Religion News on the Web
Selected religion-related news from around the Web
January 06, 2012
- The Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail: A different battle: female soldiers, religious soldiers
In what can be described as an Israeli take on Canada’s “reasonable accommodation” debate, Israel’s military finds itself torn between two apparently irreconcilable processes: equality of opportunity for female soldiers, and religious accommodation of Orthodox male soldiers.
January 05, 2012
- The Wall Street Journal
WSJ: From back of the bus, Israeli women fight segregation
For years, Israeli women have been pressured into moving to the rear of public buses serving strictly religious Jews. Now, in confrontations reminiscent of the era of Rosa Parks, women are pushing back.
January 03, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: As Israelis and Palestinians talk, the rise of a political Islam alters the equation
Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday, their first encounter in more than a year, and while little emerged, the meeting said a great deal about the crossroads facing the Palestinians — and the entire Middle East — as political Islam emerges as a potentially transformative force in the region.
January 03, 2012
- USA Today
USA Today: Taliban may be ready to try talking
Taliban plans to open an office in Qatar may be a sign that after 10 years of war with the United States in Afghanistan, the extremist insurgent group could be trying to achieve through talks what it can't get through battle, foreign policy analysts say.
January 02, 2012
- The Associated Press
AP: Al-Qaida, Taliban seek Pakistani militants' help
Prominent al-Qaida and Afghan Taliban fighters asked Pakistani militants in a pair of rare meetings to set aside their differences and step up support for the battle against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, militant commanders said Monday.
December 31, 2011
- The Economist
The Economist: In the beginning were the words
Religions invite stereotypes, holy texts even more so. Non-Muslims often see Islam as a faith followed by people who hew so closely to an unchanging set of words that they ignore awkward new facts sooner than contradict its message.
December 29, 2011
- The Associated Press
AP: Saudi women to run, vote without male approval
Women in Saudi Arabia will not need a male guardian's approval to run or vote in municipal elections in 2015, when women will also run for office for the first time, a Saudi official has said.
December 27, 2011
- The Washington Post
Wash. Post: Religious limits on women spur controversy in Israel
A sign outside a row of synagogues directing women to walk on the other side of the street has turned this town near Jerusalem into a front line of a raging national debate about the imposition of strict social codes by ultra-Orthodox zealots.
December 27, 2011
- The New York Times
NYT: Israeli girl, 8, at center of tension over religious extremism
The latest battleground in Israel’s struggle over religious extremism covers little more than a square mile of this Jewish city situated between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and it has the unexpected public face of a blond, bespectacled second-grade girl.
December 22, 2011
- The Times
Times: Ancient text brings the Three Wise Men to life
An ancient document found in the Vatican archives casts new light on the story of the Nativity and the Three Wise Men who came to offer gifts to the infant Jesus, according to researchers.
December 21, 2011
- The Associated Press
AP: In Israel, a higher profile for Christmas
The founders of Neve Shaanan, a neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv,
planned their streets in the shape of a seven-branched candelabra - a
symbol of their Jewish faith.