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Religion
3:29 pm
Sun February 10, 2013

As Islam Grows, U.S. Imams In Short Supply

Credit Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Muslims pray during a special Eid ul-Fitr morning prayer at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Aug. 30, 2011, in Los Angeles.
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Originally published on Sun February 10, 2013 4:58 pm

Islam in America is growing exponentially. From 2000 to 2010, the number of mosques in the United States jumped 74 percent.

Today, there are more than 2,100 American mosques but they have a challenge: There aren't enough imams, or spiritual leaders, to go around.

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Politics
10:13 am
Sun February 10, 2013

Eerie Echoes From The First State Of The Union

Credit Edward Savage / Library of Congress
This print shows George Washington holding a proposed plan for the new capital city of Washington.
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Guns, immigration, support for diplomats abroad, and the nation's financial situation.

These are key issues facing President Obama as he delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term on Tuesday night, Feb. 12.

Surprisingly, these were also key issues facing President George Washington some 223 years ago, when he gave the very first state of the union speech.

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The Two-Way
10:02 am
Sun February 10, 2013

Chinese 'Pingpong Diplomacy' Player Dies

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By Krishnadev Calamur

The Chinese table tennis player who was instrumental in the pingpong diplomacy that paved the way for President Nixon's groundbreaking visit to China has died. Zhuang Zedong was 73.

Here's more from the BBC about the 1971 incident that led to pingpong diplomacy:

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The Two-Way
7:03 am
Sun February 10, 2013

Islamists Make Sufi Shrines A Target In North Africa

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Credit Fethi Belaid / AFP/Getty Images
A woman tries to salvage items from a burnt out Sufi shrine outside the Tunisian capital, Tunis, last October. Hard-line Islamists, known as Salafists, have attacked many Sufi shrines in Tunisia recently.
Credit Fethi Belaid / AFP/Getty Images
A Sufi man sits during his visit to a shrine in Tunis. Tunisia's government has promised emergency measures to protect Sufi Muslim mausoleums, which have been targeted by radical Islamist groups.
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By Kiran Alvi

When radical Islamists lash out at cultural sites they consider un-Islamic, a frequent target is Sufi Islam shrines.

Islamists in Tunisia have attacked almost 40 Sufi shrines in recent months, Sufi officials told AFP.

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The Two-Way
7:03 am
Sun February 10, 2013

Will Syria Become An Islamist State?

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Credit Muzaffar Salman / Reuters/Landov
A Syrian rebel prays on a street in the northern city of Aleppo in January. Many Syrians are debating what role Islam should play in Syria if the current secular government is toppled.
Credit Shaam News / Reuters/Landov
Residents walk near a mosque damaged in recent violence in Douma, near the Syrian capital, Damascus. Activists say it was shelled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Assad.
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The author, a Syrian citizen living in Damascus, is not being identified by NPR for security reasons. Many Syrians interviewed for this piece asked that their full names not be used, for their safety.

In most every Arab country where there's been an uprising in the past couple of years, Islamists have gained influence or come to power. Is the same thing destined to happen in Syria if President Bashar Assad's secular government is ousted?

Syrians may not know the answer, but they certainly are talking about it.

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