WELCOME TO WORLD'S FIRST BLOGSPHERE CREATED WITH THE OBJECT OF DISSEMINATING INFORMATION IN THE AREA THAT IS CALLED: MULTIFAITH. AND, AS A DOMAIN MULTIFAITH ENCOMPASSES FAITHS, BELIEFS, RELIGIONS, SPIRITUALITIES, CULTS, CULTURES, RACES, REGIONS, MEDITATION, MYSTICISM, ETC. [images © religionfacts.com]
Loading...
|
Vox populi: "In building bridges across communites, this site supports the efforts of Beliefnet.com and religioustolerance.org." Says Seeker of Truth (Reviews & Testimonials) @ xomreviews.com
 The Blog Content Map is helpful organizing diverse material/content. Codakiz
Browse By Label: Blog Content Map  Blogging Books Business--Religious aspects Diversity  You are here Cyber Worship Faith and the Media Golden Rule Holidays and holy days Inner-Net Interfaith Dialog Knowledge Management Libraries and Librarians Multicultural People Prayers Religious accommodation Seekers Spiritual Audit Symbols Theology Tolerance Web analytics Women |
By Bob Allen, Thursday, January 21, 2010, Associated Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- A Baptist leader is calling on President Obama to conduct a formal investigation into revelations that a United States military contractor stamped references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights used, unknowingly, by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Welton Gaddy, president of the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance, said the episode "is only the latest in a long line of violations of the boundaries between religion and government within the military." He urged Obama to develop guidelines that "ensure that religion no longer plays an inappropriate role in our armed forces."continue reading
"IDOL worship? or IDLE worship? or IDEAL worship?" quotes Inbarajan S, based on emails circulating from a yahoo.group discussion board."Doll or Idol or Ideal... Which Worship?" Asks another
"Would you like your GOD's bulldozed like garbage...blogger.
and treated like this...
Maimed? Desecrated? And you create a hue and cry when some statue in the city gets desecrated?
We just got to Think, Decide & Act......... But it would be great if you can do it to avoid real desecration.Respect Religion, Spirtuality not by celeberating it in a desecrated manner."
Joanna writes: Scripture candy and Bible bonbons - were these what King Soloman was talking about when he wrote
"Fraudulent food is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel" - Proverbs 20 v 17? Decide for yourselves with our list of the top ten religious treats available.
These soft peppermint puffs allow you to learn a verse while sucking on a mint.Extract: The seven foods of Deuteronomy, Wheat, Barley, Raisins, Honey, Figs, Pomegranates, Olive Oil, are packed into this Bible Bar providing "nutrition God's way".
Faith Central - Times Online - WBLG: continue
See also on the same shelf:
See also: Hamerkaz >> Common Prayers and Blessings:And Buddhists too:
Berakhot: Blessings
A berakhah (blessing) is a special kind of prayer that is very common in Judaism. Berakhot are recited both as part of the they all start with the word barukh (blessed or praised).
The words barukh and berakhah are both derived from the Hebrew root Bet-Resh-Kaf, meaning "knee," and refer to the practice of showing respect by bending the knee and bowing. See animation at right. There are several places in Jewish liturgy where this gesture is performed, most of them at a time when a berakhah is being recited.
Geoffrey Rowell , Times Online
Extract: "...Christians have not always kept new year on January 1 -that was the Roman new year, and the Church was often very suspicious of it. Only in 1582 did Pope Gregory XIII's reform of the calendar mean that January 1 was generally adopted.
Jews kept the new year at the Feast of the New Moon at the end of September.
England began the new year with the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25, and adopted January 1 only in 1752. Germany began with Christmas, and France and the Low Countries with Easter. The Orthodox East keeps New Year's Day on September 1. " continue reading
What You Need to Know as a Sikh Air Traveler
click here
Download the Sikh Air Travelers Guide and Bill of Rights [English version] [Punjabi version]
We Need to Know Whether the New Policy is Working!
Click Here To Document Your Air Travel Experience Good or Bad
See also:
BJP wants de-recognition of Champaner Word Heritage Site
Submitted by kashif on Tue, 10/23/2007 - 14:21.Saffron brigade’s bid to de-recognise a unique world heritage site representing pluralistic traditions
By Rupa Abdi,It is unfortunate how all
fundamentalists, both Hindu and Muslim, share a general dislike for all that is good and beautiful in this world. First it was the turn of the Taliban to tear down the beautiful sculptures of Lord Buddha at Bamiyan in Afghanistan and now it is the turn of the Saffron brigade in Gujarat to try and de-recognise the unique Champaner-Pavagadh UNESCO heritage site – a 27sq km archeological park which represents pluralistic culture and traditions in a communally divided Gujarat. Its derecognition would mean that it will no longer be protected from vandalism, wear and tear and encroachment, ultimately resulting in its destruction. Read more
Most people avoid the number 13 like the plague, considering it to be unlucky. But one man in Kerala is trying to change that.
Anglo-Indian legislator Simon Britto has requested the Assembly Speaker to allot him room 13 at the Legislature Hostel. Britto, a victim of campus violence and confined to a wheelchair, hasn’t had much luck in life but cannot tolerate the superstition around the number.
Interestingly, Britto was allotted room 12B at the hostel. The room should have normally been numbered 13 but was numbered 12B instead and the previous room 12A. “I am a Marxist and an atheist. I am not superstitious and scared of the number 13. It is unbecoming of a legislator to succumb to such baseless fears,” he said.
As in many other countries, buildings in India rarely have a 13th floor, hotels a room 13 or aeroplanes a 13th row. “See, someone has to take an initiative to bust this myth. Now I feel it is the lucky number,” says Britto.
The fear of 13 — called triskaidekaphobia — is not just confined to the lawmakers’ chambers. A year ago, when the new Left ministry assumed office, the housekeeping wing of the tourism department was reluctant to allot an official car bearing the board ‘Kerala State 13’. Finally, state education minister MA Baby came forward to accept it.
Even the courts have fallen victim to this fear. The Kerala High Court did not have a judge’s chamber with the number 13. The Supreme Court intervened and declared that there should be no room for superstition in the judiciary. In reaction, the judges’ chambers (24 of them) were renumbered chamber 1 A to D and so on, so the number 13 could still be avoided. Old-timers say the court once had a chamber 13 till 1990 but many occupants died in harness. It still does not have a court 13.
PUNCHLINE: Above pitures are in the news depicting prayers for 'success of the Cricket Team member (s)'
"We have all attended athletic game at which a member of the clergy or even a layperson led the assembled fans in a prayer for their community's team to win the game. Should God be expected to confer to each side its desired response of victory? Or should we be praying in a different way, or perhaps not at all? It seems to me that the only legitimate prayer that might be uttered before a game is not for victory, but for health and safety of the players, especially since the possibility of physical harm and injury is inherent in the very nature of the game. I never heard any one lead a stadium full of fans in such a prayer. Nor am I aware that fans or relative of players have ever requested such prayer. Yet, ironically I suspect that if a player were seriously injured, his parents and friends would pray fiercely for his recovery."(Rabbi Balfour Brickner, in Finding God in the Garden: Backyard Reflections on Life, Love, and Compost 2002 p. 57)
Related posts from my blog:
n Swastika - Swastika - The Symbol of the BuddhaFaith has done what politics failed in Azamchanditala, an epitome of secularism. At a time when Hindus and Muslims are fighting over their places of worship, Azamchanditala in North 24 Parganas is a welcome exception. Here people of both communities offer prayers at the same place. Three trees--a fig, date and banyan--have grown from a single point and thousands of devotees from both communities have been thronging it for decades to offer prayers to the trees by tying threads with a piece of earth to the branches. The first day of the Hindu month of 'Magha'(mid-January-mid February), has been observed here as an auspicious day and people celebrate it with an annual fair.
''It is beleived that if one ties threads on these branches then all their desires are fulfiled,'' a devotee said. ''Many believe that the place is the abode of both 'Azam'(Allah) and Goddess Chandi,''
Khardah-based doctor K K Biswas, who had been visiting Azamchanditala temple ith his wife for years, said. According to folklore a Hindu king and a Muslim nawab had halted at this spot while travelling in their mercantile ships along the Sonai river, that flowed through this place a few centuries ago, after goddess Chandi ordered them in their dreams to offer pujas. Since then the spot was named 'Azamchanditala', a point of assembly for Hindus and Muslims, a local, Letu Thakur said. ''We do puja and say our namaz together. There is no ill feeling. We are one religion here,'' declared Md Sheikh, who had come from Kolkata for his 'mannat'. He further added, ''there are no priests here, the devotees perform their pujas themselves by offering water and milk at the base of the trees.'' A saint meditating on the premises said, ''I don't know about he pujas but at least the trees are being fed everyday.'' A fair is also held here each year with people of both the religions participating with full enthusiasm. ''It is the only common fair of both Hindus and Muslims. It binds us together. We are one here,'' said an enthusiastic Abdul Rahim. ''We pray, eat, celebrate, dance and enjoy together,'' Subir Das, a businessman who comes here every year with other traders for a brisk business in the fair, said.
Thank you to all of our participants who joined us during this unforgettable event. The goal was to bring together the various religions of the world, in an ecumenical spirit, to address the many issues facing the globe today, in the hope that it would help all of us become better human beings. That goal was reached.
Over 2025 individuals from 84 countries around the world attended the World’s Religions after September 11 Congress. A total of 225 speakers assisted in over 8 Workshops, 18 Plenary presentations, 47 Panels and 236 Individual presentations over the course of the 5 day congress. Additional highlights included the morning observances, the unique cultural evenings and the daily Youth and Religion workshops that drew in over 200 youth participants. Continue reading about the congress, and words from the President of the Congress, Prof. Arvind Sharma
Rant of the day
Praying, and feeding children, would rank pretty high on most people's list of inoffensive and even wholesome activities. There are plenty of larger issues embedded in these two outrageous stories -- about racism and religious intolerance in the war on terror, misogyny and puritanism, disregard for basic individual freedoms -- but I'd like to also point out that flying is an increasingly miserable experience for everyone. Read full article: Flying While Arab, Liza Featherstone, The Nation, BLOG | Posted 11/22/2006
We have a problem with women being dressed immodestly, and we don't believe in our children seeing that,' explained congregation member Mayer Feig. See also:
Hasidic Jews battle neighbourhood gym over revealing attire
Vancouver Sun (subscription), Canada - 8 Nov 2006
MONTREAL -- Tight and revealing workout wear angered Hasidic Jews whose Montreal synagogue is across the alley from a YMCA.
New Delhi, Nov 13. (PTI): Only 23 Parsi families are now residing in the National Capital while among the minorities, Muslims are the largest chunk who have chosen their abode here.
According to the Delhi Minorities Commission's annual report 2004-05, which has been tabled in the Delhi Assembly, there are only 23 Parsis families staying in the city.
As per the Census 2001, minorities constitute 17 per cent of the total population in Delhi with Muslims taking the lead having 11.7 per cent followed by Sikhs at 4 per cent and Christians at .9 per cent, says the Commission's report, which was presented on Saturday.
Number wise, there are 16,23,520 Muslims, 5,55,602 Sikhs and 13,03,19 Christians living in the National Capital, while the number of people hailing from the Buddhist community stand merely at 23,705.
Though Jain community constitutes just 1.1 per cent of the total population of the city, it is yet to be notified as a minority despite recommendations from the State Commission to the Delhi Government.
"The Jain community has made several representations to the Delhi Minorities Commission to recommend to Delhi Government to declare the community to be bracketed under minority community. The Commission recommend the Government to do so," says the report.
The Delhi Minorities Commission was set up by the Delhi Government in 2000 with an aim to look into the problems faced by the minorities in the city. [see also Jain minorities]
A part of a Buddhism sutra was found inside one of the two giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, providing a hint for unveiling the mystery surrounding the creation of the statues, a Japanese news agency reported on Sunday.
The fragment of the scripture was believed to be the original Sanskrit document, written with the letters often used in the sixth and seventh century, according to a Kyodo news dispatch from Kabul.
While there is by now a full comprehension of the disaster that is Iraq, there is still not enough understanding of the parallel bankruptcy of the greater war on terrorism and the political and media discourse that has accompanied it.
LONDON: British Sikhs have stepped up their attack on the UK's politically-correct policy of lumping Sikhs and Hindus with the omnibus tag 'Asian' instead of clearly identifying Muslims as the offenders when needed, just 48 hours after a Scottish Sikh teenager was viciously attacked by a white gang and forced to submit to having his long hair hacked off.
post updated 31 Oct., 2006
LONDON - The leader of the world's Anglicans yesterday waded into the debate over the Muslim veil, warning politicians not to interfere with people's right to wear visible symbols of their faith.
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said that to ban veils, turbans, crucifixes or other pieces of clothing would be "politically dangerous" and that the British government should not become a "licensing authority" for what people can wear.
The life and times of a 5th Century Cornish monk has sparked an unholy row over a manuscript in verse.
St Ke or Kea is reputed to have helped King Arthur solve a family dispute.
But a play about him written in medieval Cornish has sown discord between the National Library of Wales and the Cornish Language Board.
The library is still working on a translation of the verses kept in its vaults. But the board printed its own version, and says it is "selling well".
The copyright dispute centres on a previously unknown 16th Century manuscript bequeathed to the library in 2000 by the late Professor JE Caerwyn Williams, an expert in Celtic languages.
With Halloween nearly upon us, who better to answer reader questions than a real, live, 21st-century witch?
Meet Nicole Cooper, a Wiccan High Priestess who proudly embraces the name of witch.
Ms. Cooper practices her religion at the Wiccan Church of Canada and works at The Occult Shop in Toronto, so, as she says, "Magic is pretty much my life."
This is a passage from Andrew Sullivan's latest book "The Conservative Soul". It sums up for me nicely what I have come to believe. Letting go of self obsession is the only way to salvation. Full article
FREMONT, Calif. (AP) - An Afghanistan-born mother of six who was gunned down in California while wearing traditional Muslim dress was mourned Saturday during an interfaith service to unite local residents rattled by what some called a hate crime.
Women in Islamic head coverings sat near Christians and Jews during the memorial to honour Alia Ansari, 38, who was fatally shot Oct. 19 as she walked to pick her children up from school.
Church leaders hoped the service at Centerville Presbyterian church would bring together people of different faiths in Fremont, a San Francisco Bay-area suburb of 200,000 that is home to the largest Afghan community in the United States and a neighbourhood called "Little Kabul."
"Our commitment is to say: 'How can we be better neighbours in the midst of a changing community?"' said Rev. Greg Roth, the church's pastor.
Copenhagen --- A Danish court on Thursday acquitted the bosses of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper who had been sued by Muslim groups for printing 12 cartoons of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) in September last year.
The judge at Aarhus district court ruled the cartoons were neither offensive nor were they intended to denigrate Muslims, according to court papers.
"Even if the text accompanying the pictures could be read as being derogatory and mocking, the cartoons are not offensive," the court said.
Early in 1990, the BJP sought a court injunction to prevent the screening in India of a television serial entitled The Sword of Tipu Sultan. The serial was based on a novel written by Bhagwan S Gidwani. A case was made out that Tipu had not been secular as was generally believed and did not deserve to be an icon.
Once again, Tipu is in the news with Karnataka's Minister of Higher Education D H Shankaramurthy questioning Tipu's Kannada credentials, considering that he used Persian, and not Kannada as the language of administration. A fierce controversy has been raised. And the liberal, secular Hindu intellectuals have demanded the dismissal of Shankaramurthy, with the leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) H D Deve Gowda screaming that he would not allow the secularism of the JD (S) Karnataka government being polluted. full story
Read more hard-hitting columns
Karnataka MLC Prof B K Chandrashekar is reported to have said that Shankaramurthy need to know history. Indeed, everyone should, including Chandrashekar himself. One can recommend to him two excellent books, one written by Praxy Fernandes, a south Kanara Roman Catholic (and a former IAS officer, 1947 cadre) entitled The Tigers of Mysore and another written by Australian scholar Kate Brittlebank entitled Tipu Sultan's Search For Legitimacy, with the sub-title ‘Islam and Kingship in a Hindu Domain.’ Both are brilliantly researched and are as objective as one can expect. Both give high marks to Tipu for his religious tolerance, for his respect for all religions, for his reverence to the head of the Shringeri mutt, recounting how Tipu sent a silver palanquin and a pair of silver chauris to the Sarada temple.
This must be compared to reports in the Mysore Archaeological Survey quoted by Brittlebank that at least three Hindu temples within his realm had been destroyed by Tipu: the Harihareshwar temple at Harihar which was "apparently plundered and part of it converted into a mosque," the Varahswami temple in Seringapatam and the Odakaraya temple in Hospet "said to have been destroyed". Does that mean that Tipu was a Muslim fanatic? Hardly.
see also: Tipu Sultan Portal
Playing with Hitler is like playing with fire, and the owners of Hitler’s Cross should have known it.
The multi-cuisine restaurant-cum-coffee bar that last week threw its doors open in Kharghar in Navi Mumbai is in the centre of a controversy with the small Jewish population furious because it was promoted with posters of Hitler and Nazi swastikas.
No, Nuremburg noodles or Auschwitz soup or Mauser pizzas are not on the menu here or anything that could offend your sensibilities. But the Israeli mission in India today asked Mumbai authorities to change the restaurant’s name.
“We hope Indian authorities will ensure that Hitler being such a mass murderer does not get any rehabilitation,” Israel’s consul general in Mumbai, Daniel Zohar Zonshine, told Reuters.
“There is a limit to gimmick. In India, we believe, if something like this hurts the sentiments of a community, it can be treated as a criminal offence.”
Those who run the 1,000 sq ft restaurant have removed a poster of Hitler and the swastika pasted in the restaurant following the outrage from the Jews. But they are refusing to bend further and change its name.
“I have no sympathy for Adolf Hitler. The name was just chosen because it seemed so radically different from any other restaurant name. I don’t understand why no one has raised objections to at least a dozen such brand names,” 26-year-old managing director Punit Sabhlok said.
Furiously rattling off the names of kid’s fashion labels, liquor brands and tobacco products bearing Hitler’s name, Sabhlok said similar standards would have to be applied to everybody.
“I don’t wish to change the name of my restaurant, but if they insist, I would want them to change the names of all these other brands as well. Why only me?”
Shakeer Siddiqui, a managing partner of Hitler’s Cross which serves pizzas, salads, coffee, Indian grub and hookahs in the Indian-styled seating section, felt likewise.
“Hitler is just a German surname. I can understand if somebody’s sentiments are hurt if we say Adolf Hitler’s Cross or have a name which glorifies Hitler in any way. The swastika is also a holy Indian symbol.”
If nothing else, the sound and fury have generated good business at Hitler’s Cross. Today, hundreds poured into the restaurant, most of them students from nearby educational institutions. continue reading...
You are welcome to take the above icon (copy, download, save, share...) and feel free to display it in your blog, Website or on your own desktop.
| Name index: #Asghar Ali Engineer #Bruce B. Lawrence #Bruce Robinson #Christopher Helland #Debbie Herring #Douglas Cowan #JW Windland #Joseph Romain #Kevin J. Wright #Liz Chappel #Mike Ghouse #Paul McKenna # Rachel Barenblat #Rev Leslie Gabriel Mezei #Revd Marcus Braybrooke #Rev. William F. Fore #Rowan Fairgrove #Steven Waldman | About this Hall: This Multifaith Hall of Fame is based on two facets, viz., content and context: A primary purpose of this Virtual Hall is to serve as a mind-map of the Multifaith knowledgebase. This is planned, here, in two steps, viz., first, identifying the contributions of individuals & corporate, and, second, initiating the process of documentation of all that is involved in promoting tolerance and facilitating accommodation among the diverse religious and spiritual communities in a global village. Hence, this knowledgebase intends to include people, themes & concepts, fundamentals, sacred spaces, symbols, etc. |
Asghar Ali EngineerBruce B. LawrenceBruce RobinsonChristopher HellandDebbie HerringJW WindlandJoseph RomainKevin J. WrightLiz ChappelPaul McKenna
Rachel BarenblatRev Leslie Gabriel MezeiRevd Marcus BraybrookeRev. William F. Fore, Ph.D.,Rowan FairgroveSteven Waldman
See also, Halls of Fame: An International Directory, by David Blevins (McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2003) available at Amazon and BarnesandNoble
PS. Individual efforts are limited in many ways. In the selection of people, here, I have not been able to consider those whose (contributions are equally important, but their) work exists outside the sphere of cyberspace. I hope that some body (at a local, or global level) will visualize--in a physical space--such A Multifaith Hall of Fame. And, in that space, geographically map these contributions on the basis of quantitative or qualitative measures. I will be very happy to be associated with such a global mapping project. Interestingly, there is no shortage of tools and existing Web-based aggregation tools simply need people support. For instance, among the quantitative data gathering and mapping printed works is Eugene Garfield's HistCite. This helps in indexing and mapping the knowledge in any domain. Join hands and we can collectively build effective and efficient knowledgebase and the posterity would not have to build the bridges from scratch.
Blogs, Websites that link here
Of Sacred and Secular
Coexist Foundation
Big Blog Directory
A Techno-Theologian
FoundationforPluralism.com
The In Season Christian Librarian
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Faith Commons
Spirit And Sky Definitive Spiritual Directory
Successful Blog: SOB A-Z Directory
SOMA - The Society of Mutual Autopsy
All Things Spiritual Directory
Who links to me?
The Bestest Blog of All-Time
LS Blogs
Feedster on: "Multifaith Hall "
Web Links for Faith Communities
