Friday News Roundup: Islam All Over

Islam. In lots of different forms and with news both good and bad,  it was all over this week (although honestly, that’s not all that different from any other news week in the US). We’ve hit a point where even an article on how not to be discriminatory provokes accusations of discrimination. We’ve also got some activity around the ongoing faith-healing cases, especially in Oregon. See you after the jump…

So about Islam…

• We hear a lot about Sunni and Shi’a Islam but not much about Sufism, the religion’s mystical branch. As it turns out,  Sufis, along with Jews (and others) suffered heavy losses in the Madoff scandal. The Boston Globe reports.

• Ramadan started last week, a month of fasting, prayer and contemplation that culminates with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr. President Obama offered his good wishes, a workplace hopes that this year will be less fraught with tension and alleged discrimination than last year,  and some Muslims with cold symptoms are concerned that they’ll be barred from making the Hajj.

• Islamophobia is rearing its ugly head among some students.  FOX News reports that in Florida, “A handful of students were sent home from Florida schools this week after showing up in shirts proclaiming that “Islam is of the Devil,” part of a fiery church campaign to “expose” Islam as a religion of violence.”  The Baltimore Sun’s blog weighs in as well.

• Warning, subscription required here: DiversityInc magazine prides itself on providing useful tools to aid in workplace diversity and inclusion, including an ongoing series on what not to say to your Jewish/Hispanic/Female/Black/Pregnant/etc co-worker; recently they came out with the Islam edition.  Their attempt at promoting inclusivity had something of the opposite effect, dividing their readership.

Finally, Oregon is again in the eye of controversy over a faith-healing death, this time of a17-year-old boy who died at home after his appendix burst.  The Seattle Times reports on the story, while PZ Myers over at Pharyngula puts in his own $0.02 cents.

I hope the weather is better where you are than where I am! Until next Friday…