Archive for the ‘Religions’ Category
Love not the Wasters! A Queens Muslim view of the envirnoment.
Afghan Islamic Center/Masjid Hazrati Abu Bakr in Flushing, Queens. By Climate Desk.
Does God Care About Climate Change? Report by Climate Desk’s James West
With 356 religious sites, Flushing is arguably the most theologically diverse neighborhood in America. What are they teaching about climate change?
Red Hat on the Empire State Building
On this “Twelfth Day of Christmas” the traditional celebration of the Epiphany, I have received a gift from Pope Benedict XVI, to become a cardinal on February 18th. It’s as if Pope Benedict is putting the red hat on top of the Empire State Building.
South American Jews coalescence around new Torah in Manhattan
Nearly 300 Latin American Jews gathered on the evening of Dec. 4, 2011 to celebrate the inauguration of their first community Torah of the Jewish Latin Center in New York. Members of the Latin Jewish Center come from almost every country of South America but most are immigrants from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and [...]
A Japanese American’s journey from auto thief to PK in the Holy Land
Yamashita looks like trouble. A stocky man who enjoys weight lifting, tattoos, cars, and West Coast hip-hop, 32 year-old Yamashita does not seem like the “religious type.” Mo, the name Yamashita prefers to go by, is the son of the pastor of the Church of Perfect Liberty, which is also known as PL Kyodan, in Jackson Heights, Queens. The Yamashita family are part of a large religious shift that occurred in Japan. PL Kyodan fits within a broad category of Shinshūkyō, Japanese new religions founded between 1800 and today.
Gardens of Vishnu & Shiva. Series: God in NYC gardens
Among the collection of what Priest Valamiki Sahadeo calls his “highly worshiped plants” is the tulsi basil, which is seen as an incarnation of a god and the foundation of any Hindu garden. In the classic Hindu myth, “The Churning of the Cosmic Ocean,” the Lord Vishnu spawned Tulsi Basil from the turbulent seas as an aid for all mankind. At home the herb purifies, pacifies and harmonizes. Indian lore also teaches that the plant drives away mosquitoes and is a cure for blood and skin diseases. Hindu teachers say that Tulsi Basil helps keep the mind healthy and free of worries so that a worshipper at a temple can concentrate on the gods. It is given to the dying for a blessing and to raise their souls to heaven.
The Biblical Gardens of NYC. Series: God in NYC gardens
Yankee fans will appreciate that The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine’s Biblical Garden has a plant representing exile: the palm tree. Biblical gardens contain plants for every season and every reason for even events obscure in their meaning. The garden occupies a small inconspicuous space toward the rear of the cathedral’s 11.3 acres [...]
9/11 affected the city’s religious life in unnoticed ways
This year, the anniversary of 9/11 falls on a Sunday, providing a unique opportunity to see how churches were affected by the event. Most of the 10th Anniversary attention to religion will be on the large ceremonies produced by the downtown Manhattan religious establishments or on churches with rosters ravaged by many 9/11 deaths. [...]
Being Muslim in New York by Jennifer Schwarz
Ten years after the trauma of Sept 11, New York never stops changing. It already has 180 mosques and about 600 000 Muslims.
Mixing Muslim tradition with the American Dream in Jamaica, Queens
What does the American Dream mean to the immigrant Muslims, who are arriving to New York City in ever greater numbers? On Memorial Day, Tayabali reflected on this question in a small hall on Springfield Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens. He and 200 other Shia Muslims were meeting to remember Syedna Qutubuddin Shaheed, who died a martyr in 1648 AD.
