Friday, March 17, 2023

This Week in Religion - Muslim religions in US gain retail holiday treatment

Lead story

A screenshot of the Target online holiday shop for Ramadan and Eid

Editor's note:

Natasha Khan Kazi remembers college exams scheduled on the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. “There were so many moments growing up where I wasn’t seen or acknowledged, or all the joy I felt for my celebration was quieted,” she told Religion News Service recently. It’s just another reason Khan Kazi was “speechless” to see big-box retailer Target feature her new children’s book, “Moon’s Ramadan,” in its first Ramadan and Eid holiday collection. Target is among a number of national stores to feature Ramadan offerings this year. From Party City to West Elm, Eid and other minority religious holidays are starting to gain traction in mainstream spaces, writes RNS national reporter Kathryn Post. However, as companies look to tap into these faith markets, the potential for offense looms large and history reveals more than a few gaffes (menorahs with the wrong number of candles, for example). Even so, Khan Kazi and others welcome the step toward representation, “showing that our celebration mattered.”

A portrait of Roxanne Stone, Managing Editor at Religion News Service.
 

Religion News

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A chance encounter at a party led religion professor Stephen Prothero to rediscover the story of Eugene Exman, a longtime book publisher who helped transform American religion. By Bob Smietana/Religion News Service

State lawmakers push for priests to report abuse learned about in confessional

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Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes presides over Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua.

Fear, anxiety follow Nicaraguan faith leaders into exile

In Nicaragua, the government has imprisoned religious leaders, activists and numerous outspoken critics of President Daniel Ortega. Many priests and nuns in exile worry about reprisal and fear going public with their stories. By María Teresa Hernández/The Associated Press

 

Commentary and Analysis

Badges and other wearable markings had a long history of being used to target Jewish people in Europe. By Flora Cassen for The Conversation

'I see the church as a field hospital,' Pope Francis once said – not a place where superficial solutions will do much good. By Timothy Gabrielli for The Conversation

Several members were killed March 9, 2023, in Germany. Many people hold stereotypes about Jehovah's Witnesses but are unfamiliar with their beliefs. By Mathew Schmalz for The Conversation

We need stories that capture the power of religion and spirituality to change society for the better. By Donald E Miller/Religion News Service

 
A man whips yellow powder out of his hair while celebrating Holi, the Hindu festival of colors.

A man whips yellow powder out of his hair while celebrating Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Tuesday, March 7, 2023.  After two years of subdued festivities due to COVID-19, the Holi celebrations brought revelers back on the streets, smearing each other’s faces with bright powdered color, distributing sweets and squirting water at fellow festival-goers. Holi, also marks the arrival of spring. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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  • This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
  • The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.
 
 

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