discrimination and racial profiling or disagreements with u. S. Foreign policy. And so we seek gods guidance and we seek his mercy and we seek his assistance in all our affairs. Reporter he believes religious education is another key element for preventing radicalization. The more they understand islam and the teaching of islam, the less likely they are to fall for that kind of thing. And research has shown that. Reporter makhdoom, and a growing number of american Muslim Leaders, are taking their message online to try and reach young people through social media, the very place ideological extremists often wield the most influence. Its important for the sane voices, the moderate voices, the true authentic voices of islam to take the battle to them. Reporter if an individual appears to be moving toward radicalization, mpac urges community and religious leaders to surround that person in a proactive intervention. And after that, if the person seems to be moving toward violence, mpac advises he or she should be ejected from the community, with the knowledge of Law Enforcement. Across the country, muslim groups have been trying to build good relationships with Law Enforcement to facilitate this. But elshishtawy says there have been several points of tension. You can talk about fbi tactics with informants, you can talk about the use of surveillance, widespread surveillance, theyre real issues that we need to deal with as american muslims and as we build those relationships with Law Enforcement. Reporter in phoenix, arizona, Maricopa County attorney Bill Montgomery has been meeting with members of the local Muslim Community in an effort he hopes can be a model for other cities. He says trust needs to go both ways. It can be challenging at times because of the continuing need to maintain that open dialogue and communication. Its too easy for people to fall back on stereotypes, whether out of ignorance or an outright effort to discriminate. So its that constant communication thats required. Reporter even if someone is identified as a radical, montgomery says often there is only so much Law Enforcement can do. That puts much of the responsibility back on the Muslim Community. We dont have a future crime squad, and we dont have thought police, but rather, to bring those individuals to the attention of local Community Leaders who can help clarify what is and is not acceptable in authentic islamic teaching. Reporter one of the Muslim Leaders montgomery meets with regularly is dr. Zuhdi jasser, president of the American Islamic forum for democracy and a member of the u. S. Commission on International Religious freedom. He says hes pleased more muslim groups are trying to combat any extremism before it turns to violence. But he believes many of the new initiatives dont go deep enough in addressing ideology, what he calls the battle for the soul of islam. We love our faith, but we want to have a debate about what entails the identification and the laws and the rules of that faith. We need to have a vibrant criticism, critique of our ideologies, so that we can grow. Reporter jasser has generated strong controversy within the Muslim Community. He is highly critical of political islam and urges what he calls the separation of mosque and state. He says sermons in too many us mosques are focused on grievances. Unfortunately, you know, theres just so much demonization of america that it becomes fodder for those kids that go off and become radicals to then feel theyre justified in their acts of terror. Reporter jasser founded the Muslim Liberty project to promote American Values among young Muslim Leaders. Courtney lonergan and seema kassab lead the Muslim Liberty project at Arizona State university. Lonergan is a convert to islam who says shes been shocked by the level of anger shes heard inside some parts of the u. S. Muslim community. I work with so many young people, its easy just to take the, blame somebody else and take the victim mindset. Oh, poor me. This is what happened. And theres not a lot thats happening in the community to, to empower young people. The issue is that most muslims arent like that, but we have to go out there and show people that. We have to show the world that muslims themselves. If you instill in our youth and in our muslim communities, a love and passion for america, for liberty, for a nation state based in freedom that all people are equal, they would never be radicalized. Reporter Hoda Elshishtawy says its important to tackle the problem of extremism without condemning all of islam or fomenting antimuslim bigotry. She says american muslims wont allow their faith to be defined by isis. They are destruction. They have nothing to do with building of life, whereas islam is about enjoining what is good. Its about life, its about preserving human rights, dignity, justice. And so what weve seen, is that muslims now are taking back that narrative. Reporter she says grassroots communitywide efforts are the only way that can happen. Im kim lawton reporting. Next week well have a special report on some of the people who are attracted to isis. Thousands of jewish leaders gathered this week in washington, d. C. , for the jewish federations general assembly. They discussed a broad range of issues facing the global jewish community, such as rising antisemitism. Among the speakers were Supreme Court justices Stephen Breyer and elena kagan, who are both jewish. Breyer said he is guided by the torahs emphasis on justice, in hebrew, tzedek. There is a message, and the message has something to do with tzedek, and it has something to do with tzedakah, and it has something to do with social justice and the law should work out so there is not too much injustice in the way in which it does work out. Those are things i think, those are things elena thinks, those are things we all think. The church of jesus christ of latter day saints, the mormons, has been conducting an Internet Campaign of transparency about its history. A recent subject is the marital status of the churchs founder and prophet, joseph smith, long admired by mormons as an exemplary man. Now, the church acknowledges that smith had up to 40 wives, some already married and one just 14 years old. Should Public Schools be closed for the muslim holy day of eid aladha . In montgomery county, maryland, just outside washington, d. C. , muslims have insisted that they should have the same rights on their holidays that christians and jews have on theirs. But the county board of education says there arent enough Muslim Students to justify a day off for everyone. So School Officials are taking all the religious names of the holidays off their calendar while keeping only the existing days off. In rural nova scotia, a dwindling anglican congregation had to sell its 200yearold building. In deep south louisiana, a Southern Baptist congregation needed a new sanctuary. So, as David Tereshchuk reports, the baptists bought the anglicans building, which was taken apart and trucked 2,000 miles to cajun country, where the baptists are putting it back together, piece by numbered piece. Reporter in Abita Springs, louisiana, the wooden framework of a 40foot tower goes up as this deep south Community Throws itself into a major building effort. These Southern Baptists are raising a new church through their own labors, under the guidance of a professional timber specialist. You have the congregation pitching in and becoming part of the construction team. Theyre putting their own sweatequity into it and that ownership really helps. Its an honor to be working with somebody who cares about what theyre going to be getting. Reporter the Church Taking shape here in Abita Springs may be new to the people wholl soon be worshipping in it, but it is, in fact, very old. Its story begins a long time ago, and perhaps more remarkably, very far away from here. Off to the distant north, on the Atlantic Coast of canada, lies the largely rural province of nova scotia, and its wellscattered with churches, often historic and classic in style. But at all saints, a 200yearold Anglican Church in granville centre, the congregation became so small in recent years that the parish could no longer maintain its building. This is a part of rural nova scotia, and our issues around depopulation mean we end up having buildings for which we have no future use. Reporter as nova scotia churches have been decommissioned, they have sometimes become private homes. But the people of all saints wanted their building to remain a sanctuary, even though it had to be sold. The primary concern was that it continue to be a church for others. Having been here for as long as it has been, better that than simply being torn down and destroyed. Reporter and so the louisianans entered the picture. Pastor jerel keene of Abita Springs wanted a real church to house his congregation. At the time they had only makeshift worship arrangements. At first pastor keene, with a historic structure in mind, searched for his Ideal Building just in the american south. I began looking in the mississippi delta, along east texas for old churches. After looking for maybe seven or eight months, a year, i saw something online in nova scotia, a nice church. And so i flew up there, liked what i saw. And i walked through a ninefoot door and i said, wow, this is really nice. You know, this is the real thing. So i fell in love with it immediately. I told them i wanted it, well buy it, lets do it. Reporter a mammoth task then followed. The church was taken apart, in itself no easy matter, because of the solid way it was originally builtwellseasoned, oldgrowth spruce timbers and yellow birch braces, fashioned entirely in keeping with the areas rugged farm buildings. One of the things about this building that is certainly interesting to me is that its built in the style of the barns by craftsmen who knew what they were doing. The whole building is very sturdily built. Reporter parishioners at all saints like Allen Slauenwhite were proud of their churchs historic past and were also now hopeful for its future. What strikes me about it is the artsycraft that went into that building. They didnt have a chainsaw or the power tools we have today, and that building has been here, you know, all those years since 1814. Im in agreement with whats taking place. Its going somewhere south, and its going to be put to good use. Reporter the churchs ancient timbers and its georgianstyle windows were loaded onto an 18wheel tractortrailer, and they were trucked the entire 2,000 miles to southern louisiana. To me, getting it here was not even a question. I knew we could get materials here. It didnt seem like a big feat to me as a christian. I know the lord will give us whatever we ask for. Reporter then came the reassembling of all the timbers, each fitted again into its previously matching piece. It involved some struggle. A lot of wiggling of, of heavy wood and a lot of maneuvering and tapping in dowels. Just imagine a big puzzle. Reporter the team was helped, to some degree at least, by the original nova scotian builders own coding that employed roman numerals to identify each joint. The roman numerals, their numbering system, is all on the outside of the frame. So we labeled it with our own labeling system. Im doublechecking that as we put it back together with their system. Reporter is it matching up . Yeah, oh yeah. Thats how i know that things are right for where they go. Reporter while the church may be replicated physically in its new location, its style of worship will likely be greatly changed. The somber tone often said to typify canadian anglicans will be giving way to Southern Baptist enthusiasm. Im sure they love the lord just like we do. But cultures are different. The sermons will be a little different. We do preach the gospel pretty strong. We have a wonderful pianist who jazzes up our hymnal. Everybody in our congregation sings, they sing loud, thats a rule, and its probably the only rule we have is sing loud. And we shake the place when we sing. You know, its not somber. Reporter the southerners are effecting another change, too, in a curious coincidence of history. During the 18th century nova scotia was home to the frenchspeaking acadians. But the british authorities expelled them, as threats to colonial rule, a story immortalized in Henry Wadsworth longfellows epic poem evangeline. Later many acadians eventually ended up settling in louisiana and were given the abbreviated label of cajuns. I was able to trace back all of my heritage except for my dads, fathers side, back to nova scotia. Reporter amy keene is the pastors wife and comes from a family wellrooted in acadiancajun traditions. I grew up with my greatgrandparents, and they spoke french. They did not speak english, and we would have a lot of that culture thats been lost. Reporter theres a kind of irony in that amys ancestors back in nova scotia, as catholics and suspected rebels, would have been looked down on by the englishspeaking anglicans whose church is now hers and her familys. They were maybe not really welcome everywhere that they tried to settle, you know, for different reasons. Reporter and they may not have been welcome in that church . No, probably not. Reporter but whatever big changes may be taking place, continuity and harmony are also on the minds of those involved. Timber expert dan reagans wife, kimberley, coowner of their restoration company, has worked to ensure the churchs historic links remain unbroken. I spoke with the congregation just before coming down here, and they sent their warmest greetings, and theres hope of continuing dialogue between the two congregations. And i just want to say to the folks in, where is it, in louisiana, that are going to put the church back up and are going to make good use of it, i just want to say congratulations, and im really happy that its found a new and wonderful home, and i hope youll protect it from the termites, thats all. I heard that they were praying for us now as were erecting this building and i hope they feel like this is still their home. They can come camp out with us anytime they want to. They can use our building anytime they want to. Its a church, its the lords. Its really not ours. Reporter its hoped that the church might be ready for use by christmas time, when these revered old rafters could be ringing again to some very different rhythms from before. For religion and ethics newsweekly, this is David Tereshchuk in Abita Springs, louisiana. Finally, as the weather grows colder and the holidays approach, we have a belief and practice segment about young people of faith seeking to help those without shelter. We visited with the young adults of sixth and i synagogue in washington, d. C. , who served breakfast to the homeless in partnership with the Interfaith Group so others might eat. Rabbi scott perlo was our guide. I think for the generation of jews we work with here, the young professionals, social justice is their faith. In judaism, we have this idea that obligation comes before analysis. And theres lots of stuff that you do just because you have to do it and then you sort of figure out the why of it. We have, i think at the last count, Something Like 6,800 Homeless People in the district, not to mention a huge problem with Youth Homelessness here. We dont have nearly enough beds for teens and youth who are homeless on the street. We live, we work downtown. This is our spiritual community. On some level it would just be pretty egregious of us not to get involved. Basically torah, which is both for our holiest book and the assembled vast collection of jewish wisdom, torah, torah is human dignity. And if its not human dignity, its not torah. The idea of being able to feed those who havent been fed, to clothe the naked, and to house the homeless, um, i think is probably the spiritual apex of what the torah is trying to teach. Everybody here is gifted with a soul that was fashioned in gods image which is to say of divine eternal worth, of a worth that cant ever be taken away, which is the reason that if someone needs help from me, i really have to give it because they are worth in gods eyes just the same as i am. Thats our program for now. Im bob abernethy. You can follow us on twitter and facebook and watch us anytime on the pbs app for iphones and ipads. There is also much more on our website, where you can listen to or watch every program. Join us at pbs. Org. As we leave you, performances from the interfaith unity walk in washington, d. C. Charlie welcome to the program. Im charlie rose. The program is charlie rose the week. Just ahead, the popes reforms come to america. China and the u. S. Reach a new deal on the environment. And jon stewart makes his debut as a film director. Your wife will never see you again. Your child your child will never know you and your mother will die brokenhearted and you did this charlie those stories and more on what happened and what might happen. Funding by charlie rose is provided by the following gllts charlie so you began how . We have a rsi