Islam

While expressing support for Israel and Ukraine, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson also cautioned against “massive, ill-defined” aid packages that combine separate conflicts and stand to balloon the national debt. Johnson on Thursday joined Wisconsin Public Radio’s “The Morning Show,” where he said he wants to listen to what Israel needs in its fight against…

Every fall, Milwaukee’s Muslim and Jewish communities hold film festivals showcasing movies centered on their cultures. This year, the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival and the Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival are coinciding with the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war and the strain and fear it is creating in both communities. Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival Janan Najeeb,…

Rabbi Josh Herman leads Hillel Milwaukee, an organization for Jewish college students. He and his staff have been working to support students who are grieving after Hamas militants killed hundreds of Israelis on Oct. 7, launching the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Herman, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and…

Milwaukee religious leaders representing Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Roman Catholic and Unitarian congregations gathered Thursday to denounce the rise of Christian nationalism and its threat to democracy. About 75 clergy from the Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope, or MICAH, launched the “We All Belong” campaign with a rally and march. The event kicked off…

Somali residents in the rural northern Wisconsin city of Barron are withdrawing a request to play an amplified Muslim call to prayer from two mosques after the idea drew stiff opposition from some residents at a recent city council meeting. Barron is home to a community of around 470 Somali refugees and their families, according…

Nearly 40 years ago, Masood Akhtar left India driven by his conviction that the United States was the ideal place to practice his religion. But his experience in America hasn’t been so simple. On Thursday, President Joe Biden honored the Madison resident at the White House for spending decades rooting out hate and fear directed…

The first of about two dozen Afghan refugee families have started to arrive in the Wausau area. Church groups and other community members are showing up to welcome their new neighbors and assist them in navigating the resettlement process. Gwen Paul is the executive director of New Beginnings for Refugees, a volunteer-run nonprofit helping to…

When times get tough for parishioners at Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church in Madison, the usual response is to come together. The death of Minneapolis man George Floyd on Memorial Day called for that kind of togetherness. But in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing restrictions are keeping congregants apart, said pastor Everett Mitchell.…

As the COVID-19 pandemic makes meeting in mosques, temples and churches nearly impossible, Wisconsin’s faithful are figuring out ways to celebrate some of the biggest religious events of the year remotely. The most important holiday on the Christian calendar, Easter, is Sunday. The Jewish celebration of Passover runs from April 8 to April 16. The…

Worshipers across Wisconsin prayed from home this weekend as churches, mosques, synagogues and temples moved online, following Gov. Tony Evers month-long order for residents to stay at home to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Local religious leaders began taking steps in early March to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by refraining from sharing…