Author: Whitney Woodward

Source: The Chicago Tribune

...

Author: Saadia Khan

Source: Muslim Public Affairs Council

http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=1012#axzz0dMB4zuyA

This week, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reminded the faith-based leaders that Los Angeles was the second most "under-counted" city in the 2000 Census. During the 210 Census Citywide Interfaith Breakfast, he told leaders of Muslim, Christian, Catholic, and Jewish communities many Los Angeles residents did not receive their fair share of...

Author: Tara Hagan

Source: The Observer

http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2268897

Members of the local Baha'i community are keeping a close eye on a controversial trial underway in Iran.

"We're deeply concerned," said Afsaneh Yazdani, secretary for the Baha'i community in Sarnia, where, members are praying for seven fellow Baha'is currently on trial.

The group -- two women and five men -- have been jailed since...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Herald-Tribune

Wire Service: AP

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100120/ARTICLE/100129995?Title=Runaway-girl-to-remain-free-of-Muslim-parents

A runaway teenage girl from Ohio who converted from Islam to Christianity has reached a court settlement that allows her to remain free of her Muslim parents.

The...

Author: James McGinnis

Source: PhillyBurbs.com

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/92/2010/january/20/hindus-honor-martin-luther-king.html

Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament sat before the elephant statue of the Hindu god Ganesh.

The monsignor of a Roman Catholic Church politely accepted the ceremonial flames of Aarti, the highest love of Bhagwan (a Hindu name for God...

Author: Adam Nossiter

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/world/africa/20nigeria.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Armed with guns, machetes, torches, and bows and arrows, Christian and Muslim antagonists in central Nigeria’s religiously volatile city of Jos have been fighting for three days in sporadic clashes that have left dozens dead, witnesses and local news a...

Author: Martin Vennard

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8446662.stm

Bolot, a young evangelical preacher in Kyrgyzstan, says he has already been arrested twice since setting up a new church.

He says he is the victim of a new law on religion, which critics say severely restricts religious freedoms and is forcing some groups underground.

Under the law, new religious groups have to have at least 200 members before...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Indian Express

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sc-rejects-plea-for-separate-religious-identity-for-sikhs/569032/

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition requesting a separate religious identity for Sikhs. 

The petition filed by J S Sethi said the community which is issued birth certificates under the Hindu law faces an uphill task to...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: United Press International

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/01/19/American-Copts-plan-White-House-rally/UPI-86521263936600/

The Coptic Christian community in the United States said it would protest Egyptian suppression of religious minorities at a rally in front of the White House.

Cairo faced an international backlash for its treatment of the...

Author: Robert F. Worth

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/world/middleeast/19syria.html

As darkness falls over the vast Syrian desert and the first winter stars emerge, a trail of modern-day pilgrims is slowly climbing the stone steps of this remote cliff-top monastery.

They are a motley crew of religious seekers and backpackers from a dozen countries, some hoping for divine wisdom, others merely...

Author: Rachel Donadio

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/world/europe/18pope.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Pope Benedict XVI, in a visit to Rome’s main synagogue, sought to soothe tensions between Catholics and Jews on Sunday, though he and Jewish leaders aired one main point of contention: whether the church did enough against the Holocaust.

At least one prominent Italian rabbi...

Author: Manuel Roig-Franzia

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/16/AR2010011603140.html

At night, voices rise in the street. Sweet, joyful, musical voices in lyric Creole. A symphony of hope in a landscape of despair.

"It doesn't mean anything if Satan hates me, because God loves me," sing the women at Jeremy Square, their faces almost invisible in the...

Author: Kevin Wiatrowski

Source: Tampa Bay Online

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/17/na-local-coptic-christians-protest-persecution/

A fatal shooting last week in southern Egypt drew hundreds of Coptic Christians to the streets of Tampa in protest Saturday afternoon.

Members of Coptic churches from Clearwater, Tampa and Sarasota attended the rally. People waved posters...

Author: Mary Garrigan

Source: Rapid City Journal

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/lifestyles/article_ed9bd4fe-0224-11df-8958-001cc4c002e0.html

It’s always hard for Baktash Aazami to think about the religious persecution that Baha’i believers suffer back in his native Iran, but Tuesday was an especially difficult day for him and other Baha’i in the Black Hills.

“It’s really...

Author: Martin Lea

Source: Dorset Echo

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/4854415.Multi_faith_peace_gardens_at_the_Nothe/

The roots of a unique project are being laid to create a symbol of peace and harmony.

People of all denominations are working to transform the former Quakers burial ground at the Nothe in Weymouth into a multi-faith peace garden.

The overgrown site next to the Nothe Tavern was cleared...