On August 31, 2006 BBC News reported, "The Orthodox Christian religion is being made a compulsory school subject in four of Russia's regions.
Pupils in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga and Smolensk regions will be taught the basics of Orthodox Christianity.
It will also be included as an optional subject in the school curriculum in 11 other regions across the country.
Supporters say the move will help protect...
On August 31, 2006 the Associated Press reported, "Members of a Vietnamese Buddhist temple may temporarily hold religious services at a medical building despite the city of Garden Grove's objections over traffic and noise, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney...
On August 31, 2006 BBC News reported, "A 48-year-old senior officer who joined the Royal Navy in 1977 has been appointed rear admiral and becomes the highest ranking Muslim in the service.
Commodore Amjad Hussain, who lives in Hertfordshire, will head the defence logistics organisation in Bath.
His last posting was at Portsmouth where he was the naval base commander.
He is an outspoken...
On August 31, 2006 WCSH6 reported, "A judge ruled Thursday that 33-year-old Brent Matthews violated Maine's Civil Rights Act when he tossed a pig's head into a Lewiston mosque earlier this summer.
Matthews has never denied that he tossed the pig's head into the Lewiston Islamic Center. He has said all along it was a practical joke.
Justice Ellen Gorman said there was nothing remotely funny...
On August 31, 2006 The Boston Globe reported, "The tract of land off Raynham's South Street East is the sort that often ends up being developed into an office building or store. But a group of Thai monks has a very different plan for the 47 acres they bought in July.
The monks -- who recently moved into a farmhouse across town from the...
On August 31, 2006 Inter Press Service reported, "His name is Junaid Ahmad. He is 24 years old. And he is among a rapidly increasing number of first generation Muslim-Americans who have decided to pursue careers in the law.
Ahmad, who was born in Chicago, Illinois after his parents emigrated to the United States from Pakistan in 1973, is a second-year student at William and Mary Law School...
On August 31, 2006 the Hindustan Times reported, "At Marine Lines, fruit seller Chand Sheikh, a 26-year-old Muslim, had been such a devout follower of Lord Ganesha since childhood that he was elected president of the local mandal [temple] and has already occupied that post for five years.
In Bhandup, practising Sikh Balbir Singh, an actor, has brought an idol home this...
On August 31, 2006 the Associated Press reported, "After the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings, distraught U.S. Muslim leaders feared the next casualty would be their religion.
Islam teaches peace, they told anyone who would listen in news conferences, at interfaith services and, most famously, standing in a mosque with...