Iowa's religious conservatives up in air on 2012

2011-12-10T05:30:06Z

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) - Frozen by indecision, Iowa's politically powerful religious conservatives are still on the sidelines in the Republican presidential race less than a month before the state's kick-off nominating contest.

After helping to propel Britain's Amir Khan, a talented world boxing champion on an eight-fight win streak, could also play an important role in combating anti-Muslim prejudice, according to his US promoter.

"He has the character and the background to unite the cultures very well," said Kabul, the US embassy in the city said Wednesday.

"Yes, that's true. I can't comment further on that pending the family's instructions," said embassy spokeswoman Megan Ellis.

The embassy added that its staff were in contact with the dead person's family and were "providing all appropriate consular assistance".

Evangelist Billy Graham released from hospital

2011-12-06T14:00:17Z

(Reuters) - Billy Graham, one of America's best-known evangelists, was released on Tuesday from a North Carolina hospital after a bout with pneumonia, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Graham, 93, returned to his home in Montreat, North Carolina, after a six-day stay in...

U.S. Jewish ire prompts Israel to scrap ads for expats

2011-12-03T04:30:12Z

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has cancelled government-sponsored television advertisements calling on expatriates to return, after some American Jews complained that the message denigrated their lifestyles.

The spots, aired on Israeli channels that are often viewed by emigrants, featured dramatized s...

Security goes barefoot with Clinton in Myanmar

2011-12-01T06:30:15Z

YANGON (Reuters) - U.S. security went barefoot on Thursday as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton toured one of Myanmar's most revered shrines, a towering golden pagoda that is the symbol of a country seeking f...

Episcopal bishop cleared of abandoning church doctrine

2011-11-30T15:00:15Z

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The national Episcopal Church has cleared a conservative South Carolina diocese bishop of accusations that he abandoned the church's principles amid disagreement over the denomination's acceptance of homosexuality.

The Right Reverend Mark J. Lawrence...

Episcopal bishop cleared of charges over gays in church

2011-11-29T10:00:27Z

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The national Episcopal Church cleared a South Carolina diocese bishop of accusations that he abandoned the church's principles by opposing the denomination's acceptance of homosexuality.

Bishop Right Reverend Mark J. Lawrence was accused in Oc...

Catholics celebrate new Mass, return to "traditional roots"

2011-11-27T20:00:10Z

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Catholics across the United States celebrated a new translation of Mass on Sunday that church leaders said would provide a deeper understanding of the faith, but which critics complained was unnecessary and confusing.

A third edition of ...

Catholic liturgy changes for first time in 40 years

2011-11-27T17:30:21Z

After 40 years of praying in exactly the same way, English-speaking Catholics around the world had a challenge waiting for them Sunday when they turned up to Mass.

The Mass liturgy, or the text of the most sacred Roman Catholic rite, has been re-launched across the English-speaking world to comply with the Vatican's wish for a more traditional and spiritual tone.

At Saint Monica's, ...

Georgia court rules for Episcopal church in dispute

2011-11-21T11:30:34Z

ATLANTA (Reuters) - An historic church building in the city of Savannah belongs to the national Episcopal Church, not a breakaway congregation that left the national church following the naming of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire, the Reuters) - The U.S. Roman Catholic Church will establish a body in January to house disaffected members of the Episcopal Church, beginning with a few dozen ministers and at least two congregations seeking communion, U.S. bishops were told Tuesday.

Some 35 of 67 Anglican ministers who have applied to join the C...

Catholic Church prepares to accept Episcopalians

2011-11-15T16:00:09Z

(Reuters) - The U.S. Roman Catholic Church will establish a body in January to house disaffected members of the Episcopal Church, beginning with a few dozen ministers and at least two congregations seeking communion, U.S. bishops were told on Tuesday.

Some 35 of 67 Anglican ministers who have applied to join th...

Bishops told to help US Catholics 'embrace anew Jesus'

2011-11-14T20:30:43Z

Bishops from throughout the United States gathered in Baltimore on Monday to hear a clarion call from their leader to breathe new vigor into the Roman Catholic Church.

Opening a two-day annual meeting of the Reuters) - A wind-swept fire tore through a landmark Catholic retreat in the Colorado mountains on Monday, heavily damaging the site where Pope John Paul II spent an afternoon in 1993 while attending World Youth Day in Denver.

The blaze erupted in a three-sto...

Catholic Bishops To Address Gay Marriage At Baltimore Meeting

2011-11-13T13:00:20Z

Gay marriage will be among the issues discussed by U.S. bishops at their fall assembly in Baltimore

Gay marriage will be among the issues discussed by U.S. bishops at their fall assembly in Baltimore.

The November 14 – 16 meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (...

APEC security tests Hawaiian hospitality

2011-11-12T19:30:29Z

The all-encompassing Hawaiian term "Aloha" can mean both hello and goodbye, making it an apt phrase this weekend in Honolulu where the welcome for an Asia-Pacific summit is wearing thin.

The legions of protesters who normally accompany such gatherings are absent in remote, expensive Hawaii, but that hasn't stopped the authorities from shrouding the tropical island paradise in a tigh...

Baptists Approve Resolution In Support Of North Carolina Gay Marriage Ban

2011-11-11T12:01:00Z

At its annual meeting, North Carolina Baptists approved a resolution in support of a proposed gay marriage ban

At its 181st annual meeting, North Carolina Baptists approved a resolution in support of a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

Voters in May will decided on the far-reaching amendment that would make it unconstitutional for North Carolina to reco...

Qaeda to produce film on Awlaqi's life

2011-11-09T08:30:15Z

A radical group in Yemen announced on Wednesday that a film will be produced documenting the life of slain US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi and which will include a previously unknown message to Americans.

Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law) said "a film on Awlaqi's life will be produced in both Arabic and English on his role in reviving the rite of jihad (holy war) in the hearts of ...

Biden defends Romney's Mormon faith

2011-11-04T14:30:41Z

(Reuters) Vice President Joe Biden defended Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney over his Mormon faith on Friday, saying it was "outrageous" for anyone to suggest he should not be president because of his religion.

With a new Reuters/

Catholic paper retracts column on devil and gays

2011-11-04T12:00:32Z

CONWAY, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The oldest Roman Catholic newspaper in the United States has retracted an opinion column that said the devil may cause homosexual attraction after the essay was condemned by gay rights groups.

The 184-year-old weekly newspaper, the Boston Pilot, run by the ...

Clinton pushes rights in ex-Soviet Central Asia

2011-10-22T16:30:21Z

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Uzbek President Islam Karimov on human rights and thanked him for supporting US troops in Afghanistan, during a visit to the strategically-located ex-Soviet state.

US ties with

Clinton warns Tajikistan on stoking radical Islam

2011-10-22T05:00:08Z

DUSHANBE (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tajikistan on Saturday that efforts to crack down on religious freedom might backfire and increase sympathy for radical views that could threaten stability i...

Warren Jeffs wife breaks away from Arizona compound

2011-10-13T20:30:11Z

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - One of the wives of Warren Jeffs has broken away from the private Arizona compound once ruled by the jailed polygamist leader, officials said on Thursday.

The 25-year-old woman, whose name was not released...

South Carolina Episcopal diocese sees crisis over gay rights

2011-10-12T18:30:12Z

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The national Episcopal Church's acceptance of homosexuality has plunged it into "crisis," the South Carolina Episcopal diocese said on Wednesday, and the conservative diocese suggested that it could break from the n...

Latter-day Saints launch "I'm a Mormon" ad campaign

2011-10-02T11:30:12Z

DENVER (Reuters) - "The Book of Mormon" debuted this year as a Broadway hit that won nine Tonys, and the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination features not one, but two candidates of the Mormon faith.

Now the President Barack Obama praised the "unshakeable" bonds between Israel and the United States Tuesday in remarks marking the start of the Jewish high holy days.

Obama paid homage to US-Israeli ties in a videotaped statement honoring the sacred Jewish holidays -- book-ended by the start of the Jewish new year Beijing-backed religious groups hit out at the US after it reaffirmed China's status as a country "of particular concern" on religious freedom, accusing Washington of trying to harm the nation's image.

The Reuters) - Lawyers for the state of Oklahoma urged a federal appeals court on Monday to reinstate a voter-passed state constitutional amendment barring Oklahoma judges from recognizing Islamic and international law.

Defenders of Oklahoma's "Save Our State Amendment," approved by 70 percent of state voters last year, say they want to pre...

Deep divisions in Americans' views on race, faith

2011-09-06T08:00:10Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans are sharply divided on issues from race to religion, often along generational and partisan lines, a survey concluded on Tuesday.

The survey of nearly 2,500 Americans by a pair of Washington think tanks found sharp divisions on a host of issues, ranging from immigration policy to attitudes toward followers of other religious faiths.

"Ten years after September 11, 200...

Only eight Iraqi Jews in Baghdad in 2009: cable

2011-09-02T12:30:35Z

Baghdad's Jewish community numbered just eight people in late 2009, having fallen from 20 in 2003 due to deaths from old age and sectarian violence, and emigration, a leaked US diplomatic cable says.

A woman who spoke with a US embassy staff member in October 2009 said "there are now eight remaining members of the Iraqi Jewish community in Baghdad," including herself, according t...

Obama sends Eid wishes to world's Muslims

2011-08-30T16:30:23Z

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday marked the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan by renewing his support for the "Arab Spring" movement against repressive regimes.

"This year, many have observed the month while courageously persevering in their efforts to secure basic necessities and fundamental freedoms," he said in a statement released during a one-day trip to

US "hikers" lawyer appeals Iran spying sentences

2011-08-28T07:00:07Z

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The lawyer for two Americans convicted of spying in Iran said on Sunday he had lodged an appeal against their eight-year sentences and still hoped they might be pardoned.

Masoud Shafiee has not been able to see Shane Bauer...

Heat wave challenges Muslims as Ramadan nears its end

2011-08-26T05:00:14Z

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - When Shareef Ghaly is hammering nails into window frames under a scorching sun in the midst of a historic Texas heat wave, he's doing it for his career.

And Harvard linebacker Zakareya Aossey practices in the heat with no compl...

Salvadoran court blocks arrests for priest murders

2011-08-24T19:30:14Z

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador's Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will not order the arrest or extradition of a group of former soldiers accused of killing six Jesuit priests, one of the most notorious atrocities of the Central American nation's 12-year civil war.

Spain's Hi...

US calls suicide mosque attack in Pakistan 'deplorable'

2011-08-19T18:30:24Z

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton strongly condemned Friday's attack on a Pakistan mosque that killed 48 people and wounded more than 100 during Ramadan prayers.

"The slaughter of worshippers as they gathered at a mosque for Ramadan's Friday prayers underscores the brutality of those who would target civilians during a time ...

Vatican releases confidential papers on abuse case

2011-08-17T18:30:34Z

The Vatican on Wednesday took the unprecedented decision to release confidential files about an abuse case in the United States in an attempt to defend itself against accusations of a cover-up.

The documents are a response to a high-profile lawsuit revolving around the sovereign immunity status of the Vatican in relation to the case of a now-de...

Iraq's Sadr warns of 'war' if US presence extended

2011-08-17T18:30:29Z

A radical anti-US Shiite cleric warned of "war" if US forces stayed in Iraq beyond a year-end deadline for their withdrawal, in a brief statement viewed on Wednesday.

Moqtada al-Sadr did not give any further details in the written reply to a follower's question, released by his office in the holy Shiite city of ...

Obama remembers 9/11 at Iftar dinner

2011-08-11T02:00:07Z

US President Barack Obama remembered the dead of the "awful" September 11 attacks in 2001, including Muslim Americans, as he marked the holy month of Ramadan at an Iftar dinner.

The president launched what will be a solemn series of events to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks by Al-Qaeda operatives using hijacked a...

Lobsters liberated by Buddhist intervention

2011-08-05T08:30:08Z

GLOUCESTER, Mass (Reuters) - Instead of plunging headfirst to their death in a pot of boiling water, 534 live lobsters escaped the dinner plate and belly flopped to freedom into the dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

A group of Tibetan B...

US Muslims optimistic, but face discrimination: poll

2011-08-03T04:30:16Z

US Muslims are more optimistic about the future than other faith groups, but while they overwhelmingly reject terrorism, nearly half report discrimination, a poll found.

The survey was carried out ahead of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and looked at how well integrated the 2.6 million Muslims living in the United States are in the wake of the "war on terror" launched by former president ...

Taliban leaders may take Ramadan break: U.S. military

2011-07-31T03:00:07Z

KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military is waiting to see whether some Taliban leaders take a break during August for Ramadan, crossing over the border into Pakistan

Radical anti-US Iraqi cleric issues code of conduct

2011-07-28T14:30:45Z

All followers of radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr must sign a strict code of conduct after repeated complaints over rogue elements of his militia, a document seen by AFP showed Thursday.

Signed by the anti-US Shiite cleric and distributed throughout his organisation, it calls on all its members to put their name to it, promising "before God, his prophet and Moqtada al-Sadr," to "do no harm to any Iraqi or non-Iraqi, ...

Vietnam under pressure to release jailed priest

2011-07-26T21:00:36Z

Vietnam on Wednesday faced calls from the United States and international rights groups to free a frail dissident priest who was re-arrested after being released from jail for medical treatment.

Nguyen Van Ly, who prosecutors say was a founding member of a banned pro-democracy group, was taken into custody Monday. The priest, who is in his 60s, had left prison last ...

US demands Vietnam release jailed priest

2011-07-26T19:30:42Z

The United States has called for the immediate release of a frail dissident priest who was rearrested in Vietnam after being released for medical treatment.

Nguyen Van Ly -- who prosecutors say was a founding member of a banned pro-democracy group -- was taken into custody Monday. The priest had been allowed to leave prison last year to seek treatment for a brain tum...

Texas education board sticks to teaching of evolution

2011-07-22T12:30:22Z

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - The Texas Board of Education voted unanimously to approve mainstream middle school curriculum materials on Friday in a move seen as a victory for proponents of teaching evolution in public schools.

Conservatives had complain...

Texas leaders debate teaching creationism in schools

2011-07-21T18:30:09Z

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas vote on middle school curriculum due on Friday has become the latest battleground over the teaching of creationism or "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolution in public schools.

At issue is whether Texas education leaders will approve supplemental materia...

Vegetarian Hindus can sue Indian restaurant over serving meat

2011-07-20T14:00:28Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An appeals court has cleared the way for a group of vegetarian Hindus to sue an Indian restaurant in New Jersey after it mistakenly served them meat.

The group is seeking damages, including the cost of a trip to India for a purification ceremony, and co...

Wanted: Afghan butcher class for US special forces

2011-07-18T16:30:14Z

US special forces in Afghanistan are known for taking out militants in stealthy night raids but commanders now want them to learn how to butcher meat and cook "authentic" meals for village elders.

The military is planning a three-day "abattoir training" course for the highly-trained troops, who will be taught how to slaughter, cure and cook meat in line with Afghan customs, according to Reuters) - A New Jersey rabbi and his wife surrendered to authorities on Monday on charges of kidnapping an Israeli man and threatening to bury him alive if he did not agree to a traditional Jewish divorce.

Rabbi David Wax, 49, and Judy Wax, 47, of Lakewoo...

US to sponsor global meeting on religious tolerance

2011-07-15T14:30:27Z

International experts will be invited to attend a conference in the United States this year on the free expression of religious beliefs, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Friday.

"Later this year, the United States intends to invite relevant experts from around the world to the first of what we hope will be a series of meetings to discuss best practi...

Presbyterian Church Welcomes Gay Clergy

2011-07-11T13:00:22Z

The 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) for the first time on Sunday began welcoming non-celibate gay clergy

The 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) for the first time on Sunday began welcoming non-celibate gay clergy.

Church delegates meeting in Minneapolis for their biennial convention last year agreed to all...

Pakistanis should go "to the streets" for Islamic rule: Party

2011-07-01T07:00:56Z

LONDON (Reuters) -

Hizb ut-Tahrir, a global Islamist party banned in many Muslim states, said on Friday Pakistanis should take to the streets to call for Islamic rule and join a campaign to end subservience to Washington that was advancing "from Reuters) - The United States has decided to resume formal contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, in a step that reflects the Islamist group's gr...

Philadelphia archdiocese trains on sexual abuse reporting

2011-06-28T16:00:14Z

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal in both criminal and civil courts, announced on Tuesday a new training program for some 24,000 priests, employees and volunteers on how to report sexual abuse.

Huntsman, Romney could split state's Mormon vote

2011-06-28T02:30:15Z

When former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ran for president four years ago, many saw his Mormon faith as a challenge to overcome much the same way John F. Kennedy had to address his Catholicism in the 1960s. A challenge, that is, everywhere but in Nevada - an early primary state with a signi...

Sadr supporters ready for attacks on US troops

2011-06-25T09:30:20Z

Supporters of Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr have offered to carry out suicide attacks against US troops in Iraq, his office said Saturday, as a year-end deadline for a US pullout looms.

"Thank you, my dear friends, and God bless you," Sadr wrote in reply to the offer from loyalists of his disbanded Reuters) - Christian evangelicals' influence is seen waning in developed countries, while the faith's future is bright in the developing world, a survey of evangelical church leaders concluded on Wednesday.

Growing secularism, consumerism and sex and violence in popular culture were viewed by the church leaders as the gravest challenges to the faith, which comprises several denom...

Men plead not guilty in New York synagogue bomb plot

2011-06-15T09:30:17Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two men pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that they bought guns and a hand grenade and plotted to blow up synagogues and other buildings in New York City.

Ahmed Ferhani, 26, an Algerian, and Mohamed Mamdouh, 20, a Moroccan-b...

Violence north of Baghdad kills 10

2011-06-11T13:30:14Z

Violence north of Baghdad on Saturday killed 10 people, including five members of a Sunni Arab family slain early in the morning, Iraqi security and medical officials said.

The attacks come with just months to go before all US soldiers must withdraw from the country, with American officials pressing their counterparts in Baghdad to decide whether or not they want an extended Episcopal clergy in the diocese of San Joaquin, California have been given the green light to bless gay and lesbian unions

Episcopal clergy in the diocese of San Joaquin, California have been given the green light to bless gay and lesbian unions.

Clergy may “perform blessings of same gender civil marriages, domestic partnerships, and relationships which are lifelong committed relationships charact...

Texas' Perry urges other governors to join him at prayer event

2011-06-05T15:30:13Z

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) -- Saying "there is hope for America, and we will find it on our knees," Texas Governor Rick Perry has invited other governors to join him in a "solemn gathering of prayer and fasting" in August in Houston, according to the event's w...

Belgian abuse victims to file suit against Vatican

2011-06-01T11:30:12Z

GHENT, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgians molested by Catholic priests will go ahead with their legal proceedings against the Vatican for damages despite an offer by local bishops to compensate them, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

Faithful pray for imam imprisoned in US

2011-05-21T13:30:25Z

Supporters of a detained Muslim cleric who leads Miami's oldest mosque are expressing shock at accusations from US authorities of collecting and sending funds to radical Taliban activists based in Pakistan.

The elderly imam, 76-year-old Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan, pleaded not guilty in US federal court to charges of supporting the <...

Bishops cite '60s turmoil in sex abuse scandal: report

2011-05-17T21:30:08Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A study commissioned by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops concludes that neither the all-male celibate priesthood nor homosexuality caused the church's sexual abuse crisis, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The five-year study says the abuse occurred because priests who wer...

Presbyterians OK Gay Clergy

2011-05-11T08:30:09Z

The 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) on Tuesday agreed to allow the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy

The 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) on Tuesday agreed to allow the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy, Reuters reported.

Church delegates meeting in CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Presbyterian Church voted on Tuesday to allow the ordination of gays, becoming the fourth Protestant denomination in the United States to make the move that experts say reflects a larger cultural shift.

The debate over whether gays should be ordained as...

China warns US on Tibet

2011-05-10T14:30:53Z

China on Tuesday warned the United States to show caution in its handling of restive Tibet as the world's two largest economies met for wide-ranging talks.

Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said that US leaders assured Beijing

Bin Laden's death: the morality of celebrating

2011-05-08T20:30:18Z

Amid the public revelry, flag waving and cries of joy, some Americans are standing back and questioning the propriety of the raucous celebrations which followed the killing of Osama bin Laden.

"It's awkward to celebrate anyone's death, but it is impossible to feel remorse for one who has caused so much pain and needless suffering in the world," explained the Republican representative from the state of Reuters) - The head of Egypt's prestigious seat of Sunni Muslim learning, al-Azhar, condemned U.S. troops' disposal of the body of Osama bin Laden at sea Monday as an affront to religious a...

U.S. handling Osama bin Laden's body in Islamic tradition

2011-05-02T00:00:19Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is ensuring that the body of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is being handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition, a U.S. official told reporters...

US board faults Egypt on religious freedom

2011-04-28T14:30:43Z

A US commission called Thursday for Egypt to be put on a blacklist for lack of religious freedom, saying attacks on Coptic Christians and other minorities have worsened despite political changes.

In an annual report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said it found serious violati...

Belief in a supreme being strong worldwide: Reuters/Ipsos poll

2011-04-25T05:00:09Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Belief in a god, or a supreme being, and some sort of afterlife is strong in many countries around the globe, according to a new Ipsos/Reuters poll.

Fifty one percent of the 18,829 people across 23 countries who took part in the survey said they were convinced there is an afterlife and a divine entity, while 18 percent said ...

Fleeing China, couple urge help for Falungong

2011-04-23T19:30:16Z

A husband and wife who said they endured years of ill treatment in Chinese camps for practicing Falungong are urging greater global attention to the plight of the spiritual movement.

Zhang Lianying and her husband Niu Jinping, two high-profile practitioners of Falungong who angered authorities by speaking out to foreigners, arrived in the United States in January with their daughter just as

Koran-burning pastor Jones briefly jailed

2011-04-23T09:30:19Z

The US pastor whose burning of a Koran sparked deadly violence in Afghanistan has been briefly jailed in a heavily Islamic suburb after a court banned his protest outside a mosque.

A local judge jailed pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, and his associate Wayne Sapp

Koran-burning US pastor briefly jailed

2011-04-23T09:30:15Z

The US pastor whose burning of a Koran sparked deadly violence in Afghanistan has been briefly jailed in a heavily Islamic suburb after a court banned his protest outside a mosque.

A local judge jailed pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, and his associate Wayne Sapp

Iran kills four militants in west: agency report

2011-04-22T13:30:48Z

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian security forces killed four members of "extreme religious groups" who were behind deadly attacks in the western restive province of Kurdistan, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Friday.

Provincial official PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, already reeling from a pedophilia scandal, said on Monday a Catholic school's athletic director was put on leave after he was charged with soliciting sex from a student.

Franc...

Manila's Aquino risks Church ire on contraception bill

2011-04-18T12:01:50Z

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino pledged on Sunday to push for the passage of a reproductive health bill in Congress as a tool to fight poverty even at the risk of excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.

Efforts to enact a law that would promote access to sex education...

Synagogue blast suspect sent back to LA

2011-04-13T18:30:40Z

A 60-year-old man charged in an explosion that damaged a Los Angeles-area synagogue is being sent back there for trial after he was arrested in Ohio, officials said Wednesday.

Ron Hirsch, who had been described as "extremely dangerous," boarded a Greyhound bus bound for the east coast last Thu...

L.A. Chabad blast suspect charged after fleeing to Ohio

2011-04-12T19:30:21Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The man suspected of firing a makeshift missile into a Los Angeles-area Jewish community center was charged on Tuesday with launching the projectile and fleeing to Ohio in a bid to avoid prosecution.

Ron Hirsch, 60, was arrested in suburban United States endorsed Tuesday the right of people to "express religious belief through religious attire" after French police fined a woman for wearing a full-face veil.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner stood up for freedom of religion and expression, but stopped short of criticizing Los Angeles-area synagogue last week was arrested in Ohio, reportedly on his way to New York, the FBI said.

Ron Hirsch, described as "extremely dangerous," had boarded a...

Clergy sex allegations soar in the US: study

2011-04-11T19:30:30Z

Allegations of sexual abuse involving the Roman Catholic clergy in the United States rose sharply last year to nearly 700 from around 400 in 2009, according to a church report Monday.

The vast majority of the allegations, 653, involved alleged abuse that occurred decades ago but whose "victims/survivors are just now finding the courage to report" them, the study said.

Thirty accusations were made by current minors, but...

Several hundred Afghans protest Koran burning

2011-04-09T10:30:13Z

Several hundred university students staged fresh, peaceful protests on Saturday in eastern Afghanistan against the burning of a copy of the Koran in the US, an AFP reporter said.

Students of Shaikh Zahid university in Khost city shouted slogans against the pastor who carried out the burning last month and carried anti-US and pro-Islam placards.

One sl...

Fresh Koran burning protests in Afghanistan

2011-04-07T03:30:21Z

Hundreds of Afghans staged a fresh protest in the Kabul on Thursday against the burning of a Koran by a US pastor, dragging demonstrations into a seventh day, police and witnesses said.

"There was a peaceful protest by about 300 people in front of the Eid Gah Mosque. Thankfully there was no violence and it lasted about one hour," Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told AFP.

Witnesses said protesters carried banners ...

Obama talks to Karzai amid Koran row

2011-04-06T16:30:29Z

US President Barack Obama and President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday both deplored an explosion of violence that erupted in Afghanistan after a pastor at an obscure US church torched a Koran.

The two leaders held an hour-long video conference to discuss the spate o...

US Koran burning ignites explosive Afghan cocktail

2011-04-06T01:30:24Z

Afghan fury over the burning of a Koran in the US has been fuelled by disillusion with the West over the war, public outrage by President Hamid Karzai, and the rising voice of radicalism, experts say.

While there has been little violent reaction in the rest of the Islamic world to the stunt by an obscure Florida pastor, at least 24 people have been killed in ...

Taliban hails Afghan Koran burning protests

2011-04-05T15:31:03Z

The Taliban praised protests over the burning of a Koran by a US pastor despite the resulting deaths in Afghanistan of at least 24 people in a statement released Tuesday by one of its spokesmen.

The emailed statement also denied that insurgents had been involved in the demonstrations and sharply criticised the Afghan police's handling of the protests.

The comments, from...

Obama calls killings in Afghanistan outrageous

2011-04-02T16:30:10Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday described as "outrageous" the killings in Afghanistan triggered after the burning of a Koran by a radical fundamentalist Christian preacher in the United State...

Koran-burning pastor calls for holding Islam accountable

2011-04-02T05:30:08Z

The US pastor, whose burning of a Koran sparked deadly violence in Afghanistan, has called for "immediate" US and UN action against its perpetrators, saying the whole religion of Islam must be held accountable.

"Islam is not a religion of peace," Dove World Outreach Center ...

Florida pastor is focus of Muslim outrage - again

2011-04-01T16:00:19Z

MIAMI (Reuters) - An American Christian preacher who caused an international uproar last year by threatening to burn the Koran has put himself back in the spotlight after incinerating Islam's holy book -- again with deadly consequences.

Thousands of protesters in northern Afghanistan,...

Muslims face rising discrimination: official

2011-03-29T09:00:18Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American Muslims face a rising tide of religious discrimination in U.S. communities, workplaces and schools nearly a decade after the September 11 attacks, a senior Justice Department official said on Tuesday.

Evidence of growing anti-Muslim bigotry, aired at a Senate Judiciary hearing, poses a challenge for ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday denounced the burning of Islam's holy book by a pastor, saying it was serious setback to efforts to promote harmony in the world.

The Christian preacher U.S. special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth before their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Jung Yeon-je, Pool)

Hawks Kings Basketball

2011-01-04T22:01:19Z

Sacramento Kings forward Carl Landry, center, goes to the basket against Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford, right, as Hawks center Zaza Pachulia, left, of Columbus Blue Jackets' R.J. Umberger (18) scores a goal against Phoenix Coyotes' Ilya Bryzgalov, of Russia, during the second period of an Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger, left, shoots over Iowa forward Andrew Brommer during the first half of an NCAA college basketb...

Archdiocese Bankruptcy

2011-01-04T16:30:52Z

Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki answers questions at a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, in St. Francis, Wis. Listecki said the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee is directing its attorneys to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying that pending sexual-abuse lawsuits have left it w...

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