TOULOUSE, France, March 19 (Reuters) – A gunman shot dead three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday, days after killing three soldiers nearby, prompting French President Nicolas Sarkozy to put the region on its highest terrorism alert. With the attacker, who escaped on a […]
There’s a verse from Psalm 46 that summarizes the relationship between the practice of religion and the practice of spirituality: “Be still, and know that I am God.” It’s a prayer, an admonition, an encouragement. The two poles of this verse — be still, know God — together they offer […]
In a recent PBS interview with Bill Moyers, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explained what his research reveals about the differences between liberals and conservatives. Haidt’s work on positive psychology and what he calls Moral Foundations Theory has received well-deserved acclaim, and much of what he said in that interview was illuminating. But one reference he […]
CAIRO, March 17 (Reuters) – Egyptian Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III, the patriarch of most of Egypt’s estimated 12 million Christians, died on Saturday from old age, his political adviser told Reuters. Bells tolled in Cairo’s Abbasiya district, site of Egypt’s main Coptic cathedral, as the news spread. Shenouda, 88, […]
The New York Times found itself at the center of a controversy on Thursday over its refusal to immediately run an anti-Islam ad. Fox News and the Daily Caller ran stories questioning whether the Times‘ decision to indefinitely delay publishing ad was a sign the paper had a religious double-standard. The articles note that the Times previously ran an […]
On March 29, Muslims, Jews and Christians will gather in Lincoln’s Westminster Presbyterian Church for food and fellowship. The event, Children of Abraham: A Family Gathering, will be Lincoln’s first […]
By Scott Neil Coming together in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration to achieve social peace, and promoting a God-centric life, were messages that stood out at a peace symposium […]
By Simon Jenkins Source: Guardian UK Were we wrong? I have lived through two global conflicts: the west against Russian communism and now the west against political Islam. The latter was caused by western leaders exaggerating a threat from a tiny group of terrorists to win popularity in war. But […]
This week’s Faith Inspires highlights the Interfaith Encounter Association. Like last week’s Faith Inspires organization, the IEA works in Israel to unite leaders from diverse religious backgrounds. The group is a-political and all-inclusive, running a wide array of community building projects — from study groups for women to the hand-crafted wares sold through Oil for […]
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here: Dante’s medieval classic the Divine Comedy has been condemned as racist, antisemitic and Islamophobic by a group calling for it to be removed from classrooms. The epic poem, written in the 14th century, is split into three parts, tracing the poet’s journey through Inferno, Purgatorio […]
Islamic fashion is no oxymoron. As the recent Islamic Fashion Festival (IFF) staged in Manila showed, there’s more to Muslim dressing than the traditional abaya, chador and even burka. The collections of seven designers, including the Philippines’ JC Buendia, Jun Escario and Veejay Floresca, were noteworthy for their wearability, craftsmanship, […]
Too often we see media reports about the violence and intolerance that religious fundamentalism engenders. Religion is used to justify terrorism, to discriminate against those who are different and to resist scientific advancement inherent in our modern lives. Religion can reinforce tribal mentalities. Some identify with their faiths as if […]
Credit: The Horizon via Wasim Sroya of Selvenia: Aakar Patel’s recently published article “The apostates of Pakistan” was penned a couple years ago, but did not see the light of day until now. He states the reason for this delay as reluctance of seemingly liberal Pakistani English language papers to publish […]
Equality is essential, but complicated – that is why some Christians feel that Muslims get an easy ride Simple things can be so difficult. Take equality, for instance. Britain now has an Equality Act, to promote that good thing. But when you start looking at what it means in practice, […]
A few days ago I got to see a sneak preview screening of the movie “Blue Like Jazz,” and I have to say, I’m feeling it. The movie is directed by the amazing Nashville filmmaker and musician Steve Taylor, and based on the New York Times bestselling memoir by Donald Miller. The movie will […]
Fears that a mosque would bring religious extremists, and even ties to terrorism, surfaced Tuesday when leaders of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee arrived at an Eagle Forum meeting meant to rally Brookfield residents against the proposal. After the president and executive director of the society introduced themselves, the meeting at the Brookfield Library turned to […]
Written by Rafiq A. Tschannen When covering News of Palestine and Israel and of the ‘open Western wars’ of Iraq and Afghanistan and the ‘covered Western wars’ of Libya, Syria and Yemen (and so many other locations…) we are sometimes accused of ‘Israel-bashing’ or ‘America-bashing’ and ‘other-nations-bashings’. It is pointed out […]
Source: Huffington Post By Sonny Singh: musician & social justice educator As a brown-skinned Sikh with a turban on my head and a long beard on my chin, I deal […]
Pakteahouse.net By Usman Ahmad: I first wrote this piece in 2010 after the terror attacks on two Ahmadi masjids in Lahore. Today the words seem to read as true as they […]