Summary: When the Dalai Lama comes to New York this week, he will be flooded by an onslaught of Buddhists and spiritual seekers. His popularity, and the interest in Buddhism, has grown exponentially since the 1960′s through an overwhelmingly liberal excitement over non violence and spiritual exploration. But the Dalai Lama is in many ways Read more
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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Summary: Senator Obama’s announcement to expand President Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative returns attention to a heated public debate about the role of religion in government. Negative reactions from the left and the right demonstrate that a liberal candidate engaging religion will not ease the polarized positions between secular liberals and the religious right. With this ever Read more
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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Summary: As we should know by now, domestic violence is a crime that afflicts all communities, be them rich or poor, black or white, and regardless of their faith background. Still, the Muslim community in America suffers disproportionately. Or so many Muslims in New York believe. If a Jew or Christian commits domestic violence, will Read more
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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Summary: The last day of 2008 was a bad day for interfaith relations in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had his annual Prayer Breakfast at the New York Public Library, where several hundred religious leaders gathered. As usual there were prayers offered from many faiths. The Hindus were miffed, because a Sikh got their Read more
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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Summary: What does it take to get a secular Israeli Harvard Mathematician who has never engaged in public politics to jump full force into the current election in his country, and create a grassroots campaign amongst academics? The answer is simple: it is prospects of a government shared by Avigdor Lieberman, leader of ultra nationalist Read more
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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Summary: The choice of Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation, and the drama surrounding it, was President-elect Barack Obama’s latest carefully planned move to prove that he is not a far out liberal, but instead mainstream. Obama is good at the art of compromise, but also at improvisation. The liberal outcry that followed, and Read more
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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Summary: A Canadian judge recently ruled that a Toronto Muslim woman must take off her face veil while giving testimony in a sexual assault trial. This tension between public space and private religion comes up repeatedly in western urban centers where Muslim women increasingly occupy the pubic square. Reuters Blogs Author: Sarah Sayeed and Matthew Read more
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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Summary: Obama gets a “B” for his first interfaith outing. Not bad for a beginner, so let’s give him an “A” for effort. The Huffington Post Author: Matthew Weiner Staff: Matthew Weiner Article Date: Article Name: Obama’s Interfaith Score Card
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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Summary: When liberal religious groups work together, it is assured that they agree on one thing: proselytizing is against the rules. The history of Christian evangelism has led to extreme sensitivity on this issue, especially amongst Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus. A Buddhist monk, who is also a parliamentarian in the Sri Lankan government, even introduced Read more
June 1, 2011 in Articles and Appearances by ICNY staff by Matt Weiner
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