Dear HumanDHS Friends

Inside this edition 31 July – 06 August 2012

www.commongroundnews.org

Faith, civic engagement and the 2012 US elections
by Altaf Husain
Muslim American civic engagement has been on the rise, writes Altaf Husain, research fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in this third article in a series on religion and the US presidential elections. But come November, will Muslims take their faith-based commitment to social justice to the voting booth?
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 31 July 2012)

Muslims in France after the elections
by Aude Jehan
In France, the new government is making a concerted effort to integrate Muslims into the French community. But, asks Aude Jehan, French Embassy Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, is this enough to overcome stereotypes about Islam in Europe?
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 31 July 2012)

Religious leaders call for ethical response to economic crisis
by Maria-Paz Lopez
Religious leaders of all faiths are finding common cause in the midst of the global financial crisis. Maria-Paz Lopez, Senior Religion Writer at La Vanguardia, considers whether religion has a role to play in economics
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 31 July 2012)

Half a day with the “last Arab Jew”
by Khaled Diab
Egyptian journalist Khaled Diab spends half a day learning how literature transcends politics from the “last Arab Jew”, Sasson Somekh, poet, writer and friend to the late Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 31 July 2012)

Faith, football and fasting
by Naazish YarKhan
As the intense sports events of the 2012 Olympics coincide with Ramadan, which requires that Muslims undertake a period of fasting from food and water during daylight hours, PR Strategist Naazish YarKhan looks means to be Muslim in America through the eyes of a high school football team.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 31 July 2012)