by TERRY MATTINGLY, Press Republican — 20 June 2011
WASHINGTON —At first, it seems strange for Christians to jump into the firestorm surrounding the Nov. 8 ballot initiative in San Francisco to ban circumcisions. After all, the issue of whether gentiles had to be circumcised when converting to Christianity was—literally—settled in the age of the apostles. Nevertheless, the Catholic archbishop of San Francisco quickly went public with his views on this hot-button issue. "As a religious leader I can only view with alarm the prospect that this misguided initiative would make it illegal for Jews and Muslims who practice their religion to live in San Francisco -- for that is what the passage of such a law would mean," said Archbishop George Niederauer, in a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle. "Apart from the religious aspect, the citizens of San Francisco should be outraged at the prospect of city government dictating to
THE HAGUE — Jewish and Muslim representatives Thursday appealed to Dutch lawmakers not to enforce plans requiring animals to be stunned before halaal and kosher slaughtering rituals. "We are against any form of stunning because it's against our religion," Yusuf Altuntas, president of the CMO -- an organisation that links the Muslim community with the Dutch government -- told a parliamentary commission. "One of the first measures taken during the Occupation (during World War II) was the closing of kosher abattoirs," Dutch Chief
by NATANA J. DELONG-BAS, Common Ground News Service — 14 June 2011
BOSTON — What do Asmaa Mahfouz, Munira Fakhro and Tawakul Karman all have in common? They are all strong, capable women defying the popular Western image of the oppressed, repressed, suppressed Muslim woman hidden behind a black chador or blue burqa, helplessly waiting for Western liberation. The biggest challenge these women face is not dispelling Western stereotypes, but claiming their place in the Arab spring, not only during the revolutionary and
NEW YORK — Manhattan College is revamping its Holocaust Center to include the further study of other genocides, as well as interfaith activities that would include Islam alongside Judaism and Christianity — the two religions that until now have been mostly alone at the core of Holocaust interfaith issues. Perhaps nothing accentuates the change more than the appointment of Mehnaz Afridi, 40, to be director of what will be renamed the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center. Afridi, a Pakistan-born Muslim woman, has been teaching at Antioch University, and her writings have primarily focused on Muslim identity and the intersection of Islam and the Holocaust. Afridi is awaiting publication of her first book, “The Shoah Through Muslim Eyes.” The book, Afridi told The Jewish Week, grew out of “my frustration with the anti-Semitism within the Muslim community, its lack of education, [its] denial
CLEVELAND — Churchgoing Christians are used to hearing their ministers quote from Matthew 25:35: "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in." However, most Christians never get to hear Jesus' message delivered by a rabbi — and one who quotes Islamic text, too: One should like for his neighbor what he loves for himself. It's also not your typical religious service when Muslims join Unitarians in thunderous applause as a Baptist preacher invokes the names of Harriet Tubman and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel in the same bellowing breath. Nor is it common for hundreds of Jews to rise from their seats and sway to the soulful offerings of a black gospel choir. I dare say most Americans never have listened to a woman whose title begins with "the Very Reverend" and ends with "dean of Trinity Church." Lord, what a night. More than 40 different religious congregations showed up Monday evening for the founding meeting of a new coalition, called Greater Cleveland
CAIRO — Each time I tried to start reviewing this book, there would be another act of sectarian violence that shattered the nation's equilibrium, and mine too. If anything, this goes to show the immense value of books such as Laila Takla's Christian-IslamicHeritage (Dar Al-Shorouk: 2010) when it comes to addressing relations between Egypt's Muslims and Christians. The revolution of 25 January brought hope to this country. It revived the promise that every Egyptian would rally around the same flag, regardless of background and affiliation. But before long the ugly face of sectarian sedition surfaced to dash our dreams. Sectarian differences are not new to our part of the world. In ancient times, the pharaoh, priests and people struggled with the question of whether Amun or Aten was the true deity. Much later, the followers of Christianity diverged over whether St Paul's teachings were truer than those of St Peter. In Islam, Ali's loyalists took up arms against the supporters of
CAIRO — Mohammed Fathi worked his brush gently over an icon of Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, removing soot from its surface inside a church gutted in an attack by Islamist militants this month. "It takes a lot of careful work to do that," Fathi said. "We have to do a lot of tests with chemicals to try to restore the icon to its original condition." The 26-year-old is one of a vast group of mostly Muslim craftsmen tasked with restoring St Mary's Church in the Cairo suburb of Imbaba after militants set it on fire on May 7. Egypt's military rulers have ordered
by RICHARD WEINBERG, Washington National Cathedral — 17 May 2011
WASHINGTON — Washington National Cathedral will join with churches across the country in welcoming Muslim and Jewish colleagues to read from their respective sacred texts on Sunday, June 26, 2011, for Faith Shared: Uniting in Prayer and Understanding, a project of Interfaith Alliance and Human Rights First to promote respect for Islam. The Cathedral is planning an interfaith service in place of its regular Holy Eucharist service to be held on Sunday, June 26, at 11:15 am. In addition to the National Cathedral, more than 50 churches in 26 states have committed to participating, which was announced in a press conference this morning with Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd II; the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of Interfaith Alliance; and Tad Stahnke, director of policy and programs at Human Rights First. Faith Shared is designed
GAZA CITY — Hundreds of Palestinians, many of them schoolchildren, attended the first performance in the coastal territory by an international classical ensemble. Israel forbids its civilian citizens from travelling to Gaza, so Barenboim entered via Egypt with 25 musicians. For years, Barenboim has used music to try to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The conductor, who accepted honorary Palestini
BURBANK — Far from mourning the death of Osama bin Laden, most Muslim-Americans are celebrating his demise, saying they have no sympathy to spare for a man who indiscriminately slaughtered people of all religions and launched their community into a decade of distrust and discrimination. "A lot of (Muslim-Americans) feel, first and foremost,
THE HAGUE — Jewish and Muslim representatives Thursday appealed to Dutch lawmakers not to enforce plans requiring animals to be stunned before halaal and kosher slaughtering rituals. "We are against any form of stunning because it's against our religion," Yusuf Altuntas, president of the CMO -- an organisation that links the Muslim community with the Dutch government -- told a parliamentary commission. "One of the first measures taken during the Occupation (during World War II) was the closing of kosher abattoirs," Dutch Chief 
BOSTON — What do Asmaa Mahfouz, Munira Fakhro and Tawakul Karman all have in common? They are all strong, capable women defying the popular Western image of the oppressed, repressed, suppressed Muslim woman hidden behind a black chador or blue burqa, helplessly waiting for Western liberation. The biggest challenge these women face is not dispelling Western stereotypes, but claiming their place in the Arab spring, not only during the revolutionary and 
NEW YORK — Manhattan College is revamping its Holocaust Center to include the further study of other genocides, as well as interfaith activities that would include Islam alongside Judaism and Christianity — the two religions that until now have been mostly alone at the core of Holocaust interfaith issues. Perhaps nothing accentuates the change more than the appointment of Mehnaz Afridi, 40, to be director of what will be renamed the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center. Afridi, a Pakistan-born Muslim woman, has been teaching at Antioch University, and her writings have primarily focused on Muslim identity and the intersection of Islam and the Holocaust. Afridi is awaiting publication of her first book, “The Shoah Through Muslim Eyes.” The book, Afridi told The Jewish Week, grew out of “my frustration with the anti-Semitism within the Muslim community, its lack of education, [its] denial 
CLEVELAND 
GAZA CITY — Hundreds of Palestinians, many of them schoolchildren, attended the first performance in the coastal territory by an international classical ensemble. Israel forbids its civilian citizens from travelling to Gaza, so Barenboim entered via Egypt with 25 musicians. For years, Barenboim has used music to try to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The conductor, who accepted honorary Palestini
BURBANK — Far from mourning the death of Osama bin Laden, most Muslim-Americans are celebrating his demise, saying they have no sympathy to spare for a man who indiscriminately slaughtered people of all religions and launched their community into a decade of distrust and discrimination. "A lot of (Muslim-Americans) feel, first and foremost, 
