Having seen the type of headlines about Islam and Muslims that have proliferated over the decades I recoil at the association of a religion, Buddhism, with “terror” and violence. This kind of sensationalist treatment is unnecessary and when it becomes a cultural meme can have near irreversible consequences.

Two French students have discovered a creative way to protest against the burqa ban in France — walking around the streets of Paris in a niqab, high heels and mini-shorts. (via Telegraph)

In America the terrorist threat posed by radical Islam has been exaggerated, according to a study by researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

But sadly, in an election season, such sentiments have been stoked into a political issue. As the debate has grown more heated, Park51, as the proposed Muslim cultural center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero is called, has become a litmus test for everything from private-property rights to religious tolerance.