American Jews and Muslims Work Together...
WASHINGTON — When American Muslim religious leaders looked for Christian and Jewish counterparts to stand with them against Islamophobia at a high-profile gathering tied to the 10th anniversary of 9/11, several major Jewish spiritual leaders readily answered their call. “Ten years after 9/11 it has somehow become respectable to verbally attack Muslims and Islam in America,” said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, as he and Orthodox Rabbi Marc Schneier stood with other clergy in a Washington church September 8. “The good people in this room are fighting back.” There was a time when a Jewish presence with these Muslim leaders would have been controversial. But today the sight of Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious...
Jewish and Muslim Students Can Work Together Against Prejudice...
There are more than 110,000 Jewish and Muslim students in Britain, but it’s not often their shared experiences are considered. Globally, Muslim-Jewish relations are a touchy topic, with the focus on political divisions (such as Palestine-Israel), and an assumption of historical enmity. I have felt this cold, polarising air from both communities, whose leaders seem unwilling to address it. But born and raised in Alwoodley, Leeds, I grew up with more Jewish than Muslim friends, and realised our startling similarities. The National Jewish Student Survey in 2011 showed the day-to-day issues facing Jewish students. In the main these concerned passing exams and finding a job, but Judaism also played a strong role in encouraging them to support and give to...
Change of Faith: Why Young Brits Turn from Christianity to Islam...
The UK’s official religion is dwindling at a record speed, with the decline of the Church “approaching rock bottom,” experts warn. While Christian congregations age, most British mosques are bringing more and more young people on board. Public mosque services attract thousands of British Muslims, but when you check out a church, there are hardly a dozen participants at Sunday morning worship, RT’s Polly Boiko reports from London. “The decline of churches in the UK is long term, now it just happens to be approaching rock bottom. So 95 percent of people don’t attend church on an average Sunday. Christian worship is already the concern of a tiny minority of people,” Andrew Copson, chief executive of the British Humanist...
Project Downtown Focuses on Interfaith Effort to Give Back...
Each Sunday, a group of volunteers, most college-aged, meet at the Clifton Mosque to make sandwiches, bag lunches and wrap pastries to pass out to individuals in downtown Cincinnati. The volunteers make up an organization calledProject Downtown, a nonprofit whose local chapter has been in existence since 2008, and whose ultimate goal is to eliminate poverty downtown. Yousef Hussein, director of PD, says the goal is a lofty one, but he’s confident that it can be accomplished. “It’s going to be difficult, but at the end of the day, I feel that if we set our mind to it, and people receive us properly, we can get the support and make a big impact in our community,” he...
The Role of Merchants in Spreading Message of Islam...
To call people to Allah is the duty of every responsible and conscientious Muslim. Since there is no priesthood in Islam or sacerdotal class among Muslims, the duty of the call to Allah cannot be limited to an ill-conceived and imaginary group called the “men of religion as is the case with other religions.” In Islam, everyone is a man (or woman) of religion and everyone will be accountable to Allah as to whether or not one fulfilled their obligations sincerely and to the best of their abilities. Urging Muslims to own up to their responsibilities in this respect, Almighty Allah says: “And who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah and does righteousness and...
Hispanic Muslims: Why Are Catholic Hispanic Americans Converting To Islam?...
By Susmita Baral, Aug 21, 2013 11:06 AM EDT Islam is most commonly associated with the Middle East and the Arab world, but the simple truth is that 85 percent of the world’s Muslims are non-Arab. Current estimates suggest that one-fourth of the world’s population is Muslim (roughly 2.6 billion). When looking at the countries with the largest Muslim populations, most are from the Eastern World: Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Ian, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, China, Syria and Russia. But the prevalence of Islam doesn’t just lie in the Eastern world, as new reports are suggesting that Hispanics are converting to Islam. The Hispanic community is one that has strong roots in...
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