>> abernethy: ming up: democracy and a religious revival in e world's largest muslim natn. >> abernhy: plus, wisconsin monks who needed businessdvice and the on-line marketing experts who helpethem build em a $5 million a year business. >> abernethy:nd, a rabbi describes the spiritu challenges othe jewish high holdays, which begin next week: ten days fr rosh hoshanah to yom kippu captioning sponsored by t lilly endowment

>> abernethy: welcome. i bob abernethy. good to have you with us there was divided action from religus leaders this week to esident obama's call on congress to approve comprehensi health care reform. quotinghe late senator edward kenedy, the president again call health care a moral issue. >> at stake are not just the details of policybut fundamental princles of social justice and the aracter of our countr >> abernethy:iberal protestantgenerally endorsed the president's proposal but the conservate family research

counl branded them a "government takeer" and organized a live web castto oppose them the u.s. catholibishops welcomed quote"the president's commitment exclude federal funding of abortion." the bishops havcalled "affordable and cessible healthare a fundamental human right." more evidence that povey in this country has bn expanding. accoing to new numbers from t u.s. census bureau, the nation's poverty rate ro to 13.2% in 20-- nearly 40 million people. this is the highestevel since 1997. eight years after t 9-11 rrorist attacks, americans y slims in the u.s. contine to fe significant discrimination according a new survey from the pew forum on religionnd public life, 58% americans said muslims are suected to more discrimination an other religious groups.

35% lieved jews were the second most like to face a lot of discrimination. respondents said homosexls fa even more discrimination than muims. near 64% of respondents said gays anlesbians face a lot of discriminatin. we have special report today about the iamic religious revival in indosia, which has the largest muslim polation of any country in t world. inonesia was a dutch colony until aft world war two. then there were sever authoritariaregimes until 1998, when there was a g shift to democracy. recently, there have be some terrist attacks. but, igeneral, the new freedoms have l to a surge in religious obsernce and modete politics that oppose exemism. fred de sam lazaroeports from jakarta. >> porter: jakarta looks like

any other modern asianapital, but here, alongsi the glittering ofce towers, you'll also find imposing huses of worship. at the istiqlal mosque rectly, about 10,000 worshirs gathered for iday noon prayer. it part of a religious revil that's been taking ple alongside a boing economy in recent dedes. is visible in mosques-and in malls. at this crded shopping center, e most popular garment see to be the head scarf. >> i'm here bause islam tells women twear the scarf. >> reporter: this 40-year-o ccountant began covering her hair three yearago. >i feel ashamed, because i should have been wearingit since i was young, b at least i am wearing now. reporter: islam is making a comeback in indonesialong with democcy that began 10 years ago. for years after indepdence

om the dutch in 1945, and th under decades of suharto's dictatorship, region was officially lerated at best. >> islam and theraditional, customaryaws were regarded as being backwa and primarily blamed for, you know,he defeat for many muslim cotries under eopean rule, so that many of the earlienationalist leaders, ny of the educated elite, i fact, turd their back on religion, andmong the younger generation there seems toe a greater wiingness both to be enly religious and to be modernnd educated at same times. i think maybehis is not just a search for grear spiritual anchor, but also i think 's greater self-confiden >> reporter:he and others say ths growth of religious pression is spawned bthe new

democratic freedoms. it's neither fundamentalt nor milita, notwithstandinrecent terrorist indents. bbings in two jakarta hotels killed ne people last july, and a 2002 attacin the urist haven of bali killed more than 200. but religion scholar ul abdalla, with the liberal ismic youth association, says sucextremism is not widespread. >> for some people, islam a practicein this country is corrupted. movies and food andyou know, lifeste and so forth, it's pretty much influenc by american cultus. so when radal islamic idologies was introduced by some actists to indonesia, it appeed to young people, but that's, you know, the appl is limited to a inge in the ciety.

it's not a predominant trd. >> reporter: the more curate gauge, he says, is indones's recent electn, in which cular incumbent president susilo bambang dhoyono won easily. islamist pties, which had surg to 40% of the vote in 2004, lostround, to less than 30%. >> some people feared that i democry, if the democratic space is opened it wilallow lamist party to dominate th arena. that is not true. >> reporter: signifantly, the reaction of the islamist an other parts after the election indicates a commment to democracy, ss anies baswedan, a scholar of politicaislam. >> whave around 40 parties. ly nine were able to gain seatin the house, yet we don't

see significant proble from supporters who a not having their parts in the house. acceance to political result, democraticesult, is very important. >> reporte he says indonesians, especially the4% who suive on less than a dollar day, have much more pragmatic concerns: food pris, the economy in general, and corruption. ven voters who'd like to impe stricter islic law or sharia. >> from what i understa about ismic states, the people live in prosperity, and e law is enforced verytrictly. those whsteal, those who are corruptthey cut off their han rather than here, where people who canribe judges and police get away wh things. >> report: yet marta, who like many indonesians uses jusone name, voted for the sular president. so did his neighbor, msuddin, who praises a vernment initiative that's helped e poor.

>> translated ): numb one is cash for pr families, and the second cheap rice. weet $10 a month in cash and kilos of rice. we are a muslim family, buwe are not thattrict. i vot for the party that is already lping people. it doesn't matter wther it's islamic or not. >> porter: that kind of sentiment has moved islamist parts to the center. >> pele understand now, campaigning, tha"we are musls, we are an islamic party, this is sharia platform" does not sell people ask, "ll me what else, tell men reality, what will you deliver beyond the ogans?" >> we don't namit sharia, because if yoname it sharia people then frobeginning spicious to see. >> rerter: fahri hamzah is a member oparliament with the most successful islami party, called prosperity anjustice, which joined the ruling coalition govnment. alough it once campaigned fo isamic law and more conservative women's atti,

hamzah says they are happto govn by consensus in a liberal democratic framework. >> we are islamic party, but whawe talk about islam is slam as the universal value, because we lieve every eligion, you know, inspired go that's whye follow this direction tt anti-corruption is islamiagenda, clean government islamic agenda, you kn, welfare, manage our economy, open economyyou know, liberaze our economy is one of the, you know, good agend >> reporter: that interetation might well have itsoots in the story of islam in this va, diverse archipelago. >> we e used to living in differences. indonesia is composed of islandsover 17,000 islands and over 700 difrent ethnic groups with differe languages,

differt cultural traditions. islam came to indonia fairly late, om 12th century up, mostly througtraders and sufi teachers. they foundndonesia already very rich layers of culres, and to be accepted a new beef, a new region would have to adapto local circumstances rom the beginning. i think that was the se when hduism came here and when buddhism me here and then when islam came here, when christianity alsoame here. >> reporte so even though its 5% muslim today, islam here reflects indonesia's lyglot culture, realy evident in aritecture, langua, even in the mall scarf sps. >>we believe in indonesia that islam is more modern,ore moderate. pele who wear the plain drs, it's not ouray. >> ( tralated ): it will look

strange if indonesian woman wore that ki of plain clothes, especially noways. theprobably think you are a terrorist's wife. >> reporter: sp owner, saleswoman, and ctomer told us there'so contradiction between isl and fashion, that the notionf a plainly dressed, ful covered woman is foreign. shopping re was nur inani, who was buyinfor customers in her own clothing buness in the island of sumatra. >mostly they are looking for clothes this long andhis long, which ibasically covering the bu and the arms. i ok for the dress first,d then i will fd the matching scarfthe color, the style. >> reporter: terroristncidents asi, indonesia is enjoying a period of stabilityarely seen in its independent histor indonesia are free to choose their gornment, and they are ee to pursue religion, and they've made it cleain elections that they want to pursue eacseparately, that is, to kp religion out of vernment. for "religi & ethics newsweekly," this is fd de sam

lazaro in jakarta. >> aberthy: controversy in egypt this ek as police in the a female journalist in sudawas freed this wk after being jailefor wearing pants in puic. the case gain international attention. lubna hussein was found guil of violating the country's decency laws. uner islamic law, she faced a possible sennce of 40 lashes. instead, she was assessed $200 fine, which she resed to pay, but which otherpaid for her. now, have youheard the one abt the cistercian monks who wanted business advice and the two corado women who are experts at oine marketing? bob faw repos from wisconsin.

>> reporter: for 90years, this has been the hallmar indeed, thpassion, of cistercian monks: prayer seven tim every day nearly fe hours each day are devoted, sayshe superior of this abbe to the solitary pursuit of friendship with d. >it's really about a relationship with go and prayer is just the worwe give to the conrsation and the reationship we have with the divineerson. >> reporter: on arly 600 reme acres in south central wisconsin,ven private time, as when brother sthen treat walks the stations of the cros even at time is spent, he says, liing his mind exclusively to god. >> the main rt of our business

is goininto that church seven times a day and praising d and prayg for the safetynd well- ing of the world. >> reporter: en when father bernard relaxesith his spanish hotbloo allehandro and tinaco, or with the ordinary bertthere is meditation. >> thrs is about being and abt awareness, and there is a quiness to them, obviously, fo the most part, so they are very contemplative esence in our life. >> reporter: the rituals,he routines herere familiar, but what sets this abbey apt is that while it eps one foot in the 11th century, the oer is rmly planted in the 21st. on e grounds nearby, with a background of egorian chants, is a high-powered iernet operati run by two laywomen which permits thebbey to flourh. >> allow them to be what they

were t on the planet to be: to be mks, to do good, to pray for the wld. >> reporter: all this began seven yrs ago when father bernard went buy toner for his printe >> i said, "yoknow, wow, this is ju way too expensive for a unch of black dust or a few squirts of ink. there has got to be a better way." >> reporter: so in 200 father bernard startelasermonks, selling ink and ton to charitable groups at pricefar less than office supplstores. in colorado, online maeting experts cindy griffith d sarah caniglia noticed and ge father bernard a call. >> he said, come on outo wiscsin. he id, there is beer, you know, theris beer, there are brats, me on out. we're on 600 acres, and sewhat you think. >> repoer: sarah and cindy didn't just visit; ty stayed. >> i w an opportunity to take the mos where they needed to be d to relieve... to take a business idea, the rm of an idea which he ha and turn that vision into a scess. >> it's a wonderf symbiosis

that letss use our talents, lets them use their tales, and helps us do a lot of goowork. >> porter: i gather you regard that as serendipitou i gater you regard it almost as ovidential? >> boh. i uld call it sacred serendipit >> rorter: now they also sell luxe coffee, benevolent blends, with profi supporting families who pick the ffee beans-- also chocolate creamy camels, jams, and jellies me in other masteries, many of78 sales st year were nearly $5 million. 80% of that was forxpenses, but % went to fund the abbey, and the remaining 10% wento charity, from a cp for kids with h.i.vto buddhists in tibet. >> we're a for-profit whose bottom linis to not make any profit at the end of theear, beuse it's all given away in some form or faion. that's sociaentrepreneurism, really, at its radicalest. >> reporter: eir product line ao includes benevolent biscuits, tres for dogs

prepared in the abbey kiten, rolled, stamped, and bakd by the cistercians themselves nd sampled by the abbey'quality control officer,udwig, the abb's doberman pinscher. here no tant is kept under a baske wht father robert keffer paint will seday be sold to help maiain the aby. >> you workuring the work hours. you op, you go to prayer. it's a very...egimented is the ong word, but it is a very disciplin life. so thas a little hard for the artist: oh, i've got is great inspiration. i can't stop and go pray w. >reporter: but you have to. >> yes, you haveto, and you most certainly can. >> reporter: shere there is a balan between the rigors of monasticism and e demands of the markplace in an abbey which is both in the world d

apart. >> we have cellhones. we have wi-fi. we haveyou know, things like the normal world. but we know wn to turn them off. >> reporter: even tugh that takes someetting used to, says brother stephen, o left what he says was a tisfying job for a quak social service agency because heelt the need to do something more. >> i miss certain things, but you would be surised with what youeplace it with. here i am in a community of x guys, and if it all wrks out i will spe the rest of my life witthem and whoever comes aft, and i will be buried on that hill. >> repoer: and for those who contend this w of life, this widrawal from the world, is ultately selfish, cistercians have an answer f that. the christian tradition understandslaces like this, contemplive monasteries, as ese lighthouses, these beons

where people are joinedogether in prayer and prayg on behalf of the wle world. >> reporter: theirs a calling which appls only to a few, but a calling which transfos those who embce its rigors, just as being part of the cmunity has changed a lapsd catholic and a divorced gramother. > personally, i think i'm mo ounded, more settled, more peaceful. i mean, i was goingo say the abbey has brght that kind of religioupart of me that i didn't have before i ca here. >> for me, it's been as ch of a spitual journey as it has all other types of jrneys. it's really brought me ck into the foldn a really slow, step- by-step, peaceful way. >> reporter: so here ithis oasis of sereni, seven times every day the psalm the chants will continue tocho.

>> in some ways,e perch a ittle bit more lightly on th planet, and, you know, we ha one foot firy planted in the earth and ather one off in the heavens. reporter: here where they ve both simply and smartly, havi learned, as one put it, "only ose who can see the invisible n accomplish the imposble." for "religion ethics newsweey," this is bob faw in sparta, wisconsin. >> abnethy: last week, we had a story about catholic prit leo patalinghugwho combines ministry and cooking. food netwo celebrity chef bby flay had challenged fater leo to a tv cook off mang the priest's tradema steak fusion fajitas. this week the el aired. father leoon.

on our calendar, during ts last week of the islamic mth of ramadanmuslims mark the night of power, when th believe the angel gabel revealed the firsterses of the koran to the prophetohammad. according to islamic traditn, this nht is the time when god estlishes the events to occur in the coming year. and theewish high holy days, which begin next friday eveng with roshhoshana, the jewish new year, and enten days later wih yom kippur, the day of atonemen forgiveness. the process over that time to make shuva, repentance. our guide to t observances was rabbi irwin la, an author and head of the national wish ceer for learning and leadership in new yk. >> i think o of the interesting thingsbout rosh hashanah in neral and about the high holiday period is tat

the celebratory aspe, which is rosh hashanah and e celebration of the new yea actually comes beforehe atonement focus, whh is yom kippur. so you come out of rosh shanah and say, "new year. everything's sweet. it amazing. life is goo" and then okay, well, givethat, why not check ou who i am? teshuva is this press over rosh hashanah and yom kippurn whch we return to that place deep, deep down of who really want to b and so everything having to do with rosh hashah and yom ppur, all the prayers and all the liturgicaleadings and althe readings from scripture andhe variety of practices, whether it blowing a shofar, or on yom kippurt's fasting a staying in the synagogue for most of t day, all ofhe practices are designed to help us ma teshuva, return to that dpest

path that we know we wt to be on. there really are tee basic questions th these 10 days invite us think about. o is can i change as a human being? can i reallbecome better? and the seconduestion is, is rgiveness possible? n i forgive other people an can i feel forgin? and the third estion that runs through all of these day is am i accounble for my behavior? and the jewish higholy days, in the centl prayer of rosh hashanah-yom kippur, ho shall live, anwho shall die," in that pray it says on rosh hashanah it is written-in other words your fe, your destiny, in a sense, is itten down, is inribed: and on yom kippur, it's sealed. our behaviordoes affect the nature of our life. i don't know if it affts whher we literally live or

die, but it surely affecs whher we live or whether we die in fe. if rosh hashanah andom kippur wk, at the end of yom kippur there's a final bla. thlast thing on yom kippur is a finalong blast of the shof, and at that moment i should fl two things exactly at the same me. onis i am really perfect and loved just the way i amand i can do better, and to ld those wo things together: i'm perft anloved just as i am, and i can do better is t process of teshuva working. >> abenethy: that's our program for now. m bob abernethy. we have mucmore on our website, inclung more about theewish high holy days and mh more of our interview with rabbirwin kula. audio and deo podcasts are also availle. join us at pbs.org. as we lve you this week cantor

abraham lubin from conegation beth el ibethesda, maryland. captioning sponsored b the lilly enwment captioned by media access group at wh access.wg.org 2novg2c no2noc