Switzerland to Muslim Students: Shake Your Teacher’s Hand or Pay $5,000

25 May 2016 When two teenage Muslim students from Syria told their school in Switzerland that to shake their female teacher’s hand would violate their religious beliefs, administrators were sympathetic. So they made an exception: Unlike the school’s other students, who shake each teacher’s hand at the beginning and end of each class period, the…

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School Board Member Resigns Over Anti-Muslim Facebook Posts

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — A New Jersey school board member resigned Friday after backlash over posts she made on Facebook disparaging Muslims. Gladys Gryskiewicz resigned from the Elmwood Park school board, citing concerns about the safety of her family, The Record reported . Gryskiewicz posted on Facebook earlier this year that Muslims should stay “in…

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Lawyer: NYC hopes surveillance deal alters image of police

NEW YORK — A New York City lawyer said Wednesday that the city hoped to improve the image of its police department when it reached a deal with civil rights advocates to allow a civilian to serve on a committee of high-ranking police officials as they discuss investigations relating to surveillance of political activities. City…

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Michigan mosque takes in homeless Unitarian Church

(RNS) The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Lansing is getting a new church this spring — but not quite soon enough. Hearing of construction lags and its neighbor’s need for a temporary home, a mosque in East Lansing offered up its worship space — for free. “No charge whatsoever,” said the Rev. Kathryn Bert. “It’s…

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Olympic faithful: Ibtihaj Muhammad

Even as a kid, Ibtihaj Muhammad stood out. She was faster and stronger than her friends, and she was serious about her religion. Most of the sports she tried required physically revealing gear, in sharp contrast to the modesty her Muslim faith required. Then she discovered fencing. The sport let her express her athletic talent,…

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