Notorious Spammer Brought Down Via Twitter

A science blogger explains the case of notorious spammer ‘Mabus’.

Hijab and the City defies French Muslim stereotypes

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A law banning the Muslim burqa, or full-face veil, went into effect today in France, a first in Europe. The World’s Gerry Hadden profiles two religious Muslims who defy French stereotypes of the modern Muslim women. Download MP3

Video: If you were President

Turkey: Where politics and religion mix

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Matthew Brunwasser reports on the funeral Tuesday of a former Turkish Prime Minister, now considered the father of political Islam in Turkey, one of the few countries in the Middle East region to successfully mix religion and politics. Download MP3

Reverberations from 2005 Muhammad cartoon

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Today in a Danish court a Somali man said he was only trying to scare Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard when he broke into his home last year. Westergaard was the author of a controversial caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, a cartoon that sparked Muslim protests around the globe. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with The World’s Carol Hills about the Muhammad cartoons controversy and its ongoing reverberations. Download MP3

South African political cartoonist Zapiro

Jonathan Shapiro has been known as Zapiro since he was a teenager. South Africa’s best-known political cartoonist learned the power of visual expression in the 1980s as a propagandist for the anti-apartheid movement. Today, he’s regarded across South Africa’s diverse population as the moral compass of his country, trying to keep the still-developing democracy well, democratic.

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Pakistan rallies in support of blasphemy law

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More than 50,000 demonstrators rallied in Pakistan’s teeming port city of Karachi yesterday against changing Pakistan’s blasphemy law. The law has support across a spectrum of Pakistanis, including those who have lived and worked abroad. Madiha Tahir reports on how the case, and the controversy, has exposed new fault lines among Pakistanis. Download MP3

Radio program keeps Palestinian Christians connected

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The World’s Matthew Bell visits a Christian radio station in Bethlehem that tries to help Palestinian Christians stay connected with one another and their religion. Download MP3

Play deals with Catholic sex abuse

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An orphaned choir boy is abused by his Catholic priest, and grows up to be a troubled parent. That’s the plot of a play that opened last month in Regensburg, Germany, just as that city’s real-life clergy abuse scandal came to light. Susan Stone travels to the Bavarian city, where stunned audiences are considering their own tragic past. Download MP3 (Photo: Juliane Zitzlsperger)

• Theater Regensburg (German)
• Catholic Church sex abuse scandals around the world

Street names, Bible translators and locavore language

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When it comes to naming a street, you can go with the bland: Bella Vista Ave. Or not: Mugabe St. In the Palestinian city of Ramallah, some recently named streets celebrate “fallen matyrs”. Israel too, memorializes its “freedom fighters” from the early 20th century. Also, a conversation with the head of the world’s largest Bible translation organization. The group wants to translate the Bible into every language by 2025. Finally, language journalist Michael Erard declares why henceforth he will use only words that are locally grown and sustainably packaged. Download MP3

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World Books Interview: The Films of Robert Bresson

For director Martin Scorsese and others, French film director Robert Bresson is “one of the cinema’s greatest artists.” Oxford University Press has just published the first comprehensive volume in English that celebrates and analyzes Bresson’s challenging genius.

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• Bill Marx’s Arts Fuse blog

New Catholic child sex abuse allegations

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Questions are being raised about whether Pope Benedict was personally involved in covering up a case of child sex abuse by a Roman Catholic priest. Documents seen by the New York Times newspaper suggest that in the 1990s, before he became pope then Cardinal Ratzinger failed to respond to letters about a US case. Marco Werman talks with John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter. Download MP3 (Photo: Sergey Kozhukhov)

• New York Times story
• Vatican website

Murder of Russian priest creates tension

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One month ago Father Daniil Sysoyev was killed by a masked gunman in St. Thomas Church in southern Moscow (pictured). The Russian Orthodox priest was a high-profile critic of Islam who actively sought Muslim converts, and so suspicion fell on Muslims. Although no one has been arrested, tensions between the church and leaders of the Islamic community are rising as Laura Lynch reports. Download MP3 (Photo: Laura Lynch)

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Women of the Wall

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A group called ‘Women of the Wall’ holds monthly prayer meetings at the Western Wall. Recently, a woman was arrested for wearing a prayer shawl and reading the Torah at the Wall. The group is pushing for more women’s religious rights within Orthodox Judaism. And it’s getting some in Israel really angry, as Linda Gradstein reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Women of the Wall homepage

Religious leaders promise climate action

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Global religious leaders gathered in England to urge–and offer–commitments to combat climate change. The World’s Jane Little reports.

Burka debate stirs Canada’s Muslims

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There’s a religious debate taking place in Canada. Some Muslims there say they want the country to set some limits on freedom of religion.The Muslim Canadian Congress is lobbying to ban burkas or any other kind of Islamic face covering. Anita Elash reports from Toronto.