As outbreaks of the coronavirus spread throughout the world, people are reminded over and again to limit physical contact, wash hands and avoid touching their face. The recent Netflix docuseries “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak” illustrates how the Islamic ritual washing, known as “wudu,” may help spread a good hygiene message.

The series focuses on Syra Madad, a Muslim public health specialist in a New York...

Even as coronavirus concerns spread across the world and religious groups in the Chicago area made changes to their practices to deal with the disease, some churchgoers said they aren’t worried enough yet to change how they worship.

At St. James Episcopal Cathedral, a group of about 15 parishioners gathered for an afternoon Mass on Wednesday. Prior to beginning the readings, the Rev. Courtney Reid told the group that some tweaks in the ceremony will apply because...

Laila Tauqeer has only been president of the Harvard Islamic Society for three months, but she has been busy.

This weekend, she’s hosting the country’s first national conference for Shiite Muslim college students around the country.

On Friday (Feb. 28), more than 270 Shiite undergraduates, graduate students and recent alumni will gather at Harvard’s student organization center to discuss spirituality, sectarianism, geopolitics and faith-based activism at the sold-out Ma’rifa Conference.

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“The Quran tells us red and yellow are the most distracting colors, the ones that should not ever be used for a prayer rug,” the imam tells us, looking down at the red and yellow rug beneath our feet in the mosque. He adds, “It was a donation, there was nothing I could do about the improper coloring.”

“Why don’t people know what the Quran has to say about these things?” my teenage daughter asks.

“Well,” he explains, “there is a lot to know: 6,000 sutras, 20,000 hadiths and 100,000 stories about the life of Muhammad.”

My...

Mason High School principal Mindy McCarty-Stewart canceled “A Covered Girl Challenge,” an event aimed at celebrating religious “diversity.” Students who wished to participate would get to wear a headscarf on the day of to celebrate Islamic culture.

McCarty-Stewart sent an apology to parents, writing that the event was aimed at challenging stereotypes faced by students wearing the head scarves, but “as the event spread beyond our school community, however, we received many strong messages that made me reconsider the event’s ability to meet its objectives.”

Source:...

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is marking the 100-year anniversary of the sect’s beginnings in the U.S. with a day of prayer and community service at its 62 chapters across the country.

This weekend, in mosques in Boston, Chicago, Silicon Valley, Miami, Phoenix, North Jersey and Los Angeles, Ahmadi Muslims plan to prepare meals to donate at food pantries and distribute at area shelters. In Portland, members will plant trees; Austin members will volunteer at a local farm; in Richmond, Virginia, members plan to clean a historic cemetery; and Willingboro, New Jersey, members are...

In October, a 16-year-old cross-country runner made headlines across the country when her fastest 5K of the season was disqualified from a local district meet because she ran while wearing a hijab.

One week after her disqualification, Noor Alexandria Abukaram was back at the finish line with a new personal ...

The West Ridge YMCA has started a new program that will allow the neighborhood’s community of religious women to more easily work out.

The High Ridge YMCA, 2424 W. Touhy Ave., has debuted “Women’s Night,” which restricts access to the fitness center to only women. The recurring event allows the Far North Side’s population of Muslim and Orthodox Jewish women to exercise without worrying about their dress.

Source: West Ridge’s YMCA...

Today she travels the world, attends a red-carpet movie premiere and sits on panels with astronauts, former presidents and feminist icons.

But in the years after 9/11, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh was just a New Jersey teenager, writing a blog from her bedroom. She used the blog to connect with other young Muslim girls and defy stereotypes. At the time, the only reflections of herself in the news seemed to be men in orange jumpsuits who looked like her father and women who seemed silent and oppressed, she said.

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In 2002, our 4-year-old, 50-student school was homeless. We had been renting rooms in an office building in Herndon, Virginia, and our lease was up. I had started the school with my teacher friend and fellow parent Pervin Divleli to be a place where we could be creative and innovative in our teaching while building an environment in which our students could seamlessly be both American and Muslim.

Waiting lists were long, and we were adding a grade a year with what we called an “organic” expansion plan. With renovations planned in the building, however, our preschool-through-...

A religious discrimination lawsuit filed last month in federal court against a local union and Boston College is being hailed by anti-union groups for upholding individual workers’ rights — and railed against by union advocates who say it’s an attempt to weaken organized labor.

The plaintiff, a Muslim electrician and member of Service Employees International Union 32BJ District 615, informed the school and the union last fall that his religious beliefs conflicted with being part of the union. He requested that his dues be diverted to charity, and when no action had been taken...