Islam

Government Funds Muslim Thinkers

July 18, 2008

Author: Dominic Casciani

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7512626.stm

The British government is to fund a board of Islamic theologians in an attempt to sideline violent extremists.

The move will see Oxford and Cambridge Universities host a group of scholars who will lead debate on key issues such as women and loyalty to the UK.

The plans have angered some hardline activists who accuse ministers of trying to create...

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Turkmen, Uzbek Faith Groups Still Under Pressure

July 18, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=bca&s=b&o=345801&apc_state=henh

The state of religious freedoms in both Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan remains as poor as ever, with both governments suspicious of Muslim and non-Muslim faith groups alike.

At a White House meeting on July 14 dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the United States’ International Religious Freedom Act, President...

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Pope Benedict XVI Meets Non-Christian Leaders

July 18, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Australian

[theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24039586-2702,00.html]

Leaders of non-Christian faiths have met Pope Benedict XVI, who hailed the shared moral values of the world's major religions.

About 20 religious leaders from the Jewish, Hindu, Islamic and Buddhist communities gathered to meet the Pope and the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney George Pell in the Chapter Hall at St Mary's Cathedral this morning.

The meeting came hours before the main...

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Philippines Muslim Area to Expand

July 17, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7512401.stm

The Philippine government and a separatist rebel group have agreed to expand an autonomous Muslim region in the south of the country.

The agreement envisages the extension of the present region in Mindanao to include a further 712 villages.

The proposed homeland will also be entitled to a large share of the resources in the area.

...

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Religious Tensions Rise in West Papua

July 15, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: One News Now

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Business/Default.aspx?id=178632

Authorities in West Papua, Indonesia, must move fast to prevent tension between Christian and Muslim communities escalating into a Malukan-style conflict, according to a recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG). The neighboring Maluku islands erupted into bitter sectarian warfare between 1999 and 2002, leaving thousands dead, injured...

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Flushing, Just Outside Manhattan, is Proud of Its Religious Diversity

July 15, 2008

Author: Paige Kollock

Source: Voice of America News

[voanews.com/archive/flushing-just-outside-manhattan-proud-its-religious-diversity]

The neighborhood of Flushing in New York City borough of Queens, just outside Manhattan, has been a model for religious freedom since the 1600s. Back then, members of The Society of Friends, or Quakers, began arriving in what was then a Dutch colony, fleeing religious persecution in England.

The colony's director-general barred the Friends from practicing...

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Universities Struggle to Keep the Faith

July 11, 2008

Author: Louise Brown

Source: The Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com/living/Religion/article/458352

There is nowhere for Muslims to pray at McGill; the Montreal university shut the prayer room three years ago, arguing religious space has no place on a secular campus.

But at the University of Toronto, Muslims and anyone else who wants to pray between class can choose from among more than eight prayer rooms, including four at the airy new...

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South Asian Students Sample U.S. Religions

July 11, 2008

Author: Tim Johnson

Source: Burlington Free Press

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080711/NEWS02/807110310/1007/NEWS02

For a tour showcasing "religious pluralism" in the Burlington area, the first stop was appropriate enough: the First Unitarian Universalist Society, which not only embraces a diversity of faiths, but displays their symbols on the walls of its sanctuary....

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Minorities Push for Secular Constitution in Muslim Bangladesh

July 8, 2008

Author: Anto Akkara

Source: Ecumenical News International

[eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=2064]

A joint forum of Buddhist, Christian and Hindu minorities in Bangladesh is lobbying quietly for the restoration of a secular constitution that was abolished 20 years ago making Islam the state religion in the Muslim-majority nation.

"We are trying our best to make our voices heard," Nirmal Rozario, organizing secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, told Ecumenical News...

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Swiss to Hold Referendum on Muslim Minaret Ban

July 8, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Associated Press

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hKGgzL2v7BjS70ALL_GckqynPPsAD91PODI01

Switzerland will hold a nationwide referendum on whether to ban the construction of minarets where Muslims traditionally issue the call to prayer, officials said Tuesday.

Swiss nationalists have collected enough signatures to force a vote on the ban, the Interior Ministry said. Organizers backed...

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Egypt's Christian-Muslim Gap Growing Bigger

July 8, 2008

Author: Ethan Cole

Source: The Christian Post

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080708/egypt-s-christian-muslim-gap-growing-bigger.htm

The divide between Egypt’s Coptic Christian community and the Muslim majority is growing bigger as an increasing number of Christians are cutting ties with Muslim neighbors and turning to the Church for all their social needs.

Many Christians in Egypt are...

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Most Muslim Coverage 'Negative'

July 8, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7495384.stm

Researchers looking at the way British Muslims are represented by the media say they have found that most coverage is negative in tone.

A Cardiff University team behind the study looked at nearly 1,000 newspaper articles from the past eight years.

Two-thirds focused on terrorism or cultural differences, and much of it used words such as...

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CAIR-WA Welcomes Police Memo on Religious, Ethnic Profiling

July 7, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: CAIR Press Release

http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?mid1=777&&ArticleID=25105&&name=n&&currPage=1

The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) today welcomed an internal memorandum from Seattle’s police chief cautioning against the use of religious or ethnic profiling in training programs.

In his memo to department captains,...

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