NEW YORK — As I listen to sound bites of news, a swarm of words sting me: Iran, Israel, nuclear, Palestine-Israel at a standstill, Muslims kill Jews, and Jews kill Muslims. As a Muslim woman who teaches classes about the Holocaust at a Catholic college, I am constantly frustrated by the media coverage of the Middle East which overwhelmingly serves to highlight and entrench national and religious tensions, prejudice and conflict. A recently-aired documentary by 
ZICHRON YAAKOV, ISRAEL — The image of Israel’s Haredim has taken a public battering over the past few months, particularly over the issue of discriminatory conduct toward women, which even a few Haredi groups have disavowed. But in an unusual act of outreach, some of these ultra-Orthodox Jews have recently found an original way of engaging with people outside their own closed religious world:
BRIGHTON, U.K. — I am on the train, travelling south from Tel Aviv to Be’er Sheva. Three Bedouin women dressed in hijab (headscarves) enter the train ahead of me and my daughter, each with a toddler. They see there are no seats together, so they opt to sit on the floor, near the doors. I find seats for myself and my daughter. Across the aisle from us sits a man with a kipah, a cap worn by Orthodox Jewish men. A Bedouin woman in hijab and her toddler sit facing him. The toddler is cranky; she is tired of sitting on mother's lap. She wants to explore. Her mother holds her firmly as she squirms and whines, trying to pacify her. Because she is using simple Arabic language for
ISTANBUL — Turkey marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying in an official statement that it is an occasion to remember the significance of combating racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, and airing a French epic documentary about the Holocaust. “Today, on the occasion of the United Nations international day of commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, we remember and honor 
PHILADELPHIA — What’s so scary about sharia, or Islamic legal principles? According to a recent decision from a US Federal Appellate Court – one level below the Supreme Court – not much. The recent decision of the 10th Circuit Court effectively blocks implementation of Oklahoma Law 755, also called the “Save Our State” measure. Law 755 was passed as a constitutional amendment by 70 per cent of Oklahoma voters in November 2010. Along with prohibiting courts from using “international law”, it also expressly “forbids courts from considering or using Sharia Law”. Similar laws
NEW YORK — Near the corner of Westchester Avenue and Pugsley Street in Parkchester, just off the elevated tracks of the No. 6 train, Yaakov Wayne Baumann stood outside a graffiti-covered storefront on a chilly Saturday morning. Suited up in a black overcoat with a matching wide-brimmed black fedora, the thickly bearded 42-year-old chatted with elderly congregants as they entered the building for Shabbat service. The only unusual detail: This synagogue is a
LONDON — On a day in which Boko Haram bomb attacks left more than 150 people dead in Nigeria, Sister Janet Fearns from Missio, has sent us this report on how Franciscans and Muslims are working for peace: With an 800-year-old example to show them the way! In 1219, St Francis of Assisi, alone and unarmed, astounded the warring armies of Damietta’s besieged Crusaders and the Saracens when he walked into the Saracen camp and asked to speak to the Sultan, Melek al-Kamil. Francis had a problem which he wanted to discuss: pilgrims wanted to visit the Holy Places and were prevented by the constant battles between the Christians and Muslims in Egypt. The pilgrims needed unhindered access to the sacred sites, regardless of whatever was happening around them. The Sultan agreed and so, for 800 years, that tiny joint venture in peace-making has been a treasured memory for both Franciscans and Muslims. The Damietta Peace Initiative (DPI) came into being in 2008
ANTELIAS, LEBANON — A Christian-Muslim conference on the Christian presence and witness in the Middle East will take place at the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias from January 24-28, 2012. The conference will deal with issues and challenges facing the Christian communities at this critical juncture of the history of the Middle East. It will also explore the efficient ways and means of deepening Christian-Muslim coexistence and collaboration, as partners in building democratic societies. The conference is organized by the World Council
HUNTINGTON, N.Y. — A multi-faith coalition of clergy and community and political leaders spoke as one against bigotry Friday at the Masjid Noor Mosque in Huntington. The gathering followed the arrest this month of Centerport resident Stephen Pratt, 55, for allegedly vandalizing the mosque. Police said Pratt, charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime, threw a container of white concrete sealer into the mosque driveway on Dec. 31. Pratt also was charged with harassment for a Jan. 
ORLAND PARK, ILL. — What does the decision of Lowes to pull advertising from the TLC show "All American Muslim" mean for the future of Muslim Americans in the media and elsewhere? Why would a Fortune 500 company cater to a small lobby group which sought to distort the image of Muslims in America? These were among the questions asked Sunday evening at the Prayer Center of Orland Park during a town hall meeting on what many are calling "the Lowes incident." The event was held in commemoration of the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther
When I moved to Egypt to study Arabic in 2004, I was amazed how often Muslims there said alhamdulillah (i.e., praise God). When I asked friends “How are you?”, they replied alhamdulillah (praise God). When I congratulated Mahmoud’s children for their high marks in school, they replied alhamdulillah. Even when Haala cut her hand deeply with a sharp kitchen knife, she repeated steadily alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, as we worked to stop the bleeding. To my amazement, she was genuinely thankful, mindful her
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