A limit of two stories about the not-a-mosque not at Ground Zero: First,I can’t get “We’ve Got To Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero” out of my head. It’s mix of offensive lyrics and campy Toby Keith rip-off vocals makes it funny and pathetic at the same time. Plus, it’s catchier than the Bed Intruder song. Second, Miss USA, a Muslim herself, has taken a stand against the Park51 project. So, there you have it.
The Salem Witch Trials: video game edition. It’s like a Hawthorne short story for your PC or Mac.
A Brooklyn rabbi has been approved to serve as a chaplain in the Army reserves but can’t because the Army wants him to shave his beard. As an older rabbi serving the Army put it, “Look at some of our past generals’ beards, like Ulysses Grant. In the Civil War, a lot of those guys in the military leadership looked like Hasidic individuals.” At Fort Eustis in Virginia, about 80 soldiers were punished for choosing not to attend an evangelical Christian concert organized by the camp’s commanders. A Muslim soldier is wants to leave the military as a conscientious objector.
A South African pastor’s “Jesus had HIV” sermon has angered many Christians in the country.
Michael Enright , a 21-year-old film student, has been arrested for slashing a cab driver’s throat after discovering the driver was a Muslim. A woman working as a hostess at a Disney restaurant in California is filing a discrimination complaint after being sent home for refusing to remove her headscarf. Managers have tried to find a back of the house job for the woman but she wants to work up front and in her hijab. Zaytuna College, in California, hopes to be the first accredited Muslim college. While these comic books bring Islamic values into popular culture.
A New York Buddhist community is searching for solutions in the midst of a sex scandal.
Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting the U.K. next month. Susan Boyle will be performing for him. Organizers of the pope’s visit have a long list of items banned for pilgrims including gazebos, alcohol, and even vuvuzelas . Benedict will be welcomed by bus ads urging the pontiff to ordain women.
Should we really support a musician named Sufjan?
In Saudi Arabia, two rulings by Muslim authorities have created controversy. First, a cleric who urged grown men to drink breast milk has been removed from the radio airwaves. Meanwhile, human rights advocates are urging authorities not to intentionally paralyze a man as “eye for an eye” punishment for injuries he inflicted in a fight.
Drivers in South Carolina may soon be able to put their faith where their plate is with a new “I Believe” licence plate featuring three crosses.
A Hindu woman in Illinois has been fighting the City of Evanston over the chopping down of a tree next to her property. The woman’s belief in ahimsa, or nonviolence, prevented her from having anything to do with the felling of the living tree for “no reason.” The woman has spent less than $15,000, while the city has spent close to $40,000, in the battle over the $635.02 tax bill. In Massachusetts, a town sent a tax bill to a recently closed church—it’s first tax bill in its 188 year history.
The LDS church has a new ad campaign meant to rebrand the church. Each ad features an individual talking about their lifestyle and beliefs then ends with “And I’m a Mormon.” Chad Hardy , the man behind the “Men on a Mission” and “Mormon Muffins” pin-up calenders, has released his own “And I’m an ex-Mormon” version of the ads.
Permits? We don’t need no stinkin’ permits: The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida continues its plan to burn Qur’ans on 9/11 despite not having a fire permit. A Christian milita that had planned to provide protection for the church has withdrawn its support. The group, Right Wing Extreme, says the burning “does not glorify God.”
Who knew national Go Topless Day (August 26th in case you’d like to join in) had religious roots? Turns out the event is promoted by the Raelian religion, a UFO religion “which believes that humans were created by advanced scientists known as the Elohim.”
