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Interfaith Alliance – Free Speech – Press Release
The Interfaith Alliance For Immediate Release September 26, 2006 Contact: William Blake, (202) 639-6370, ext. 113 (w), (202) 680-8765 (c) House Vote Reduces First Amendment to Second Class Status The Interfaith Alliance Denounces Bill to Limit Religious Freedom (Washington, D.C.) Today the House of Representatives scheduled a vote on H.R. 2679, the “Public Expression of Religion Act.” The bill would eliminate damages and awards of attorneys’ fees for individuals or groups in successful cases brought to ensure their constitutional rights under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This bill would limit long-standing remedies available under…
Hope in Mecca
This article in IHT provides some encouraging news about the open debates taking place in Mecca during Hajj: The two-hour presentation "Mecca: The Cultural Capital of Islam" was dry, but things got rolling in the question and answer session in a way quintessentially Meccan. One by one, audience members – a surprising number of them women – came to the microphone with questions that few others would dare ask publicly. .ism," asked one woman. . "Why do we look only into the past and not to the future," another woman demanded. . The session soon grew into a raucous series…
Weekend of Twinnings
I was recently asked to address the Sutton Place Synagogue as part of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding‘s Weekend of Twinnings. Below are my comments, as prepared, that I delivered on Nov. 22, 2008. I will post some questions and reflections in the next few days. —– Comments Offered on the Weekend of Twinnings at the Sutton Place Synagoge (as prepared, not as delivered) Shabbot Shalom Salaam Alaykum Ya Ali Madad In the Name of God the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful Thank you for opening your doors to me today and inviting me into your worship space. I hope…