Civic

Peer Criticises Muslim 'Hotheads'

December 11, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7138641.stm

Muslim peer Baroness Warsi has hit out at Muslim "hardliners and hotheads" who use Islam to argue against voting and equal rights for women.

The Conservative shadow minister for community cohesion said it was crucial to distinguish between social demands and genuine religious requirements.

She urged Muslims not to allow such...

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9th Circuit Finds Parts of Patriot Act Unconstitutional

December 11, 2007

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19428

LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that some portions of the U.S. Patriot Act dealing with foreign terrorist organizations are unconstitutional because the language is too vague to be understood by a person of average intelligence.

The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirms a 2005 decision by U.S. District Judge Audrey...

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S.F. Housing Authority Sued over Failure to Protect Muslim Tenants

December 10, 2007

Author: Marisa Lagos

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/10/BA4LTPR7P.DTL

A family of Pakistani immigrants living in San Francisco public housing was improperly denied an emergency transfer to another apartment after someone broke into their home, desecrated their Quran, defaced their passports and shredded their traditional clothing, according to a federal court lawsuit....

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"Culture Corner: Jewish-Muslim Alternative Spring Break," a Commentary by Lindsay Katona

December 10, 2007

Author: Lindsay Katona

Source: KOACH

http://www.koach.org/koc_5768_tevet_culture.htm

Never could I have possibly imagined a trip that would end with Jews and Muslims sharing their meals in the kosher cafeteria. Or with Muslims asking me if I am coming to Shabbat dinner on Friday night. Or with Jewish students sitting around a bonfire shouting "Takbir," an exclamation Muslims use to proclaim the greatness of Allah.

Last October, Sam Krentzman,...

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Watchdog Group Challenges US Military Over Religious Freedom

December 10, 2007

Author: Mike O'Sullivan

Source: Voice of America

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-12-10-voa59.cfm

The U.S. Constitution guarantees religious freedom and prevents government support of religion. The provisions apply to those in the military, as well as civilians. Mike O'Sullivan reports, an organization led by a former military lawyer has challenged the Pentagon over religious issues.

Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force Judge Advocate, or...

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In One Village, Making a Balanced Display for Two Celebrations

December 9, 2007

Author: BARBARA WHITAKER

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/09holidaywe.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

THE village spent $853 on oversize ornaments for the Christmas tree in Law Park and $3,065 on a custom-made six-foot-tall dreidel. But what it really sought to buy was harmony surrounding this year’s holiday display.

The effort to balance this year...

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Sikh Leader Elected to Parliament of World Religions

December 9, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: India Post

http://indiapost.com/article/usnews/1546/

The Chair of the Interfaith Committee of the World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR), Dr. Tarunjit Singh, has been elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions (CPWR).

Rev. Dirk Ficca, Executive Director of CPWR, in a letter dated Nov 21, stated, "Now more than ever, the world needs the wisdom and energy of...

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U.N. Report Finds 31 Killed in Myanmar Crackdown

December 8, 2007

Author: WARREN HOGE

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/08/world/asia/08nations.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

At least 31 people were killed in Myanmar during the military government’s crackdown on protests this fall, and arrests of and nighttime raids on suspected demonstrators are continuing, a United Nations human rights expert who visited the country last month said on Friday.

In a report...

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Social Cohesion Needs Religion – Archbishop

December 7, 2007

Author: Maria Mackay

Source: Christian Today

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/social.cohesion.needs.religion.archbishop/15295.htm

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has argued that religion is fundamental to maintaining social cohesion.

In a lecture delivered on Thursday at the Building Bridges Conference in Singapore, Dr Williams refuted the popular conception that a society in which...

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Sikh Students Allowed to Carry Kirpan to Schools in Australia

December 6, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians_Abroad/Sikh_students_allowed_to_carry_kirpan_to_schools_in_Australia/articleshow/2599452.cms

Sikh students would be allowed to carry kirpans or small daggers to school following a recommendation by a parliamentary committee in Australia's Victoria state but the move has outraged...

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Muslim Woman Sues for Being Forced to Remove Headscarf in US Jail

December 6, 2007

Source: International Herald Tribune

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/06/america/NA-GEN-US-Muslim-Headscarf-Lawsuit.php

LOS ANGELES: A Muslim woman arrested for riding a commuter train without a valid ticket has filed a federal lawsuit in the United States, claiming her religious freedom was violated when she was forced to remove her headscarf when she was taken to jail.

Jameelah Medina also said she was intimidated by a...

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Islamic Leader Writes a Story for Tolerance

December 5, 2007

Author: Gregg Krupa

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/METRO/712050392

DEARBORN -- When Imam Sayid Hassan al-Qazwini and other religious leaders met at the White House with Bill Clinton in 1999, something the president said encouraged Qazwini's conviction that Americans needed to know more about Islam.

It was only when his daughter, Chelsea, took a class in world...

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Does U.S. Tolerate Anti-Muslim Speech?

December 4, 2007

Author: Omar Sacirbey

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1204/p02s02-usgn.html

Lu Gronseth listens regularly to WWTC, a conservative talk-radio station in Minneapolis, and even advertises his mortgage-loan business on the station. But when he learned that a nationally syndicated radio show host had told WWTC listeners that Muslims should be deported and made rude comments about what they could do with their religion,...

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