Religion

One of Shia Islam’s most sacred days was commemorated Oct. 11 at the Masjid-e-Ali Mosque on Cedar Grove Lane. Shab-e-Ashura – literally, “The Night Before the 10th – is the day before the day that the grandson of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad and 71 of his followers were killed in Karbala, Iraq, by the army of Yazid I, head of …

Submitted by Imam Syed Rizwan Rizvi. Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan. The tenth day of Muharram is the Day of Ashura, which to Shīʿah Muslims is part of the Mourning of Muharram. The months of Muharram and Safar offer the yearly opportunity to …

Dogs and cats and Guinea pigs and a snake received blessings Oct. 2 at the annual St. Matthias Catholic Church’s Blessing of the Animals ceremony. The ceremony is held each year on the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, said Deacon Russ Demkovitz, who conducted the blessing. St. Francis is also the …

Members of the Islamic Society of Franklin Township gathered Sept. 12 in a hotel ballroom to celebrate one of the holiest days in the Muslim calendar, Eid-al-Adha, or the “Feast of the Sacrifice.” Nearly 100 of the society’s members showed up at the Holiday Inn on Davidson Avenue for the prayer. The celebration commemorates Ibraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son …

By Dr. Alex Kharazi. For all of us and indeed for all Americans and people of good conscience around the world, 9/11 evokes memories of a moment in our history when the world as we knew it changed forever. We will come together as one community on Sunday, September 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Masjid-e-Ali, located at 47 Cedar Grove …

The New Jersey Buddhist Vihara Meditation Center on Route 27 held a day-long “birthday party” of sorts on Aug. 20. The “birthday boy” was the center’s 30-foot-tall Buddha statue, and the party was to commemorate the seventh anniversary of its installation. The celebration started early in the day, with visits from dignitaries such as a Sri Lankan ambassador and the president of …

A township church is helping a Zarephath-based radio station to create a temporary Sept. 11 memorial. Somerset Presbyterian Church, 100 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, is serving as a collection point for Star 99.1’s “Empty Shoe Memorial.” The station is collecting 2,996 pairs of shoes, one for every person who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as a …

Franklin Township police officers and members of two church congregations went door-to-door in one neighborhood Aug. 12. The goal of the walk through the Parkside neighborhood, according to its organizers, was to help the community and the officers get to know each other. “What we plan to accomplish is just for the police officers to have the opportunity to speak with the …

Religious leaders, township officials and the police department’s top brass met July 11 in the Community/Senior Center to call for unity and peace in the wake of killings in Minnesota, Louisiana and Dallas, Texas. “We stand here today collectively to work in the community to make sure everybody has somebody and to make sure the police department knows that we …

More than 50 people gathered in the courtyard of the Masjid-e-Ali Mosque June 30 to hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance of those killed by terrorists. The event was sparked by the June 28 attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey, in which 44 people were killed and about 240 injured. Alex Kharazi, vice president of the mosque and president …