Author: Christian Fraser

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6125302.stm

Italy is to put forward draft new legislation to ban the Islamic veil that covers the face.

Vice-premier Francesco Rutelli says current laws are insufficient.

The niqab and the burka have aroused concerns, not least because Italy has a law - intended to foil terrorism - against wearing masks in public.

Mr Rutelli has now entered the...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6087506.stm

A Danish court has rejected a libel case brought by several Muslim groups against a paper that published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

The court in Aarhus said there was not enough reason to believe the cartoons were meant to be insulting or harmful.

The cartoons sparked violent protests around the world after Jyllands-Posten published them in 2005.

An appeal against the verdict has...

Source: The Peninsula

Source: The International News

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=30207

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday stressed the need for promoting interfaith and inter-culture harmony to create a world of peace and tolerance.

Talking to a 35-member Buddhist delegation from Japan, led by Chief Priest of Tokyo's prestigious Kenchoji Temple, The prime minister said that Pakistan was working for building better understanding among people of different...

Author: Richard Hamilton

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6120324.stm

Morocco's state airline Royal Air Maroc has banned its staff praying at their offices and headquarters.

The company says that in the past its workers have abused the privilege of praying, by taking too much time away from their desks and their customers.

But the airline's workers as well as Islamist politicians say it is part of a crackdown on their...

Author: Robert King

Source: The Indianapolis Star

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061106/LOCAL/611060399

Leaders of American mosques need to buy into American culture more and perform the full-time roles more common to Christian pastors, said the new head of the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America. Muneer Fareed, 50, a professor and former mosque prayer leader, says one of his challenges as...

Author: Rauf Klasra

Source: The International News

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=3928

LONDON: One unusual meeting that Prince Charles is to have during his visit to Pakistan is with Bishop Alexander John Malik who, like a traditional loving father from the East, yielded to the wishes of his daughter Nadia to let her marry a Muslim of her own choice in a church despite opposition from followers of his faith.

The newly...

Author: Simon Denyer

Source: Reuters

Author: Sue Hutchinson

Source: The Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/15940994.htm

Melanie Gadener was at home in Fremont three weeks ago when she began receiving calls about the killing of Alia Ansari, the 38-year-old mother of six who was shot in the head as she walked with her little girl through a quiet Fremont neighborhood to pick up her children at Glenmoor Elementary School.

...

Author: Angus Howarth

Source: The Scotsman

http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1614852006

The Prince of Wales persevered with his troubled tour of Pakistan yesterday after security concerns blew a hole in the Royal couple's schedule.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall had to change their itinerary after they were warned it was too dangerous for them to travel to the North-west Frontier province.

The alterations followed Monday's...

Author: Peter Ford

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1031/p01s04-woeu.html

LONDON - For a soft-spoken, mild-mannered man, Tariq Ramadan stirs up a remarkable amount of controversy.

In his own Muslim community, the Islamic philosopher-activist comes under attack for selling out his religion to the West; Britain has funded his lectures to young Muslims. But Western critics accuse him of being a Trojan horse...

Source: The New York Times

Wire Service: AP

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/world/europe/05turkey.html

ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 4 (AP): Thousands of nationalist Turks marched in the capital, Ankara, on Saturday, vowing to defend the secular government against radical Islamic influences and urging it not to make too many concessions to gain European Union membership.

Marchers in Ankara seen through a transparent flag of Ataturk...

Author: Sara Bakhshian

Source: The Malibu Times

http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2006/11/01/news/news5.txt

A conference at the local synagogue brings participants together to discuss thoughts on Israel and Palestine, and Muslim and Jewish relations.

"We are here this morning to open our eyes [a little more]," said Rabbi Judith HaLevy of the Malibu Jewish Center...

Author: NAHAL TOOSI

Source: Newsday

Wire Service: AP

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--biasattack1104nov04,0,4914312.story

The alleged hate-crime beating of a Pakistani man by a group of Jewish teenagers has rattled the city's Muslim community and spurred calls for a federal investigation by an advocacy group.

"It's an indication of the kind of...

Author: Ramadan Alig

Source: ISNA

http://www.isna.net/index.php?id=35&backPID=1&tt_news=792

“Muslim Americans are the country’s most effective bridge to the Islamic countries across the world.” -- Karen P. Hughes

The tradition of a government-sponsored iftar, started by former president Bill Clinton, continues to thrive. On October 16, President George W. and Laura Bush invited Muslim diplomats and Muslim Americans...