NEWS OF THE WEEK
Starting next fall, New York City’s 1.1 million public school students will have two more days off: the Muslim holy days of Eid-al-fitr and Eid al-Adha. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the change, noting that the schools already recognize several … More
This weekend (March 7-8) marks the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when civil rights activists in Selma, Alabama, were violently attacked by state troopers. After Bloody Sunday, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. organized interfaith support for a series of marches … More
This week ISIS militants launched a wave of attacks on a series of Christian villages in Syria, burning churches and taking hundreds of hostages. Faith groups continued raising alarms about ISIS violence plaguing the region. The US Conference of Catholic … More
Top Muslim leaders from around the world this week issued a statement calling for reforms in religious studies to promote moderation and tolerance. The statement came at the end of an anti-terrorism conference held in Mecca. Clerics, scholars and academics … More
Some European Muslims are also working to counter perceptions of Islam generated by extremist violence. After recent attacks on several Jewish targets across Europe, young Muslims in Oslo, Norway organized what they called a “ring of peace” to protect the … More
In the US, three Muslim men from Brooklyn were arrested this week and charged with providing material support to ISIS. The arrests highlight concerns about the extent to which ISIS is recruiting Muslims in the West to join their cause. … More
An Indian Jesuit priest who was abducted in Afghanistan nearly eight months ago was released this week. Forty-seven-year-old Father Alexis Prem Kumar had been working as the country director of Jesuit Refugee Service when he was taken captive by an … More
An American missionary with the Free Methodist Church was kidnapped in central Nigeria this week. Armed gunmen stormed the Hope Academy compound and captured 70-year-old Reverend Phyllis Sortor. She is reportedly being held for a $300,000 ransom. Local authorities say … More
The US Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of a Muslim teenager in Tulsa who was denied employment at an Abercrombie & Fitch clothing store because of her hijab. She was told that her headscarf violated a company policy … More
As the Supreme Court prepares to hear a key gay marriage case in April, a group of conservative evangelicals, among them the Family Research Council and the National Religious Broadcasters, this week urged the justices not to force acceptance of … More
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