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Rabbi David Saperstein on democracy, diplomacy and hopes for bipartisanship
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Given his decades-long experience in interfaith relations, religious freedom, and faith and politics, Rabbi David Saperstein is often sought out for speeches and advice. In the wake...
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751 years after his death, Rumi’s influence crosses continental and religious...
KONYA, Turkey (RNS) — “Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair.” These words, belonging to the 12th-century poet and...
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Faith leaders who died in 2024: Pastors and pioneers, authors and theologians
(RNS) — Religious leaders known for speaking, writing and, sometimes, scandals were among those whose deaths were noted in 2024. Across faiths and across the globe, prominent individuals whose legacies...
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The top 10 religion stories of 2024: What’s old is news again
(RNS) — The year’s news in religion was dominated by a war already in progress on Jan. 1 between Hamas and Israel. Though not at root a religious war, as the months went by the conflict supercharged...
View Article‘A shining example’: Religious leaders praise the late former President Jimmy...
WASHINGTON (RNS) — A broad array of religious and political leaders across the country issued outpourings of support for former President Jimmy Carter following news of his death, heaping praise on the...
View ArticleNew Orleans’ attacker deserves to be understood like any Christian mass killer
(RNS) — New Orleans is my beloved hometown. It is a city that has endured devastation and rebuilt itself not just with bricks and mortar, but with the strength of its people and the resilience of its...
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At Capitol service, dignitaries laud late Jimmy Carter as a ‘good and...
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Scores of lawmakers and other dignitaries huddled together in the U.S. Capitol rotunda on Tuesday evening (Jan. 7) for a memorial service honoring Jimmy Carter, heaping praise on the...
View ArticleMultiple faith groups file amicus brief against Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law
(RNS) — The National Council of Jewish Women and 19 other organizations, representing Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, filed an amicus brief Monday (Jan. 6) opposing a Louisiana law that would require the...
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California congregations vow to help neighbors even as their buildings are...
(RNS) — Like many of their neighbors, leaders of the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center watched in horror this week as wildfires destroyed homes, businesses and entire neighborhoods in Southern...
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American Hindus, including two congressmen, raise alarm on Bangladesh violence
(RNS) — In the last weeks of 2024, several digital billboards paid for by the newly emerged United Hindu Council popped up around California’s Bay Area. “Hindus, Buddhists, Christians living in fear in...
View ArticleDebunking Elon Musk’s claims of ‘Muslim grooming gangs’
(RNS) — Elon Musk claims to be a defender of free speech and truth, a man unafraid to challenge prevailing narratives. Yet, when I and multiple other Muslims publicly invited him to an honest...
View ArticleCalifornia fires have destroyed at least a dozen houses of worship
(RNS) — Last Friday (Jan. 3), Najeeba Syeed attended Jummah prayers at the Masjid Al-Taqwa, a congregation she’d prayed for years at while living in Southern California. Less than a week later, Syeed,...
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At Trump’s inauguration, religious allies and new faces to offer prayers
WASHINGTON (RNS) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected a slate of religious leaders to pray at his inauguration next week, although changes to planned worship services at the Washington National...
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In Newark, Catholic bishops host interfaith leaders to oppose mass deportation
(RNS) — Back in November, just a week after Donald Trump was elected to a second term as U.S. president, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, chair of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ committee on migration,...
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In New York, faith organizations brace for Trump’s immigration crackdown
(RNS) — On Thursday (Jan. 16), Union Theological Seminary will host a “Know Your Rights, Find Your Voice” interfaith event that will convene faith leaders, immigration advocates and legal experts....
View ArticleNetanyahu says ‘last-minute crisis’ with Hamas holding up approval of Gaza...
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited ceasefire that would pause the fighting...
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My Gen Z daughter and her Altadena and Pasadena classmates are showing us the...
(RNS) — This column is a love letter to the children of Pasadena and Altadena. I often write about religion and interfaith cooperation in disaster and conflict. This week, as I write this column in...
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Under Biden, faith-based office bookended by COVID-19, war in Gaza
(RNS) — Among the achievements of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships during the Biden presidency, the fourth administration to have featured such an office, is its work...
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‘Cautiously optimistic,’ Palestinian Americans hold their breath at news of...
(RNS) — When Terry Ahwal, a Palestinian American living near Detroit, Michigan, learned Israel and Hamas had reached a ceasefire deal, a flood of emotions washed over her. She felt relieved that the...
View ArticleHope amid caution: Reflections on Gaza’s ceasefire
(RNS) — As the long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza begins, it is met with cautious hope. Families who have endured unspeakable suffering are daring to dream of a reprieve, yet they remain naturally...
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