Monthly Archives: September 2006
Pope Says Christians and Muslims Must `Work Together’
By RNS Blog Editor — September 26, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service ROME _ In his first meeting with Muslim leaders since making controversial remarks on Islam, Pope Benedict XVI renewed his rejection of religiously motivated violence on Monday (Sept. 25) and appealed to leaders of both faiths to promote religious tolerance. The meeting was the latest chapter of the pontiff’s ongoing […]
Iranian Pursuit of Beauty ÆÂ? An Age-Old Ideal Unveiled
By RNS Blog Editor — September 26, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service SHIRAZ, Iran _ Kill me but make me beautiful. It may be an ancient Iranian saying, but women here are taking it as seriously as ever. They want smaller noses. They want highlights in their hair, even though the Islamic government calls for it to be covered by roosary, or […]
Iranian Pursuit of Beauty ƒ An Age-Old Ideal Unveiled
By RNS Blog Editor — September 26, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service SHIRAZ, Iran _ Kill me but make me beautiful. It may be an ancient Iranian saying, but women here are taking it as seriously as ever. They want smaller noses. They want highlights in their hair, even though the Islamic government calls for it to be covered by roosary, or […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Separation of Church and State: A Lie or a Forgotton Safeguard?
By Brandan Robertson — September 26, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Senate candidate Katherine Harris, R-Fla., recently annoyed the hornets in the church/state nest by announcing in an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness newspaper that the separation of church and state was a lie. She claimed that believing in the separation of church and state made people think “that […]
Tehran Women Make Their Own Statement, in Color: By NAWAL QAROONI
By RNS Blog Editor — September 26, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service TEHRAN, Iran _ On a crowded street recently, women muscled into a boutique that boasted signs of sales: up to 75 percent off. From behind the glass door, a gray-haired man shouted at the customers who pushed forward as if they were rushing a concert stage. The store, Kasa, was […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Pope Asks For a Meeting With Muslim Leaders VATICAN CITY (RNS) Under pressure to clarify his position on Islam after making remarks that angered many Muslims, Pope Benedict XVI has invited representatives of Muslim countries to meet with him in Rome on Monday (Sept. 25). In a statement issued Friday […]
Conservative Christians Rally for “Values’’
By Adelle M. Banks — September 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ More than 1,000 conservative Christians gathered for a “Values Voter Summit” Friday (Sept. 22), hearing Republican members of Congress and evangelical leaders calling on pastors to preserve their traditional values without fear of criticism from church-state separationists or the Internal Revenue Service. Focus on the Family Chairman James […]
Katrina-depleted Jewish Community Begins High Holy Days with Heavy Heart
By Bruce Nolan — September 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS _ Their numbers diminished by a third since Hurricane Katrina, their congregations and service agencies battered, members of New Orleans’ Jewish community are celebrating the High Holy Days at home for the first time in three years. Last year thousands of Jews scattered by Katrina found themselves in […]
Ethical Questions Surround Unregulated Sperm and Egg Donations
By RNS Blog Editor — September 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly (UNDATED) Ryan Kramer was born 16 years ago, after his mother received donor sperm. “I had no idea where the sperm came from or anything about the donor,” said his mother, Wendy Kramer. “It was always kind of a mystery.” When Ryan was 2 years old, Kramer said, “he […]
Merry Ramadan?
By RNS Blog Editor — September 22, 2006
Muslims Try to Shield Ramadan from Commercialization RNS’s Omar Sacirbey looks at the effects of commercialization on the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in this week’s full-text article, linked above. Quotes: “There’s no doubt that there’s commercialization,” said Mohammed Abdul Aleem, CEO of Islamicity.com, a mainly educational Web site that also sells a variety of […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Muslims Collect Money to Rebuild Burned Churches (RNS) A group of American Muslims is using compassion to counter the violent reactions of fellow Muslims who were angered by Pope Benedict XVI’s controversial remarks about Islam. The Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Thursday (Sept. 21) that it […]
Muslims Confront Problem of `Overreaction’ and Violence
By Omar Sacirbey — September 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) For most American Muslims, Pope Benedict XVI’s use of a quote by a Byzantine emperor who called the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings “evil and inhuman” _ during a lecture that endorsed interfaith dialogue _ smacked of hypocrisy. Then again, so did the violent reaction of some of their fellow Muslims […]
COMMENTARY: For Everything There is a Season
By James Rudin — September 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Because the Jewish autumn harvest holiday of Sukkot begins only five days after the spiritual magnificence of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), it sometimes gets short shrift in observance and attention. But Sukkot, mentioned 21 times in the Hebrew bible, is one of Judaism’s most joyous and religiously […]
FDA Nominee Faces Another Block _ From Conservatives
By Rachel Cohen — September 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ First it was a handful of liberals blocking President Bush’s choice to head the Food and Drug Administration, demanding the agency end delays and make a decision on the over-the-counter sale of an emergency contraceptive pill opposed by the religious right. Now that the “morning-after pill” has been […]
Books Highlight Evangelical Political Divisions
By Bridget MacDonald — September 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) New books hitting the shelves this year are giving evangelicals a platform to voice concerns about how their faith is being expressed in politics. Here’s a sampling of titles offering a critique: Thy Kingdom Come: An Evangelical’s Lament: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America By […]
