Source: The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/07/stories/2008070759861500.htm

In a rude shock to a Hindu family which moved the court to stop Malaysia’s Islamic authorities from burying a relative claiming that he was converted, a Shariah court on Sunday ruled that the deceased was a Muslim.

The family of Elangesvaran Benedict, 34, wanted to cremate the deceased according to Hindu rites, saying it was not aware of his reported conversion to Islam....

Author: Staff Writer

Source: CAIR Press Release

Author: Alfred de Montesquiou

Source: The Washington Post

Wire Service: AP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/07/AR2008070701679.html

It's an uncommon sight for an Arab country: hundreds of joyous Jewish pilgrims gathering without fear around a rabbi's tomb, greeted by local Muslim officials who share a prayer with them at a synagogue.

Yet most of the...

Author: Graeme Morton, with files from Sherri Zickefoose

Source: Calgary Herald

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=81e95e14-0d8a-46c5-82fd-7e7b1d2cc0d8

Calgary's newest house of worship, the Baitun Nur mosque in Castleridge, was officially dedicated Saturday by an estimated crowd of 5,000 people that included religious leaders, Canada's two top politicians and throngs of faithful.

...

Author: Matt Burgard

Source: The Hartford Courant

http://www.courant.com/community/news/hfd/hc-ctislam0706.artjul06,0,890224.story

A woman wearing a burqa sat on a bench Saturday at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, the fabric across her face revealing only her eyes.

Next to her, a group of children chatted on cellphones and shrieked merrily over the sound of chanting music calling the assembled...

Author: Jeffery Kurz

Source: Record-Journal

Author: Stuart MacDonald

Source: Times Online

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4276489.ece

Police sniffer dogs will have to wear bootees when searching the homes of Muslims so as not to cause offence.

Guidelines being drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) urge awareness of religious sensitivities when using dogs to search for drugs and explosives. The guidelines, to be published this year, were...

Author: Tara Tuckwiller

Source: The Charleston Gazette

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200807050258

When Ruby Abdulla moved to Charleston 32 years ago, she and her husband started looking around the grocery stores for halal foods - the only foods that are lawful for Muslims to eat.

"I have to tell you - when we first came here, we couldn't even buy bread," said Abdulla, a realty agent with Old Colony. "Sunbeam bread was the only one that had vegetable...

Author: Gregg Krupa

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080705/POLITICS01/807050354/1041/LIFESTYLE04

Dr. Abdul Raheman Nakadar, a retired cardiologist and political activist, says he finds a particular aspect of the 2008 campaign for the U.S. presidency curious.

Why, Nakadar asks, are the campaigns of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain not reaching out...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Associated Free Press

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hd_otaqnZQpWUHWdH-axlbbgvt6w

Seven people have been killed in four separate shooting incidents in Thailand's troubled southern states, police said Saturday.

In a drive-by shooting early Saturday, witnesses said at least five militants in a pick-up truck opened fire on a tea shop in Yala province's Raman district, killing four villagers and...

Author: Richard Vara

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/5873419.html

Despite the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, acceptance of Islam politically and socially is on the increase in the U.S., [n]ational Muslim leaders gathered in Houston said Saturday.

"American Muslims have become an important global force," said Sayyid M. Syeed, director of the Islamic Society of North America's...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Daily Mail Reporter

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1031784/Schoolboys-punished-detention-refusing-kneel-pray-Allah.html

Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and 'pray to Allah' during a religious education lesson.

Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) were punished for not wanting...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: IHT/The Associated Press

https://www.arabnews.com/node/313511

In the months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi and her friend Aliki Moschis-Gauguet noticed that the only depictions they saw of Muslim women showed figures behind veils, oppressed by their cultures.

...

Author: Karen Kleiss

Source: Canwest News Service/Edmonton Journal

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=b5b045bc-3f70-47a3-8bd1-1afdfb2a7d5c

A Muslim-hating Iranian refugee who nearly killed a dentist in a "brutal" and "shocking" attack was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison.

Provincial Court Judge Mike Allen said Mohammadreza Gholamrezazadehshirazi, 46, and others like him...

Author: Roger Dickson

Source: The Cairns Post

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/07/02/5108_local-news.html

Spiritual leaders from across the religious spectrum have thrown their support behind a controversial mosque set to be built in suburban Cairns.

Catholic, Anglican, Jewish and Buddhist leaders are all behind the push saying that all faiths have the right to a place of worship.

Plans to expand the mosque,...