Author: Samuel G. Freedman

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/us/07religion.html?_r=1&scp=11&sq=religion&st=nyt

Until a stranger without an appointment showed up one day in late 2001, Stephen L. Ranzini was feeling rather pleased with himself. University Bank here, which he led as president, had just won a national award for community service. The honor attested to Mr. Ranzini’s success...

Author: Mark Magnier

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-pakistan-sharia6-2009mar06,0,3072254.story

In an apparent expansion of Islamic fundamentalists' authority in the picturesque Swat Valley, local Pakistani officials have agreed to close shops at prayer times and crack down on prostitution and drug dealing as part of a proposed peace deal, according to...

Author: Gregg Krupa

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090306/LIFESTYLE04/903060356/1041/LIFESTYLE04

As Muslims commemorate the birth of the prophet Muhammad beginning Saturday at dusk, some say that remembering the events of the prophet's life and the guidance revealed by the Quran are especially important this year, after some pointed attacks on the reputation of...

Author: Taye Obateru

Source: All Africa

http://allafrica.com/stories/200903050017.html

The co-chairman of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), who is also the president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rt. Rev. John Onaiyekan has advocated sanctions for religious leaders who preach inciting messages as a way of curtailing incessant religious crisis in the country.

Similarly, the Sultan of Sokoto and co-Chairman of the same council...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Journal Record

http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=96553

An American Islamic group asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday to determine whether legislation in Oklahoma and Minnesota prohibiting the wearing of religiously required head scarves in driver’s license photos is constitutional.

In Oklahoma, language was added to a measure in committee that would not allow “hats,...

Author: Seymur Kazimov

Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=350704&apc_state=henh

“In Azerbaijan, non-Muslim, Christian communities are allowed to operate freely, whereas the Muslim community for some reason is not.”

So said Haji Gamet Suleimanov, imam of the Abu-Bekr mosque in centre of the capital, Baku. “It’s because the Council of Europe and the Americans are behind the...

Author: Elisabetta Povoledo

Source: International Herald Tribune

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/04/europe/muslims.php

On one side of a drab street in working-class Milan, a squat structure houses a conservative mosque linked in the past to suspected Islamic terrorists.

On the other, an office building houses the budding newsroom of "Yalla Italia" (Let's Go, Italy), a monthly magazine written by 2Gs - the name here for second-...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Adnkronos International

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.0.3069915929

The leader of Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation, Hasyim Muzadi, has called for greater religious tolerance and understanding at an interfaith conference held in the Italian capital, Rome, on Wednesday. Muzadi, president of Nahdlatul Ulama, was at the conference organised by the Indonesian and Italian governments and...

Author: Karin Zeitvogel

Source: Middle East Online

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/culture/?id=30729

Muslim American women are educated, active in the workforce and on an equal footing with men in terms of income, according to a report released Monday, which analysts said chips away at myths associated with Islam.

"What we learned in the study is that US Muslim women are roughly equal to men and to women who are non-...

Author: Sarah Gantz

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-muslims3-2009mar03,0,4554384.story

A study of Muslim Americans released Monday presents a portrait of an often misunderstood community -- one that is integrated socio-economically but culturally alienated; that succeeds in the workforce but struggles to find contentment.

The numbers suggest economic and...

Author: Jane Lampman

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0303/p02s02-ussc.html

A "national portrait" of Muslim Americans, released Monday by Gallup, depicts the youngest and most racially diverse religious community in the country as striving for a secure place in American society and an active role in public life.

The report describes a group that has achieved successes and shares much in common with other...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The New York Times

Wire Service: Reuters

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/world/asia/04briefs-HEADSCARVESB_BRF.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Kyrgyzstan, a predominantly Muslim country in Central Asia, has banned head scarves from schools to protect children from religious influence, an official said Tuesday. “We are a secular state,” the...

Author: Erin Carlyle

Source: City Pages

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/03/somali_student.php

A St. Cloud legislator's bill would require full exposure of the head and face in driver's license photos. A Somali group says the proposal would violate their freedom of religion.

State Rep. Steve Gottwalt, of St. Cloud, introduced the bill last month. The Somali United Movement, a group of college-aged Somalis working to improve...

Author: Shannon Kari

Source: National Post

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1343205

The Ontario Human Rights Commission is arguing that a provincial court judge failed to recognize the religious freedoms of a Muslim woman when he ordered her to testify at a sexual assault trial without a veil known as a niqab.

The government agency is asking for special permission to be allowed to intervene at a Superior Court proceeding...

Author: William F. O'Brien

Source: The Edmond Sun

http://www.edmondsun.com/opinion/local_story_061223435.html

“None of you truly believe,” the Prophet Mohammad told his followers, “Until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”

President Obama recently quoted that statement at the National Prayer Breakfast. The president said in his Inaugural Address that the United States is reaching out to the...