Civic

Tutu Urges Jews to Challenge Oppression of Palestinians

October 28, 2007

Author: Michael Paulson

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/10/28/tutu_urges_jews_to_challenge_oppression_of_palestinians/

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, appealed yesterday to Jews to challenge what he described as the Israeli government's...

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Project Downtown Gives a Lift to Fort Lauderdale Homeless Residents

October 28, 2007

Author: Jennifer Gollan

Source: Sun Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbprojectdowntown1028nboct28,0,6896652.story

Fort Lauderdale - It began with a few turkey sandwiches. Sohaib Khan grew tired of watching drivers whiz past a clutch of beggars on a corner near his home. So last year, he and some friends delivered 40 sandwiches to homeless residents who hang out at Stranahan Park...

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Atheist, Daughter Challenge Law

October 27, 2007

Author: Tara Malone

Source: Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-silentsuitnew_27oct27,1,178548.story

A 14-year-old suburban girl and her dad, atheist activist Rob Sherman, filed a lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court that challenges the constitutionality of a law requiring Illinois public schools to observe a moment of silence.

Sherman and his daughter Dawn, a freshman at Buffalo Grove...

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Marathon Relay to Spread Message of Racial Harmony

October 27, 2007

Author: Patwant Singh

Source: Channel NewsAsia

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/308144/1/.html

Using sports to spread the message of racial and religious harmony: this is what the Singapore Racial and Religious Harmony Marathon Relay hopes to achieve.

The event is jointly organised by the Sikh Welfare Council and OnePeople.sg.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Community...

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Patriot Act Faulted in Denial of Visa for Muslim Scholar

October 26, 2007

Author: JOHN ELIGON

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/nyregion/26visa.html

A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge yesterday to declare unconstitutional a part of the Patriot Act that he says allowed a prominent Muslim scholar to be denied a visa.

The lawyer, Jameel Jaffer, told Judge Paul A. Crotty of Federal District Court in Manhattan that the provision, allowing the federal...

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Obama Sees Plenty of Votes in Black Pews

October 26, 2007

Author: Mike Dorning

Source: Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/friday/chi-gospelvote_frioct26,0,2833424.story

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Barack Obama's presidential campaign on Friday begins a tour of gospel singers around this Bible Belt state to praise the Lord and offer testimonials on behalf of the candidate, a modern twist on a style of old-time...

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Interfaith Dialogue Ponders Global Conversion Issues

October 26, 2007

Author: Mark Kelly

Source: Baptist Press

http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=26698

Evangelicals should take a cautious view of a proposed code of ethics banning "unethical" efforts to persuade people to accept Christ, two Southern Baptist professors have said.

In August, the World Evangelical Alliance joined the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Pontifical Council in a dialogue at Toulouse, France, aimed at creating a...

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Board Draws Back From Mosque Fray

October 26, 2007

Author: Philip Rucker

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102501135.html

The Walkersville Town Commission has postponed a decision on an amendment to zoning laws that could have blocked a Muslim sect's proposal to build a retreat and prayer center on a farm in the Frederick County town.

In a 3 to 2 vote Wednesday, the commission decided to delay...

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New Appointments at WCC Specialise in Advocacy and Interfaith Dialogue

October 25, 2007

Source: Ekklesia.co.uk

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6009

Two people known for their achievements in faith-based advocacy and interfaith dialogue, have been engaged by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC).

The new staff members will head the programme on Public witness and the programme on Inter-religious dialogue and cooperation.

The programmes enable bilateral dialogues, regional and cross-cultural encounters on perceptions of "the other" and on issues...

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Young Zambian Teens Pull Together in Service Program

October 25, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Baha'i World News Service

http://www.news.bahai.org/story/583

The Tonga tribe has lived in southern Zambia for hundreds of years, and members are proud of their longstanding traditions and strong social codes. But leaders say some of the customs are eroding - young people, for example, no longer seem to respect the elderly.

A new program involving hundreds of young teens working in small groups may help change that - and...

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The Public Face of Buddhism

October 25, 2007

Author: John C. Holt

Source: Martin Marty Center

http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2007/1025.shtml

When most of us in North America think about Buddhist monks, the image we are likely to conjure is one of ochre-robed contemplatives engaged in the quietude of meditation. But in fact, there has been a debate within the Buddhist sangha (monastic community) over the past two millennia regarding the question of how the...

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Muslims Chide Pope for Not Moving Faster on Dialogue

October 24, 2007

Author: Francis X. Rocca

Source: The Pew Forum, Religion News Service

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=14377

Muslim leaders who attended an interfaith peace conference with Pope Benedict XVI chided the pope for not responding to a recent olive branch from Muslim scholars, and complained that the reaction of a high Vatican official "misses the very point of dialogue."

Their complaints stem from an open letter, signed by 138 Muslim...

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Hollywood Gears up for Sikh Film Festival

October 24, 2007

Source: The Economic Times

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET_Cetera/Hollywood_gears_up_for_Sikh_film_festival/articleshow/2486909.cms

CHANDIGARH: The Spinning Wheel Film Festival (SWFF) showcasing outstanding Sikh films and movies made by Sikh men and women the world over will get under way in Hollywood next month.

The festival will be held from Nov 16 at the Writers and Guild Theatre, Beverly Hills,...

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Christian College Embraces Romney Bid

October 24, 2007

Author: GLEN JOHNSON

Source: The Associated Press

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jRqe3yywGAI4Y6ZtwLqpe8k0GmVg

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has been embraced in a most unlikely place: at Bob Jones University, the influential Christian college that teaches that his Mormon church is a cult.

In early voting South Carolina, Romney has picked up support among the evangelicals and social...

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In Search of 'Truth over Fear'

October 24, 2007

Author: Matt Gunderson

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/21/in_search_of_truth_over_fear/

Anti-Islamic sentiment in the country swelled in the aftermath of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But for Mary Lahaj, Muslim chaplain at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, those energies had been taking root on US soil for decades prior.

She remembers the telephone calls...

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