Media Watch World: Saudis to Deprogram Imams, Links of Best Articles of 2007, Thomas Jefferson, Islam, Kerry - Obama, Ten Big Cities and more...

If this works then other countries can also get inspiration from it.

Saudis to retrain 40,000 clerics

By Magdi Abdlehadi

Details of the plan were revealed in the influential Saudi newspaper Al- Sharq al-Awsat.

The plan is part of a wider programme launched by the Saudi monarch a few years ago to encourage moderation and tolerance in Saudi society.

The ministry of religious affairs and new centre for national dialogue will carry out the training, the paper said.


Thomas Jefferson, Islam and the State - Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im

As Jefferson wrote in 1802, "religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state."

Jefferson could have been paraphrasing chapter and verse of the Qur'an, like 6:94 and 164, 7:39, 17:15, 18:35, 19:95, 35:18, and many others which all emphatically confirm the individual personal responsibility of every Muslim for what she or he does or fail to do. All founding scholars of Islam agree that no act has any religious value unless done freely and without any coercion.

Here you will find the links to the best articles of 2007 by Dipayan Gupta in many categories from essays, investigative journalism, short stories, reporting, profiles, features, columns, criticism etc.


Kerry: Obama Can Bridge Divide With Islam

Speaking of the race speech from Tuesday, Obama supporter John Kerry said the color of Obama's skin makes him uniquely qualified for president and even reach out to the moderate Islam world. During an interview with the New Bedford Standard Times, portions of which were posted on YouTube, John Kerry says bluntly that Barack Obama has the potential to "bridge the divide in religious extremism" because he is black....


Fox News Dirty Tricks

In what must be the most despicable, unprofessional news article that I have ever read on Faux News... The front page of FoxNews.com shows an article titled "Obama Gets 'Panther' Ok". They point to a public profile set up by somebody claiming to be a member of the New Black Panther Party who supports Barack Obama.

Here's the problem- anybody can set up a profile and blog on the my.barackobama.com section of the website claiming support of Obama. There is no way to tell if this came from the 'black panther party', and even if it did, Obama's campaign has absolutely nothing to do with it, no control of it, and no knowledge of it when it is posted.

Oscar-Winning Actor Paul Scofield Dies Audrey Woods

LONDON — Paul Scofield, a commanding stage and screen actor indelibly stamped on filmgoers' minds as the doomed philosopher-statesman Sir Thomas More in "A Man For All Seasons," has died at age 86.

Agent Rosalind Chatto said Thursday that Scofield died in a hospital near his home in southern England. He had been suffering from leukemia and died Wednesday.

Scofield won an Academy Award and international fame for the 1966 film "A Man For All Seasons," in which he played the Tudor statesman and author of "Utopia" executed for treason in 1535 after clashing with King Henry VIII.

The 10 Biggest Cities Of 2025 Tom Van Riper,

Asia and Latin America, each cluttered with rural workers looking for better jobs and housing in the city, are slated to have nine of the world's 10 most populous cities by 2025. Among them: Mumbai, Calcutta and Delhi in India, Karachi in Pakistan and Shanghai, China. Latin American cities on the list include Mexico City and San Paulo, Brazil.

New York and Tokyo are the only traditional power cities expected to remain on the mega cities list in 17 years. More...

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