SPOKANE VALLEY — Nearly 800 Muslims came together at the Islamic Center of Spokane on Sunday morning to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr — a holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Ramadan is Islam’s holy month in which Muslims fast from sunup to sundown, say extra prayers, read the Quran and give to charity.

A Moscow court on Friday (Aug. 17) found three members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot guilty of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after a guerrilla performance in Moscow's main cathedral in February. They were sentenced to two years in a penal colony.

The left is jubilant that Mitt Romney has chosen Paul Ryan as his vice president running mate. The argument seems to be that Americans, by a significant majority, do not agree with the values that Ryan holds, particularly the values that are actually reflected in the “Ryan budget.”

The image I most closely associate with the Jewish concept of tzedakah (charity) comes from my childhood. I remember little boxes, emblazoned with the Israeli flag, at my Hebrew school. Each had a small slot for coins on top — a kind of Zionist-looking piggybank.

The Spokane Islamic Center invites the community to celebrate the end of Ramadan with them on Sunday. An Eid-ul-Fitr prayer will be held at 10 a.m. and will be followed with a community potluck.

Now that people can’t “afford” to toss any coins out the window those darn panhandlers are making folks feel guilty, and so the scrutiny begins. Rev. Alan Eschenbacher Ethics » Money & Giving Panhandling ordinance demonizes the lower class http://spokanefavs.com/ethics/money-and-giving/panhandling-ordinance-demonizes-the-lower-class Tracy SimmonsTracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion …