Author: Melissa Szumlic

Source: Tampa Bay Online

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/aug/15/na-itsnoteasy-beinggreen/life/

They're short, froglike and serving as ambassadors to the Middle East.

Not bad for a few handmade dolls living on a mural titled "It's Not Easy Being Green." The mural is part of an art exchange program with Amman, Jordan, initiated by the Children's Board of Hillsborough County and KidzCreate, the...

Author: Lisa Miller

Source: NEWSWEEK

America is not a Christian nation. We are, it is true, a nation founded by Christians, and according to a 2008 survey, 76 percent of us continue to identify as Christian (still, that's the lowest percentage in American history). Of course, we are not a Hindu—or Muslim, or Jewish, or Wiccan—nation, either. A million-plus Hindus live in the United States, a fraction of the billion who live on Earth. But recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8198770.stm

A US congressional body has put India on a list of countries which have failed to protect its religious minorities adequately.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom says India was added to the list because of a "disturbing increase" in religious violence.

It mentioned the anti-Christian and anti-Muslim riots in Orissa and Gujarat in...

Author: Omar Sacirbey

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/muslims_press_schools_on_islamic_holidays/

Calculus and chemistry are among the pressures awaiting Mesuka Akter, a senior this year at Long Island City High School in New York City.

But unlike past school years, Akter, a Muslim, will not have to choose between missing school and missing the two holiest...

Author: Alejandro J. Beutel

Source: Muslim Public Affairs Council

http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=875

"Engagement." That would be the word to describe what took place at the Department of Justice-sponsored interagency meeting between representatives of various government agencies and members of Arab, Muslim, Sikh and South Asian organizations.

The purpose of the meeting was for various community and government groups to interact with one another,...

Author: Raja Abdulrahim

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-muslim-punk12-2009aug12,0,3121734.story

Shahjehan Khan rounded a corner at the Grammy Museum in downtown L.A. and let out a laugh.

Before him was a piece of memorabilia -- a destroyed school bus stop sign -- from Khan's punk rock band the Kominas, showcased in the museum's yearlong exhibit "Songs of...

Author: Emma Halgren

Source: Worldwide Faith News

http://www.wfn.org/2009/08/msg00062.html

Religious diversity is an unavoidable reality today – and an
opportunity, according to the participants of an interfaith
seminar held in July at the World Council of Churches (WCC)
Ecumenical Institute at Bossey outside Geneva, Switzerland.

The three-week course, which had the theme "Building an
Interfaith Community", was attended by young Christians, Jews and...

Author: Aleem Maqbool

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8196013.stm

On a street in the small Punjabi town of Gojra, house after house stands gutted and looted.

One home in particular is the focus of attention. The windows and doors are gone, what is left of the furniture lies gnarled inside, and some of the ceilings have collapsed. People are peering into a small bedroom at the back of the building.

It is from here...

Author: Meaghan M. McDermott

Source: Rochester Democrat...

Author: Lindsay Perna

Source: The Houston Chronicle/Religion News Service

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/6563306.html

Faith-based organizations attract more volunteers than any other type of organization, according to a recent survey by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

More than one-third of the country's almost 62 million volunteers served through religious organizations last year.