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| The Atheist Preacher. The Thorn in Beijing’s Side. The Mayor Awaiting Her Murder. | The Atheist Preacher. The Thorn in Beijing’s Side. The Mayor Awaiting Her Murder. |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| The opposite of a celebrity profile, which offers a surface-skimming sketch of someone everyone knows, The Saturday Profile instead delivers an in-depth look at an unfamiliar but fascinating person doing influential work around the world. | The opposite of a celebrity profile, which offers a surface-skimming sketch of someone everyone knows, The Saturday Profile instead delivers an in-depth look at an unfamiliar but fascinating person doing influential work around the world. |
| Since 2002, the profile has discovered artists, activists, entrepreneurs and others whose pursuits may not yet have reached a global audience, but whose efforts — sometimes eccentric, but always important — are making real differences on six continents. | Since 2002, the profile has discovered artists, activists, entrepreneurs and others whose pursuits may not yet have reached a global audience, but whose efforts — sometimes eccentric, but always important — are making real differences on six continents. |
| This year, for the first time, we’re offering a year-end roundup of three of our favorites, giving readers the chance to meet for the first time, or get reacquainted with, characters worth knowing. | |
| Despite being an outspoken atheist, the Rev. Gretta Vosper has steadfastly maintained her place in the United Church of Canada, Canada’s pre-eminent Protestant church. | Despite being an outspoken atheist, the Rev. Gretta Vosper has steadfastly maintained her place in the United Church of Canada, Canada’s pre-eminent Protestant church. |
| Although as a child she claimed that Jesus had taught her to skate, Ms. Vosper never considered herself a devotee. Instead, she says she has always understood God obliquely, as love. | Although as a child she claimed that Jesus had taught her to skate, Ms. Vosper never considered herself a devotee. Instead, she says she has always understood God obliquely, as love. |
| Divinity school cemented her metaphorical views of God. But once she began preaching, she realized many congregants thought she was talking about an all-knowing, all-seeing spirit who answered prayers and called some to heaven and others to hell. | Divinity school cemented her metaphorical views of God. But once she began preaching, she realized many congregants thought she was talking about an all-knowing, all-seeing spirit who answered prayers and called some to heaven and others to hell. |
| “I realized how little of what I said got through to anyone,” said Ms. Vosper, 61. | “I realized how little of what I said got through to anyone,” said Ms. Vosper, 61. |
| So four years after she was hired at West Hill United Church in Toronto, she delivered a sermon called “Deconstructing God,” laying bare her disbelief in a theistic God. | So four years after she was hired at West Hill United Church in Toronto, she delivered a sermon called “Deconstructing God,” laying bare her disbelief in a theistic God. |
| She recalls congregation members hugging her afterward. | She recalls congregation members hugging her afterward. |
| “Most of the congregation was in a similar place theologically,” said Debbie Ellis, a member at West Hill, where Ms. Vosper was first hired in 1997. | “Most of the congregation was in a similar place theologically,” said Debbie Ellis, a member at West Hill, where Ms. Vosper was first hired in 1997. |
| While the policies of the church are propelled more by social justice than theology, and its leadership supported abortion and same-sex union before either became legal in Canada, her stance still stirred an existential passion. | While the policies of the church are propelled more by social justice than theology, and its leadership supported abortion and same-sex union before either became legal in Canada, her stance still stirred an existential passion. |
| She received death threats, one taped to the church’s front door that said, “Suffer the witch not to live.” | She received death threats, one taped to the church’s front door that said, “Suffer the witch not to live.” |
| The local jurisdiction of the church ruled her “unsuitable” for ministry since she “does not believe in God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit,” and she was on the verge of being defrocked. | The local jurisdiction of the church ruled her “unsuitable” for ministry since she “does not believe in God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit,” and she was on the verge of being defrocked. |
| David Giuliano, the church’s leader from 2006 to 2009, compared Ms. Vosper to an Amazon manager who doesn’t believe in online shopping. “I suppose someone could have the skills to do it,” he said. “But why would she want to?” | David Giuliano, the church’s leader from 2006 to 2009, compared Ms. Vosper to an Amazon manager who doesn’t believe in online shopping. “I suppose someone could have the skills to do it,” he said. “But why would she want to?” |
| But Ms. Vosper’s congregation of self-described agnostics and atheists rallied behind her, and in November 2018, the local jurisdiction agreed that she could continue to minister her congregation in Toronto’s gritty east end. | But Ms. Vosper’s congregation of self-described agnostics and atheists rallied behind her, and in November 2018, the local jurisdiction agreed that she could continue to minister her congregation in Toronto’s gritty east end. |
| Since then, Ms. Vosper has slowly stripped away the traditional biblical language from her Sunday “weekly gatherings.” In its place, she has put words and rituals reflecting her congregation’s agreed beliefs — love, justice, compassion, integrity, forgiveness. | Since then, Ms. Vosper has slowly stripped away the traditional biblical language from her Sunday “weekly gatherings.” In its place, she has put words and rituals reflecting her congregation’s agreed beliefs — love, justice, compassion, integrity, forgiveness. |
| To sit through a service at West Hill United is to feel as if you were watching a classic film that has been dubbed into a different language. | To sit through a service at West Hill United is to feel as if you were watching a classic film that has been dubbed into a different language. |
| Instead of the Lord’s Prayer, the congregation recites the “Words of Commitment,” which Ms. Vosper wrote with her husband, the church’s musical director. They stand to sing humanist hymns dedicated to peace and love that the two also wrote. | Instead of the Lord’s Prayer, the congregation recites the “Words of Commitment,” which Ms. Vosper wrote with her husband, the church’s musical director. They stand to sing humanist hymns dedicated to peace and love that the two also wrote. |
| To her, the close relationships between congregants is the definition of God. | To her, the close relationships between congregants is the definition of God. |
| “I see us as beams of light between each of us, and that light is a source of strength and encouragement and courage and bravado sometimes and peace and healing,” she said. | “I see us as beams of light between each of us, and that light is a source of strength and encouragement and courage and bravado sometimes and peace and healing,” she said. |
| —Catherine Porter | —Catherine Porter |
| He has been mocked for years in China’s state-controlled news media for being fat, which he isn’t, and denounced more recently as a C.I.A. agent and a member of an American-directed “gang of four” supposedly responsible for orchestrating the Hong Kong protest movement. He says he isn’t those things, either. | He has been mocked for years in China’s state-controlled news media for being fat, which he isn’t, and denounced more recently as a C.I.A. agent and a member of an American-directed “gang of four” supposedly responsible for orchestrating the Hong Kong protest movement. He says he isn’t those things, either. |
| That China has put so much energy into demonizing Jimmy Lai, 71, is a measure of his singular status as the one prominent businessman in Hong Kong who openly supports antigovernment protests, routinely denounces the Communist Party leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” and refuses to follow fellow tycoons in paying at least token obeisance to Beijing. | That China has put so much energy into demonizing Jimmy Lai, 71, is a measure of his singular status as the one prominent businessman in Hong Kong who openly supports antigovernment protests, routinely denounces the Communist Party leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” and refuses to follow fellow tycoons in paying at least token obeisance to Beijing. |
| As the majority owner of Next Media Group, which publishes Next, a weekly magazine, and Apple Daily, a popular newspaper and website, Mr. Lai has provided a powerful, wide-reaching platform to the mostly young and leaderless protesters. | As the majority owner of Next Media Group, which publishes Next, a weekly magazine, and Apple Daily, a popular newspaper and website, Mr. Lai has provided a powerful, wide-reaching platform to the mostly young and leaderless protesters. |
| The Chinese Communist Party, which controls two newspapers in the city, has squeezed the revenue of both of Mr. Lai’s publications by pressuring companies not to advertise, which has meant a loss of print revenue of about $44 million. | The Chinese Communist Party, which controls two newspapers in the city, has squeezed the revenue of both of Mr. Lai’s publications by pressuring companies not to advertise, which has meant a loss of print revenue of about $44 million. |
| While all of the other prominent tycoons in Hong Kong have stayed silent about the protests or issued statements filled with Communist-style jargon about the need to “resolutely stop the turmoil,” Mr. Lai has not only supported the protesters but has also joined them. | While all of the other prominent tycoons in Hong Kong have stayed silent about the protests or issued statements filled with Communist-style jargon about the need to “resolutely stop the turmoil,” Mr. Lai has not only supported the protesters but has also joined them. |
| “The establishment hates my guts. They ask, ‘Why don’t you just let us make money in peace?’ They think I’m a troublemaker,” he said, adding: “I am a troublemaker, but one with a good conscience.” | “The establishment hates my guts. They ask, ‘Why don’t you just let us make money in peace?’ They think I’m a troublemaker,” he said, adding: “I am a troublemaker, but one with a good conscience.” |
| He has caused further anger by cheering on President Trump, whom he describes as “the only one who plays hardball with China. This is the only thing that China understands.” | He has caused further anger by cheering on President Trump, whom he describes as “the only one who plays hardball with China. This is the only thing that China understands.” |
| Born across the border in Guangdong Province, Mr. Lai fled to Hong Kong in a boat as a boy and was a typical success story in the then British-ruled city. He stayed away from politics and diligently worked his way up from lowly jobs as a knitter to become the main owner of Giordano, a successful chain of clothing stores. | Born across the border in Guangdong Province, Mr. Lai fled to Hong Kong in a boat as a boy and was a typical success story in the then British-ruled city. He stayed away from politics and diligently worked his way up from lowly jobs as a knitter to become the main owner of Giordano, a successful chain of clothing stores. |
| The 1989 Tiananmen bloodshed, he said, made him start thinking about politics and led to his setting up Next Magazine the following year, a move that quickly hurt his clothing business once he started writing insulting articles about leaders in Beijing. | The 1989 Tiananmen bloodshed, he said, made him start thinking about politics and led to his setting up Next Magazine the following year, a move that quickly hurt his clothing business once he started writing insulting articles about leaders in Beijing. |
| “I had always hoped that China was changing and would become a democracy. I was wrong. It was wishful thinking,” he said. | “I had always hoped that China was changing and would become a democracy. I was wrong. It was wishful thinking,” he said. |
| In retaliation, the Chinese authorities began closing his Giordano clothing stores on the mainland. He realized he had to either sell or mind his tongue. He sold everything but his media holdings for nearly $320 million. | In retaliation, the Chinese authorities began closing his Giordano clothing stores on the mainland. He realized he had to either sell or mind his tongue. He sold everything but his media holdings for nearly $320 million. |
| That experience, he said, has helped him understand why so many of his fellow tycoons toe Beijing’s line. “As a businessman, you can’t confront the regime,” he said. | That experience, he said, has helped him understand why so many of his fellow tycoons toe Beijing’s line. “As a businessman, you can’t confront the regime,” he said. |
| Many business people, he says, do not believe their own statements against the protesters, but feel they have no choice but to show support for Beijing. This, he said, is understandable but also a mistake because China’s leaders “know that once they cow you, they can always cow you.” | Many business people, he says, do not believe their own statements against the protesters, but feel they have no choice but to show support for Beijing. This, he said, is understandable but also a mistake because China’s leaders “know that once they cow you, they can always cow you.” |
| —Andrew Higgins | —Andrew Higgins |
| Zarifa Ghafari, who at 26 became one of Afghanistan’s first female mayors, has said she fully expects to be assassinated. | Zarifa Ghafari, who at 26 became one of Afghanistan’s first female mayors, has said she fully expects to be assassinated. |
| Yet she is not keeping a low profile. | Yet she is not keeping a low profile. |
| After taking office in March in Maidan Shar, a town of 35,000 in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province, she had a banner hoisted with her name, a picture of her wearing a bright red head scarf and the slogan of her anti-littering campaign: “Let’s keep our city clean.” | After taking office in March in Maidan Shar, a town of 35,000 in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province, she had a banner hoisted with her name, a picture of her wearing a bright red head scarf and the slogan of her anti-littering campaign: “Let’s keep our city clean.” |
| Ms. Ghafari is well aware that she is on the front lines of the struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan, at a time when American peace talks with the Taliban have Afghans thinking about what might happen if the ultraconservative insurgents take part in running the country again. | Ms. Ghafari is well aware that she is on the front lines of the struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan, at a time when American peace talks with the Taliban have Afghans thinking about what might happen if the ultraconservative insurgents take part in running the country again. |
| “My job is to make people believe in women’s rights and women’s power,” she wrote on Twitter. | “My job is to make people believe in women’s rights and women’s power,” she wrote on Twitter. |
| Ms. Ghafari is not the first woman to assume a traditionally male job in Afghanistan’s patriarchal society. But she has one of the toughest imaginable positions. Wardak is a particularly conservative province, where support for the Taliban is widespread. | Ms. Ghafari is not the first woman to assume a traditionally male job in Afghanistan’s patriarchal society. But she has one of the toughest imaginable positions. Wardak is a particularly conservative province, where support for the Taliban is widespread. |
| Ms. Ghafari was appointed in the summer of 2018 by Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani. But after a disastrous first day as mayor, her term was delayed for months. | Ms. Ghafari was appointed in the summer of 2018 by Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani. But after a disastrous first day as mayor, her term was delayed for months. |
| After she arrived for work that July day, her office was mobbed by angry men brandishing sticks and rocks. She had to be escorted out by a squad of paramilitary officers. | After she arrived for work that July day, her office was mobbed by angry men brandishing sticks and rocks. She had to be escorted out by a squad of paramilitary officers. |
| “That was the worst day of my life,” she said. | “That was the worst day of my life,” she said. |
| “Don’t come back,” protesters jeered as she left. | “Don’t come back,” protesters jeered as she left. |
| Ms. Ghafari left town, but not quietly. “I was screaming so much I lost my voice,” she said. She went straight to the presidential palace in Kabul. | Ms. Ghafari left town, but not quietly. “I was screaming so much I lost my voice,” she said. She went straight to the presidential palace in Kabul. |
| “I told them I will claim my right to office if I have to set myself on fire in front of the palace,” she said. “It was not an idle threat.” | “I told them I will claim my right to office if I have to set myself on fire in front of the palace,” she said. “It was not an idle threat.” |
| It took nine months, but Ms. Ghafari finally managed to return, and reporters paid a visit to Maidan Shar to see her in action. | It took nine months, but Ms. Ghafari finally managed to return, and reporters paid a visit to Maidan Shar to see her in action. |
| She took a group of municipal cleaners to distribute plastic trash bags for her clean city campaign. At the bazaar, a crowd of men and boys gathered as soon as she appeared. | She took a group of municipal cleaners to distribute plastic trash bags for her clean city campaign. At the bazaar, a crowd of men and boys gathered as soon as she appeared. |
| Garbage was strewn all over the streets, but most refused to take a trash bag. Ms. Ghafari held her ground, demanding that people take the free bags and use them. “It’s our city. We should keep it clean,” she yelled. “I can’t do this without your help.” | Garbage was strewn all over the streets, but most refused to take a trash bag. Ms. Ghafari held her ground, demanding that people take the free bags and use them. “It’s our city. We should keep it clean,” she yelled. “I can’t do this without your help.” |
| The daughter of a high school teacher and a colonel in the Afghan special forces, Ms. Ghafari said she had never expected to work in government. She earned her bachelor’s degree in India and was studying for her master’s in economics when, during a visit home last year, her family encouraged her to sit for a civil service exam. | The daughter of a high school teacher and a colonel in the Afghan special forces, Ms. Ghafari said she had never expected to work in government. She earned her bachelor’s degree in India and was studying for her master’s in economics when, during a visit home last year, her family encouraged her to sit for a civil service exam. |
| She was back in India when a friend called: Mr. Ghani’s office had announced on Facebook that Ms. Ghafari had been named mayor. | She was back in India when a friend called: Mr. Ghani’s office had announced on Facebook that Ms. Ghafari had been named mayor. |
| “I didn’t believe I could get this job, because I am a person with neither political power nor gold,” she said. “But when I did, I knew I wanted to be here and try to change society.” | “I didn’t believe I could get this job, because I am a person with neither political power nor gold,” she said. “But when I did, I knew I wanted to be here and try to change society.” |
| Ms. Ghafari’s doggedness has won grudging respect. In a meeting at the governor’s office, about a road project she has championed, there was a glimmer of support. | Ms. Ghafari’s doggedness has won grudging respect. In a meeting at the governor’s office, about a road project she has championed, there was a glimmer of support. |
| “Give her some credit,” one of the men present said. “That project was stopped for 12 years, and she is here for a month and it’s restarted. She may be a woman, but she is powerful.” | “Give her some credit,” one of the men present said. “That project was stopped for 12 years, and she is here for a month and it’s restarted. She may be a woman, but she is powerful.” |
| —Fatima Faizi and Rod Nordland | —Fatima Faizi and Rod Nordland |