Author: Sandy Mazza

Source: DailyBreeze.com

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/9234236.html

Hundreds of men and women left their shoes at the door and bowed for the weekly Friday afternoon prayer at the Islamic Center of Hawthorne.

The service was a typical one - adults and children were consumed in prayer for about an hour. Some teens hung around outside the mosque, discussing basketball and the popular reality TV show, "American...

Author: Gary Weiss

Source: Forbe's

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/05/india-jews-antisemitism-oped-cx_gw_0813jews.html

There's no question that India's secularism is under strain. Militant Hinduism remains as much a potent force as extremist Islam. The ongoing bloodletting in Kashmir is an open sore, and the periodic spasms of communal violence in Gujarat, combined with memories of the Mumbai bombings of 2006, have led to...

Author: Keith O'Brien

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/08/18/adl_local_leader_fired_on_armenian_issue/

The national Anti-Defamation League fired its New England regional director yesterday, one day after he broke ranks with national ADL leadership and said the human rights organization should acknowledge the Armenian genocide that began in...

Author: Jeremy Grange

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6948034.stm

A special phone service linking Israelis and Palestinians, called Hello Peace, has facilitated nearly a million telephone conversations since it began operating in November 2000.

As we sit talking in his office in a Jerusalem apartment block, graphic designer Rami Elhanan pauses for a moment, deep in thought, recalling the day his life...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The New York Times

Wire Service: AP

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/world/europe/16convert.html

GENEVA, Aug. 15 — Evangelical Protestant churches have joined an effort by Roman Catholic, Orthodox and other Protestant churches to create a common code of conduct for religious conversions to preserve the right of Christians to spread their religion while avoiding conflict...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293394,00.html

A proposal by a Roman Catholic bishop in the Netherlands that people of all faiths refer to God as "Allah" is not sitting well with the Catholic community.

Tiny Muskens, an outgoing bishop who is retiring in a few weeks from the southern diocese of Breda, said God doesn't care what he is called.

"Allah is a very beautiful word for God....

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0816/p08s02-comv.html

In much of the world, religion – not ideology – is the prime motivator propelling people and events, often leading to violence. Congress had a sense of that a decade ago when it began considering how the US might better promote religious freedom and tolerance in its foreign policy. It's a subject worth revisiting.

What...

Author: JOHN THORNE

Source: ABC News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3489657

The U.S. State Department chose a novel way to publicize baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr.'s appointment this week as its special sports envoy. It went on YouTube.

Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes, who appears in the video, said Thursday it was part of her campaign...

Author: CHERIE BLACK

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/327361_mosque13.html

They sat next to each other in the Sunday sunshine chatting. Smiling and gesturing, they looked like familiar friends sharing familiar stories. But the two women -- one with her head and body wrapped in cloth, the other blond and wearing a floral dress -- were strangers until that afternoon. They met at the annual community barbecue at...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: International Herald Tribune/The Associated Press

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/12/africa/egypt.1-113336.php

CAIRO: An Egyptian Muslim who converted to Christianity and then took the unprecedented step of seeking official recognition for the change said he has gone into hiding following death threats.

The man, Mohammed Hegazy, who sparked controversy when pictures of him posing with a poster...

Author: DANA BARTHOLOMEW

Source: Los Angeles Daily News

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_6609027

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - The Thai grub was just too good for its own good.

The nationally acclaimed weekend food court at Wat Thai Los Angeles Buddhist temple closed Sunday, an apparent victim of its own success.

So many foodies have flocked to the Thai food nirvana that the temple has temporarily suspended food sales because of neighborhood...

Author: Hanna Chu

Source: Press Telegram

http://www.presstelegram.com/beachweek/ci_6607981

The ethnic diversity in Long Beach and surrounding areas has resulted in an unquestionable religious diversity, and the different faiths work together to maintain a peaceful community.

The physical presence of the different faiths can be seen everywhere, from the Long Beach Sagely Monastery on Ocean Boulevard to St. George Greek Orthodox Church on...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Sunday Times

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070812/Plus/pls12.html

The message is to be broadcast from the temples, the churches, the mosques and the kovils.....and the word being spread would be vital for the survival of humankind. These are the plans of a group of religious leaders, who have joined hands to launch a campaign against HIV, not only to strengthen prevention programmes but also to make people aware that those...

Author: Rich Barlow

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/11/boston_takes_on_new_religious_profile/?p1=email_to_a_friend

Boston's religious profile is no longer reflected solely in the words of the Bible, beloved by the city's Puritan founders, or "The Last Hurrah," the novel inspired by its Catholic-tinted politics. The local lexicon of faith has been...