Civic

Muslim Youth Wrestle With Post-9-11 Suspicion

September 6, 2009

Author: Peter Smith

Source: The Courier-Journal

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090906/EXTRAS06/90904015/-1/Category=FEATURES05

Kareem El-Refai says he'd never heard of Osama bin Laden before the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center towers in New York collapsed in a burning heap of rubble.

He and his brother, Mostafa, sons of Egyptian immigrants who came to America and built an...

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Swiss Christian, Jewish, Muslim Groups Reject Call to Ban Minarets

September 4, 2009

Author: Stephen Brown

Source: Ecumenical News International

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=3338

The Swiss Council of Religions, which groups Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders, has issued a statement rejecting a call for the country to ban the construction of minarets at mosques. 

"For the members of a religious community, religious buildings are not only places to gather but also a symbol of their faith and...

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Jews, Seeking Allies, Reach Out to Latino Evangelicals

September 2, 2009

Author: Lilly Fowler

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/jews_seeking_allies_reach_out_to_latino_evangelicals/

Early on a weekday morning, dozens of Latino evangelical leaders stream into a large church on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Greeting one another in Spanish, they sip coffee and share pastries until they are informed that class is about to begin....

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Beyond Belief: Atheists Push for Greater Visibility And Acceptance

August 24, 2009

Author: Jaweed Kaleem

Source: The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/367/story/1165325.html

There's nothing unusual about churches advertising Sunday services, but South Florida atheists are turning that idea on its head: Why not promote the belief that there is no God?

"Most people are under the impression that atheists lack morals and ethics. We are trying to dispel that myth,'' said Ken Loukinen, founder of the 400-member Florida...

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‘Hindu Democrats’ Inject Hindu Values Into U.S. Politics

August 20, 2009

Author: Richard Springer

Source: India-West

http://www.indiawest.com/readmore.aspx?id=1400&Sid=1

A Democratic Party activist and a U.S. Army soldier currently deployed in Afghanistan have co-founded Hindu Democrats, a Virginia-based political action committee aiming “to mobilize the Indian American bloc in the United States” to support Democratic Party candidates through the “representation of Hindu American values in American...

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Iowa Bus Driver Suspended Over Atheist Ad

August 19, 2009

Source: The Chicago Tribune

Wire Service: AP

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-atheistbuses-iowa,0,6880378.story

The Des Moines Regional Transit Authority has suspended a driver who refused to drive a bus bearing an ad for an atheist group.

Angela Shiel was suspended on Monday after she refused to drive a bus with an Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers ad on its side. The ad reads "Don't...

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Swiss Move to Ban Minarets As 'Symbols Of Islamic Power'

August 14, 2009

Author: Tony Paterson

Source: The Independent

http://www.independ

The normally sleepy Swiss country town of Langenthal has become the focus of a virulent right-wing campaign to ban minarets from all mosques in the Alpine republic on the grounds that they symbolise ideological opposition to the country's constitution.

Switzerland's "stop minaret" movement is backed by the influential ultra-conservative Swiss People's Party, (SVP) which was re...

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Athiest Bus Ads Create Free Speech Debate In US

August 14, 2009

Author: Michael J. Crumb

Source: ABC News

Wire Service: AP

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8328664

A dispute about bus advertisements seeking to publicize atheist views has touched off a free speech debate after the signs were torn down — then posted again — on the sides of Des Moines city buses.

The ads, sponsored by the Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers, pictured white puffy clouds against a...

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Court Gives Santeria Priest OK to Sacrifice Goats

August 13, 2009

Author: Linda Stewart Ball

Source: The Miami Herald

Wire Service: AP

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/1166702.html

A federal appeals court reversed a lower court's ruling on Friday that barred a Santeria priest from sacrificing goats in his Texas home, saying a city's decision to prohibit the ritual violated the man's religious rights.

Jose Merced, 46, accuses the city of Euless, Texas...

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Pagan Pride Festival Hits Departure Bay Beach

August 13, 2009

Author: Krista Bryce

Source: Nanaimo Daily News

http://www.canada.com/Pagan+pride+festival+hits+Departure+beach/1888476/story.html

There will be no sacrifices, disembowelling of chickens of goats or the casting of spells to turn someone into a toad.

But don't be shocked if you run into your neighbour at the Pagan Pride Day celebration at Departure Bay Beach on Saturday.

Two spokespeople for the Pagan...

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