Fourth Christian Church Torched in Malaysia

GO TO SOURCE SUBANG JAYA, MALAYSIA, November 5, 2001: The Christ Community Center Church here was destroyed by arson on October 27, according to a report from the Barnabas Fund. Police had been called out to the building in the early hours of Saturday morning after the burglar alarm went off. Finding nothing suspicious, they left. Three hours later, flames…

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Indian-Americans Plan Meet for 2005

GO TO SOURCE USA, November 3, 2001: Mihir Patel is working with a team of Indian people trying to get a national conference for Indians of all walks of life together in Washington D.C. or New York for the year 2005. Students, professional, parents, religious leaders and political leaders would have a chance to network and discuss different issues facing…

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Dalits Take Oath to Convert to Buddhism

GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 4, 2001: Twenty thousand Dalits assembled at the Ambedkar Bhawan in Delhi today and took a verbal oath converting to Buddhism. The Dalits, Hinduism’s lowest caste, were told they are Buddhists just by attending the rally and having wanted to convert to Buddhism. The ceremony was held despite being banned by the Delhi…

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Maharashtra Government Arrests VHP Leader Praveen Togadia

GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD, INDIA, November 1, 2001: Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s international general secretary, Dr. Pravin Togadia, was arrested by the Maharashtra government at Bhusaval town in Khandesh in the backdrop of communal riots in Malegaon and anti-national rhetoric of some Muslim groups in the country. Togadia was arrested on Wednesday morning when he arrived in Bhusaval to grace a…

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V.S. Naipaul on Islam

GO TO SOURCE TRINIDAD, November 1, 2001: When asked about whether he was surprised by Osama bin Laden’s support in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Iran, V.S. Naipaul, Nobel-prize winning author commented, “No, because these are the converted peoples of Islam, these are the people who are not Arabs. Part of the neurosis of the convert is that he always has…

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Banned Gujarat Cotton Enters Market

GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 1, 2001: More than half the genetically modified “bt cotton” grown illegally over thousands of acres in Gujarat is suspected to have entered the market. The company which sold the seeds to Gujarat farmers has also sold the same seed to farmers in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. If Indian farmers completely adopt…

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U.S. Army Fields Portable Worship Center

GO TO SOURCE USA, October 27, 2001: A little-known weapon in the U.S. Army’s arsenal is a mobile house of worship that could be called “The Stealth Sanctuary,” according to a report by smh.com of Australia. The “containerized chapel” can be dropped from a cargo plane and within six hours be transformed into a multi-denominational religious center serving Christians, Jews…

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Lego Halts Use of Some Names for Toys

GO TO SOURCE WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND, October 30, 2001: Danish toy maker Lego has agreed to halt production of a range of toys based on ethnic cultures after protests about its use of indigenous Maori names for some toys. Lego senior executive Brian Soerensen has just returned to Denmark after meeting Maori lawyers in Auckland where he acknowledged that Lego…

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Inner-City Students Get “Om Schooling” in Yoga

Source: Los Angeles Times CALIFORNIA, October 30, 2001: “We can be grateful we are here in such a safe place,” Hatha Yoga instructor Tara Guber says in a soothing tone. “We can be happy to be here together to stretch, let our bodies open and our minds be set free, so that perhaps when we leave our yoga class we…

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Court Won’t Review Virginia Silence Law

GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON DC, October 29, 2001: The US Supreme Court, confronting again the vexing issue of school prayer, rejected a challenge Monday to a state law requiring students to observe a daily minute of silence. The court did not comment in turning down an appeal from opponents who claim Virginia’s minute of silence is an unconstitutional government encouragement…

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