WASHINGTON (RNS) — What do homosexuality, health care reform and British advertising standards all have in common? They’re all things that have angered God, some religious leaders say, and he vented his frustration with the angry fires of Iceland’s Eyjafjalla-jokull…
Muslims see double standard in ‘terrorist’ label
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When 19 Muslim men crashed two planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, it was widely labeled “Islamic terrorism,” even as many Muslims cringed at the term. So when nine members of a Michigan-based…
Obama shifts tactics on outreach to Muslim world
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Nearly a year after President Obama told an audience in Cairo that America wanted a “new beginning” with the Muslim world, evidence of that policy shift has, in recent weeks, become hard to ignore. The Obama administration…
Swiss aren’t only ones who resist mosque construction
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When Switzerland recently voted to ban construction of minaret towers at mosques, some observers interpreted it as an expression of European xenophobia that never would find a home in multicultural America. But to say it couldn’t happen…
Swiss aren’t only ones who resist mosque construction
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When Switzerland recently voted to ban construction of minaret towers at mosques, some observers interpreted it as an expression of European xenophobia that never would find a home in multicultural America. But to say it couldn’t happen…
Physicians give chaplains a clean bill of health
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Science and faith often may clash, but a new survey suggests most American doctors believe religion and spirituality can help patients. Published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the survey found 90 percent of physicians are satisfied with spiritual…
Muslims press public schools on observing Islamic holidays
Calculus and chemistry are among the pressures awaiting Mesuka Akter, a senior this year at Long Island City High School in New York City. But unlike past school years, Akter, a Muslim, will not have to choose between missing school…
U.S. laws chill Muslim philanthropy
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Laws meant to eliminate terror financing are targeting Muslims unjustly, interfering with their right to practice Islam and resulting in a decline in charitable giving, the American Civil Liberties Union has charged. The 166-page report, “Blocking Faith,…
Some Jews ‘uneasy’ with high-profile Christian allies
WASHINGTON (RNS) — In recent years, conservative Christians have emerged as some of the most vocal supporters of the state of Israel — support many Jewish groups have welcomed at a time when they feel Israel is under siege. One…
Most Muslims worldwide say suicide bombings unjustified
WASHINGTON (RNS)—George Bush and Osama bin Laden are both losing the battle for Muslim hearts and minds, a new report shows. The Pew Global Attitudes Project, a 47-nation survey, found that rising prosperity in the Islamic world has helped slash…
Scholar mulls the possibilities of U.S. relations with Muslims
WASHINGTON (RNS)—What if, Akbar Ahmed asks, America had limited its military response to 9/11 to liberating Afghanistan from the Taliban and al-Qaida? What if, instead of invading Iraq and waging a global war on terror, the United States had expanded…