Author: Mallika Rao

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=16109

Mosques across the country are beginning to use a model similar to the one used by some suburban and downtown megachurches, operating multiple sites to serve a large and dispersed congregation.

Many of these "mosque chains" brand themselves as progressive, and sometimes feature gymnasiums and mixed-gender prayer areas for men and women...

Author: William Roller

Source: The Yuma Sun

http://www.yumasun.com/news/abroad_43132___article.html/trip_aimed.html

An Arizona legislator's trip abroad next month is designed to strengthen cultural bonds that may help the lawmaker better represent the diverse base of residents living in the Yuma area.

District 24 Rep. Theresa Ulmer, D-Yuma, will leave for Istanbul, Turkey, on Aug. 4 for a 10-day tour to broaden her...

Author: Jamie Tarabay

Source: NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92787430

Khalid Aqbal's new condo sits in one corner of a quiet leafy square in a northern Virginia suburb. He's 62, and it's the first home he's bought in the U.S. since moving here from Canada. Some of his neighbors' homes are in foreclosure, but Aqbal isn't worried because he didn't take out a high-risk loan.

"I've always bought everything...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Chicago Sun-Times

http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1064662,CST-EDT-edit20a.article

Should a man be forced to shave his beard for work if it violates his religious beliefs?

Abal Zaidi, who is Muslim, refused to shave and now alleges that's why he lost his job as a Kane County correctional officer in Geneva. Last week, he sued the Kane County Sheriff's Department, where he worked...

Author: Jeff Karoub

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/religion/story/417110.html

They filled the cafe night after night. To the casual observer, it might have appeared to be a roomful of 20-somethings with enviable amounts of idle time.

Yet the 30 young Muslim men and women who met for 30 days had serving society, not socializing, on their minds. And the group calling itself 30/30 emerged from the...

Author: Dylan Bowman

Source: Arabian Business

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/525206-religious-intolerance-rife-in-saudi-schools--report-?ln=en

King Abdullah’s international push to promote interfaith dialogue has hit a setback on news children in Saudi Arabia are still being taught religious intolerance.

Textbooks used in schools across the conservative Muslim kingdom refer to Jews and...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=bca&s=b&o=345801&apc_state=henh

The state of religious freedoms in both Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan remains as poor as ever, with both governments suspicious of Muslim and non-Muslim faith groups alike.

At a White House meeting on July 14 dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the United States’ International Religious Freedom Act, President...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Australian

[theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24039586-2702,00.html]

Leaders of non-Christian faiths have met Pope Benedict XVI, who hailed the shared moral values of the world's major religions.

About 20 religious leaders from the Jewish, Hindu, Islamic and Buddhist communities gathered to meet the Pope and the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney George Pell in the Chapter Hall at St Mary's Cathedral this morning.

The meeting came hours before the main...

Author: Dominic Casciani

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7512626.stm

The British government is to fund a board of Islamic theologians in an attempt to sideline violent extremists.

The move will see Oxford and Cambridge Universities host a group of scholars who will lead debate on key issues such as women and loyalty to the UK.

The plans have angered some hardline activists who accuse ministers of trying to create...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7512401.stm

The Philippine government and a separatist rebel group have agreed to expand an autonomous Muslim region in the south of the country.

The agreement envisages the extension of the present region in Mindanao to include a further 712 villages.

The proposed homeland will also be entitled to a large share of the resources in the area.

...

Author: Paige Kollock

Source: Voice of America News

[voanews.com/archive/flushing-just-outside-manhattan-proud-its-religious-diversity]

The neighborhood of Flushing in New York City borough of Queens, just outside Manhattan, has been a model for religious freedom since the 1600s. Back then, members of The Society of Friends, or Quakers, began arriving in what was then a Dutch colony, fleeing religious persecution in England.

The colony's director-general barred the Friends from practicing...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: One News Now

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Business/Default.aspx?id=178632

Authorities in West Papua, Indonesia, must move fast to prevent tension between Christian and Muslim communities escalating into a Malukan-style conflict, according to a recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG). The neighboring Maluku islands erupted into bitter sectarian warfare between 1999 and 2002, leaving thousands dead, injured...

Author: Tim Johnson

Source: Burlington Free Press

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080711/NEWS02/807110310/1007/NEWS02

For a tour showcasing "religious pluralism" in the Burlington area, the first stop was appropriate enough: the First Unitarian Universalist Society, which not only embraces a diversity of faiths, but displays their symbols on the walls of its sanctuary....

Author: Louise Brown

Source: The Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com/living/Religion/article/458352

There is nowhere for Muslims to pray at McGill; the Montreal university shut the prayer room three years ago, arguing religious space has no place on a secular campus.

But at the University of Toronto, Muslims and anyone else who wants to pray between class can choose from among more than eight prayer rooms, including four at the airy new...

Author: Ethan Cole

Source: The Christian Post

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080708/egypt-s-christian-muslim-gap-growing-bigger.htm

The divide between Egypt’s Coptic Christian community and the Muslim majority is growing bigger as an increasing number of Christians are cutting ties with Muslim neighbors and turning to the Church for all their social needs.

Many Christians in Egypt are...