Future Development of Mecca Aims to Fit heritage...
By Asma Alsharif MECCA, Saudi Arabia | Wed Nov 9, 2011 5:35am EST (Reuters) – Future development in the Muslim sacred city of Mecca will be more in tune with traditional architecture, the mayor says, but for now residents worry that Islam’s holiest sites are disappearing behind skyscrapers. The historic city, the birthplace of Islam, is studded with dozens of yellow and red cranes and metal scaffolding aimed at increasing hotel space and improving facilities to make the annual haj pilgrimage safer and easier. As more than 2.5 million Muslims from across the world flood Mecca’s narrow streets for the annual pilgrimage, however, many visitors and residents point to a government-owned 600-meter...
Muslim, Jewish, Christian Leaders Share Insights With Students...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhElvUmAtQo[/youtube] Three longtime colleagues of different faiths have forged bonds of friendship through decades of dialogue in interfaith forums. The three men, who are leaders in the Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities of Los Angeles, recently shared their insights into religion with middle and high school students. The students learned that the men respect their differences and celebrate what they have in...
Pope Presides Over Interfaith Call for Peace...
October 27, 2011 Sabina Castelfranco | Rome From left, Canterbury Archbishop Rowan Douglas Williams, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Pope Benedict XVI and Rabbi David Rosen look on as a person holds a dove released during a peace meeting in front of the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, central Italy, Oct. 27, 2011. Pope Benedict XVI presided over his first inter-religious gathering Thursday in the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi. But unlike the meeting called by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, 25 years ago, there were no common prayers with Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. Pope Benedict welcomed some 300 leaders representing a rainbow of faiths to Assisi, Italy, the birthplace of Saint Francis, to commemorate the 25th...
Promoting Religious Tolerance: Shehrbano Taseer receives human rights award...
Published: October 23, 2011 Pakistani journalist and daughter of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, Shehrbano Taseer, received a Human Rights Award during an annual award dinner in New York City on Saturday. In the months since her father’s slaying, Shehrbano has continued to speak out publicly against discriminatory laws that target religious minorities and encourage extremism, said a press release issued by Human Rights First. Despite criticism and even death threats from militant groups, Shehrbano has worked unremittingly to shed light on the hundreds of victims of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and to encourage the government to take necessary steps to promote religious tolerance, the press release added. Human Rights First will honour Shehrbano “for her courage in carrying...
Film Depicts How Paris Mosque Sheltered Jews During WWII...
October 14, 2011 Lisa Bryant | Paris A newly released film in France depicts for the first time how the Paris Mosque saved Jews and Muslim resistance fighters during World War II. Troves of books, movies and articles have been released over the years in France describing almost every facet of World War II and the Nazi occupation here. But one historical nugget has been largely overlooked – the role played by Muslims during that dark period of French history. A new movie aims to right the record. Released two weeks ago in cinemas across the country, “Les Homme Libres” – “Free Men” in English – describes how the former rector of the Paris Mosque, Si Kaddour Ben Gabrit, offered...
Muslims & Christians To Talk, Then Pray...
Posted: Monday, Oct. 10, 2011 Michael Gordon Mecklenburg Ministries is holding its first interfaith prayer meeting, designed to promote greater understanding and common spiritual ground between Christians and Muslims. “Community Conversation: Prayer Across Faith Traditions” will be Wednesday at Park Road Baptist Church., 3900 Park Road, Charlotte. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. with the program to run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Ministries’ youth council, along with Park Road Baptist and the Muslim American Society are co-sponsoring the event. Imam John Ederer will explain Muslim traditions of prayer, then invite those on hand to take part in or observe the Islamic sunset prayer. The Revs. Amy and Russ Dean, Park Road’s pastors, will discuss Christian prayer,...
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