Ramadan, that holy month of fasting and dawn-to-dusk abstinence, is a key period in the Muslim calendar apart from its standing as one of the five Pillars of Islam. More typically associated with praying, fasting and religious contemplation, it's also the month that Muslims are more glued to the tube than at any other time during the year, much like Thanksgiving or Christmas in the United States. The dozens of TV drama series known as "musalsals," prepared precisely for Ramadan ...

Florida has a knack for turning family dysfunction into national spectacle. Ten years ago it gave us the Elian Gonzalez mess; five years later came the Terri Schiavo debacle. Now we have a new domestic dispute that threatens to become another culture-war circus, complete with a clash-of-religions angle to boot: the battle for Rifqa Bary, a 17-year-old girl from Columbus, Ohio, who ran away to an Evangelical church in Orlando, Fla., because, she claims, her Sri Lankan Muslim family ...

A Muslim teenager from Ohio says her father threatened to kill her because she converted to Christianity. Rifqa Bary, 17, ran away from her family in Columbus, Ohio, in July and took refuge in the central Florida home of the Rev. Blake Lorenz with the Global Revolution Church in Orlando. The teen heard of the pastor and his church through a prayer group on Facebook. The girl's parents reported her missing to Columbus police, who found her two weeks later ...

Michigan's Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday allowing lower state courts to "exercise reasonable control" over the appearance of witnesses and parties, a rule change proposed after a Muslim woman refused to remove an Islamic garment in a small claims court. The order allows courts "reasonable control over the appearance of parties and witnesses" so as to "ensure that the demeanor of such persons may be observed and assessed by the fact-finder and ensure the accurate identification of such person." ...

China's President Hu Jintao called Tuesday for a "prosperous and harmonious" Xinjiang province during his first visit to the country's western Uyghur region since last month's deadly riots, state-run media reported. "The key to our work in Xinjiang is to properly handle development and stability," said Hu. Hu, calling for reform, development, ethnic unity and stability in the region, expressed gratitude to the armed forces, militia and police for their work in quelling the July 5 ethnic riots in Urumqi, ...

After smiling broadly for the TV cameras and complimenting one another, U.S. President Barack Obama and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak provided little food for thought about what really transpired between them in an Oval Office meeting Tuesday. (CNN) -- After smiling broadly for the TV cameras and complimenting one another, U.S. President Barack Obama and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak provided little food for thought about what really transpired between them in an Oval Office meeting Tuesday. Historically, the ...

A Malaysian model, who was set to become the first woman to be caned in the southeast Asian country for drinking beer in public, was inexplicably spared her sentence Monday, her father said. Authorities had picked up Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, from her father's house Monday morning and were taking her to a prison in the eastern state of Pahang when the car turned around and brought her back. "They sent her back to the house. They said the ...

Troubling news of kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder is flooding out of Iran. (CNN) -- Troubling news of kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder is flooding out of Iran. Neda Aqa Soltan was murdered point-blank in the streets of Tehran for the whole world to see; while Sohrab Arabi was killed far from any global attention and his body given to his mother quietly to bury, as was the tortured body of Mohsen Ruholamini. These names have assumed ...

A Malaysian model, who is set to become the first woman in the Southeast Asian country to be caned for drinking alcohol in public, wants her punishment carried out in public. Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno said Thursday that if the intent of the Islamic, or Shariah, court that sentenced her was to set an example for other Muslims, then the flogging should take place in the open. "Let's be transparent about it," she said. "We want to challenge them," added ...

The young man's call echoed throughout the remote village in northern Nigeria -- the marriage ceremony was about to begin. Under the dusty sun, the fathers of the bride and groom agreed to the marriage and this ancient Muslim tradition proceeded as it has for hundreds of years. But unknown to the gathered villagers, the couple is hiding a modern secret. Both bride and groom are HIV-positive and marrying with the support of a local government program that encourages ...