Sheikh Hamza Yusuf will be joining the State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights. Video screenshot
Need to know: Thursday, July 11, 2019
Muslim scholar catches flak for serving on new State Department rights panel
Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, one of the world’s most prominent Islamic scholars, is drawing criticism from some Muslims for his participation in the State Department’s newly announced Commission on Unalienable Rights.
Awaiting trial for breaking into a nuclear base, 7 Catholic activists are unrepentant
At a time when many faith-based social activists have moved on to other issues, seven Catholic pacifists aim to draw attention to the most ominous threat facing civilization: the risk of global nuclear annihilation.
Watching the rise of the religious left on 1970s TV
In a new book, religion scholar L. Benjamin Rolsky looks at the history of the religious left from the unusual perspective of 'All in the Family' and its creator, Norman Lear.
Jains gather in California with the next generation on their minds
The ancient Indian faith has seen tremendous growth in the U.S. over the past two decades, largely through immigration. Now the challenge is sustaining the faith's numbers among millennials and Gen Z.
Maggots may be a deus ex machina to save us from global warming
The larvae of the black soldier fly not only help eliminate greenhouse gases, they become protein that, when roasted, can be used as feed for animals, writes Thomas Reese.
Western governments are telling Muslim women not to cover up
State secularism and personal freedom clash over the hijab and the burkini.
Latest news from RNS
Pastor surveilled after ministering to migrants sues US government
A New York pastor, the Rev. Kaji Douša, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that U.S officials violated her religious freedom when she was put on a watchlist over her ministry to migrants at the border.
‘Unmatched wickedness’: Reports allege child separation, organ harvesting against China’s Muslims
A new report found that Chinese authorities are quickly building thousands of military-style full-time boarding schools for Uighur children whose parents are detained.
Russian Orthodox Church considers a ban on blessing weapons of mass destruction
The ban would constitute a signal change in the church's official policy regarding Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
More views from RNS
Conquering NBA fans’ hearts, Tacko Fall shows how sports bring us together
The love shown to a Senegalese Muslim basketball player — in a political moment of immense anti-immigrant, anti-black and anti-Muslim bigotry — shows us what a politically useful function sports can serve, writes Simran Jeet Singh.
Why listening matters. Even if you think the other side is wrong.
Within an increasingly secular culture, the task for Christians is becoming, more and more, discerning not only how to engage the culture outside the church, but engaging each other within, write Karen Swallow Prior and Joshua Chatraw.
Doubting the Holocaust in Boca Raton
It’s not just Holocaust denial. In some ways, it’s even worse than that, writes Jeffrey Salkin.
