Listen Now - 03122008 | Download Audio - 03122008
The weekend saw a ceremony of reconciliation between the Aboriginal people of South Brisbane and the Catholic church of St Mary's. Celebration was the order of the day - but the shadow of excommunication still hangs over the priests of this renegade parish. Also: fears of communal violence in India in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. Read Transcript
Listen Now - 26112008 | Download Audio - 26112008
The Atheist Foundation of Australia wants to mount a bus slogan campaign - but they've been knocked back by the company that controls advertising on buses. Also: a new book is about to be released on interfaith education in Australia; and an ambitious musical work is about to be performed for Advent. Read Transcript
Listen Now - 19112008 | Download Audio - 19112008
This week, the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne is holding its annual conference. This year, the theme is "Challenges to Social Inclusion in Australia: The Muslim Experience". One of the speakers at the conference is Jan Ali, a lecturer at the University of Western Sydney. He has studied the Australian activities of the Tablighi Jamaat, and he spoke to David Rutledge about why Islamic revivalism is gaining new popularity amongst Australian Muslims. Read Transcript
Another speaker at the NCEIS conference is Silma Ihram, a Muslim author and educator living in Western Sydney. Her paper focuses on the remarks made by Sheikh Taj el din al Hilaly in October 2006, when the then-Mufti of Australia made a Ramadan speech in which he compared women to 'uncovered meat' and implied that women should stay at home if they don't want the 'cat' to get them. Silma Ihram spoke to David Rutledge about the future of Islamic leadership in Australia. Read Transcript
In the United States this week a case is before the Supreme Court that could have important implications for the free expression of religion in public life. At the centre of the legal storm is a new age group from Utah, the Church of Summum, which is fighting for the right to erect a monument to its beliefs. But as we'll hear, the dispute raises broader questions about the constitutional right to freedom of speech. Read Transcript
Listen Now - 12112008 | Download Audio - 12112008
A historic forum hosted by Pope Benedict XVI between high-ranking Muslim and Catholic clerics has just concluded. But how effective will it turn out to be? Also: religious currents in the aftermath of the US election; and Anglicare has just published a report arguing that social inclusion in Australia is under threat. Read Transcript
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News and The World Today
with Eleanor Hall
News and analysis from Australia and the world
