Aug 9th, 2007 · Thousands are walking the streets of Baghdad, performing an annual pilgrimage to the shrine of a much-loved Shiite Imam, or saint. Because many Shiite observances were suppressed under Saddam Hussein, the pilgrimage is an important part of Shiite identity but dangerous.
Jul 31st, 2007 · Built around her crisp acoustic guitar and clear-eyed, observant delivery, "Ludlow Street" -- one of the standout tracks on Suzanne Vega's new, New York-themed Beauty & Crime -- brings to mind the graceful flow of her early work.
Jul 20th, 2007 · Hotels catering to a new class of prosperous, observant Muslims are cropping up around Turkey.
May 16th, 2007 · The 10 GOP presidential candidates squared off for their second debate in South Carolina on Tuesday night. Support in that state is seen as critical in choosing the next Republican nominee. Our observer says the event was lively.
Sep 11th, 2006 · Geneive Abdo talks about her new book, Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America after 9/11. Abdo interviewed Muslims across the United States and found that most of them have altered their lifestyles after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists -- and that many have become more pious and religiously observant.
Aug 22nd, 2006 · One observer of the security situation in Iraq says that the U.S. response to Iraq's growing violence is failing to quell the trouble.
Aug 19th, 2006 · Will the conflict in Lebanon cost Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert his job? One close observer says Israelis are frustrated by the way the war was carried out, but are not ready for new elections. Hirsh Goodman of the Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University discusses popular reaction in Israel with Debbie Elliott.
Jul 9th, 2006 · For millennia, observant Jewish women have made monthly trips to a ritual bath called a mikvah for a kind of spiritual cleansing. In recent generations, the practice was dismissed by liberal Jews as demeaning. Now, some feminist Jews are reinventing the ritual.