With his nonprofit organization, Rami Nashashibi has spent two decades tackling poverty, systemic injustice and building communities with a diverse coalition of residents

Source: Muslim activist named MacArthur Genius - Chicago Tribune

(JTA) — The Trump administration will appoint a special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, according to State Department spokesman Mark Toner. The envoy post has been vacant since Trump took office in January. On Thursday, JTA reported that the envoy’s office staff could be eliminated soon due to new State Department employment rules. The envoy is responsible for keeping tabs on global anti-Semitism and advising other countries in fighting it.

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Black parents across America have long instructed their children on navigating discrimination and avoiding its sometimes deadly consequences. But for black immigrant Muslims, this conversation takes on an entirely different dimension.

Source: Black Muslims Face Double Jeopardy, Anxiety In The Heartland : Code Switch : NPR

For all their differences, when Donald Trump takes the oath of office to succeed Barack Obama on Friday, one small but symbolic similarity will be on display. Trump will place his hand on the Bible that President Lincoln used at his first inauguration, the same one President Obama used at both of his swearing in ceremonies.

Source: Trump Will Be Sworn In With Same Bible As Lincoln And Obama

The Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Northern Virginia has seen its share of attention. Two of the hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks prayed there, and jihadi propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki served as an imam at the mosque before heading off to Yemen to join al-Qaida.

Source: Trump Administration Worries Muslim-American Communities : NPR

Bathroom mats. Toilet seats. Shoes. Dog tags. All of these items have, in recent years, gone on sale adorned with images of Hindu deities, particularly that of Ganesha, known most commonly in the West for his elephant face.

Source: Hindus strive to end commercialization of their faith's sacred images | Lexington Herald-Leader

THE FRANK R. WOLF INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT WILL NOT ONLY PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE RELIGIOUS, BUT OF THE NON-RELIGIOUS TOO AND PREVENT HARASSMENT OF ATHEISTS. Atheists, humanists, and other freethinkers will finally be given official protection against harassment by the U.S. government. This has been made possible after U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act. The updated Act will not only benefit religious minorities in America, but will also enable the government to intervene in cases of persecution of religious...

While Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman Harold Frazier sat down with President Barack Obama at a private roundtable in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 25, Morton County, N.D. Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier was calling in police reinforcements from six states to enforce Energy Transfer Partners’ demands that “trespassers” be removed from the path of the pipeline.

Source: Obama Holds Private Meeting As Cops Mass Near NoDAPL Front Lines...

CA Governor Jerry Brown signs Safe Place to Learn Act to protect Muslim and Sikh students from bullying. The aim of the Safe Place to Learn Act or AB 2845 is to prevent discrimination, harassment, and bullying against Muslim and Sikh students in the classrooms of California. This new law will provide teachers, staff, and administrators with resources that will help them to identify, prevent, and find a solution to bullying and discrimination happening in their schools. The bill comes in the wake of the rise in incidents reported in the California. The law requires the...

When opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline galvanized the support of hundreds of U.S. tribes, it became an unprecedented show of Indian country unity and resolve. Now, it’s a global indigenous movement.

Source: Standing Rock Joins the World’s Indigenous Fighting for Land and Life - ICTMN.com