Author: Ryan J. Foley

Source: Examiner.com

Wire Service: AP

http://www.examiner.com/a-2000823~Obama_defends__curtails_National_Day_of_Prayer.html

President Barack Obama is scaling back White House plans for Thursday's National Day of Prayer even as his administration defends the tradition in federal court in Wisconsin.

Obama's position has disappointed Christian conservatives...

Author: Ben Hubbard and Ibrahim Barzak

Source: The New York Times

Wire Service: AP

Author: Manya A. Brachear

Source: The Chicago Tribune/The Boston Herald

http://www.freep.com/article/20090506/NEWS15/90505108

After a standing invitation to the White House during the Bush administration, evangelical Christian organizers of National Day of Prayer activities have not been invited to attend White House ceremonies on Thursday.

In fact, it’s unclear whether there will be ceremonies in the White House at all.
...

Author: Angie El Sherif

Source: InFocus News

http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/34427/135/

For 14-year-old Sarah Rafiqi, a freshman at Valencia High School in Placentia, Calif., taking part in the Bridging Communities program was a way to learn about others in neighboring communities. “I wanted to join because I think it is a good idea for kids of different ethnicities and races to come together and form a bond and a friendship,”...

Author: Dan Gilgoff

Source: US News and World Report

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/religion/2009/05/06/many-americans-are-saying-goodbye-to-religion-but-not-faith.html

Signs abound that more Americans are leaving Christianity and embracing a secular worldview. The cover of Newsweek recently proclaimed "The End of Christian America." Books like The God Delusion and God Is Not...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Star Tribune

Wire Service: AP

Author: Staff Writer

Source: CBS News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/05/ap/middleeast/main4994022.shtml

The Egyptian government is using swine flu as an excuse to get rid of tens of thousands of pigs raised by garbage collectors who live amid the refuse in Cairo slums. But the move has prompted accusations Monday that Muslims are attacking minority Christians, who breed the...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: DAWN.com

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/09-govt-announces-relief-package-for-displaced-sikhs-szh--02

Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti has reiterated that the government will ensure the safety of minorities in the country, APP reports.

‘...

Author: Ansel Oliver and Elizabeth Lechleitner

Source: Adventist News Network

http://news.adventist.org/2009/05/understanding-islam.html

Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders say two conferences exploring areas of common understanding between Adventists and Muslims will bolster the church's interfaith outreach.

Earlier this month, dozens of international church officials met in Grenada, Spain, to help erode misperceptions of Islam...

Author: Naveen S Garewal

Source: Tribune News Service

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090505/main8.htm

This is a place where politicians need to come and take a few lessons in secularism. After militancy forced Hindus to migrate from the Kashmir valley in the 1990s, Muslims have been acting as “priests” and “caretakers” of the ancient Mamalaka Temple on the outskirts of Pahalgam.

Not only has this 900-year-old...

Author: Jimmie Collins

Source: The Austin American-Statesman

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/05/04/0504islam101.html

Jacquelyn Harper became a Muslim at the end of January. The 25-year-old said she has never before felt as close a bond with God.

"I started reading books (about Islam), and the books I was reading started to really make sense to me," said Harper, who converted from a...

Author: Melissa Pamer

Source: Dailybreeze.com

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_12287014

Ester Hacken has come to consider herself part of Amir Fazalbhoy's family during the past decade, which saw the blossoming of their friendship.

Despite many occasions on which they've broken bread and shared holidays, there always remained one thorny issue dividing them: religion.

On Sunday, Hacken, an observant Jew, and Fazalbhoy, a practicing...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Organiser

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=288&page=17

The second Australian Hindu Conference with the theme ‘Sustaining Australia through strengthening bonds amongst communities’ was organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Australia. The conference was inaugurated by world renowned spiritual leader Swami Dayananda Saraswati by lighting...

Author: Jesse Leavenworth

Source: The Hartford Courant

http://www.courant.com/community/news/ec/hc-many-faiths-0502.artmay02,0,2096209.story

Soon after Russian Jews settled here a century ago, a congressional panel on immigration set out to study the newcomers' progress and assimilation with the mostly Yankee population.

The Jewish farmers of Ellington were among the immigrant communities studied throughout...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Thaindian News

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/bangladesh-welcomes-us-recognition-of-its-religious-tolerance_100187256.html

The Bangladesh government has welcomed a US Congressional panel’s move to drop it from a list of countries deemed to violate the religious freedom of minorities.

The decision is a vindication of the...