Islam

Now a Free Man, Houston Imam Clings to Hope

May 15, 2009

Author: Lindsay Wise

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/immigration/6426603.html

Sheikh Zoubir Bouchikhi stepped out of a friend’s car as twilight fell over his southeast Houston neighborhood this week, an electronic monitor blinking on his ankle.

The last time the 39-year-old spiritual leader of Abu Bakr Siddqui mosque had stood in his own driveway, he’d been in handcuffs...

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In Iraq, An Exodus Of Christians

May 14, 2009

Author: Paul Schemm

Source: Connecticut Post

Wire Service: AP

http://www.connpost.com/ci_12368251

Iraq has lost more than half the Christians who once called it home, mostly since the war began, and few who fled have plans to return, The Associated Press has learned.

Pope Benedict XVI called attention to their plight during a Mideast visit this week, urging the international community to ensure the survival of "the ancient...

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Muslims Struggle to Erect Minarets Next to Steeples

May 14, 2009

Author: Elizabeth Bryant

Source: Religion News Service

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

The dusty patch of weeds and litter may not look like much now, but the site nonetheless carries the hopes and a sense of sweet victory for Muslims in this hardscrabble Paris suburb.

The short story of the construction site is of a years-...

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Muslim BBC Religion Job 'Insult'

May 13, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8047537.stm

The BBC's appointment of a Muslim as head of religion and ethics is insulting to Christians, an Ulster Unionist assembly member has said.

Retired Presbyterian minister Dr Robert Coulter said the appointment of Aaqil Ahmed was "a juvenile gimmick".

"According to the Church of England 70% of the UK are Christian, 3% are...

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Pakistan's Religious Minorities Report Violence

May 13, 2009

Author: Kathy Gannon

Source: The Guardian

Wire Service: AP

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8505630

Fauzia Abrar had finally gotten her crying baby to sleep when screaming men pounded on the steel doors of her home in the mostly Christian slum in the port city of Karachi.

Suddenly she heard shots, and the screaming grew louder: "Long live Taliban! Death to infidels!"

The men forced their...

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Mosque ‘Not a Place for Conversion, But for Conversation’

May 13, 2009

Author: Nick Tarver

Source: The Enfield Advertiser

http://www.enfield-today.co.uk/tn/News.cfm?id=18870&headline=Mosque%20%91not%20a%20place%20for%20conversion,%20but%20for%20conversation%92

A new mosque which aims to bring Enfield’s diverse communities together has opened in Edmonton.

The Mevlana Rumi Mosque and Dialogue Centre, in Fore Street,...

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Pope's Speech On Holocaust Receives Lukewarm Response

May 12, 2009

Author: Richard Boudreaux

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pope-mideast12-2009may12,0,1951298.story

Pope Benedict XVI, trying to quell Jewish anger over a Holocaust-denying bishop, bowed in silence Monday at Israel's memorial to Jews exterminated during World War II and declared that their suffering must "never be denied, belittled or forgotten."

"They...

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Pope Benedict XVI Tells Middle East Christians to Persevere

May 11, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6261820.ece

Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians in the Middle East to hold on to their faith and traditions at an open-air Mass attended by 50,000 worshippers.

He told them to work with other religions to enrich their daily lives and counter violent ideologies. “Be faithful to your roots,” he said yesterday in his homily at...

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Taliban-Style Justice Stirs Growing Anger

May 10, 2009

Author: Pamela Constable

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/09/AR2009050902518.html

When black-turbaned Taliban fighters demanded in January that Islamic sharia law be imposed in Pakistan's Swat Valley, few alarm bells went off in this Muslim nation of about 170 million.

Sharia, after all, is the legal framework that guides the lives of all Muslims....

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Zuma Inaugurated As South African President After Sanskrit Chants

May 9, 2009

Author: Fakir Hassen

Source: The Gaea News

[blog.taragana.com/n/zuma-inaugurated-as-south-african-president-after-sanskrit-chants-57666/]

A Hindu prayer started off the inauguration of South African President Jacob Zuma at the Union Buildings here Saturday.

As Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari joined heads of state of 28 other countries, South African Hindu Maha Sabha president Ashwin Trikamjee recited a few lines in Sanskrit before translating them into English and making a plea for divine...

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