Author: Tom Breen

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/business/20090123_ap_wvafarmersaimatgrowingmuslimmarket.html

In a room where farmers in camouflage baseball caps and John Deere jackets mix with women in head scarves, Larry Gardner is scolding himself for forgetting Ramadan last year.

After 30 years raising lambs, the Waverly farmer is learning something new...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Richmond Times Dispatch

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/an_interfaith_commitment_for_peace/186973/

We, members and leaders of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities in the Greater Richmond area - all having deep and symbolic ties to the land and peoples of the Middle East - are anguished by the events unfolding in Israel and Gaza. Recognizing the...

Author: Barbara Karkabi

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/6227370.html

During the month of Muharram, Anjum Bilgrami makes extra visits to his mosque, reviews special readings in the Quran and prays for the rights of people everywhere, especially civilians injured and killed during the ongoing Gaza conflict.

Muharram, which began Dec. 29 and runs through January, means many things in...

Author: David Charter

Source: The Times Online

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5563071.ece

The limits of free speech and Dutch tolerance are to be tested in a court case after judges ruled yesterday that a right-wing MP who compared the Koran to Mein Kampf should be put on trial for inciting hatred and discrimination.

Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), will face charges...

Author: Stephanie McCrummen

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/21/ST2009012104112.html

The departure of the last Ethiopian tanks from Somalia's capital is ushering in a new phase of conflict in a nation known for clan warfare: a battle for power among militias flying Islamist banners.

In some ways, the situation in Somalia, where people have long practiced a...

Author: Chris LaFortune

Source: OakPark-Leaves.com

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/oakpark/news/1388638,op-protest-012009-s1.article

Disappointed by the country's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a group of about 65 people stood in silent protest in Oak Park Monday (Jan. 19).

Their backgrounds were varied, with representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Jewish Voice for Peace and the...

Author: Nicole Neroulias

Source: Religion News Service

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=17376

As Barack Obama begins his tenure as the first U.S. president with Muslim ancestry, a group of 300 young Muslim activists from 76 countries has asked him to promote policies that can help peacefully curtail religious extremism.

The Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, a grassroots movement aiming to foster a new generation of civic engagement,...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Muslim Public Affairs Council

http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=775

Today, the Muslim Public Affairs Council joined more than a dozen advocacy groups across the nation in calling on President Barack Obama to adopt an even-handed policy that ensures sustainable peace in the Middle East. The groups' open letter to President Obama was published as a full-page advertisement in the New York Times inauguration edition.

The...

Author: Diana L. Eck

Source: Tikkun

http://files.tikkun.org/current/article.php/Eck

Mr. President, you are the first-ever American president fully aware of the great diversity of America’s faiths. We are a nation of Christians and Jews—and Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists. You understand this and rightly see that this diversity is a source of our strength. Yet, this reality is a great challenge—especially for those who still...

Author: Jonathan Wright

Source: The Washington Post

Wire Service: Reuters

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012100848.html

Arabs and Muslims gave the benefit of some doubt on Wednesday to U.S. President Barack Obama's offer of "a new way forward" with the Muslim world, but many said it would take deeds rather than words to convince them.

...

Author: Nicholas Cecil

Source: The Evening Standard

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23623423-details/Religion+now+more+divisive+than+race%2C+says+public/article.do

At least four out of 10 Muslims do not believe that communities should be forced to integrate in Britain, according to a new poll.

It also found that religion has become a more divisive...

Author: Katrin Bennhold

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/world/europe/21france.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

On a giant flat-screen television, the Chabchoubs, a family of Tunisian immigrants, watched as veiled mothers wailed over the bodies of children and fathers cried silently. The piles of rubble, the squirming toddler covered in raw burns — all of this was coming straight from Gaza to...

Author: Diana L. Eck

Source: Politico

http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Diana_Eck_8E45486A-2D62-459E-BD29-9E1BCB0435C5.html

Since Israel is the world's largest recipient of direct U.S. economic and military aid every year, since aid to Palestine is only about 1/20 of that provided to Israel, and since Hamas receives no U.S. aid at all, it is clear to me that the U.S. needs to use it's leverage with...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: One India

http://living.oneindia.in/insync/pulse/2009/makar-sankaranti-gujarat-kites-uttarayan-130109.html

With Makar Sankaranti in the corner and country to celebrate it in different ways, the Hindu festival is one of the biggest and popularly celebrated in Gujarat. Uttarayan is the phase when sun travels towards the north on the celestial sphere. The starting of Uttarayan is...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire