Interfaith

Voodoo Brings Solace to Grieving Haitians

January 20, 2010

Author: Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Source: NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122770590

Erol Josue lost more than two dozen friends and extended family in Haiti's devastating earthquake. The Voodoo priest, who lives in New York, says he has spent the past week saying traditional Voodoo prayers.

"We thank God that we are still alive," he says, "but we also pray to give a good route, to give a good path for the...

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SC Rejects Plea for Separate Religious Identity for Sikhs

January 19, 2010

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...

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Christian-Muslim Mayhem In Nigeria Kills Dozens

January 19, 2010

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...

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Kyrgyzstan Keeps a Tight Grip On Religion

January 19, 2010

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...

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Modern-Day Pilgrims Find Interfaith Bond In Ancient Syrian Monastery

January 18, 2010

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...

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As Lives And Houses Shattered In Haiti Quake, So Did Some Religious Differences

January 17, 2010

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...

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Local Coptic Christians Protest Persecution

January 17, 2010

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...

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Pope Tries to Soothe Tensions With Jews

January 17, 2010

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...

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Multi-Faith Peace Gardens At the Nothe

January 16, 2010

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...

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Rum Bottle Thrown At Malaysia Mosque Amid Tension

January 16, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Washington Post

Wire Service: AP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/16/AR2010011600848.html

Vandals threw a rum bottle at a mosque in the first attack on a Muslim house of worship after almost a dozen similar assaults on churches in Malaysia the past week, police said Saturday.

Police have dismissed the attacks as...

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US Concerned At Coptic Christian Arrests In Egypt

January 16, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AFP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jXIQ9JvnslGT10QTKUHdgEFW562Q

The United States said it was "deeply concerned" at the arrests Saturday of Coptic Christians heading to show support for fellow Copts killed and injured in Egypt earlier this month.

"The United States is deeply concerned by today's arrests of...

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