Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan says an Islamic community center and mosque planned near ground zero should be built because Muslims were among those of many faiths who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Farrakhan spoke at the National Press Club in Washington along with a coalition of African-American Muslims. They say the controversy over the building is indicative of a rise in racism toward minorities.

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The idea seemed simple though bold: Call reputed gang leaders to a meeting with top police and federal prosecutors and deliver an ultimatum to end killings in the nation’s third-largest city.

But Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weis is facing mounting criticism for holding a so-called “gang summit” last month, even though several police departments across the country have relied on that approach for decades to help reduce crime.

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Black Christian News: www.BCNN1.com / Black Christian Book Company: www.BlackCBC.com (Based upon Amazon.com rankings, BarnesandNoble.com rankings, and BlackCBC.com rankings.)

Bestselling authors, Cindy Trimm (The Art of War for Spiritual Battle–Nonfiction) and Vanessa Miller (A Love for Tomorrow–Fiction) lead the bestsellers list of Black Christian authors on the September 2010 edition of the Black Christian News/Black Christian Book Company National Bestsellers List.

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With the heat of summertime in Texas at its peak, the murder of 13 fellow soldiers still a painful memory, and the war escalating in Afghanistan as troops return from Iraq, soldiers at Ft. Hood were ready for a little love this month.

And bestselling Whitaker House author, Vanessa Miller had a whole lot of love to share during her recent visit to the U.S. army base near Killeen, Texas, where she received a warm response to her latest book, A Love for Tomorrow, second in her Second Chance at Love series (available September 7, 2010).

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The conservative Christian group Focus on the Family is accusing national gay-advocacy groups of using bullying-prevention initiatives at public schools to introduce the viewpoint that homosexuality is normal.

Focus on the Family education expert Candi Cushman told The Denver Post in Saturday’s edition that the Christian group supports bullying prevention, but the issue “is being hijacked by activists.”

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The chairwoman of the community board that voted for an Islamic center and mosque near ground zero said she believes adding an interfaith dimension would help unite people, saying a nondenominational chapel built at the Pentagon as part of a Sept. 11 memorial did just that.

Pictured: In this Aug. 22, 2010 file photo, people participate in a rally against a proposed Islamic center and mosque near ground zero in New York. New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who represents the lower Manhattan district, joined Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, in suggesting that Islamic leaders should move the proposed Islamic center and mosque farther from ground zero, saying the organizers should be more sensitive to opponents. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) Read the rest of this entry »

The recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life is generating much discussion over its provocative finding that an increasing number of Americans (nearly one in five) believe that President Obama is a Muslim. The survey was completed before Obama’s recent comments endorsing the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero.

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The Rev. Kenneth Haynes Sr. knelt in prayer in the baptismal pool inside Main St. Missionary Baptist Church as Hurricane Katrina started to rip apart the roof.

Kenneth Haynes Sr. leads a Bible study at Main St. Missionary Baptist Church, where members of the community came for aid following Katrina.

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On August 28, 1955, Chicago teen Emmett Till was kidnapped and lynched for whistling at a white woman in the segregated South while visiting his family in Money, Miss.

Emmett’s younger cousin, Simeon Wright, watched as two men abducted the boy. Those responsible were never convicted.

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Glenn Beck’s rally on the anniversary and at the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech is drawing criticism, protests and questions about his intentions.

Beck insists the event Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial is not about politics, even though Beck and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will attend. But the rally is drawing a strong reaction – and several counter-rallies – as the nation looks toward November’s elections. Read the rest of this entry »

The abortion issue may have cost embattled U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski an untold number of votes Tuesday to Republican primary challenger Joe Miller, say anti-abortion activists.

The ballot also included a sharply contested voter initiative generally requiring parents to be notified before their teen receives an abortion. Miller came out strongly for Ballot Measure 2.
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Forty-seven years ago this weekend, on a sweltering August day often remembered simply as the March on Washington, my father delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. A memorial to him is being erected at the Tidal Basin, not far from where he shared his vision of a nation united in justice, equality and brotherhood.

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The King’s College surprised many higher education observers by choosing Dinesh D’Souza, widely identified as a Roman Catholic, as president of the New York City school.

As a best-selling author and Christian apologist, D’Souza brings prominence and a network of influential leaders to the position. But King’s decision to put a Catholic at the helm could create tension within a historically evangelical institution.

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Shirley Sherrod, who received an apology after being forced to resign from the Agriculture Department, will meet Tuesday morning with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to discuss a job offer.

It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two since a controversial sequence of events last month culminated in her stepping down.

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