Civic

Diwali Month in NJ Planned

January 2, 2007

Author: SRIREKHA N. CHAKRAVARTY

Source: India Post News Service

http://www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=5967

NEW JERSEY: The New Year may light up a historic development in the State of New Jersey - the recognition of October 15th through November 15th of each year as "Diwali Month."

This, following a landmark resolution-AJR-123 introduced by Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula in 2006 and supported by Senator Barbara Buono with...

Read more about Diwali Month in NJ Planned

"Even Where Eagles Fly," a Commentary by Martin E. Marty

January 1, 2007

Author: Martin E. Marty

Source: Sightings

http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2007/0101.shtml

Weary as we have a right to be after the wearying December Wars that pit one kind of Christian versus all kinds of everyone else, or after ringing the latest changes on Muslim-Christian and everyone-else issues, let's turn away and lift our eyes, which means to do our "sighting" high above such conflicts and issues. We can take a...

Read more about "Even Where Eagles Fly," a Commentary by Martin E. Marty

Muslim Family Claims Discrimination by Racial Profiling at Airport

January 1, 2007

Author: Brynn Galindo

Source: KGET

http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=4153898d-6402-4f85-bb73-68088f320f9c

BAKERSFIELD - It was supposed to be a fun family reunion, but instead a Bakersfield family claims their Muslim father had a hard time getting to Bakersfield from Germany because of airport security.

This is familiar territory to the Islamic community where someone is allegedly...

Read more about Muslim Family Claims Discrimination by Racial Profiling at Airport

Turkey Thanked for Building Buddhist Temple in Tsunami-Hit Sri Lanka

December 29, 2006

Source: The Buddhist Channel

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=3,3576,0,0,1,0

Istanbul, Turkey -- Among the 450 homes ordered built by Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a Buddhist region of Sri Lanka hit hard by the tsunami two years ago, a Buddhist temple was also built with Turkish funds.

State Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin yesterday recounted his impressions of the work done in Sri Lanka following the tsunami to the Council of Ministers...

Read more about Turkey Thanked for Building Buddhist Temple in Tsunami-Hit Sri Lanka

"Strike Some Words from National Lexicon," a Commentary by Hubert G. Locke

December 29, 2006

Author: HUBERT G. LOCKE

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/297610_hubert29.html

The eve of a new year prods us all to think about the possibilities for fresh starts and new resolves. Given the seismic political change in the other Washington that occurred six weeks ago, one of the initiatives we might hope for in the coming year is a substantial improvement in our national vocabulary.

The...

Read more about "Strike Some Words from National Lexicon," a Commentary by Hubert G. Locke

K.P. Singh Spreading Interfaith Message Globally

December 27, 2006

Author: Andrea Neal

Source: Northwest Indiana News

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/12/27/opinion/times_editorial_columnists/6648a9b7ee5c59a58625724d002209cc.txt

An Indiana artist is working across the globe to spread a message of good will and peace.

"If we believe in God, then I think we have to believe in each other and it doesn't matter what faith and culture we come from,"...

Read more about K.P. Singh Spreading Interfaith Message Globally

UNITED SIKHS Launches Malaysian Flood Relief Programme

December 26, 2006

Author: Meerat Kaur

Source: Sikh News Network

http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/news.nsf/NewsArchive/19693FD5817C35D3872572500074C25D!OpenDocument

Muar, Malaysia: Floods, caused by torrential rains, swept hundreds of villages and towns in Southern Peninsular Malaysia last Thursday, taking at least 9 lives, causing the evacuation of more than 100,000 people, destroying crops and cutting off roads, power lines...

Read more about UNITED SIKHS Launches Malaysian Flood Relief Programme

School's Move Toward Inclusion Creates a Rift

December 26, 2006

Author: Fredrick Kunkle

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/25/AR2006122500525.html

WILLIAMSBURG -- The cross is small, perhaps no more than 18 inches above its base, its gleaming brass surface marked only by an inscription.

But the cross, which has graced the altar table in a chapel at the College of William and Mary for decades, has come to symbolize a...

Read more about School's Move Toward Inclusion Creates a Rift

Wiccans Want Recognition as a Nature-Based Religion

December 24, 2006

Author: Scott Bauer

Source: Houston Chronicle

Wire Service: AP

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4422483.html

BARNEVELD, WIS.--” With an estimated 400,000 members nationwide, and a high-profile fight with the federal government over veterans' grave markers, Wiccans are moving into a more prominent place in the religious landscape.

Selena Fox is leading the way.

A Wiccan priestess...

Read more about Wiccans Want Recognition as a Nature-Based Religion

State Little Help with Bible Classes

December 22, 2006

Author: Bridget Gutierrez

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2006/12/21/1222metbible.html

Georgia public high schools may offer classes on the Bible next fall, but they'll get few guidelines from the state on how to ensure their lessons do not promote religion.

A new law requires the State Board of Education to create two optional, non-devotional classes on the...

Read more about State Little Help with Bible Classes

Bahai Battle Intensifies in Egypt

December 20, 2006

Source: Albawaba.com

http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Egypt/207610

In a landmark court case recently held in Egypt, Egyptian legal authorities banned the right of Bahais the right to state their religion on official documents. The supreme administrative court, which made the ruling, also described Bahais as "pro-Israeli apostates."

"The constitution promotes freedom of belief for the three recognized heavenly religions and they are Islam, Christianity, and Judaism...

Read more about Bahai Battle Intensifies in Egypt

Hindus Reflect Region's Religious Diversity

December 19, 2006

Author: Kelly Griffith

Source: Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/southwest/orl-lochinduside19121906dec19,0,5886937.story?coll=orl-home-promo

The United States has 716 Hindu centers or temples -- 42 in Florida -- says The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, considered the best source of such data, according to Vasudha Narayanan, religion director at the...

Read more about Hindus Reflect Region's Religious Diversity

Pages