New book examines Muslims, Jews — and their common ground

Emma Silvers, Jweekly.com Last summer, as the debate over the Islamic community center near ground zero reached a fever pitch, longtime friends and former classmates Reza Aslan and Aaron Hahn Tapper were watching, fascinated. “There were some Jewish organizations coming down on the rights of Muslims to build that center, and then some other Jewish… [Read more…]

How Christians, Muslims can find peace

Paul Moses, CNN. com Editor’s note: Paul Moses, professor of journalism at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, is the author of “The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam and Francis of Assisi’s Mission of Peace” (Doubleday, 2009). New York (CNN) — Speaking hours after a terrorist attack killed 21 people… [Read more…]

2010 in review: The year for Muslims in the U.S.

NPR Please click here to listen to an interview of Moustafa Bayoumi, author of “How does feel to be a problem?” on NPR. He reviews 2010 with respect to American Muslims. Note from Rafik Beekun: My blog was hacked, and the above link to the interview was changed to refer to a link promoting a… [Read more…]

Wikileaks: The Vatican Active in Interfaith Dialogues, including with Islam

Wikileaks C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VATICAN 000134 SIPDIS DEPT FOR G, S/P, S/GPI, AND S/SRMC E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM KIRF SOCI SCUL VT SUBJECT: AN INVENTORY OF THE VATICAN'S INTERFAITH DIALOGUES REF: A. 08 VATICAN 87 ¶B. VATICAN 124 ¶C.… [Read more…]

An Agnostic Jew Speaks Eloquently and Movingly About the Qur’an

Lesley Hazleton explores the Koran and finds much that is quite different from what is reported in commonly cited accounts. A psychologist by training and Middle East reporter by experience, British-born Lesley Hazleton has spent the last ten years exploring the vast and often terrifying arena in which politics and religion, past and present, intersect.… [Read more…]

Muslims and Jews Come together to Deplore Vandalism at Synagogue

(Herald Times) By Dann Denny 331-4350 | ddenny@heraldt.com It was a tiny gathering – 11 people huddled around a table in a small room at the Beth Shalom synagogue – eating cookies, sipping hot tea and talking. But the five Muslims who had come to express their support and solidarity Thursday afternoon to a Jewish community that’s been… [Read more…]

Get to know a Muslim, rather than hate one

By Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today A strong work ethic, devotion to God and family, conservative views on abortion and sexuality — on these scores and more, the newcomers would appear to be right in stride with the traditional-values folk in Anytown, USA. In view of the Christian gospel followed by most of the established residents,… [Read more…]

Good Samaritans drop flowers at Mosque in Reno

KRNV.com Reno-area Christian church presents gift of flowers to Muslim center By Jeff DeLong • jdelong@rgj.com • September 10, 2010 It was a gesture of kindness and understanding during turbulent times. On Friday, members of the Summit Christian Church in Spanish Springs presented a gift of flowers to members of the Northern Nevada Muslim Cultural… [Read more…]

Message from Church: “We support our Muslim Friends”

United States of Islamophobia?

Arsalan Iftikar, CNN Editor’s note: Arsalan Iftikhar is an international human rights lawyer, founder of TheMuslimGuy.com and legal fellow for the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington. (CNN) — Almost everybody has heard about the protests against the mosque and Islamic center planned to be built about two blocks from ground zero in… [Read more…]

NY Muslim Firefighter Responded When Country Was Under Attack On 9/11

American Muslims have much in common with other faith-based communities

Time Magazine Upcoming Issue: Is America Islamophobic?

Kudos to Keith Olberman for speaking up: There is NO “Ground Zero Mosque”

Keith Olbermann Special Comment: There Is No ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ – 08/16/10

At the Dachau Death Camps, Muslim Leaders Empathize With Jews’ Pain

A. J. Goldmann, Forward.com Krakow, Poland — It was a perfect summer day at the Dachau concentration camp. The clear skies and pleasant breeze seemed almost offensive. And there, beneath the main monument, a bronze sculpture of writhing bodies intermeshed with barbed wire, was an uncommon sight: a group of Muslims leaders prostrate in prayer.… [Read more…]

Thank you, New York Times, For Your Editorial: A Monument to Tolerance

Note from Rafik Beekun: Thank you New York TImes.  You got it right in this editorial about the Muslim Community Center in Lower Manhattan. It has been disturbing to hear and read the vitriol and outright bigotry surrounding the building of a mosque two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.… [Read more…]

Correcting the Distorted Lens of Islamophobia

Sally Steenland, Huffington Post Protesters have recently been rallying against a proposed Islamic educational center containing a mosque near Ground Zero, claiming that the proximity of anything Muslim to Ground Zero would contaminate a hallowed place. Protesters claim they aren’t anti-Muslim; they merely want the center and mosque to be built someplace else. But it… [Read more…]

Is Islamophobia the new anti-communism for the GOP?

Republicans in the USA are using Islamophobia to galvanize their political base for the upcoming elections.

Kudos to Jewish leaders for Supporting the Muslim Community Center in Manhattan

Arthur Waskow, Shalom Center Support Mosque at Tip of Manhattan, Urge ADL to change its Stance For months, in New York City there has been a boiling controversy over plans to build a peace-committed mosque and Islamic cultural center two blocks from the site of the World Trade Centers. Last week, the Anti-Defamation League threw… [Read more…]

Good Samaritan 101: Mayor Bloomberg Stands Up For Muslim Community Center Near Ground Zero

Commentary from Rafik Beekun: Mayor Bloomberg, who is of the Jewish faith, stands up for the Community Center near Ground Zero–one more reason why Muslims should draw a clear distinction between Judaism and Zionism. As for myself, I have friends from many faith-based communities and we respect each other’s faith and try to dialogue as… [Read more…]

Extreme fringe Christian Church to Burn Qur’ans on 9/11

Comment from Rafik Beekun: Hitler, too, burned books. Look what happened to him and his acolytes.

ADL Takes the Side of Bigots on the Issue of the Community Center in New York City.

Note from Rafik Beekun: ADL is the Anti-Defamation League and was founded in 1913 “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Now the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agency, ADL fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for… [Read more…]

Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb’s letter in support of Caterpillar divestment

Source: Jewish Voice for Peace July 1st, 2010 A letter in support of Presbyterian divestment of Caterpillar I thought you might be interested in the article below. I just returned from three weeks in the OPT (West Bank, East Jerusalem as well as several Palestinian cities in Israel. Having traveled extensively (as I usually do… [Read more…]

Help us get 10,000 signatures for divestment by next Tuesday!

Jewish Voice for Peace Dear Islamic Workplace Reader, This coming Tuesday, July 20th, CREF will hold its annual meeting in New York City. This is the one time a year where the leadership of TIAA-CREF sits down with fund participants and listens in person to their concerns. We certainly have a concern about the Israeli… [Read more…]

A Muslim Party Reaches Out to Non-Muslim Candidates

Wall Street Journal. By JAMES HOOKWAY KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—A political party once bent on turning Malaysia into an Islamic state is for the first time preparing to put up non-Muslim candidates for election, in a bid to grab the political center in this divided country. Some other Islamic-based political parties around the world have tried… [Read more…]

Coffee and conversation finds common ground between Muslims and Jews

by Brianna McClane, Medill Reports May 12, 2010 Religious conversations between Muslims and Jews take place in coffee shops across Chicago. They gather every other month to discuss religious text and its application to daily life, an attempt to bridge cultures with distinct differences and similarities. Discussions over Coffee is one of many events hosted… [Read more…]

Please join the Facebook site “Honour the Prophet Muhammad (s)”

Note from Rafik Beekun: It is noteworthy that Molly Norris who launched the “Draw Muhammad Day” in order to defend the First Amendment points out (in the video clip below) that she drew a cartoon of Muhammad (s), but would never draw a cartoon of the Holocaust. This is pure hypocrisy and double speak on… [Read more…]

Tariq Ramadan on Democracy Now

Once-Banned Muslim Scholar Tariq Ramadan on His First Visit to US in Six Years, President Obama and Why Muslims Should Make Their Voices Heard Democray Now speaks with leading Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan, who was banned from entering the United States for six years. In 2004, Ramadan had accepted a job to become a tenured… [Read more…]

Seven arrested in FBI raids linked to Christian militia group

JENNIFER CHAMBERS The Detroit News At least seven people, including some from Michigan, have been arrested in raids by a FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana as part of an investigation into an Adrian-based Christian militia group, a person familiar with the matter said. The suspects are expected to make an… [Read more…]

Fears over non-Muslims’ use of Islamic law to resolve disputes

The Guardian, Afua Hirsch Muslim Arbitration Tribunal reports 15% rise in non-Muslims employing sharia law in commercial cases Campaigners have voiced concerns over a growing number of non-Muslims using Islamic law to resolve legal disputes in Britain despite controversy over the role of sharia law. A spokesman for the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) said that… [Read more…]

Study: Young Americans Less Religious Than Their Parents

CNN CNN) — Ministering to young adults at New York’s Riverside Church, the Rev. J. Lee Hill Jr. hasn’t had much success in recruiting for Sunday morning services. But his mission trips to New Orleans, Louisiana, since Hurricane Katrina and his efforts to connect with older teens and 20-somethings — the so-called millennial generation —… [Read more…]

Unexpected Partners: Muslims Helping in Haiti

By WAJAHAT ALI http://www.counterpunch.org/waj01282010.html Haiti is experiencing unimaginable suffering from its devastating earthquake, with more than 150,000 dead and one to three million individuals displaced. Individuals, groups and governments from around the world have stepped in to do what they can. United by their religious tradition of charity, Muslims have emerged as effective partners in… [Read more…]

Christian Mother, Muslim Daughter

CNN An amazing story and a beautiful, respectful mother-daughter relationship stays strong as it spans two faiths. Please click here to watch the video clip from CNN.

Faiths Unite in South Florida to Help Haiti

Miami Herald BY JAWEED KALEEM jkaleem@MiamiHerald.com Like many who lost family during the earthquake in Haiti, Jude Pierre turned to his faith for solace and wanted to find a way to help. On Saturday, Pierre, a Christian from Miramar, found himself among shouts of Arabic prayers as he packed boxes of canned goods in a… [Read more…]

In U.S., Religious Prejudice Strongest Against Muslims than Against Christians, Jews or Buddhists

43% of Americans admit to feeling some prejudice toward followers of Islam Analysis by the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 4 in 10 Americans (43%) admit to feeling at least “a little” prejudice toward Muslims — more than twice the number who say the same about Christians (18%), Jews (15%)… [Read more…]

Control of Jerusalem–The Brilliant United Nations Speech by Walid Khalidi

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Turkish and American Rescue Teams Work Together to Save Three in Collapsed Haiti Supermarket

CNN Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Three people were rescued Sunday from the rubble of a grocery store, officials told CNN, and American and Turkish rescuers were “very close” to reaching two others, despite experiencing a dangerous setback. The Caribbean Supermarket was housed in a three-story building, which collapsed in Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake. A joint New… [Read more…]

Working with Mormon Church, U.S. Muslims Fly $1 Million in Relief to Haiti

Haiti Earthquake Emergency January 13, 2010 http://www.islamicreliefusa.org/emergencies/haiti-earthquake Haitians are in desperate need for support after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked their island nation on Tuesday. An estimated 3 million people were affected by the quake, which was the worst in the region in 200 years. “More than 100,000 are dead,” the Haitian Consul General to the… [Read more…]

Good Samaritans: Malaysian Muslims Protect Churches

Islamonline.com Muslim groups in Malaysia are offering their help to prevent any further attacks on Christian places of worship amid a spree of attacks on churches in the multi-ethnic, Muslim-majority Asian country, The Star reported on Sunday, January 10. “This is an offer of peace and goodwill,” Nadzim Johan, the executive secretary of the Muslim… [Read more…]

Dr. Laurence Brown Explains Why He Embraced Islam

 Doctor and former military officer Laurence Brown explains why he became a Muslim Video 1 of 3 Video 2 of 3 Video 3 of 3   This is an incredible story about an Atheist who found God then tried very hard to be a Christian and you have to watch the show to find out… [Read more…]

Muslim holiday display vandalized in Mission Viejo, California

CAIR, Jan 1, 2010 In Mission Viejo, Calif., vandals defaced the Muslim component of an interfaith holiday display. A piece of paper stuck to the display stated: “No Islamic Lighthouses in the U.S.A.” The Muslim display included a verse from the Quran encouraging the unity of humankind and promoting righteousness. “O mankind! We created you… [Read more…]

Prophet Muhammad (s) Promise to Christians

By Muqtedar Khan Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware Muslims and Christians together constitute over 50 percent of the world. If they lived in peace, we would be half way to world peace. One small step we can take towards fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive stories and abstain… [Read more…]

ABC Primetime: Is there Discrimination Against American Muslims?

Rafik Beekun While some may discriminate against Muslims, many day-to-day Americans are just and decent folks, and will also stand up for and defend Muslims’ rights to practice their faith. This sense of balance and fairness among my American countrymen is what makes America such a great and welcoming country.

Guide to Religious Beliefs in the Workplace

PersonnelToday.com, edited by the Islamic Workplace… [Read more…] Christianity There are a wide variety of Christian churches and organisations. Festivals: - Christmas Day December 25th - Easter Sunday March/April (date set by lunar calendar) - A festival starting on Maundy Thursday and finishing on Easter Sunday In addition there are a number of ‘holy days of… [Read more…]

Christian Registrar Loses Religious Discrimination Appeal

Kat Baker, PersonelToday.com Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar who claimed she faced religious discrimination after she refused to conduct civil partnership ceremonies, has lost her appeal. Ladele, a registrar of births, deaths and marriages for the London Borough of Islington, refused to conduct civil partnership ceremonies when they were introduced in 2005, as she believed… [Read more…]

Inside Islam: What A Billion Muslims Really Think

Dear  Reader, How many times have you heard the following: “Islam has nothing to do with democracy,” “Muslims are violent,” “They oppress women?” In partnership with Unity Productions Foundation, the makers of a new PBS documentary “Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think,” Link TV broadcasts this prescient and important new film that reveals… [Read more…]

Islamophobia on the Rise After the Massacre at Fort Hood

Robert Spencer on the Savage Nation Lt. Col. Ralph Peters Says The Problem Is Islam Source: CAIR “It is the proper role of national religious and political leaders to challenge those who promote hatred and intolerance,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Extremists who seek to exploit the Fort Hood tragedy are doing a… [Read more…]

Army Muslim Chaplain: No Hostility Since Fort Hood

NPR Please click here to listen to the interview of a U.S. Army Muslim Chaplain after the tragic events at Fort Hood.

CAIR Director Discusses Fort Hood Shootings on Hardball with Chris Matthews

Swiss Muslims open mosque doors

BBC News Muslims in many parts of Switzerland have invited the public into mosques – three weeks before a vote on whether to ban the construction of minarets. Muslim organisations say they hope their open day will counter what they say are fears and prejudices. The conservative group that initiated the vote – the largest… [Read more…]