Interfaith

Cultural Diversity Transforming School Days

May 1, 2007

Author: ROGER BELGRAVE

Source: The Brampton Guardian

http://www.northpeel.com/news/article/8580

Last December's inaugural meeting at the public school board began with Pundit Roopnauth Sharma chanting a prayer. The founder and spiritual leader of an area temple first offered his invocation in Hindi and then provided the largely English-speaking boardroom audience with a translation.

This particular ceremonial prayer is a departure from typical...

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Faith Leaders in Peace Pledge

April 30, 2007

Source: The Asian News

http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/news/s/227/227143_faith_leaders_in_peace_pledge.html

The UK's most senior imam and rabbis united against religious extremism during a ground breaking inter-faith event in Manchester.

Held at the Hilton Hotel, the second Imam and Rabbis Conference brought together prominent leaders from both faiths to create dialogue between the two communities and look at ways to create better...

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Controversy on Menu at Prayer Breakfast

April 30, 2007

Author: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS

Source: Los Angeles Daily News

http://www.dailynews.com/santaclarita/ci_5789621

SANTA CLARITA - The keynote speaker at Thursday's Santa Clarita Mayor's Prayer Breakfast is an evangelical leader who called Catholicism a false religion and accused women legislators of abandoning their children.

While it is not sponsored by the city of Santa Clarita, the annual prayer breakfast typically draws the city's mayor, some City...

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"America Should Rethink That Whole 'No Religious Test' Bit," a Commentary by Stephen Prothero

April 30, 2007

Author: Stephen Prothero

Source: Religion News Service

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=13358

We need a religious test for the U.S. presidency.

The Constitution mandates that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.' So I am not talking about requiring that the president be Christian or Judeo-Christian or even a believer in God.

I am talking about...

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Minorities Students Struggle with Arabic in State-Run Schools

April 30, 2007

Author: Amar Guriro

Source: Daily Times

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C04%5C30%5Cstory_30-4-2007_pg12_3

KARACHI: Seven-year-old Angela finds it difficult to study Islamiyat at school. “I don’t know if I have to study it or not, but it’s really difficult to pronounce the Arabic properly,” she said.

Angela, one of many children belonging to the Hindu Maheshwari,...

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Jewish and Muslim Organizations United to Create European Platform for Cooperation

April 29, 2007

Author: CEJI

Source: International Movement for a Just World

http://www.just-international.org/article.cfm?newsid=20002140

What is the role of the Middle East conflict in Jewish-Muslim dialogue? Is the media a positive force for change in inter-religious relations? How can local communities be successfully engaged in dialogue? These were a number of the questions tackled by representatives of Jewish and Muslim organisations at a Conference...

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Odd Couple of Comedy

April 28, 2007

Author: Ron Csillag

Source: Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com/Life/article/207216

So a Muslim and a Jew walk onto a stage.

Er, that's it.

What sounds like a set-up to a punchline is actually the point of "The Laugh in Peace Tour," featuring Muslim comic Azhar Usman and Rabbi Bob Alper, who will team up this Tuesday night at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in "an evening of non-political laughter."

No rimshots, please. The...

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Akron Group Welcomes all Faiths to Prayer Event

April 28, 2007

Author: Colette M. Jenkins

Source: Akron Beacon Journal

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/religion/17148773.htm

Who should pray on National Day of Prayer?

If you ask the organizers of the two observances planned in Summit County, you get the same answer: everyone.

But the Akron Area Association of Churches isn't sure everyone feels welcome at the annual observance at the Summit County Courthouse that is sponsored by the...

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Festival Unveils Sikh Faith

April 28, 2007

Author: Rebecca Rosen Lum

Source: Contra Costa Times

http://www.contracostatimes.com/religion/ci_5773775

What began as a harvest festival in rural Punjab has become an opportunity for Sikhs to explain their faith throughout the Diaspora -- particularly in post-Sept. 11 America.

The Vaisakhi Festival links two New Years, overlaying a religious holiday on a seasonal celebration. At a time when farmers celebrated their harvest, a Sikh guru on...

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Evangelical Pastor to Host Muslim on Radio Show

April 27, 2007

Author: JOE ORSO

Source: LaCrosse Tribune

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/04/27/news/z03radio27.txt

The Rev. Dave Holt, an Evangelical Christian, will host his first non-Christian guest on his radio show Saturday: Wahhab Khandker, a Muslim.

"Too often there's misunderstanding because we don't talk face to face," said Holt, pastor at First Evangelical Free Church in Onalaska, Wis. "This is an opportunity to...

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Vedic Mantras Open Nevada Earth Day Celebrations

April 27, 2007

Source: Indolink

http://www.indolink.com/displayArticleS.php?id=042307105831

Nevada Earth Day 2007 celebrations here today opened with prayers from ancient Hindu Sanskrit scriptures.

Starting with Shanti Mantra in Sanskrit, Rajan Zed, Director of Interfaith Relations of Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada and a Hindu chaplain, read "Prithvi Sukta" (hymn to earth) from Atharva-Veda (composed around 1200 BCE), invoking the Goddess Earth.

He...

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University of Kentucky Medical Workers Discuss Diversity

April 27, 2007

Author: Barbara Isaacs

Source: Lexington Herald-Leader

http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/54348.html

More than 100 University of Kentucky medical workers -- from students to doctors and nurses -- attended a panel discussion yesterday intended to help them better understand patients of various cultural and geographic backgrounds.

"We need to be aware of each other," said Rachelle Lehner, UK's director of staff education. "What I hope the staff...

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