religious conflict

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Church Cigarette Stunt May Mean Jail for Russian Woman

She's charged with 'insulting the feelings of religious believers'

(Newser) - A young woman in western Russia picked the wrong time to be "insulting," as a controversial law approved by President Vladimir Putin in 2013 describes it. Or more likely, the 21-year-old is deliberately provoking authorities. Her crime? She posted a photo of herself lighting a cigarette with a...

Jews, Muslims Bicker Over New Carpet in Jerusalem Shrine

Archaeologists say Jordanian contractors may be damaging Dome of the Rock

(Newser) - It began as a routine remodeling project: Muslim authorities replacing an old carpet at the Dome of the Rock, the iconic, gold-topped shrine that overlooks the Old City of Jerusalem. But the carpet has sparked a verbal holy war over the hilltop compound, revered by Jews and Muslims whose competing...

Right Goes Nuts Over Ground Zero Mosque
 Right Goes Nuts Over 
 Ground Zero Mosque 
OPINION

Right Goes Nuts Over Ground Zero Mosque

Even though the Imam is a moderate who works with FBI

(Newser) - Remember Tea Party honcho Mark Williams' “ monkey god ” outburst? Well he's not the only right-winger spewing flames over the proposed Muslim community center being built a few blocks from Ground Zero. The imam behind the center says it's designed to “bridge and heal a divide” and says...

Godlessness Hampers US Foreign Policy

Report says America ignores world religions at its own peril

(Newser) - President Obama needs to close the "God gap" in foreign policy, or the US will surely continue to feed religious extremism and undermine peace efforts around the world. So claims a report delivered to the White House yesterday, which warns that the "uncompromising Western secularism" of those at...

Swiss Projected to Approve Minaret Ban

Nationalist measure reflects rising anti-Muslim sentiment

(Newser) - Swiss voters approved a move to ban the construction of minarets in a vote today on a right-wing initiative that labeled the mosque towers as symbols of militant Islam, early projections showed. The Swiss looked to have swung from only 37% supporting the proposal a week ago to 59% in...

Julia Roberts Flick Bars Indian Worshippers From Temple

Villagers none too happy with actress, who was previously considered 'Hindu-friendly'

(Newser) - She may be America’s sweetheart, but villagers in India are not feeling the love for Julia Roberts after the actress caused them to be barred from their temple—at the beginning of a religious celebration, no less, the Telegraph reports. Ironically, Roberts—and her 350-member security team, derided in...

Pakistani Curriculum Pits Bile Vs. Nation-Building

Some see educational system fostering hate, where others push nation's identity

(Newser) - Critics of Pakistan’s mandatory school curriculum say it promotes fear and hatred in children, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “It sounds like the blueprint for a religious fascist state,” said one professor. “You have a country where generations have grown up believing they are surrounded on...

Taliban Gunmen Kill Christian Aid Worker

Afghanistan militants say they were angered by teaching of religion

(Newser) - Taliban gunmen killed a Christian aid worker in Kabul today, and the militant group said it targeted the woman because she was spreading her religion. The dual South African-British national worked with handicapped Afghans and was shot by gunmen on a motorbike around 8 am, officials said.  "This...

Preachy Bar Managers Stir Brewhaha
Preachy Bar Managers Stir Brewhaha

Preachy Bar Managers Stir Brewhaha

London bar flies revolt against lofty ideals of Christian couple

(Newser) - Praise the Lord and pass the beer—or at least that's the vision a devout Christian couple may have had for the London pub they were hired to manage. But patrons found the couple's preachy exhortations to prayer, Bible quizzes, and ban on cursing and gambling downright annoying.

Pragmatism Dictates China's Religious Policy

Strategic chip firm given leeway for Christian worship

(Newser) - China officially sanctions religious worship only at state facilities, but the Christian Science Monitor finds that plenty of wiggle room exists in the business world. It profiles one company whose Christian CEO is allowed to put up a church at every worksite. Why such accommodation in a formally atheist state?...

Bin Laden Threatens Europe
  Bin Laden Threatens Europe 

Bin Laden Threatens Europe

He says cartoons of Muhammad part of crusade against Islam

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden threatened Europe today with "severe" retaliation over the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, the AP reports. The audio recording of bin Laden surfaced on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, though he made no mention of it, and a day before the Muslim...

Iran Asks Dutch Gov't to Ban Anti-Islam Film

Right-wing pol's movie shows Koran as inspiration for murder

(Newser) - Upset by a right-wing Dutch politician's movie, which portrays the Koran as an inspiration for murder, Iran’s justice minister is asking the Dutch government to ban the film, the BBC reports. The minister called the film, by parliament member Geert Wilders, an unnecessary attack on Islam’s holiest object....

Priests Brawl With Brooms at Church of the Nativity

Punch-up in Bethlehem injures 5 priests, 2 cops

(Newser) - A holiday cleanup at the church built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born turned ugly Thursday, as Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows, the Times of London reports. Robed priests pummeled each other with brooms and stones in the Church of the Nativity...

13 Stories