Source: The Associated Press

http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=7564032&nav=S6aK

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Barbara Hughes has spent years gathering Hampton Roads faith leaders to discuss their similarities and plot ways to mend differences.

Hughes will spread the concept of unity among these divergent faiths as the new liaison to the Jewish and Muslim communities, under the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. She was named to the post in October.

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Khaleej Times Online

Wire Service: AFP

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2007/December/theworld_December980.xml&section=theworld&col

Malaysia’s opposition on Monday urged the government to lift a ban on construction of the world’s tallest Taoist Goddess of the Sea...

Source: PR.com

http://www.pr.com/press-release/65900

Denver, CO, December 30, 2007 --(PR.com)-- It’s the time of year when many individuals create their list of things they intend to do in the New Year to improve their minds, bodies, and/or spirits. For those who resolve to be more tolerant of others or who seek to become better educated about other cultures, Common Tables, a Colorado-based non-profit organization has the key to turn a well-meaning New Year’s resolution into...

Author: Gregg Krupa

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071229/LIFESTYLE04/712290334/1041/LIFESTYLE04

At a time of acute need, local food banks and soup kitchens say the tradition of Muslims donating meat from sheep or lambs sacrificed for the holy day Eid al-Adha -- the Feast of Sacrifice -- is particularly welcome this year.

Muslims in Metro Detroit...

Author: Michelle Boorstein

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/faith/12/29/1229muslimjew.html

Two major Jewish and Muslim organizations unveiled an interfaith dialogue curriculum this month and are urging their hundreds of thousands of members to use it. Both sides say it is the broadest Jewish-Muslim interfaith effort in the continent's history.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie,...

Author: Candice Williams

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071226/METRO02/712260377/1041/LIFESTYLE04

WEST BLOOMFIELD -- Masha Silver and her dog, a friendly Tiberian terrier named Golani, spent Christmas visiting the residents of Regent Street Assisted Living Center.

The residents had a chance to pet Golani, a therapy dog trained to provide affection, as...

Author: Joshua Mitnick

Source: The Washington Times

http://washingtontimes.com/article/20071226/FOREIGN/553402321

About 40 Jews who left Iran in secret arrived in Israel yesterday — one of the largest such defections — and got a Christmas present of $10,000 per person from U.S. evangelicals.

The number of Iranian-Jewish emigrants to Israel more than tripled to 200 in 2007, according to officials from the Jewish Agency...

Author: MARTHA C. WHITE

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/business/25religion.html?_r=1&ex=1199250000&en=1fd400c02b7461fa&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin

Being away from family is an everyday occupational hazard for business travelers, but trips that mean missing a holiday at home — by design or by delay — are all the more vexing.

...

Author: Michael Conlon

Source: Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1431156020071224

Muslims and Jews, a tiny slice of the U.S. population, are looking for new ways to get along that could set a worldwide example for two ancient but often alienated faiths, religious leaders and experts say.

"I've encountered (among Muslims) a more centrist, a more moderate voice that is looking to the Jewish community to help project...

Author: Abdul Malik Mujahid

Source: The American Muslim

http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/treating_christmas_with_respect1/0015318

Christmas is an annual Christian religious holiday commemorating the birth of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him. For many Muslims who even do not celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, it becomes an issue of what stand they...

Author: Catherine Jun

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071224/LIFESTYLE04/712240346/1041/LIFESTYLE04

NORTHVILLE -- For years, Malik Ankouny's parents took great pains to make it look as if Santa had descended on their house on Christmas Eve. They took bites out of carrots set out for Santa's reindeer and drew sleigh tracks in the snow with a hockey stick. In this...

Author: Alphonso Van Marsh

Source: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/12/23/faith.base/index.html

In the waning sunlight hour of a chilly winter afternoon, a chorus of Hebrew prayer rises from a small, fluorescent lit room on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Friday sunset marks Sabbath, or Shabbat, for observant Jews at U.S. Army Camp Striker, Iraq.

Leading the Shabbat service is Chaplain Andrew Shulman, one of just...

Author: ANN MARIE SOMMA

Source: The Courant

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctislam1223.artdec23,0,929090.story

Drivers traveling west on I-84 are invited to turn east — toward Mecca.

A billboard promoting Islam near the Cheshire exit, and only a short distance from the construction of what will be the largest mosque in the state, encourages drivers to call a toll-free number to learn about the world's second...

Author: Emily Darrow

Source: www.bard.edu

http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=1385

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The Religion Program at Bard College presents the seminar “Mapping the World Religions in the Hudson Valley” on Friday, December 21. The free program is held from 9:30 a.m. to noon in Preston Hall.

Author: Jane Lampman

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1220/p13s03-lire.html

For some 60 years, attempts to craft a lasting peace for the Holy Land have fallen woefully short. As a new round of Israeli-Palestinian talks gets under way, some leaders from the region are insisting that it's time to include a religious dimension in the peace process.

It is the Holy Land, after all, they say, with history and...