Watch what happens when a young Sikh, dressed as Captain America, hits the streets of New York to fight racial and religious stereotypes. You can also read more about Vishavjit Singh, the young Sikh, in this Huffington Post story. Read more

What happens to you in Saudi Arabia if you criticize Muslim clerics on your blog. Raif Badawi was sentenced to 10 years and 1000 lashes! British blogger Sunny Hundal in the clip above points out the hypocrisy of supporting such a fundamental regime. Read more

Should a private business, like a bakery, be forced to cater a gay wedding if it doesn’t want to? A Colorado wedding cake baker says he won’t bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple because it goes against his Christian faith. But Colorado Civil Rights says he cannot discriminate on race, faith, or gender. The PBS News Hour says in the clip above that cases like this are becoming more common. Students might find this an interesting case... Read more

Wow! Here’s a great primer on the the history of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque from Ottoman scholar, Scott Rank, for the Religion and Ethics News Weekly. It’s great for both history and religion students. Read more

Here’s a fascinating story about freedom of religion and secularism. Does religious freedom mean that you should be free from religion in public, meaning that you do not show your religion by dress or religious symbol? That’s the law in France, notes Daniel Estrin in a story for PRI’s The World. “The French Republic rests on the notion of secularism, that your ‘community’ is France itself.” Jews cannot wear yarmulkes and Muslim women cannot wear headscarves. Estrin suggests that French... Read more

Here’s a fascinating twenty minute segment from the Charlie Rose show on PBS in which a number of prominent Muslims and scholars discuss the Paris tragedy, Islam, and politics. The panelists help us to understand the difference between Islamists and jihadists and explain why understanding that difference is so important. They also discuss the danger of the “presumption of collective guilt” or the idea of blaming the actions of a few on the entire group, noting that Islam represents a... Read more

Teaching engaged Buddhism? Here’s great clip about Thich Nhat Hahn from the Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly in 2003 when Han visited the United States. Nhat Han is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk. He opposed the Viet Nam War and fled. He developed an “engaged Buddhism” meaning that he went beyond meditation to work for peace and care for refugees. He eventually settled in France where he set up a mindfulness practice center called Plum Village. In 2013, Oprah interviewed Thich... Read more

Watch Jon Stewart skewer Rupert Murdoch and others who believe that moderate Muslims should condemn terrorism by fundamental Muslims. It’s hilarious. Read more

Not specifically, according to scholar and author, Reza Aslan, author of “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” and “No god but God” The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam.” He notes that while the Koran does not specifically prohibit such depictions, “it’s certainly a cultural taboo.” You can read the transcript here at NPR. Read more

Here the PBS News Hour tries to get to the root of Muslim extremism in Europe. According to Peter Neumann of King’s College, the cause is a “conflict of identity.” He argues that second and third generation Muslims don’t always feel comfortable in their parents or grandparents culture and many do not feel completely accepted in European society. Read more