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In a proclamation designating May 5 as a National Day of Prayer, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the United States was “founded on the idea of religious freedom” and that the U.S. “will continue to stand up for those around the world who are subject to fear or violence because of their religion or beliefs.” […] “As a Nation free to practice our faith as we choose, we must remember those around the world who are not afforded this freedom, and we must recommit to building a society where all can enjoy this liberty and live their lives in...

In the southeastern Chinese city of Quanzhou, a well-known Buddhist monk named Fu Hou has been mummified and encased in gold leaf. According to The Associated Press, it's "a practice reserved for holy men in some areas with strong Buddhist traditions" and was done to honor Fu Hou's dedication to the religion. Li Ren, the Chongfu Temple's abbot, said that after the 94-year-old's death in 2012, "the monk's body was washed, treated by two mummification experts, and sealed inside a large pottery jar in a sitting position," according to the wire service. Video published by The Daily Telegraph showed the...

For the safety of worshipers and visitors to the Grand Mosque in Makkah and to facilitate carrying out the rites, the Holy Ka’bah will be washed once a year on Muharram 15 due to the ongoing projects and expansion works. Royal approval has been issued in this regard, SPA reported Wednesday quoting Ahmed Al-Mansouri, spokesman of the presidency for the affairs of the two holy mosques as saying.

Janet Jackson is pregnant, according to a new report. The singer, who will turn 50 on May 16, is said to be expecting her first child with Qatari billionaire husband Wissam Al Mana, Entertainment Tonight reported Wednesday. Early last month, Jackson postponed her “Unbreakable” tour, citing “doctor’s orders.” “We’re in the second leg of the tour, and there actually has been a sudden change … My husband and I are planning our family, so I’m going to have to delay the tour,” she said in a video clip. “Please, if you can, try to understand that it’s important that I...

Son’s bid to marry was rejectedA Saudi father who accompanied his son for a planned marriage, himself married after the son’s plan bogged down, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. The father went with his son to the would-be bride’s home but the girl’s mother rejected the proposal on the grounds she wants her elder daughter to marry first. “The son was mad and stormed out of that house. His father stayed behind and asked to marry the elder daughter. Her mother quickly agreed,” Sada newspaper said in a report from the Southern Saudi province of Jazan.

Shortly after being served with a fraudulent lawsuit alleging religious discrimination, the Urth Caffe in Laguna Beach retained the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) to respond to the litigation. David Yerushalmi, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, issued the following statement: “This lawsuit is a fraud and a hoax on the courts and the media. Beware.” Yerushalmi went on to explain: “The Urth Caffe did not discriminate against the women who have filed this fraudulent lawsuit. The claim that these women were asked to leave the café because they were wearing hijabs is laughable. That night, as every Friday night, a...

Today is the first anniversary of the Islamic State’s first attack in the homeland. Just a couple of short months later, in response to the Chattanooga jihadi who slaughtered four Marines, one Navy officer said: “The War Has Just Begun. More to Come.” He was right. Yet one year after jihadis attacked our Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest in defense of free speech, the West is in full surrender mode. We went into the event with our eyes open. We knew the risks. But we knew the risks were greater, for our children and our children’s children, if we...

“I implore every member of the Body of Christ to vote according to the word of God. And vote for the candidate that stands for the word of God and the Constitution of the United States of America… The alternative could be the destruction of America.”

Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman unexpectedly sparked controversy in Turkey when on April 25 he declared that Turkey’s new constitution should forgo mention of “secularism” and instead be a “religious constitution” referencing God. His words reignited Turkey’s always tense “secularism debate,” which has been amplified since 2002 when the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power. Kahraman's remarks led to protests in a number of cities, a call by the main opposition leader for him to resign and allegations by secular pundits that the Speaker had shown the AKP’s “true face,” its “real intentions.” Because Kahraman is a known confidant...

Thousands of Orthodox Christians are flocking to a church in southwest Chicago to witness what they believe is a miracle.According to the Chicago Tribune, tiny drops of sweet-smelling oil have been trickling down an icon of John the Baptist at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Homer Glen. The parishioners believe the droplets have healing properties.Parish priest Rev Sotirios Dimitriou – known as Father Sam – said: "The first thing out of my mouth was 'What do I do?' You don't expect anything like this. It's breathtaking. It's so powerful to see such an act of God before your eyes." The...

Youtube: Easter at Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Putin and Medvedev in attendance Orthodox service at the magnificent new Moscow cathedral.

The Rev. Daniel Berrigan, a Roman Catholic priest and peace activist who was imprisoned for burning draft files in a protest against the Vietnam War, died Saturday. He was 94. Berrigan died at Murray-Weigel Hall, a Jesuit health care community in New York City after a "long illness," according to Michael Benigno, a spokesman for the Jesuits USA Northeast Province. "He died peacefully," Benigno said.

IN the past, traditions and customs were such that mothers used to be blamed if their daughters went astray and engaged in unethical practices. Viewed as the protectors of their daughters, mothers were expected to take care of and raise them to be good citizens. However, such views have changed today and mothers are no longer blamed for the mistakes of their daughters. Al-Riyadh daily reports on the way modern society views the mother-daughter relationship. Dr. Salih Al-Aqeel, a criminology and sociology expert, said it was unfair for society to blame mothers for the mistakes of their daughters. “In the...

Army Corps of Engineers working with native American tribes to coordinate burial A local tribe, the Umatilla, had claimed the Kennewick Man as an ancestor; the Native American group wanted to lay the skeleton to rest according to custom.

The wine-swilling co-founder of Sai Wai Xiang Halal Foodstuff Co enjoys his pork and does not follow Islam, but still sells more than $50 million-worth of food to Muslims across Asia and the Middle East. The company is at the forefront of a Chinese drive into the global halal food and beverage market, exporting as far away as Saudi Arabia. Businessman Deng Zhijun bills his wares as “products with Muslim ethnic flavour”, but has difficulty recalling some of Islam’s basic dietary tenets. “Muslims definitely don’t smoke and don’t drink alcohol,” he said over a lunch at the company, in a...

The Babylon Bee | Your Trusted Source For Christian News Satire. Home Celebs CelebsMinistriesU.S. The Power Of Positive Declarations: Joel Osteen Can Now Fly February 28, 2016 HOUSTON, TX—Joel Osteen, celebrity senior pastor of Lakewood Church, has been proclaiming the life-changing power of regular, vocal, positive declarations and self-affirmations for years, and for just as long has pointed to his own life and accomplishments as irrefutable evidence of their efficacy. “My primary residence has more elevators than your house has bathrooms,” he told churchgoers in a recent sermon. “And do you know why? It’s because I declared it would happen....

CS Lewis was baptised at St Mark's Church off the Holywood Road in east Belfast and attended it as a child. The old rectory beside it would also have been familiar territory to the author as it was once home to his grandfather, the Rev Thomas Hamilton, who was the first rector at St Mark's. A distinctive lion's head-shaped door knob on the rectory is even believed to have inspired the key character of Aslan ...

Madeleine Sherwood performed Tennessee Williams dramas on stage and screen, and worked with legendary film director Elia Kazan. Her Broadway roles included The Crucible, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Camelot — roles that any actor would envy. However, the Quebec native is perhaps best known for running a convent of nuns in Puerto Rico on television. For three seasons, Sherwood portrayed Reverend Mother Superior Placido on The Flying Nun, the charming, quirky 1960s sitcom that sent Sally Field soaring to a new level of stardom. As reported in The Hollywood Reporter, Sherwood has died at the age of...

Islamisation is banned by the constitution in HungaryApril 25, 2016 7:27 PM At a ceremony on the fifth anniversary of the promulgation of the Fundamental Law, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Islamisation is banned by the constitution in Hungary. The Hungarian government cannot support any mass migration movements which could lead to results conflicting with the National Avowal contained within the Fundamental Law. “Neither the legislature nor the government of the day may pursue such a policy within constitutional boundaries”, he said. He said that in drafting the “Schengen 2.0” action plan, the Hungarian government is fulfilling its constitutional...

It should ensure successful mixed marriages with Arabic-speaking kids The Marriage Fund which was created by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan more than two decades ago to finance local marriages must not be a mere “cashier” as it should work to ensure successful mixed marriages. The remarks by a member of the Federal National Council (FNC), the country’s parliament, coincided with figures showing more than a quarter of the marriages over the past two years were between Emirati men and foreign women. In Abu Dhabi, marriages totalled 3,034 during that period, including 874 mixed-marriages. Marriages totalled...