India's Muslim Spring, Plus Weekly faithwise roundup

New books:

• India's Muslim Spring: Why is Nobody Talking about It? by Hasan Suroor [review in The Hindu: Beyond Mullahs and Marxists]
• Pogrom in Gujarat: Hindu Nationalism and Anti-Muslim Violence in India by Parvis Ghassem-Fachandi
• Beyond Hindu and Muslim: Multiple Identity in Narratives from Village India by Peter Gottschalk 
• Paths to Peace: Religion, Ethics & Tolerance in a Globalizing World Dirk Collier [includes India, Pakistan, etc. ]
• Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation Christophe Jaffrelot  [Review in Dawn]
• The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India (Jackson School Publications in International Studies) Paul R. Brass
• Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India Ashutosh Varshney
• The Saffron Wave Thomas Blom Hansen

News roundup:

• Toronto to observe World Interfaith Harmony Week - Iqra.ca
• Ontario trustees remove video that public school advocates find offensive 
• Study dispels stereotypes about Ontario women who wear niqabs Niqab Ryan Remiorz, file,The Canadian Press A woman wears a niqab in September as she walks in Montreal. Guelph Mercury By Chris Herhalt
• News Conference - NCCM Announces Libel Notice against PM of Canada

  The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent Muslim civil liberties & advocacy organization, has initiated a Notice of Libel against the Prime Minister's Office for a "false, offensive and defamatory" statement made about NCCM by Jason MacDonald, the PMO's Director of Communications, in an interview with Sun News on January 16th.

• Tennessee waitress shocked after receiving $1075 tip from anonymous Christian family
• Culture Report: You’re Easy to Love, San Diego
• With Ten Commandments at Oklahoma state Capitol, Satanists propose their own public monument
• India, Supreme Court plans to revisit its 1995 Hindutva verdict  : Is seeking votes on religious grounds a corrupt practice?
• Muslims in the Indian Civil Service by Naseem A Zaidi EPW
• Jacobite Catholicos enters Thrikkunnathu seminary
• ‘I like to read about him (Modi)… I know he will become PM’ Jashodaben (claims to be Modi's wife.) finally speaks
• The Believer : Swami Aseemanand’s radical service to the Sangh, By LEENA GITA REGHUNATH, The Caravan
• Rothschild ‘Prayer Book’ sold for $13.6million In Auction
• Losing the Propaganda War, New York Times
• IS IT CRAZY TO PRAY FOR YOUR TEAM TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL?  Mike Ghouse
• Muslims don’t contribute to America? think again 
• Are Costa Ricans headed to the polls or the altars 
• Parents need to take role in religious education Parish and parents, not schools, should prepare children for sacraments, writes Carol Hunt
• Man punctured the balloon of UPA govt’s tall claims on minority welfare in the presence of Manmohan and Sonia
• Thinking Outside the Box on Catholic Religious Education – UPDATED 
• Turkey publishes Islamic Encyclopedia on the internet : Although the encyclopedia is in Turkish, as well as proving to be a vital source for Turkish-speaking theologians, the encyclopedia will also prove an important source for all academics seeking enlightenment on all matters related to Islam.