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Religion and Faith

Celebrating Ramadan in Minnesota

This weekend marks the end of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim year. For Muslims throughout the world, the month has been one of prayer, charity, and fasting from sunup to sundown. A handful of Twin Cities restaurants have been catering to those observing the holy month by offering a special way to break the daily fast -- Ramadan buffets. One of those restaurants, the Marina Grill and Deli in northeast Minneapolis, has become a gathering place over the past month.

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Will red and blue America ever get along?

One thing was clear going into the 2004 presidential election: About half of the people who walked into the voting booth on Nov. 2 were going to be unhappy with the final result. Now the question is whether the election year divisiveness will carry on or fizzle out.

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Mending a divided America

Unusually high voter turnout. A closely divided electorate. Now that the election is settled, will there be a single, united America? Was there ever one? Will Kerry supporters flock in droves across the Canadian border? Will families be able to sit down together peaceably this Thanksgiving? If mending bridges is the goal, how can red states and blue states reunite?

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A new Minnesota musical celebrates Jewish immigrants

Jews in Minnesota are celebrating a double anniversary. It's the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the first Jews in America and the 150th anniversary of the first to arrive in Minnesota. Minnesota playwright Joe Vass chronicles the experience of the immigrants in his latest work. The musical uses the Yiddish word for craziness, "Mishegass," as its title.

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Money and morality

We pursue wealth, but having a lot of money poses ethical and religious dilemmas as well.

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Violence and crisis in Islam

Every day brings new headlines of horrific violence perpetrated in the name of Islam. This program from American Public Media's Speaking of Faith unit asks: What makes the Muslim religion such a potent vehicle for violence and danger at this moment in time?

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Beyond the God gap

The theory of the "God gap"--which suggests that, in general, religious Americans are Republicans and non-religious Americans are Democrats--has played prominently in press reporting on the 2004 presidential race. At their recent conventions, both parties seemed to grapple with faith and respond to the perceived God gap in interesting and unexpected ways. This special program from American Public Media's "Speaking of Faith" asks whether there actually is such a clear cut rift in American society.

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'The Making and Breaking of a Self-Loathing Jew'

Minneapolis writer Neal Karlen describes himself as a shanda—a scandal. He grew up Jewish, in a devout Twin Cities family, but he eventually turned away from rabbinical study and drifted afield of his heritage. In his new book "Shanda" he explains how he tried to make people like him by telling jokes laden with offensive stereotypes, and how a chance friendship brought him back to a more meaningful existence.

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My Name is Iran

Before the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran was the first country in the Middle East to bring together secular and sacred law. A legal code developed in 1927 did away with gruesome Islamic punishments such as stoning and lashing. Iranian-born NPR Producer Davar Ardalan's great-grandfather was the architect of Iran's legal code in the early 1920s. Ardalan and co-producer Rasool Nafisi look at Iran's long search for a lawful society in this American RadioWorks documentary.

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Red Lake tribe debates future of walleye fishery

Hundreds of families on the Red Lake Indian Reservation once made their living from commercial walleye fishing. But decades of over-harvest nearly wiped out the walleye. In 1999, tribal, state and federal officials agreed to a recovery plan. Walleye fishing was banned. Now, biologists say the species has rebounded. They say walleye fishing can begin again in 2006. That presents a dilemma for the Red Lake people. Some tribal members want to open the lake to sports fishing and tourism. Others want the lake to remain off-limits to outsiders.

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