Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8132320.stm

A Turkish game show is challenging atheists to reassess their views and win "the biggest prize ever".

Penitents Compete will bring together an Islamic imam, a Jewish rabbi, a Buddhist monk and a Greek Orthodox priest seeking to convert the atheists.

The prize for any converted contestants is an expenses-paid pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen...

Author: Fabiana Frayssinet

Source: IPS News

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47527

"Ialorixá" Gilda died of a massive heart attack in 1999 after members of a pentecostal church swarmed into her temple and hit her over the head with a Bible. Her death drew attention to the growing religious intolerance in Brazil, which was denounced this week at the United Nations.

The sectarianism especially targets religions of African origin, as in the...

Author: Anli Serfontein

Source: Ecumenical News International

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=3146

Renounce Islamophobia, the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, the Rev. Ishmael Noko, has urged world religious leaders at an inter religious congress in Kazakhstan.

Noko, a Zimbabwean, commended U.S. President Barack Obama for reaching out to Muslim communities and moving away from the language of the "war against terror...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8130624.stm

At least three people have been killed in violent clashes between mobs of Hindus and Muslims in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

Two people died in the riots in the city of Mysore and a third was killed when police opened fire.

Violence began when the carcass of a pig was thrown into a mosque. A curfew has been imposed in the affected...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/july-2-2009/womens-spiritual-voices-muslim-jewish-and-christian/3458/

On May 21, 2009 the Moroccan American Cultural Center and the American Jewish Committee sponsored an interfaith panel discussion in New York City on “Women’s Spiritual Voices: Crossing...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/july-3-2009/faith-communities-and-disability/3440/

Reverend BILL GAVENTA (Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities): In every faith community there is a scriptural basis for welcome and hospitality. But you’ve also got congregations who live in cultures where people with disabilities...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: NJ.com

http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2009/07/photos_from_hobokens_interfait.html

Here are some photos from today's Interfaith Service to commemorate the inuguration of new Hoboken mayor Peter Cammarano (the youngest Hoboken mayor to ever take office!). The service also marks the taking of office of the three new Council people, Ravi Bhalla, Dave Mello and Carol Marsh.

The...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: World Sikh News

http://worldsikhnews.com/1%20July%202009/Union%20City%20Celebrates%20Golden%20jubilee%20Interfaith%20Festival.htm

The highly diverse population of Union City, California experienced a unique feeling on Saturday, June 27, 2009. Residents of different faiths, beliefs and creeds sat together all day long to learn about their neighbors’...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Buddhist Channel/Pattaya Daily News

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=52,8325,0,0,1,0

Sattahip Buddhists joined in a special ceremony on 27th June 2009 to donate offerings to 1500 Buddhist monks of the 226 temples in the Southern part of Thailand. The ceremony was a gesture of support to the region which has suffered from 4 years of violence.

The ceremony was supported by various local...

Author: Eleni Hale

Source: SikhNet

http://www.sikhnet.com/news/aussie-army-welcomes-sikhs

Special helmets that accommodate turbans and uniforms incorporating burkas are part of a push to build a more diverse Australian Army.

Army chiefs are hoping to attract bigger numbers of multicultural recruits, especially those of Arabic and Indian descent.

Among the changes being considered are specially designed helmets that fit turbans...

Author: Nikolaus von Twickel

Source: The Moscow Times

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1010/42/379152.htm

More than 50 worshippers gathered in a sacred grove on a hot June afternoon outside the village of Marisola. The crowd, mostly women dressed in national costumes and colorful headscarves, stood on a glade opposite a spruce where men were busy conducting prayers.

The congregation kneeled while the men under the spruce, dressed in suits...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8125927.stm

A report on the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid mosque, which sparked nationwide communal riots, has been submitted to the Indian government.

The Liberhan commission was set up to investigate the events that led to a Hindu mob tearing down the disputed mosque in the town of Ayodhya.

The commission has taken 17 years to complete its...

Author: Russell Jenkins

Source: The Times Online

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6606035.ece

A teacher was barred from joining students on a visit to a Roman Catholic sixth-form college because she refused a request to remove her Muslim veil.

She was accompanying two teenage girls on an open day to see if they wanted to study for their A levels at St Mary’s College, in...

Author: Julia Zappei

Source: Syracuse.com

Wire Service: AP