Muslim Mortgages in Limbo After Bank Collapse

TORONTO (RNS) The collapse of a lender that offered Shariah-compliant mortgages has left Muslim homeowners in the Toronto area with many questions and so far, few answers. Founded in 2004, Toronto’s UM Financial partnered with an Ontario credit union to offer...

Toronto School Defends Muslim Prayers in Cafeteria

TORONTO (RNS) A majority-Muslim public school in Toronto is defending its policy of allowing an imam to lead Friday prayers in the cafeteria, saying students who leave school for prayers at a mosque typically don’t return to school. For the past three years, some 300...

Canadian Parents Sue over Religion in Daycare Centers

TORONTO (RNS) A group of Catholic and Jewish parents is taking the province of Quebec to court to challenge a government ban on religious teachings at subsidized daycare centers. The parents say a Quebec policy that prohibits religious instruction in government...

Bob Dylan’s Religious Mystique Endures

(RNS) Through the 1960s, Bob Dylan was hailed as a prophet, first of folk music, then of rock ‘n’ roll—at least by those who forgave him the heresy of having “gone electric.” But when rock’s best-known Jew famously declared Jesus to be the answer, many fans turned on...