(RNS) While fewer Muslims are supporting Obama this year, Muslim support for Mitt Romney, at 7 percent according to a recent poll, is more than triple the 2.2 percent of Muslims who voted for John McCain in 2008. By Omar Sacirbey.

KARACHI, Pakistan (RNS) The Taliban is threatening to finish off a 14-year-old Pakistani girl whom it shot for helping other girls go to school -- if she survives a wounding that has made her a hero to many Pakistanis. By Hani Yousuf and Janelle Dumalaon/USA Today. 

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Catholic leaders in Muslim countries are calling for a U.N. resolution against blasphemy -- a potential problem for the Vatican as it tries to combat religious desecration while stopping short of endorsing laws to outlaw it. By Alessandro Speciale.

(RNS) Religious rights activists are hailing the release over the weekend of an Iranian pastor accused of apostasy and a Pakistani girl charged with blasphemy. By Adelle M. Banks.

(RNS) Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has formed a three-member committee to look into reports that nearly 250 Hindus fled to India to escape harassment and discrimination. By Anto Akkara.

WASHINGTON (RNS) The spiritual leader of the Ahmadi Muslims, a persecuted group who are seen as heretics by many mainstream Muslims, made a rare visit to Capitol Hill. By Lauren Markoe.