Then there are quite different voices in the Muslim community — in Britain, and elsewhere. One example is Inspire, a women’s organization that before the Norwegian horror declared what it called a “jihad against violence.” The group aims to support and empower Muslim women...particularly to educate them so they can counter the arguments of children radicalized by reading on the Internet.

It is important that we speak about Islam...Most of what we see and read about Islam is composed of horror stories that appall. What we don't receive is positive images of everyday people going about their everyday business who just happen to be Muslim. The "Holy Kitchens" films have it as their goal to foster a greater understanding and fellowship among followers of different faiths.

Muslim Americans are now more optimistic about their lives than any other major American faith group... Authors of the study said they attributed the change in outlook to improved economic conditions and a sense of more political enfranchisement since the election of President Barack Obama, a Christian with Muslim family roots who has reached out to Muslim communities worldwide.

Teaching biblical texts can contribute toward making the US more competitive in the global marketplace. We need to educate students who can read critically and make coherent arguments. The Bible is not easy to read, and it does not provide easy answers. Studying the Bible helps students to formulate questions about themselves, their communities, and the texts that they read.

A year after controversy engulfed plans to build a Muslim community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, the project’s developers are quietly moving ahead: In recent months they have hired a paid staff, started fund-raising drives and continued holding prayers and cultural events in their existing building two blocks from ground zero.

Blair's further message is that the growing aggressive secularism in the West is the wrong response. It misreads and misconceives the nature of the 21st century and the best path to social harmony in a more globalised world... Blair is a champion of both hard and soft power.... Because the struggle is against an extremist ideology it must be met by a soft power strategy in terms of the battle of ideas.

APDS Blogger: Kimberly DeGroff Madsen

London's Bush theatre is to present its next show - a celebration of the King James Bible - at Westminster Abbey, in an overnight performance this October. Sixty-Six Books will see 66 novelists, playwrights, poets and authors respond to each of the 66 books in the historic Bible to mark its 400th anniversary.