Quran verses ringtones "un-Islamic practice"
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Clerics at the Dar-ul Uloom seminary in the northern Indian town of Deoband issued an edict banning the use of Quranic verses or Muslim call to prayers as ringtones, saying doing so violates Islamic law.
Such ringtones are popular among Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state. They are most commonly used by people in their mid-40s and 50s, said Mukesh Sinha, a mobile phone company executive. Many consider the religious tunes a reminder of their faith.
"Whenever my phone rings, I hear these verses that stress the values of hard work and honesty, and I feel closer to my religion," said Faiz Siddaqui, a bank manager.
But seminary official Mohammed Asumin Qazmi said the ringtones use Quranic verses for entertainment.
"Anyone who persists in using these should be ostracized from society," Qazmi said Nov. 18 from Saharanpur, a city 280 miles northwest of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.
Mufti Badru-Hasan, a leading cleric in Lucknow, said he supported the ban.
"One should hear the complete verse of the Quran with a pious mind and in silence. If it is used as a ringtone, a person is bound to switch on the mobile, thus truncating the verse halfway," Badru-Hasan said. "This is an un-Islamic act."
Federal judge to rule in logo lawsuit
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A federal judge is expected to rule soon in the case of a Las Cruces man who's suing the public school district over its use of three crosses in its logo.
U.S. District Judge Robert Brack heard testimony and closing arguments and said Tuesday that he would issue a decision as soon as possible.
Paul Weinbaum filed the lawsuit in 2003, arguing that the school district's use of Christian crosses on its maintenance vehicles violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment by using public money to promote religion.
Representing himself, Weinbaum said in opening remarks that his fight was about the Constitution and not about religion.
"The only thing I ask the court is they be an advocate of the First Amendment," he said.
Weinbaum was his only witness. He testified that he and his school-aged daughter have felt harassed by the use of a logo that he claims is used to spread Christianity.
School district attorney William Rusty Babington pressed Weinbaum on whether he had any evidence that the purpose of maintenance vehicle logos is to promote religion and that their use is not secular. He acknowledged he only had his own observations to back up his claim.
John Hunner, a New Mexico State University history professor, researched the origin of the name Las Cruces - Spanish for "the crosses" - and the use of three crosses. He said the use of religious symbols on public vehicles would be out of line in another city, but was not unusual given the historical significance of the symbol for Las Cruces.
Weinbaum had filed a similar suit against the city of Las Cruces for its use of a logo that included Christian crosses. That case was thrown out when the judge said the crosses on the logo could be considered secular because their original purpose couldn't be established.
Retreat center at base of Tucson Mountains to return to operation
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A multi-faith spiritual retreat center that was damaged by a fire more than a year ago will fully reopen next month.
The fire occurred amid a $4.2 million renovation and expansion at the Redemptorist Renewal Center, at the base of the Tucson Mountains. Problems with electrical wiring caused the blaze in the main building of the campus. No one was hurt.
The 42-year-old center, run by the Roman Catholic Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, has more than doubled its capacity for overnight guests and has new features such as a swimming pool, an indoor-outdoor dining area and an expanded bookstore and library.
Before the renovation, the retreat hosted more than 7,500 visitors annually.
Its capacity fell after the October 2005 fire destroyed its main building, and several programs were canceled; but the center now is poised for an unprecedented number of yearly visitors. Some programs are booked through 2008.
The center isn't solely for Catholics. It also offers retreats and other programs to people of all faiths in subjects ranging from 12-step programs to yoga.
Brown offers to reinstate campus religious group
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Brown University has offered to reinstate a conservative Christian student group that had been suspended from using campus resources.
Brown had said the Reformed University Fellowship failed to follow university guidelines, but otherwise offered no public explanation for the group's suspension in September.
On Monday, though, the Ivy League school said the group - which is allied with the Presbyterian Church in America - could be reinstated as an official campus religious group by adhering to rules that are set for other school groups.
Chapman had earlier produced a statement saying the fellowship had violated guidelines governing campus religious groups. The fellowship is aligned with a denomination that embraces Calvinism, opposes ordaining women and gays, and considers the Bible the inerrant word of God.
Jail inmates, working with Mormons, knit for the needy
LOGAN, Utah (AP) - Jail inmates are spending hours knitting caps, blankets and booties for children around the world as part of a project organized by an agency tied to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"We might all be criminals," said David Evans, 25, an inmate from Blackfoot, Idaho, "but some of us have big hearts."
The program at the Cache County Jail in northern Utah began about two years ago. The handmade crafts go to the Save the Children international relief group or to the church's humanitarian efforts. Inmates have knitted more than 300 hats this year, about half with matching booties. They also have stitched mittens and small blankets.
"We are like an army," said Jane DeSpain, a Mormon Relief Society president who organized the project. "There are humanitarian projects going on all over the world. They are part of that."
Jail officials said they were wary about putting knitting needles, a potential weapon, in the hands of inmates. But there have been no incidents. The needles are counted and collected before 30 to 40 prisoners return to their minimum-security cellblocks.
"Anytime you are doing something good for someone else, you are improving yourself," said the jail commander, Capt. Kim Cheshire. "That isn't just for the inmates; that's for the rest of us."
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