Islam

Inquiry to Check Faith Schools Are Teaching Right From Wrong

March 10, 2009

Author: Nicola Woolcock

Source: Times Online

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article5877732.ece

Independent faith schools are to be investigated by Ofsted over government concerns that some do not teach children how to fit in with British society.

The review will examine the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at small religious schools. It will look at whether...

Read more about Inquiry to Check Faith Schools Are Teaching Right From Wrong

Muslim Woman Asked to Leave Line At Credit Union Because Of Head Scarf

March 10, 2009

Author: Matt Zapotosky

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030902387.html?sub=AR

A Muslim woman was asked to leave her place in line at a credit union in Southern Maryland and be served in a back room because the head scarf she wore for religious reasons violated the institution's "no hats, hoods or sunglasses" policy, the woman said yesterday.
...

Read more about Muslim Woman Asked to Leave Line At Credit Union Because Of Head Scarf

Oklahoma Muslims Seek Greater Understanding

March 9, 2009

Author: William F. O'Brien

Source: The Edmond Sun

http://www.edmondsun.com/opinion/local_story_068221249.html

Oklahoma Council of American Islamic Relations Director Razi Hashmi told the members of that organization at their third annual dinner last week that many Muslims came to this state seeking a better life. And on the whole, he said, they have succeeded in that endeavor.

Hashmi reminded them that the more than 30,000 Muslims...

Read more about Oklahoma Muslims Seek Greater Understanding

Malaysia's Minority Religious Leaders Condemn 'Allah' Ban

March 9, 2009

Author: Michelle Green

Source: Ecumenical News International

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=2797

Leaders of Malaysia's minority religious groups have criticised the country's government for restricting the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims in Bibles, a Catholic newspaper and other texts.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism said in a statement made available on 6 March that...

Read more about Malaysia's Minority Religious Leaders Condemn 'Allah' Ban

Courts, Jail Adjust to Religious Custom

March 8, 2009

Author: David Hench

Source: Portland Press Herald

[pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=243829]

For many Muslim women, being seen in public with one's head uncovered is a violation of religious tenets as well as an embarrassing display of immodesty.

Head coverings also can be, to varying degrees, important to Jews, Sikhs and people of other faiths.

But that obligation has collided with security concerns and cultural standards prevalent in American courts and prisons, where removing...

Read more about Courts, Jail Adjust to Religious Custom

Hindu Families From Pak Seek Refuge In India

March 7, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Hindu-families-from-Pak-seek-refuge-in-India/articleshow/4239397.cms

Stating that they do not wish to return to Pakistan due to Taliban's tyranny in the tribal areas, a group 35 Hindus, nearly half of them women, from the neighbouring country have crossed over to India and asked the government to allow them to...

Read more about Hindu Families From Pak Seek Refuge In India

Defending the Faith

March 7, 2009

Author: Andrew Higgins

Source: The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638477632658147.html

Christians have lived in these parts since the dawn of their faith. But they have had a rough couple of millennia, preyed on by Persian, Arab, Mongol, Kurdish and Turkish armies. Each group tramped through the rocky highlands that now comprise Turkey's southeastern border with Iraq and Syria.

The current menace is less...

Read more about Defending the Faith

Islamic Sharia Law Expands In Northwest Pakistan

March 6, 2009

Author: Mark Magnier

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-pakistan-sharia6-2009mar06,0,3072254.story

In an apparent expansion of Islamic fundamentalists' authority in the picturesque Swat Valley, local Pakistani officials have agreed to close shops at prayer times and crack down on prostitution and drug dealing as part of a proposed peace deal, according to...

Read more about Islamic Sharia Law Expands In Northwest Pakistan

Muslims Honor Birth Of Prophet

March 6, 2009

Author: Gregg Krupa

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090306/LIFESTYLE04/903060356/1041/LIFESTYLE04

As Muslims commemorate the birth of the prophet Muhammad beginning Saturday at dusk, some say that remembering the events of the prophet's life and the guidance revealed by the Quran are especially important this year, after some pointed attacks on the reputation of...

Read more about Muslims Honor Birth Of Prophet

A Hometown Bank Heeds a Call to Serve Its Islamic Clients

March 6, 2009

Author: Samuel G. Freedman

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/us/07religion.html?_r=1&scp=11&sq=religion&st=nyt

Until a stranger without an appointment showed up one day in late 2001, Stephen L. Ranzini was feeling rather pleased with himself. University Bank here, which he led as president, had just won a national award for community service. The honor attested to Mr. Ranzini’s success...

Read more about A Hometown Bank Heeds a Call to Serve Its Islamic Clients

Nigeria: Onaiyekan, Sultan Preach Religious Tolerance

March 5, 2009

Author: Taye Obateru

Source: All Africa

http://allafrica.com/stories/200903050017.html

The co-chairman of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), who is also the president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rt. Rev. John Onaiyekan has advocated sanctions for religious leaders who preach inciting messages as a way of curtailing incessant religious crisis in the country.

Similarly, the Sultan of Sokoto and co-Chairman of the same council...

Read more about Nigeria: Onaiyekan, Sultan Preach Religious Tolerance

Islamic Group Questions Driver’s License Bill

March 5, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Journal Record

http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=96553

An American Islamic group asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday to determine whether legislation in Oklahoma and Minnesota prohibiting the wearing of religiously required head scarves in driver’s license photos is constitutional.

In Oklahoma, language was added to a measure in committee that would not allow “hats,...

Read more about Islamic Group Questions Driver’s License Bill

Azeri Muslims Feel State Far From Friendly

March 5, 2009

Author: Seymur Kazimov

Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=350704&apc_state=henh

“In Azerbaijan, non-Muslim, Christian communities are allowed to operate freely, whereas the Muslim community for some reason is not.”

So said Haji Gamet Suleimanov, imam of the Abu-Bekr mosque in centre of the capital, Baku. “It’s because the Council of Europe and the Americans are behind the...

Read more about Azeri Muslims Feel State Far From Friendly

Pages