Thomas Jefferson: bringing religious freedom to you, since 1786A day devoted to commemorating "the passage of Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom" came and went, and I had no idea it even existed. Did you? So, while Britney's potential conversion to Islam (which I posted about on Religious Freedom Day) and problems of intermarriage (which Tamar posted about on Religious Freedom Day) are of obvious interest and importance (especially Britney, duh), I feel kind of remiss in my "faith and belief" reporting duties. Religious Freedom Day: We'll be ready for you on January 16, 2009!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch: A New York Sikh man was the victim of an unprovoked attack in Queens last week. His assailant apparently called him an Arab before punching him outside of his gurdwara.

An op-ed in the Jerusalem Post asserts that by insisting on the Lubavitcher Rebbe's role as messiah, they "diminish rather than aggrandize him," and claims that what made the Rebbe so great to begin with was that, like us, he was just another mortal.

In Pakistan, two more suspects have been arrested in the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and violence broke out along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border yesterday in response to the Shiite holiday of Ashura.

Finally, Ashura wreaked havoc in Iraq as well, where militants used everything from bombs to gunfire to rockets in their attacks on pilgrims observing the holiday.