Former US diplomats and experts have been engaged in secret talks with Iranian academics and policy advisers over Tehran’s nuclear program and frozen diplomatic relations between their countries. “We discussed what’s going on domestically in both countries and wide-ranging issues affecting the US-Iran relationship,” former US undersecretary of state Thomas Pickering was reported as saying. “Some of the Iranians were connected to official institutions inside Ira...

Twelve imams and rabbis are starring a commercial to fight Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the US and promote tolerance among their fellow religionists. “This is serious work,” Rabbi Eric Silver of Temple Beth David in Cheshire, Conn., said. “This goes far beyond just talking about brotherhood and joining hands and singing ‘Kumbaya’,” he asserted, referring to the song composed by Reverend Marvin V. Frey in the 1930s. The commercial will feature six ima...

A dictionary on commonalities and differences between Islam and Christianity is being drafted by three US-based researchers with contributions from religion professors, priests, imams and interfaith experts. “We want people who are going to be ordained, people in Muslim religious schools, people in communications, government and business, to be aware of the importance of the relationship between these two religions,” Martin Forward, executive director of Aurora University’...

Malaysia’s embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has hinted at a handover of power to his deputy following last month’s election debacle. “I am not one who is going to retain the leadership forever,” Abdullah said. The premier has been under mounting pressures to step down following his coalition’s poor performance in last month’s general elections.

On April 11, Abdullah told a closed-door party meeting that he would talk to his deputy Mohd...

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas on April 12 confirmed a planned meeting between former US president Jimmy Carter and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Syria.

“Preparations are going on to hold a meeting between Carter and Meshaal,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, will set off a nine-day trip to the Middle East on April 13. The Carter Centre said the former president would lead a study mission to Israel, the West...

With universities refusing to allow veiled students on campus and the ruling Justice and Development Party facing ban threats in court, many students are shelving their earlier hijab dreams and bracing for a long battle. “Everyone was hopeful. I thought I would be able to study in the way that my religion requires,” Ayse Sekerci, 20, was reported as saying on April 14. “It really seemed that this time it would happen. But after the recent events, all my hope has b...