1. Hindu-Muslim Family's Choice of Cremation Arouses Anger
2. Lord Bhairava Sculpture Unearthed Near Palani
3. ADB Loan to Revive Khadi Industry
4. French Muslims Turning to Catholic Schools
5. Daily Inspiration

1. Hindu-Muslim Family's Choice of Cremation Arouses Anger

www.nytimes.com

NEW YORK, USA, October 4, 2008: A decision of parents to cremate their deceased son has sparked religious turmoil.

Shafayet Reja, the son of a a Muslim father and a mother who was raised Hindu, died September 10 in a car accident; and his parents decided to follow the Hindu tradition of cremation rather than burying the body in a shroud as Islam prescribes.

The couple, Mina and Farhad Reja, say that some Muslims are now trying to intimidate them because of their choice--that they were accosted at their son's funeral and have received a bomb threat as well as threats to boycott their business.

The men named in the Rejas' police complaint say that they made no threats and deny that they have called for a boycott. They say they and others simply expressed their concern about what they see as a deep violation of their religion and of the wishes of the son, who, according to some of his college friends, had recently chosen Islam as his sole religion.

The Police Departments hate crimes unit is investigating whether the threats took place, whether they would constitute aggravated harassment, and whether they qualify as bias crimes, which carry tougher penalties. No charges have been filed.

The cremation dispute goes to the heart of a debate among Muslims in America about what makes someone a Muslim to some of the critics, the fact that Shafayet Reja prayed, attended mosques and listed Islam as his religion on Facebook is enough and how to reconcile this country's freedom of religion with what some Muslims see as a communal obligation to uphold religious observance. But to the family, the dispute is a frightening imposition that they say violates their civil rights. We have freedom of religion, and we have the Constitution, said the Rejas son Mishal, 19. And Mrs. Reja said, This is America. This is a family decision.

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2. Lord Bhairava Sculpture Unearthed Near Palani

www.hinduonnet.com

MADURAI, INDIA, October 5, 2008: A seventh-century sculpture of Lord Bhairava, 125 cm tall and 52 cm broad, has been unearthed from the Pachaiyaru river bed at Azhagapuri near Palani in the district, officials said.

Narayanamurthy, the archaeological expert who unearthed the granite stone sculpture of the Lord, said that a Shiva temple once stood where the river now runs, but it has been either washed away or partly submerged by floods and sand over the years. An elephant chain has also been recovered from the spot, he said.

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3. ADB Loan to Revive Khadi Industry

www.hindu.com

NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 4, 2008: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is lending $150 million to India to help revitalize the khadi industry, which has suffered from poor production and marketing techniques. A $2 million grant will also be provided by the Japan Special Fund to support the implementation and monitor the progress of the loan-funded reform package.

Increased production of the widely-revered handspun and handwoven cloth is expected to bolster employment opportunities in India, particularly in the rural areas which account for 73 per cent of the country's poor. The 11th Plan document has laid great stress on khadi production, mainly due to its employment prospects for women and minorities.

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4. French Muslims Turning to Catholic Schools

www.nytimes.com

MARSEILLE, FRANCE, September 29, 2008 At St. Mauront Catholic School, 80 percent of the students are Muslim. "There is respect for our religion here," one girl explains. "In the public school, I would not be allowed to wear a veil."

France has only four Muslim schools, and some of the country's 8,847 Roman Catholic schools have become refuges for Muslims seeking high academic standards and a spiritual environment in which good manners are also valued.

Educators estimate that Muslim students now make up more than 10 percent of the two million students in Catholic schools. In ethnically mixed neighborhoods in Marseille and the industrial north, the proportion can be more than half. The quiet migration of Muslims to private Catholic schools highlights how hard it has become for state schools, long Frances tool for integration, to keep their promise of equal opportunity.

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5. Daily Inspiration

www.hinduismtoday.com

At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation is the ancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together into a single family.
   British historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889-1975)

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