Monthly Archives: September 2006
Muslims Try to Shield Ramadan from Commercialization
By Omar Sacirbey — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Americans are once again sending cards, putting up lights, baking with cardamom and snapping-up stylish gifts for the holiday season. An early jump on Christmas? Not exactly. U.S. Muslims who are preparing for the start of the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday (Sept. 23) say that despite living […]
Muslims Try to Settle Debate on When Ramadan Starts
By Omar Sacirbey — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Khalid Shaukat and Omar Afzal were once childhood chums in India. Now, more than 50 years later as immigrants in America, the two find themselves on opposite sides of a celestial schism that could influence when the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims celebrate their religious holidays. Since its inception in […]
Critics Say Pope Failed Diplomatic Test in Islam Flap
By Jeff Diamant — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) This is what Pope Benedict’s critics feared. After he was elected last year to replace John Paul II, they worried the conservative, erudite pontiff would be too polarizing and insensitive to push interfaith dialogue forward as his popular predecessor had for 26 years. The uneventful start to Benedict’s papacy […]
COMMENTARY: Progressives Must Not Be Scared Into Silence
By Tom Ehrich — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) I spoke last week to 15 clergy who are struggling to carve out an identity as “moderate” or “progressive” Baptists in a region where conservatives far outweigh them in numbers and in public perception of what “Baptist” means. My message: progressive Christians must be more assertive in the public […]
Portraying Jesus
By Tracy Gordon — September 19, 2006
Quote of the Day: “Emerging Church” Leader Brian McLaren “When we present Jesus as a pro-war, anti-poor, anti-homosexual, anti-environment, pro-nuclear weapons authority figure draped in an American flag, I think we are making a travesty of the portrait of Jesus we find in the gospels.” -Brian McLaren, leader of the “emerging church” movement and founding […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 19, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Forbes to Leave New York’s Riverside Church NEW YORK (RNS) The Rev. James A. Forbes Jr., one of the stalwarts of American religious liberalism, has announced his retirement as senior minister of Manhattan’s historic Riverside Church. In an announcement Sunday (Sept. 17) to his interdenominational and multi-racial congregation, Forbes, 71, […]
In New Jersey, School Holidays Multiply as Faiths Diversify
By RNS Blog Editor — September 19, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service NEWARK, N.J. _ To keep her perfect attendance record, Tahera Ali’s 13-year-old daughter used to go to school for only a couple of hours on the Islamic Day of Ashurah, getting out just in time to attend prayers for what is a holy day of sorrow. “We wear all black […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Mattson’s Election May Be a Mixed Blessing
By Christopher S. Taylor — September 19, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The Islamic Society of North America recently elected Ingrid Mattson as its new president. Mattson is the first woman to head ISNA and one of only a handful of Muslim women who hold leadership positions at a national level. As an American Muslim woman, I welcome her election as […]
Pope `Deeply Sorry’ for Offending Muslims
By RNS Blog Editor — September 19, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service ROME _ Under pressure to apologize for his remarks about Islam and jihad, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday (Sept. 17) said he was “deeply sorry” that his use of a 14th-century quotation critical of the prophet Muhammad had provoked outrage in the Muslim world. Benedict said the obscure quote, which […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service State Department Softens Language on Saudi Religious Freedom WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. State Department on Friday (Sept. 15) released its annual list of nations where religious freedom is threatened and immediately drew fire for changing its description of Saudi Arabia. Despite being a key U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia has been […]
Pope’s Comments on Islam Could Torpedo Push for Dialogue
By RNS Blog Editor — September 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope Benedict XVI’s recent remarks about Islam have reopened historical wounds and could torpedo the pontiff’s push for dialogue. Benedict’s attempt to indirectly confront violent strains of Islam and revisit the turbulent history of its relations with Christianity is having explosive consequences, possibly derailing his planned trip […]
Casey Leads Democratic Effort to Bridge `God Gap’
By RNS Blog Editor — September 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ It was “a dark night” in 1992 when national Democrats refused to allow former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey to speak about his anti-abortion views at their national convention, his son said Thursday (Sept. 13). These days, Democrats such as his son, Robert P. Casey Jr., are being […]
Religious Faith a Mainstay of Korean Immigrants
By RNS Blog Editor — September 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service BRECKSVILLE, Ohio _ Han Young Lee makes demands on his No. 1 son, Eugene. He must work hard in school as well as in the family business. He also should keep the faith and values of his Korean heritage _ all tough expectations on a 21-year-old college student. But they’re […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 15, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Democrats Unveil Bill to Reduce Abortions WASHINGTON (RNS) Led by two Catholic lawmakers, Democrats on opposing sides of the abortion debate came together to introduce legislation Thursday (Sept. 14) aimed at reducing the number of abortions in the U.S. The Reducing Abortion and Supporting Pregnant Women Act, which was introduced […]
Jury Suggests Reprimand for Defiant Naval Chaplain
By Adelle M. Banks — September 15, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ A military jury recommended Thursday (Sept. 14) that a Navy chaplain be reprimanded and potentially fined for disobeying an order after he appeared in front of the White House in March to protest Navy policies regarding prayer. Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt, a chaplain from the Evangelical Episcopal Church, […]
