Islam
Kardashian pope * Kim Davis * Beef party : September’s Religious Freedom Recap
By Brian Pellot — October 2, 2015
Celebrity Pope Francis photobombed selfies on his U.S. album launch tour. Conservative “It Girl” Kim Davis sat in jail and won awards for not doing her job. And India threw a “beef party” to celebrate religious tolerance and protest new meat bans.
8 banned books to celebrate Blasphemy Rights Day
By Brian Pellot — September 30, 2015
(RNS) The Bible and "Fifty Shades of Grey" share more than a few raunchy sex scenes. For Banned Books Week and International Blasphemy Rights Day (Sept. 30), these eight titles are still too hot to handle.
Pope Francis picks Ground Zero for interfaith healing
By Lauren Markoe — September 23, 2015
(RNS) Catholics aren't the only ones who admire and respect Pope Francis -- so do Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and others. "This pope is our pope," one imam said.
Ben Carson: Muslims unfit to be US president
By Reuters — September 20, 2015
GOP hopeful Carson overlooks Article Vl (no religious test for office), saying a U.S. president's faith should be "consistent with the Constitution" and Islam is not.
Crane crash at Mecca’s Grand Mosque kills 87, injures hundreds
By Reuters — September 11, 2015
(REUTERS) Al Arabiya television said the crane fell because of recent, strong sand storms. The accident happened just weeks before Mecca will be thronged with Haj pilgrims.
Fake church * ISIS onesies * Albino hope: August’s Religious Freedom Recap
By Brian Pellot — September 1, 2015
HBO’s John Oliver trolls predatory televangelists by launching his own tax-exempt church. Spain arrests a man for selling ISIS shirts and baby onesies. And a U.S. charity is offering new limbs to albino children dismembered for black magic in Tanzania. Read on.
British Muslim drag queen braves backlash to inspire gay community
By Reuters — August 24, 2015
LONDON (Reuters) There are as many as 150 Muslim drag queens across Britain, seeking to reconcile their sexuality with their faith, while challenging homophobia and taboos within Islam.
Muslim leaders support Islamic declaration on climate change
By Sara Weissman — August 18, 2015
(RNS) “Our species, though selected to be a caretaker or steward (khalifah) on the earth, has been the cause of such corruption and devastation on it,” the statement says.
Islamic experts’ declaration urges Muslims to fight global warming
By Reuters — August 18, 2015
"Excessive pollution from fossil fuels threatens to destroy the gifts bestowed on us by God, whom we know as Allah -- gifts such as a functioning climate, healthy air to breathe, regular seasons, and living oceans," they wrote.
In Britain, a glut of anti-terrorism campaigns draws fans, detractors
By Trevor Grundy — August 14, 2015
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) The Quilliam Foundation's #NotAnotherBrother video on YouTube joins an increasingly crowded market of online counter-extremism campaigns in Britain. Is it #JustAnotherVideo?
Manager of Oklahoma gun store and range declares it ‘Muslim-free’ zone
By Greg Horton — August 13, 2015
OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) Gun range manager Chad Neal, a medically discharged veteran, said last month’s shooting at the military recruiting station in Chattanooga, Tenn., prompted him to hang the sign in the door.
Interfaith leaders find common ground promoting Internet freedom
By Brian Pellot — August 12, 2015
(RNS) Interfaith leaders are spearheading a new fight for net neutrality -- once the realm of tech wonks and digital rights activists -- and framing a free and open Internet as essential for religious freedom, social justice and interfaith cooperation.
Do ISIS’s atrocities against Christians, Yazidis and Shias really amount to genocide?
By Brian Pellot — August 6, 2015
Religious freedom advocates are calling for President Obama and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to label ISIS’s actions against religious and ethnic minorities “genocide.” Does the label fit? 13 experts weigh in.
Marijuana ministries * Chicken blood * Chocolate snakes: July’s Religious Freedom Recap
By Brian Pellot — July 31, 2015
Cannabis churches are billowing out across America. Chicken huggers are suing to keep ritual bird blood off Brooklyn’s sidewalks. And a South African prophet is being prosecuted for turning congregants into snakes and snakes into chocolate.
Omar Sharif wasn’t the only Muslim actor famous in America. Here are 5 others
By Kimberly Winston — July 10, 2015
(RNS) Sharif was one of a growing list of actors who are religiously or culturally Muslim.