Author: Bettina Lehovec

Source: The Morning News

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2009/01/23/religion/012409interfaith.txt

The Islamic call to prayer echoed through the parish hall of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville.

People attending the first Interfaith Harmony Day on Jan. 17 stopped to listen. Several closed their eyes, absorbing the sense of sacredness they heard.

"It's somebody praying to...

Author: Adelle M. Banks

Source: Religion News Service

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=17394

Religious leaders from the U.S. Catholic bishops to evangelical human rights advocates have applauded President Obama's executive order that essentially ends torture of detainees held by the U.S. government.

On Thursday (Jan. 22), his second full day in office, the president signed an executive order on "ensuring lawful interrogations" to "...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Richmond Times Dispatch

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/an_interfaith_commitment_for_peace/186973/

We, members and leaders of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities in the Greater Richmond area - all having deep and symbolic ties to the land and peoples of the Middle East - are anguished by the events unfolding in Israel and Gaza. Recognizing the...

Author: Ayegba Israel Ebije

Source: AllAfrica.com

http://allafrica.com/stories/200901230406.html

The Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC) has concluded plans to train 250 youths on how to overcome the issue of reli-gious crisis in Nigeria that has led to the loss of so many lives in Nigeria.

The national coordinator, Pro-fessor Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this in Minna yesterday in an address he delivered at the first Nigerian youths summit on...

Author: Gail Russell Chaddock

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0122/p01s02-usgn.html

After decades of ceding God to the GOP, at least in the public square, Democrats – with President Obama in the lead – are speaking with a fuller religious voice. The watchword? Inclusiveness.

It's a voice that signals openness at a time when diversity in American religious life is rising.

"We know...

Author: Suzanne Sataline

Source: The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249891036400529.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The Rev. Rick Warren, by invoking the name of Jesus as he's known in several faiths, heralded the historic presidency Tuesday of an African-American man elected by Americans of multiple races, ethnicities and cultures.

Mr. Warren, one of the country's most prominent evangelical ministers...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Muslim Public Affairs Council

http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=775

Today, the Muslim Public Affairs Council joined more than a dozen advocacy groups across the nation in calling on President Barack Obama to adopt an even-handed policy that ensures sustainable peace in the Middle East. The groups' open letter to President Obama was published as a full-page advertisement in the New York Times inauguration edition.

The...

Author: Chris LaFortune

Source: OakPark-Leaves.com

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/oakpark/news/1388638,op-protest-012009-s1.article

Disappointed by the country's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a group of about 65 people stood in silent protest in Oak Park Monday (Jan. 19).

Their backgrounds were varied, with representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Jewish Voice for Peace and the...

Author: Amanda Ruggeri

Source: US News

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/obama/2009/01/21/for-president-obama-a-somber-inclusive-inaugural-prayer-service.html

President Barack Obama began his first full day on the job at the National Cathedral's inaugural prayer service. But although the service is part of a presidential tradition that dates back to George Washington, it had the...

Author: Diana L. Eck

Source: Tikkun

http://files.tikkun.org/current/article.php/Eck

Mr. President, you are the first-ever American president fully aware of the great diversity of America’s faiths. We are a nation of Christians and Jews—and Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists. You understand this and rightly see that this diversity is a source of our strength. Yet, this reality is a great challenge—especially for those who still...

Author: Kurt Kloblen

Source: Louisburg Herald

Author: Staff Writer

Source: SCTimes.com

http://www.sctimes.com/article/20090120/NEWS01/101190055/1009

An interfaith celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day focused on King's dream of equality but also on today's inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Speakers included the Rev. Randy Johnson, president of the Great River Interfaith Partnership, the Rev. Majid Abel, Lahore Interfaith Peace Council, and the Rev. Willie...

Author: Diana L. Eck

Source: Politico

http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Diana_Eck_BF022A9C-D543-4407-B0DA-DA3E3103BB82.html

As a latecomer to this discussion, here is a word about Rick Warren's address to the annual meeting of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Long Beach on Saturday, December 20. When MPAC announced that Warren would speak at its annual conference, I found it even more astonishing than Obama's...

Author: Katrin Bennhold

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/world/europe/21france.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

On a giant flat-screen television, the Chabchoubs, a family of Tunisian immigrants, watched as veiled mothers wailed over the bodies of children and fathers cried silently. The piles of rubble, the squirming toddler covered in raw burns — all of this was coming straight from Gaza to...

Author: Rachel Zoll

Source: The Associated Press