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From Monsters and Critics.com Religion News Muslim leader defends Christmas tree By UPI Dec 15, 2006, 20:05 GMT TORONTO, Canada (UPI) -- A Canadian Muslim leader, along with Ontario`s Premier and several religious groups, yesterday criticized a provincial judge`s decision to banish the Christmas tree in a Toronto courthouse lobby because it might offend non-Christians. 'It`s so stupid, I`m at a loss for words,' said Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, the National Post reported. 'The judge should take a trip to the rest of the world. Christmas is celebrated by Muslims in many countries -- they should...

Spanish school cancels Christmas Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:13 PM GMT14 MADRID (Reuters) - A school in traditionally Catholic Spain has cancelled Christmas celebrations so as not to offend children who are not Christians, ABC newspaper reported on Wednesday. The Hilarion Gimeno school in Zaragoza said teachers had put forward various reasons for not celebrating Christmas, but ABC said the worry was that Muslim children might be upset. The school will not put on a nativity play or hand out presents, but pupils will be free to decorate the halls and sing carols. "We are educators and we want our...

International Herald Tribune Rule on veils changed after woman kept off bus in Michigan city The Associated Press Friday, December 8, 2006 GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan After a woman passenger wearing traditional Islamic dress was turned away, the public bus system in this Michigan city said Friday it will end its rule keeping those with face coverings from boarding public transit vehicles. System administrators said the refusal in July was an isolated incident. A driver told the unidentified woman she would have to uncover her face to ride, but she was able to board another bus that same day. She reported...

HOLIDAY BLUES 'Christmas' is 'semantics' to Democrat Sen. Murray Spokeswoman insists this is time to celebrate 'the season' Posted: December 8, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern The omission by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., of the word "Christmas" when addressing those who watched this week's lighting of the 65-foot Pacific Silver Fir that this year is serving as the "Capitol Christmas Tree" apparently was no oversight. As WND exclusively reported, Murray rebuffed instructions given last year by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., that the national tree in front of the U.S. Capitol be referred to as the "Capitol Christmas Tree,"...

Atheists taking issue with Griswold tradition December 2, 2006, 2:33 PM EST GRISWOLD, Conn. -- The Christmas music begins emanating from a local church steeple about this time every year, ushering in the holiday season in this sleepy eastern Connecticut town. In a tradition that began more than a decade ago, songs such as "America the Beautiful" and "Away in a Manger" are played every hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. The music, in the form of chiming bells, flows from a large speaker hidden at the top of Jewett City Baptist Church. But the sounds of...

Islamic Influence Runs Deep in American Culture Cowboys, food, architecture, language carry Islamic markings By Phyllis McIntosh Washington File Special Correspondent Washington -- On the surface, it may seem like the United States and the Middle East are worlds apart, two separate cultures with little in common and no historical connections. In fact, there is considerable evidence to the contrary. Though little known, Islamic influence runs deep in American culture. A number of the words Americans speak, foods Americans eat, buildings Americans design, decorative items Americans create, and traditions Americans treasure can trace their roots to the Islamic world. In...