Author: Sheryl Gay Stolberg

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/us/politics/15islamcenter.html?pagewanted=1

President Obama said on Saturday that in defending the right of Muslims to build a community center and mosque near Ground Zero he “was not commenting” on “the wisdom” of that particular project, but rather trying to uphold the broader principle that government should...

Author: Perry Stein

Source: The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703988304575413992348097342.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

A Texas appellate-court ruling that a newly built Sikh temple near Austin must be razed or moved has sparked an international outcry from members of the religious group, some of whom claim discrimination is at the heart of the case.

Author: David A. Graham

Source: Newsweek

http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/08/08/us-mosque-protests.html

The latest front in America's culture wars: a planned Islamic culture center and mosque in lower Manhattan, a couple of blocks from the site of the World Trade Center. The ado over the center--dubbed the "Ground Zero mosque"--has been particularly loud, drawing protests from Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and others. But the New York...

Author: Heather Yakin

Source: The Times Herald-Record

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100813%2FNEWS%2F8130386

As anti-Islam sentiment has exploded across the country, some local Muslims say the way to defuse distrust is to reach out across religious lines and to become a part of the community.

"The general public has an inaccurate idea of what Islam is," said Samuel Encarnacion,...

Author: Anne Barnard

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/nyregion/14mosque.html?ref=religion_and_belief

The Masjid Manhattan occupies a narrow basement with bare pipes snaking along the ceiling. The congregants who filled up the mosque near City Hall on Thursday night were mainly men, from South Asia, West Africa and the United States, and a few women — who prayed behind a partition. The...

Author: Michael Barbaro

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/nyregion/13bloomberg.html?hp

Michael R. Bloomberg is a former Wall Street mogul with a passion for the rights of a private property owner. He is a Jew whose parents asked their Christian lawyer to buy a house and then sell it back to them to hide their identity in an unwelcoming Massachusetts suburb. And he is a politician who regards his...

Author: Matthew Lee

Source: The Washington Post

Wire Service: AP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/11/AR2010081106254.html

The imam behind controversial plans for a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks is being sent by the State Department on a religious outreach trip to the Middle East, officials said Tuesday, in a move that drew criticism from...

Author: Michael Barbaro

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/nyregion/13bloomberg.html?hp

Michael R. Bloomberg is a former Wall Street mogul with a passion for the rights of a private property owner. He is a Jew whose parents asked their Christian lawyer to buy a house and then sell it back to them to hide their identity in an unwelcoming Massachusetts suburb. And he is a politician who regards his...

Author: Matthew Lee

Source: The Washington Post

Wire Service: AP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/11/AR2010081106254.html

The imam behind controversial plans for a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks is being sent by the State Department on a religious outreach trip to the Middle East, officials said Tuesday, in a move that drew criticism from...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Faith in Public Life

http://faithinpubliclife.org/content/press/2010/08/top_religious_leaders_denounce.html

More than 40 prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders and religion scholars issued a statement today condemning the "xenophobia and religious bigotry" fueling the increasingly strident opposition to a proposed Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero. These leaders from...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: National Council of Churches News Service

http://www.ncccusa.org/news/100811ramadanrespect.html

The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, its Interfaith Relations Commission and the Christian participants in the National Muslim-Christian initiative, have issued the following statement:

As our Muslim neighbors begin their observance of Ramadan with fasting, re-dedicating themselves to God and God's...

Author: Tess Civantos

Source: Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/11/montana-church-service-moved-liberal-ville-county-fair-grounds-complaints/

Leaders of a Christian organization are convinced a group of atheists were successful in getting annual fellowship services moved from the Missoula County Fair, but church organizers say they’re determined to make the best of their new...

Author: Michelle Bearden

Source: The Tampa Tribune

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/aug/11/group-putting-up-20-anti-religious-billboards-acro/

An anti-religion group is taking advantage of Florida's battered economy by launching a low-budget billboard blitz.

"To be honest, the price was right," says Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. "We got some...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Faith in Public Life

http://faithinpubliclife.org/content/press/2010/08/top_religious_leaders_denounce.html

More than 40 prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders and religion scholars issued a statement today condemning the "xenophobia and religious bigotry" fueling the increasingly strident opposition to a proposed Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero. These leaders from...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Office of the Press Secretary at the White House

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/11/statement-president-occasion-ramadan

On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I want to extend our best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world. Ramadan Kareem.