PARIS -- As the three young North African women talked about their Muslim faith at a cafe here one recent evening, they could not help noticing how patrons at the next table were reacting.
One French man leaned so far back in his chair to hear the animated discussion that he almost joined the group. Suspicion and disapproval darkened his look.
Nadia Mirad, a psychology student who works at a children's activity center, knows that look. Last year, she recalled, when she asked for a day off to celebrate the end of the annual Ramadan fast, her boss exploded.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0224/p10s01-woeu.html?s=mesetAlso in our series "Troubled spirit: Europe's struggle with religion":
In a secular ocean, waves of spirituality
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0223/p01s03-woeu.htmlTwo Mormons try to convert the French
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0223/p10s01-woeu.htmlReader responses
http://blogs.csmonitor.com/secular_europe/Opinion: Moral doughnuts, backbone, and you
ROCKVILLE, MD. – This month, a politician showed backbone, something many of us believe no longer exists in politics. Ask Americans how they feel about politicians, and most will use words like "sleazy," "corrupt," and "liars." In the discussions that follow, an idea eventually emerges that captures it all: "They will say or do anything to get elected." Heads then nod agreement.
Maryland Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. fired an aide this month for spreading apparently unfounded - certainly mean-spirited - rumors about a political rival and possible 2006 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. In firing Joseph Steffen, who'd been with him since his days in Congress, Governor Ehrlich cut to the chase: "I don't put up with this, and I will not put up with this. Bottom line."
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s02-coop.html