Author: Ansley Roan

Source: Beliefnet

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/201/story_20180_1.html

Vasudha Narayanan was browsing in a Walgreens in Gainesville, Fla., last year when she saw something she'd never seen before in an American drugstore -- greeting cards for the holiday Diwali.

"I was so happy," said Narayanan, who was born in India. "It was like a piece of home almost. It was a real symbol of being part of the American fabric."...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6049522.stm

Thousands of people have gathered in London for celebrations to mark Diwali - the Hindu festival of light. Light displays and floating lanterns in Trafalgar Square set the mood for one of the most important religious occasions for Hindus, Jains and Sikhs.

Diwali welcomes the New Year and symbolises the power of good triumphing over evil and the renewal of life.

Mayor...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/6062358.stm

Warnings about fire safety have been given to people celebrating two major religious festivals this month.

South Wales Fire Service is urging people celebrating Diwali and Eid Ul Fitr to be aware of fire safety in the home during the festivities.

Diwali is associated with candle use, while special meals are prepared for Eid - both of which the brigade says cause a...

Author: Charles C. Haynes

Source: First Amendment Center Press Release

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=17529

The village of Suffern, N.Y., treats Orthodox Jews just like everyone else and that’s why it’s being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for religious discrimination.

Equal treatment, it turns out, sometimes keeps the faithful from practicing their faith.

Orthodox Jews, for...

Author: Nirmala Carvalho

Source: Asia News

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=7449

More than 100,000 Indian Dalits or outcastes are meeting on Saturday in Nagpur, Maharashtra, to publicly burn copies of the anti-conversion laws adopted by some of India’s states and express their support to anyone who wants to abandon the Indian caste system. The event will also mark the 50th anniversary of the conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism of Baba...

Source: Islamic Republic News Agency

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0610114210122921.htm

Believing that Ramadan is a month during which God tests its followers, a family of the Jain religion in Mumbai, capital city of Maharashtra, has been observing the month- long Ramadan, one of the pillars of the Muslim faith, in the past 30 years.

While the practice is sacred for Muslims, Jains too are known to observe an annual fast during the time of...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5400232.stm

On October 2, 2006 BBC News reported, "Another person belonging to India's Jain community has died in the western state of Rajasthan after observing a controversial religious custom. Amar Chand, 76, died on Monday after observing 'santhara', a centuries-old Jain practice where a person starves to prepare spiritually for their death. Campaigners want the practice banned, saying it is similar to suicide....

Source: Hindu American Foundation press release

http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_press_release_dc2006.htm

On September 30, 2006 a Hindu American Foundation press release reported, "The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) concluded its third annual Government Outreach and Leadership Conference on September 28, 2006. Two days of individual meetings with over twenty-five senators and members of the House of Representatives, Department of Justice,...

Source: Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2022865.cms

On September 24, 2006 the Times of India reported, "Agitated over the Gujarat government's move to club them with Hindus, Jain leaders have cited a letter written by the government of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that contained an assurance that the community's distinct religious character would be protected. Circulating the letter to the media, the Digambar Jain...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5362802.stm

On September 20, 2006 BBC News reported, "Christians and Muslims in the western Indian state of Gujarat have expressed resentment over an amendment in the law relating to religious conversions. They say that moves by the state government to classify Buddhism and Jainism as branches of the Hindu religion are unconstitutional. Christians and Muslims have accused the authorities of trying to polarise the...

Source: Rediff

http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/11aziz.htm

On September 11, 2006 Rediff reported, "A group of Gandhians will hold a rally at the Lincoln Memorial grounds in Washington, DC to commemorate two ideologically opposed events: the fifth anniversary of 9/11, and the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's first-ever use of satyagraha. The Memphis, Tennessee-based MK Gandhi Institute, which is organising the rally, will also participate in an inter-faith...

Source: New York Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/449389p-378270c.html

On September 5, 2006 the New York Daily News reported, "A Queens state senator and an array of clergy yesterday hailed a new law that prohibits the state Education Department from scheduling statewide exams during religious holidays. 'The law is now on your side,' declared state Sen. John Sabini (D-Queens). The law was spurred after statewide English exams for...

Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin

http://starbulletin.com/2006/08/27/editorial/special2.html

On August 27, 2006 the Honolulu Star-Bulletin published an opinion piece by Saleem Ahmed, a Muslim, and president of the All Believers Network, and by Joan Chatfield, a Christian, board chairwoman of the Network, "The continuing death and destruction in the Middle East reflect the limitless extent to which individuals and political entities will go to defend...

Source: The Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/15374437.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

On August 27, 2006 The Mercury News reported, "One of the first things Vinod and Sadguna Patak of Gujarat, India, did when their plane touched down on Silicon Valley soil was head to the Jain house of worship in Milpitas... There is no one central god in Jainism, but prayer is daily. And...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.hindu20aug20,0,5689203.story?track=rss

On August 20, 2006 The Baltimore Sun reported, "The women are dressed in kaleidoscopic colors, dancing in a whirling pinwheel and tapping wooden sticks with their neighbors' to keep the beat. Their white-robed priest leads the congregation in chants, offering fruit and fragrant flower garlands to the gods who...