The Oldest Quranic Manuscripts

From Wikipedia:

Gerd Puin was the head of a restoration project, commissioned by the Yemeni government, which spent a significant amount of time examining the ancient Qur'anic manuscripts discovered in Sana'a, Yemen, in 1972. According to writer Toby Lester, his examination revealed "unconventional verse orderings, minor textual variations, and rare styles of orthography and artistic embellishment." The scriptures were written in the early Hijazi Arabic script, matching the pieces of the earliest Qur'ans known to exist. The papyrus on which some of the text appears shows clear signs of earlier use, being that previous, scraped-off writings are also visible on it, though this does not necessarily demonstrate modifications to the over-all text of the Qur'an.

More than 15,000 sheets of the Yemeni Qur'ans have painstakingly been cleaned, treated, sorted, and photographed and 35,000 microfilmed photos have been made of the manuscripts. Some of Puin's initial remarks on his findings are found in his essay titled the "Observations on Early Qur'an Manuscripts in San'a" which has been republished in the book What the Koran Really Says by Ibn Warraq.
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The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Quran

From Wikipedia:

Christoph Luxenberg is the pseudonym of the author of The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Qur'an (German edition 2000, English translation 2007) and several articles in anthologies about early Islam.

Luxenberg came into the public eye in the years after 2000, following the publication of his first book (or at least the first one under this pseudonym), The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran, which asserted that the language of the early compositions of the Qur'an was not exclusively Arabic, as assumed by the classical commentators, but rather is rooted in the Syro-Aramaic dialect of the 7th century Meccan Quraysh tribe, which is associated in the early histories with the founding of the religion of Islam. Luxenberg's premise is that the Aramaic language, which was prevalent throughout the Middle East during the early period of Islam, and was the language of culture and Christian liturgy, had a profound influence on the scriptural composition and meaning of the contents of the Koran.

[...] Luxenberg remarks that the Qur'an contains much ambiguous and even inexplicable language. He asserts that even Muslim scholars find some passages difficult to parse and have written reams of Quranic commentary attempting to explain these passages. The assumption behind their endeavours, however, has always been that any difficult passage is both true and meaningful, and that it can be deciphered with the tools of traditional Muslim scholarship. Luxenberg accuses Western academic scholars of the Qur'an of taking a timid and imitative approach, relying too heavily on the biased work of Muslim scholars.
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CBS News: Spirituality for a Longer Life | Using Spiritualiy to "Self-Regulate" DNA

November 14, 2009 on CBS News:

Chris Wragge and Debbye Turner Bell speak with one of the world's leading authorities on alternative medicine and spirituality, Dr. Deepak Chopra about spirituality for living a longer life.

Godless Billboard Moved After Threats

November 12, 2009 on WCPO:

CINCINNATI -- In the wake of multiple, significant threats, the downtown billboard that says Dont Believe In God? You are not alone came down early Thursday morning.

The billboard had gone up Tuesday afternoon at Reading Road and 12th Street, one block south of Liberty Street and it is being moved to a new site Thursday at the Sixth Street Viaduct.

[...] "Everything that has happened shows just how vital our message is," said Shawn Jeffers, co-coordinator for the Cincinnati Coalition of Reason. "It proves our point, that bigotry against people who don't believe in a god is still very real in America. Only when we atheists, agnostics and humanists come together and go public about our views will people have a chance to learn that we too are part of the community and deserve respect."
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(via RichardDawkins.net)

Outcast by religion in Israel

by Metropolis TV

Sometimes religion can be the reason of a family break-up. Orthodox jews in Israël, for instance, can be completely ostracised when they decide to give up the faith of their parents.

Evangelist Tony Alamo Sentenced to 175 Years in Prison

November 13, 2009 on CNN

Evangelist Tony Alamo was sentenced Friday to 175 years in prison for taking underage girls across state lines for sex, effectively punishing him for the rest of his life for molesting children he took as "brides" in his ministry.

See also: FOX: Julie Banderas vs. Evangelist Tony Alamo

An Interview with a Taliban Trained Suicide Bomber

An interview with a Taliban trained Suicide Bomber With English Subtitles. What are the intentions and what are the motive forces behind the Suicide Bombing & other acts of terrorism? Watch from the mouth of a Taliban suicide bomber himself.

(via RichardDawkins.net)

Mr. Deity & Cast at the AAI 2009 Conference

Mr. Deity and cast perform live skits from their excellent web series. Brian Dalton (Deity) explains his personal journey from Mormonism to creating the show.

Watch Mr. Deity at:
http://mrdeity.com
Mr. Deity's YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/misterdeity

Filmed and Edited by
JOSH TIMONEN

Fire Jumping Festival

by Diagonal View

Worshippers dive into burning coals in this fiery festival from Kerala, India.

CNN: Spreading Islam in Britain

November 12, 2009 on CNN

CNN's Nic Robertson reports on a radical Islamic fringe active in Europe and close to al Qaeda.

See also: Jon Ronson: Tottenham Ayatollah Revisited (2005 Documentary)

Nigerian Footballer to be Lashed in Sudan After Drink Drive Charge

November 13, 2009 on ITN News

Nigerian player Stephen Worgu says he has been sentenced to 40 lashes in Sudan after being wrongly convicted of drink driving.

Hi-Tech Holy Water Dispenser Controls H1N1

November 12, 2009 ON Reuters

Italian worshippers use an electronic holy water dispenser to help prevent the spread of swine flu at a church at Capriano Briosco, about 50 kilometres north of Milan.