Islam

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Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship
Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship
OPINION
Jan 5, 2009 4:27 PM CST

Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship

Edict brought Muslim culture war to the West: Hitchens

(Newser) - When Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens knew what it meant: "This was not just a warning of what was to come,” he writes in Vanity Fair, “it was the warning.” A global culture war, between Muslim fundamentalists and everyone else, had...

Moderate Tehran Mayor Eyes Presidential Bid

Ex-hardliner unites lefties, righties fed up with Ahmadinejad

(Newser) - Tehran's mayor appears to be mounting a presidential bid in Iran as political winds shift against President Ahmadinejad, the Boston Globe reports. Liberals and conservatives are allying for the first time, and Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 47, has attended their meetings. Whoever wins in June will be "hugely consequential,...

'American Taliban' Pleads for Mercy

Seeks freedom after 7 years in prison

(Newser) - A young California man captured with the Taliban in 2001 is asking President Bush to commute the remaining 13 years of a 20-year prison sentence. John Walker Lindh, 27, joined the Taliban a month before the US-led invasion of Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. Lindh claims he was never a...

Shoe-Throw Is Arab World's Heartiest Insult
Shoe-Throw Is Arab World's Heartiest Insult
ANALYSIS
Dec 15, 2008 1:05 PM CST

Shoe-Throw Is Arab World's Heartiest Insult

Journo's sole assault on Bush would likely have meant death under Saddam

(Newser) - Throwing a shoe at someone is hardly a positive gesture anywhere, but in Arab and Islamic countries, footwear is viewed as ritually unclean: Even mentioning your shoes while insulting someone carries vile significance, the BBC reports. Accidentally displaying an exposed sole is also considered insulting, so yesterday’s loafer-launching aimed...

Obama: I Never Discussed My Seat With Blago

Prez-elect talks policy priorities, scandal in wide-ranging interview

(Newser) - The president-elect opined on a variety of issues with the Los Angeles Times yesterday, including how his name will be announced at inauguration (Barack Hussein Obama, as per tradition):
  • Priorities: He'll start with "a serious investment" in infrastructure for "a green-energy economy."
  • Centrist Cabinet: He's not
...

Iran's Former Prez Mulls Run Against Ahmadinejad

Moderate Khatami, battered by conservatives, still has large following

(Newser) - Mohammad Khatami is considering a run to reclaim the Iranian presidency, the Economist reports. Frustrated with successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s financial mismanagement and controversial rhetoric, moderate Iranians have swamped Khatami with entreaties to run. Although Khatami ultimately failed to deliver reform, his 1997-2005 tenure is remembered fondly for relaxed restrictions...

Only Pakistanis Can Stop the Violence: Friedman

Friedman: Where is the outrage over Mumbai?

(Newser) - In 2006, thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets in weeks of protests against Danish cartoons that satirized the Prophet Muhammad. Yet after 173 people were shot dead in Mumbai, apparently by Pakistani killers, the response in the streets was silence. If Pakistan is to become a viable state, writes...

Terrorists Call for YouTube 'Invasion'

Jihadist site urges 'YouTube invasion'

(Newser) - Islamic extremists are being given training in how to use YouTube to spread anti-American propaganda, Reuters reports. A US-based terrorism monitoring organization discovered a posting on an extremist website that gives detailed instructions on best ways to use YouTube, and directions on finding software needed to utilize the site. The...

Meet Mikaeel: Jacko Converts to Islam
Meet Mikaeel: Jacko Converts to Islam
Nov 21, 2008 11:40 AM CST

Meet Mikaeel: Jacko Converts to Islam

British tabloid says King of Pop assumes new name in ceremony

(Newser) - Michael Jackson has followed the path of fellow entertainer Cat Stevens in converting to Islam, a source tells the British tabloid the Sun. Jackson—now called Mikaeel—recently went through a ceremony at a friend’s Hollywood Hills home, after being swayed by pals who said the faith had made...

Muhammad Probably Never Existed: Theologian

Islamic scholar's theory enrages Muslims

(Newser) - An Islamic professor's belief that Muhammad probably never existed has Muslim groups seething, the Wall Street Journal reports. The German convert to Islam says he cast a critical eye over historical records and found little to indicate the prophet was a real person. Muhammad’s name didn't appear on coins...

Catholics, Muslims Seek Common Ground at Vatican

Christian-Muslim talks emphasize common belief

(Newser) - Clerics of the world’s two largest faiths are meeting at the Vatican this week to improve relations between the long-divided communities. Muslim clerics invited Christians to dialogue after comments Pope Benedict made in 2006 that implied Islam was violent and irrational. The mostly male Vatican members and imams will...

Obama, Not McCain, Would Be Third Bush Term
Obama, Not McCain, Would Be Third Bush Term
OPINION
Nov 1, 2008 6:25 PM CDT

Obama, Not McCain, Would Be Third Bush Term

Dem doesn't offer much hope of change from current president

(Newser) - Barack Obama has freely used the Bush card, reminding voters that John McCain has agreed with the president 90% of the time—but “the irony here is that Obama actually has much more in common with Bush than McCain does,” Bill Siegel writes in the National Review. He...

She Coos, Giggles, and Promotes Islam

Fuming parents say Mommy doll utters 'Islam is the light'

(Newser) - Mattel’s Little Mommy Cuddle ‘n Coo doll comes complete with a rattle, pacifier, bottle, and Islamic propaganda—or so say some angry parents. Customers are barraging the toymaker with complaints that the doll says “Islam is the light," the Daily Telegraph reports. Noting “the...

Powell's Anti-Islamophobia Stance Tops Endorsement

Too many in both parties let stabs at Muslim faith go unparried

(Newser) - Colin Powell's Barack Obama endorsement wasn’t the only, or even most, notable aspect of his Meet the Press appearance: equally crucial was his rejection of Islamophobia, an issue too long skirted in this country, Abed Z. Bhuyan writes in the Washington Post/Newsweek Faithbook blog. In doing so, “Colin...

Sony Recalls Video Game for 'Islam Insult'

Koran quotes discovered in music track

(Newser) - Sony has held up distribution of a top video game after the discovery that it contains quotations from the Koran in a background music track, reports the BBC. Copies of Playstation 3 game LittleBigPlanet have been recalled and Sony has apologized. A modified version will be released next month. The...

Episcopal Priest Faces Ban for Practicing Islam

Seattle cleric considers faiths compatible

(Newser) - An Episcopal priest who also practices Islam will likely be defrocked, the Seattle Times reports. "I'm still following Jesus in being a Muslim," said Ann Holmes Redding, who has been a priest for almost 25 years. "I have not abandoned that." But the local bishop...

Mohammad Child Bride Book Hits US Early

Publisher moves up release date after London firebombing

(Newser) - A controversial novel tracing the life of the Prophet Mohammed's child bride has been rushed out early by its US publisher, Reuters reports. The Jewel of Medina's British release was suspended after its London publisher's headquarters was firebombed. Beaufort Books—which took the project after Random House dropped it amid...

French Muslims Find Freedom in Catholic Schools

Students get better education, and allowed to wear headscarf

(Newser) - France has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, but its strict separation of church and state means that Muslim girls are forbidden from wearing the headscarves in public schools. In response, many Muslims have turned to an unlikely solution: the nation's large network of Catholic schools. "There is respect for...

Holy Season for Two Faiths Intersects in Jerusalem

Jewish new year coincides with Muslim month of Ramadan in city special to both

(Newser) - This year’s intersection of Jewish new-year holidays and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan—a rarity due to Islam’s changing calendar—is felt particularly keenly in Jerusalem, a sacred city for both religions, Ethan Bronner notes in the New York Times. Night has become “a kind of...

Should This Game Be Banned?
 Should This Game Be Banned? 
Sep 11, 2008 3:24 PM CDT

Should This Game Be Banned?

Web-based game, where aim is to 'wipe out the Muslim race,' hard to regulate

(Newser) - Muslim Massacre, a Web-based game where players aim to “wipe out the Muslim race,” has earned widespread condemnation from Islamic groups, the Guardian reports. In the game, the US has declared war on Islam and the unnamed “American hero” slaughters terrorists and civilians alike to face Osama...

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