Author: Staff Writer

Source: Yahoo!News

Wire Service: AFP

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080310/pl_afp/oicislamwestusdiplomacy;_ylt=AhyLte1ANkz6fpug5Iw7Voo7Xs8F

The United States is seeking to dispel Muslim misperceptions about it by sending its first envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday.

Sada...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: CBS/KPIX/Bay City News

http://cbs5.com/local/Urango.Alia.Ansari.2.674266.html

Manuel Urango of Fremont was convicted of first-degree murder today for what prosecutors say was the random shooting of Afghan-born Alia Ansari in broad daylight on a quiet street on the afternoon of Oct. 19, 2006.

Urango, 30, faces a state prison term of 50 years to life when Alameda County Superior Court Judge Reginald Saunders...

Author: Jason Burke

Source: The Guardian/The Observer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/09/saudiarabia.terrorism

Tomorrow a young man in traditional white robe and headdress will walk out through the iron gates of an anonymous low-rise compound down a gravel lane behind a Lebanese restaurant, 30 minutes' drive from the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

Ali Saeed al-Ghatani, 17, will head home to the resort town of Abha...

Author: Lisa Bryant

Source: VOA News

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-09-voa19.cfm

The courses are being held in an unusual location - the Catholic Institute of Paris, an institution better known for training priests and Christian scholars than Muslim clerics. Established in collaboration with the French government and the Paris mosque, the program began in January with a largely male class of 25. It aims to give the students a broad...

Author: Suthentira Govender

Source: The Times

http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/News/Article.aspx?id=722593

A National consumer organisation has slammed halaal certification bodies, accusing them of exploiting and misleading South African consumers.

Tony Naidoo, head of the Concerned Citizens Council (CCC), claimed on SAfm’s AM Live show this week that consumers were “unknowingly footing the bill for the...

Author: NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/opinion/09kristof.html?ex=1205726400&en=d8d8e2a23c48eb86&ei=5070&emc=eta1

The ugliest prejudices in this campaign season are not directly about race. Barack Obama’s skin color may cost him some working-class white voters, but it’s also winning some votes among blacks and among whites eager to...

Author: EMILY BRADY

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/nyregion/thecity/09mosq.html

IN the predawn darkness, Mohamed Azeem Khan unlocked the front doors of the mosque in Jamaica, Queens, to prepare for the morning prayer. For Mr. Khan, the imam of Masjid Omar Ben Abdel-Aziz for 18 years, opening the mosque every morning has become as routine as the rising sun.

But on this particular day, Feb. 1, Mr. Khan...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Buddhist Channel/TNA

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=52,6026,0,0,1,0

Five senior Thai Buddhist monks arrived in the Egyptian capital on Sunday for an official visit in which they will hold talks with the Sunni Muslims’ highest spiritual leader later in the week.

The Thai monks, led by Phra Dhramakosajarn, rector of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, were welcomed by Thai...

Author: Ethan Cole

Source: The Christian Post

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080309/31467_National_Muslim-Christian_Initiative_Launches_in_N._America.htm

Christian and Muslim leaders met this past week to launch the National Muslim-Christian Initiative in North America aimed at facilitating greater understanding between the two religious communities.

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The TImes of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Gujarat_to_withdraw_Freedom_of_Religion_Amendment_Bill/articleshow/2848531.cms

The Gujarat government has decided to withdraw the controversial Freedom of Religion Amendment Bill 2006 after Governor Nawal Kishor Sharma returned it to the Assembly for reconsideration.

The bill will be...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/7285046.stm

Plans to build a new £4m mosque in Berkshire have moved a step closer.

Reading town council has agreed to provide land for the new development, which will unite two existing mosques in South Street and Alexandra Road.

Author: Rich Barlow

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/08/rabbi_praises_interfaith_mobility/

If Rabbi David Gordis is right, when it comes to improving relations among Christians, Jews, and Muslims, the words of the prophets are written not on church or temple or mosque walls, but in the hearts of the congregants.

In a talk at Merrimack College this week, Gordis,...

Author: Paul Elias

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

Wire Service: AP

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080307-1151-ca-radiohost-islam.html

A federal judge said Friday that she was leaning toward tossing out conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage's copyright theft lawsuit against an Islamic lobbying group who used portions of the popular program to solicit donations and...

Author: BENJAMIN SARLIN

Source: The New York Sun

http://www.nysun.com/article/72533

Mayor Bloomberg is rejecting calls from lawmakers to make two Muslim holy days official school holidays, saying students cannot afford more days off.

"The truth of the matter is we need more children in school," Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday. "More, not less."

Council Member Robert Jackson of Manhattan, who is Muslim, and 12 co-sponsors introduced a resolution this...

Author: Amy Kotlarz

Source: Catholic Courier

http://catholiccourier.com/tmp1.cfm?nid=78&articleid=100198

The keys to religious harmony in a religiously diverse world are appreciation, humility and respect for others, said Rabbi Brad Hirschfield of New York City and author of You Don’t Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, which was published in January.

Rabbi Hirschfield spoke about religious...