More than 70 killed in bombing of Iraqi Shiite mosque

Iraqi shop owners clear debris a day after a parked motorcycle loaded with explosives blew up in a market at Husseiniya, north east of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, June 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Karim kadim)

Shiite cleric: Sarkozy should review burqa stance

Lebanon’s most influential Shiite cleric called on French President Nicolas Sarkozy to reconsider his statements regarding women who wear the burqa saying the will of Muslim women who decide to cover their faces should be respected.

Shiite leaders condemn Afghan govt on books dumping

The Afghan government was facing severe condemnation Wednesday from Shiite leaders after it quietly dumped more than 1,000 Shiite texts and other books into a river.

Afghan govt destroys books it says insult Sunnis

The Afghan government quietly dumped more than 1,000 Shiite texts and other books from Iran into a river after a local governor complained that their content insulted the country’s Sunni majority.

New Family Law for Sunni Women in Bahrain Not for Shiites

A new family law for Sunnis, which protects the rights of women in Shariah (Islamic) law courts, was approved by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on May 27. Women’s activists have pledged to continue their fight for a just law for the Gulf Arab kingdom’s Shiites.

Ayatollah says nail polish permitted under Islam

Religious edicts are generally not fodder for beauty salon gossip, but as soon as Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Fadlallah issued a fatwa allowing women to pray wearing nail polish, word spread through Beirut faster than knockoff Prada bags.

Top Shiite clergy says Lebanon has turned into intelligence center

Lebanese Shiite top spiritual leader Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said on Sunday that Lebanon has become the center of regional and international intelligence services, local Elnashra website reported.