Religious Leaders

The Syrian government on Monday blamed "terrorist" attackers for killing the son of a prominent Sunni Muslim cleric and declared that its forces had seized a large number of weapons near the Turkish border. The developments come as the strategically situated Arab country suffers a wave of what appear to be targeted assassinations and intense urban battles, some reportedly involving army defectors. There are fears that the unrest, inspired in part by "Arab Spring" protests elsewhere in the region, may be the start of a new and bloodier chapter in Syria's violence.

Duffy's latest vision Re "A.J. Duffy, reformer?," Editorial, Sept. 4 Your comment on United Teachers Los Angeles — "it's not their job to put the interests of children first" — is not the way that teachers unions explain their behavior. They often embellish their stances with the claim that they are supporting the interests of their students. It now appears that former UTLA President A.J. Duffy has always had the interests of students at heart. Were those views in plain view when attempts were made to dismiss teachers, to argue for excellence over seniority or to expand charter schools?

Norwegians turned to their churches Saturday to try to find comfort in the aftermath of twin attacks that took the lives of at least 92 people, many of them teenagers, and left citizens of this typically calm Scandinavian country in disbelief. Bishop Laila Riksaasen Dahl of the Church of Norway diocese in Tunsberg, along with other clergy, met with survivors and relatives of those slain when a gunman went on a rampage at a youth camp on Utoya Island. Riksaasen Dahl told the Norwegian daily Aftenposten that many of the young people had seen close friends gunned down, or had themselves been victims of the shooting.

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has tentatively agreed to a five-point plan from opposition leaders that includes the demand that the man who has ruled the troubled Arabian Peninsula nation for more than three decades step down by the end of the year, according to the president's office. Update, March 3, 1:23 p.m.: The office of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Thursday that the president will not step down by the end of this year. Opposition figures and Saleh have reached "an initial agreement," said presidential spokesman Mohammed Basha.

President Obama offered prayers for the nation and the people of Egypt, and provided rare reflections on his own faith journey during remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday. Obama described how his beliefs were grounded in his mother's spirituality and deepened through his career in public service. His faith, Obama told the gathering of lawmakers and religious leaders, has sustained him during the trials of his presidency, including when he hears his faith "questioned from time to time.

The most visceral opponents of the proposed mosque in Temecula warned that it could become a potential foothold for Islamic extremists, accusing local Muslim leaders of backing terrorist groups. Supporters, including numerous residents and a contingent of pastors, rabbis and other religious leaders, called the months-long controversy a test of religious freedom and praised the peaceful virtues of Islam. Some dismissed critics as Islamophobic. After a marathon eight-hour hearing that ended at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Temecula City Council unanimously approved the mosque, a decision officials said was based not on incendiary religious or political issues but rather on such mundane matters as traffic, parking and environmental impact.

Los Angeles City Council members are known for keeping a finger on the pulse of constituents, sorting out who are political friends and who are not. Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar may have taken that practice into new territory by assigning his City Hall staff to prepare lists that graded civic leaders numerically on their level of support for him, according to three former Huizar employees. Those lists, drafted during his first five years as a councilman, ranked dozens of people on their support for Huizar and influence in the 14th City Council district.

The new chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security is preparing a controversial investigation next month into what he calls a "very real threat" ? the radicalization of young Muslims by local religious leaders. Many officials have praised cooperation from Muslim religious leaders in the United States and blamed the growing number of young American Muslims willing to contemplate terrorism on radicals overseas reaching out through the Internet. FOR THE RECORD: Homeland radicals: An article in the Jan. 16 Section A about upcoming House hearings into the radicalization of American Muslims reported that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.

In the latest example of waning American influence in Iraq, anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr returned home from Iran, where he had gone in 2007 after his Shiite Muslim militia engaged in years of on-and-off battles with U.S. troops and was blamed for some of the country's worst sectarian violence. Sadr's surprise homecoming comes months after his supporters won 40 seats in the Iraqi parliament, allowing the Iranian-backed cleric to play a decisive role in Prime Minister Nouri Maliki securing a new term late last year after a lengthy period of political deadlock.