Muslims

World Muslim leaders on Friday condemned extremism and terrorism as incompatible with Islam and proposed a high-level international meeting to promote a "dialogue of civilizations" with Christians. Leaders of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents 1.5 billion Muslims across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made the "Dakar Declaration" after a two-day summit in Senegal.

A Dutch lawmaker released a film highly critical of Islam, setting verses of the Muslim holy book against a background of violent images from terrorist attacks. Geert Wilders posted his 15-minute film on a website. Shortly afterward, Dutch television showed segments of the film and broadcast discussions by analysts on the possible impact of its release. The government had warned Wilders that a film offensive to Muslims could spark violent protests in Islamic countries, like those two years ago after European newspapers published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.

The Mormon Church has to be among the most outgoing on Earth; in recent years its leaders have reached out to, among others, Latinos, Koreans, Catholics and Jews. One of the most enthusiastic responses, however, has come from what some might consider a surprising source: U.S. Muslims. "We are very aware of the history of Mormons as a group that was chastised in America," says Maher Hathout, a senior advisor to the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles.

Vandals defaced the graves of Muslim World War I soldiers in northern France and left behind a severed pig's head at the cemetery, a prosecutor said. Graves in the cemetery at Ablain-Saint-Nazaire were inscribed with anti-Islam slogans, and graffiti singled out Justice Minister Rachida Dati, who is of North African origin, a prosecutor in nearby Arras, Jean-Pierre Valensi, told France-Info radio. He said 148 tombs were targeted. In a statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the vandalism a form of "unacceptable racism" and said he shares the pain of France's Muslim community, the largest in Western Europe.

The maror looked strange to immigrant rights activist Angelica Salas, and she wasn't sure how bitter the bitter herbs would be. "But I actually really enjoyed it," Salas said, recalling how she dipped parsley into saltwater and made her first Hillel sandwich at her first Passover Seder. Stuffing charoset, a paste of sweet fruits and nuts, and a layer of bitter herbs between two small pieces of matzo bread, Salas laughed as the flatbread crunched and crumbled between her teeth.

The smell of freshly baked bread calms the room filled with women in frayed cloaks and worn slippers. Grateful for the assistance, they walk out of a Muslim Brotherhood social service center into the trash-strewn alley, clutching plastic bags packed with flat bread loaves. For five years, the Jordanian government has clamped down on the Islamist group's electoral ambitions and its charity programs, suspicious it was using good deeds to win political support.

A report that mosques in Los Angeles and San Diego are under federal surveillance has resurrected fears in the Muslim community about government monitoring and led two civil rights groups Wednesday to call for congressional hearings. The request for public hearings followed a newspaper article last week that cited FBI and Defense Department files pertaining to surveillance of mosques and Muslims in Southern California.

It was a clear case of irreconcilable differences. The wife said there was no love left in the marriage, she wanted a divorce. The husband insisted that she had been put under the influence of a taweez, a talisman, that had erased her affections for him. He refused to divorce.

The riot began with a customer's complaint about her dinner. "Waitress, there's a tooth in my soup," a Tibetan woman said indignantly. Before long, a curious crowd of Tibetans gathered around the soup bowl. Restaurant owner Yun Sha came out of the kitchen and insisted that the offending item was just a chip off a lamb bone. "Let's trash this restaurant," Yun heard somebody scream, and the crowd proceeded to do just that. Tables, chairs, a television flew through the air.

A man who planned attacks on military installations and synagogues in the Los Angeles area for an Islamic terrorist cell was sentenced Monday to 22 years in federal prison for conspiring to wage war against the United States. Levar Haney Washington told a federal judge in Santa Ana that cell members "flirted with the possibility" of attacking targets but no longer believe "a military solution is possible" because "it belies reality."