Interest in spirituality and religious observance have been on the upturn since the attacks, and religion has found a new place in the public square, but for how long? Time magazine (Oct. 8) reports that churches, synagogues and mosques were packed the weekend after Sept. 11. Sixty percent of all Americans attended some kind of memorial, […]

Immediately after the terrorist attacks, websites sponsored by major Muslim organizations in the West expressed strong condemnation and sympathy for the victims, as could be seen on http://www.icna.com (Islamic Circle of North America), http://www.mcb.org.uk (Muslim Council of Britain), http://www.islam.de (Central Council of Muslims in Germany) or http://www.uoif-online.org (Union of Islamic Organizations of France). The online condolence registry opened by http://www.islam.de filled with hundreds of names. […]

The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11 has raised delicate questions about the ties of American Islamic organizations to groups that support or condone terrorism. The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 25) reports that the attempt by President George W. Bush to trace and freeze the funding of terrorism has not only […]

Cremation, long taboo among all Jewish denominations, is becoming more common among U.S. Jews, reports Moment magazine (August). Jewish law and tradition stipulates that a body is to be honored by being buried rather than destroyed. The holocaust, with its use of gas chambers and crematoriums, is another reason for the Jewish aversion to cremation. But slowly […]

Islam is increasingly grappling with the spread of AIDS, with Muslim leaders taking similar approaches to Christians in their early attitudes to the spread of the disease, reports the Washington Post (Aug. 13). Warnings that AIDS-related sex education and condom promotion will undercut individual morality and lead to societal destruction have come from Islamic leaders in Pakistan […]

A growing number of native American sacred sites are under threat from new sprawling housing developments and industrial plants. The Los Angeles Times (Aug. 16) reports that from Florida to Ohio to Arkansas, Native American groups are fighting battles with state and federal governments to protect places, including burial sites, where ancestors worshipped. Targets of recent native […]

Jewish learning about Christian beliefs and practices “appears to be on the rise,” reports Jewish Currents (July-August). The magazine cites a recent meeting of the Catholic-Jewish Liason Committee, where making the history of relations between Catholics and Jews a “core part of the curriculum for new clergy.” The committee noted that Jewish institutions have not “made as […]