When Wafa Idris became the first Palestinian woman suicide bomber in late January, she set a precedent for women engaging in such acts of martyrdom in Islam, according much of the Islamic press. The Middle Eastern Media Research Institute (http://www.memri.org) issues an in-depth review of the Arab and Muslim press, revealing overwhelming support for the 27-year-old Idris’ suicide. […]

Conflict in the Mideast has sparked the growth of anti-Semitic activity in France, according to officials in that nation. The Dallas Morning News (Feb. 11) reports that the “vicious conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East has apparently had a startling spillover effect in France, where officials report a sharp rise in the number […]

Pocket-sized computers are increasingly used for reading sacred texts, reciting prayers and other religious activities, reports the New York Times (Feb. 7). From saying a “virtual rosary” to receiving meditation guidance, hundreds of religious software applications are now available for hand-held computer devices. The Bible and other religious texts and calendars (such as saints’ days or Ramadan […]

The burgeoning Muslim school movement in the U.S. is facing new challenges about its teachings and curriculum, especially concerning negative portrayals of America and non-Muslims, since Sept. 11, reports the Washington Post (Feb. 25). The growth of the Muslim population in the U.S. has generated a mushrooming of Islamic day schools, numbering anywhere from 200 to 600 […]

Are U.S. and European prisons becoming prime recruiting grounds for militant Islam and even terrorism? In a report on Richard Reid, the suspected “shoe bomber” terrorist, in Time magazine (Feb. 25), it is noted that like many others, Reid was converted to militant Islam while in prison. The magazine reports that since the early 1980s, “Bangladeshi and […]

African Americans are gaining a more prominent place in American Judaism, both as a group and as individual converts. The Denver-based Rocky Mountain News (Feb. 22) reports that a Denver resident, Alysa Stanton, is the first black woman to be accepted in a major rabbinical program in the U.S., according to officials at the Hebrew Union College […]

Sexual abuse in religion, particularly within the Catholic Church, is again making headlines across the U.S. This time, the thrust of the charges is that religious institutions — from Catholic Church to the Jehovah’s Witnesses — have not implemented policies to protect the abused and still tend to keep such matters behind closed doors. In […]

The stalemate between Catholic traditionalists, those opposing innovations from the Second Vatican Council, and Rome appears to be resolved on at least one front, according to several reports. On Jan. 18, in Campos Brazil, a group of 28,000 Roman Catholic traditionalists reunified with Rome. Their bishop, Licinio Rangel had been consecrated in 1991 by bishops […]

New registration laws in China may lead to the reemergence of distinctions between Protestant denominations. A high-level national work conference on religion in China took place in Beijing from Dec. 10 to 12, 2001. Top Chinese political leaders attended, including the seven members of the Politburo of the Communist Party. According to a China Daily report on […]

Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, is undergoing a revival in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s fall, reports the Boston Globe (Jan. 23). For centuries, four major Sufi orders had vast and devoted followings in Afghanistan, evidenced in the weekly mass visits to saints’ tombs, the raising of colorful flags at cemeteries and the celebration […]