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Associated Press Newark, N.J. – An influential New Jersey Muslim leader accused by some federal officials of having terrorist ties but praised by others as being an important ally won his fight to gain permanent U.S. residency Thursday. A federal immigration judge in Newark ruled that Mohammad Qatanani, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Center…

Associated Press – September 3, 2008 SPOKANE, Washington – A historical novel about the prophet Muhammad and his child bride that was pulled by Random House over concerns it would anger Muslims has found a new English-language publisher. Gibson Square will publish the book next month in Great Britain, saying Wednesday that it is imperative…

By G. JEFFREY MacDONALD c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When Marilyn Lorenz of Alma, Mich., talks about living out her Catholic faith in daily life, she starts by describing what’s inside her refrigerator. The produce is grown on nearby farms, and the milk is organic and hormone-free. Meat comes from a local farmer who…

By David Finnigan c. 2008 Religion News Service ST. PAUL, Minn. — At 67 million strong and packed into must-win states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida, U.S. Catholics are the ultimate electoral prize for any candidate seeking the White House. Since 1976, winning the Catholic vote has meant winning the Oval Office — except for…

Chicago Tribune Daniel Darling thinks George W. Bush is doing a good job as president, and that means roughly 70 percent of Americans think Darling is a nut. He is not. What he is, perhaps not surprisingly, is the pastor of an evangelical church in the far north suburbs. He is a man of faith–the…

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Scranton native Sen. Joe Biden would likely feel at home any day of the week in Northeast Pennsylvania. Well, any day except possibly Sunday. The Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino, bishop of Scranton, has strongly supported refusal of Holy Communion for politicians who campaign for or vote in favor of abortion…

By Jeff Diamant Religion News Service Newark, N.J. – Fasting from sunrise to sunset for 30 days, as Muslims begin doing early next week to mark the Islamic month of Ramadan, is never easy. But some years are harder than others. That’s because Islam’s lunar calendar guarantees that, over a 33-year cycle, Ramadan will occur…

By Chris Herlinger Religion News Service American houses of worship should commemorate Labor Day weekend not as the last hurrah of the summer but as a time to celebrate the “sacred link between faith, work and justice,” according to a national social justice advocate. “If a congregation was ever going to lift up labor issues,…

Associated Press Beijing – A major Buddhist monastery in Tibet reopened this week five months after being shut by authorities during anti-government riots that rocked the region’s capital, a staff member said Friday. The Drepung Monastery, on the outskirts of Lhasa, reopened to dozens of visitors earlier this week and has been “fairly busy” since,…

By Kristen Campbell Religion News Service Mobile, Ala. – When parishioners at All Saints Episcopal Church began distributing groceries to families in need a few years ago, they gave away about 100 boxes of food. Within the last year, the Rev. Jim Flowers said, they began stocking and giving out 175 boxes, and they still…

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