World’s tallest mega-mosque being built in Algeria
Russian TV: A big religious feeling deserves a big house of worship. Algeria is set to get its own mega-mosque with the tallest minaret in the world. Almost as tall […]
Indonesia’s Rising Religious Intolerance
The NewYork Times- The opinion pages JAKARTA — Just a few days after Lady Gaga’s concert in Indonesia was canceled after protests by Islamic groups, I flew 1,370 kilometers from Jakarta to Padang, West Sumatra, and drove a further 130 kilometers, a four-hour journey along rough, winding roads, to Sijunjung, […]
Seek Your Own Truth
Huff Post Growing up, we have a intuitive sense of wanting to belong or fit in. The emptiness in our hearts says that something is missing in our life. That dormant desire for acceptance gets cultivated into full blown beliefs, usually inherited and taught to us. We believe in things […]
An Introduction To Sikh Scripture
Huff Post The central text of the Sikh religion — the Guru Granth Sahib — is a different kind of scripture. A number of features mark its distinctiveness among the scriptures of the world, including its style, content, history and authority. One unique aspect of the Guru Granth Sahib relates […]
Egypt: The Next Pakistan?
Let it be understood that, by and large, Islam is the only unifying factor in countries of the Muslim World. The Muslim heart, no matter how much of a hypocrite, […]
The Neighborhood Drinking Problem: Islam has the answer
Dave Sanders for The New York Times: Late last year, the New York City health department unveiled the latest installment in a subway advertising campaign meant to illuminate the perils of […]
Is the ‘Hijab’ Discriminatory to Women?
Huffington Post: There is a camp of feminists out there who would like us to believe that wearing the hijab is a discriminatory, male-biased, patriarchal practice, note the article by Adele-Wilde Blavatsky on […]
Faith leaders must talk about violence in the United States
http://www.commongroundnews.org: For those who loved Shaima Alawadi, the Iraqi-born mother of five and California resident, the recent media storm around her case likely provides very little solace. Speculation about the motivation […]
The Soul of Islamic Symbols
Huff Post Most, if not all religions, function in the world of symbolism and communicate their universal messages to their followers through these religious symbols. Rituals, sacraments, prayers, worship services, religious ceremonies and more are nothing but to invite believers to engage with very deep ethical, moral and spiritual teachings […]
N.T. Wright Asks: Have Christians Gotten Heaven All Wrong?
Huff Post (RNS) The oft-cliched Christian notion of heaven — a blissful realm of harp-strumming angels — has remained a fixture of the faith for centuries. Even as arguments will go on as to who will or won’t be “saved,” surveys show that a vast majority Americans believe that after […]
Religion Is a Potent Force for Cooperation and Conflict, Research Shows
ScienceDaily (May 17, 2012) — Across history and cultures, religion increases trust within groups but also may increase conflict with other groups, according to an article in a special issue ofScience. “Moralizing gods, emerging over the last few millennia, have enabled large-scale cooperation and sociopolitical conquest even without war,” says University […]
Pakistan: Another Ahmadiyya mosque defiled and damaged at the hands of Punjab Police
Ahmadiyya Times: By Imran Jattala: While police in Hyderabad, India were busy defending the Ahmadiyya Muslim properties attacked and forcibly occupied by an Islamist militant mob, across the border in Pakistan, […]
PJCC to Host Interfaith Roundtable
RedwoodCityPatch A panel of interfaith clergy, including a Rabbi from Redwood City, will share their interpretations of salvation next week at a roundtable in Foster City. The Peninsula Jewish Community Center will host the May 22 event, called “Does God Redeem Us,” which will feature a panel representing Buddhist, Christian, […]
This path-breaking religious research – can we have no more like it?
Huff Post If the greatest achievement of a major study of religion is to bring the curtain down on purely religious research, it really will have done a valuable service. This month the door closes on a path-breaking research initiative investigating contemporary religion. With £12m and the clout of two […]
Hate mongering in God’s name: Targeting Ahmadies globally
Daily Times: By Razi Azmi: I wonder what the sentinels of the ‘fortress of Islam’ called Pakistan want to do about the fact that, in public places, one cannot distinguish […]
ISLAM 101: Learning about Islam benefits all
Ifpress.com- News London I’ve spent the past eight Sundays at a London mosque, learning about Islam, the fastest-growing religion in the world. Though two months is hardly enough time to scratch the surface of a complex religion dating back hundreds of years and with more than a billion followers worldwide, […]
You Can Get Through Anything, if You Know Who Is in Charge
Huff Post These words of prophetic wisdom were delivered, last week, to me at the very height of my own crisis, from a very close friend and mentor, a spiritual warrior, who, as of late, has endured many valleys of his own, yet still continues on his daily trek toward […]
‘Sister Wives,’ Mormon Reality Show, Launches Its Third Season
Huff Post With Gov. Romney the clear favorite to win the Republican nomination, the question of a Mormon president in the White House will be a hot topic this election season. One of the most prominent displays of Mormonism is TLC’s popular reality show “Sister Wives,” in which an openly […]
7 Ways to Make Happiness Last
Source: Spirituality & Health As a surgeon I have used the word “cancer” — the C-word — thousands of times in my life. I have spent my entire professional life researching it, trying to find ways to resect it, suppress it, and, whenever possible, outright annihilate it. I knew what […]
Branson Cross: World’s Largest Cross
Huff Post The “God-given vision” started out simply enough: build a 7-foot-tall cross on a mountain and invite people to meditate there with the Creator. Now, 20 years later, the cross will cost $5 million and rise nearly 200 feet once complete, making it the largest cross in the world. […]