Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 11/5/2025

Inside Zohran Mamdani’s bid to win over religious New Yorkers  
Religion News Service: Over the past year, the mayor-elect leaned on his Muslim identity to mobilize voters from across traditions, from Friday prayers and Diwali celebrations in Queens, to Baptist church services in Harlem and Sukkot observances in Hasidic Williamsburg. 

Nigeria, in Trump’s cross hairs, rejects Christian genocide claims* 
The New York Times: Officials have accused the United States of foreign interference and called on Washington to support the country’s democracy instead of fomenting division.

I’m one of the clergy ICE assaulted. They treat immigrants worse.* 
Sojourners: “If they can do that to me, when I’m dressed in a clergy collar and not on federal property, while the whole world is watching, then what are they doing inside that facility, which immigrant rights advocates describe as a ‘black hole’?” asks Michael Woolf, a minister in the Chicago-area.

Meet the Austrian nuns who fled a care home to break into their old convent 
NPR: The three octogenarian sisters recently ran away from a nursing home and, with the help of a local locksmith, broke back into the convent that used to be their home. They claim they were taken to a nursing home against their will when church authorities shuttered the cloisters as nun numbers diminished.

Graffiti-style prayers: ‘Hear Us’ brings marginalized voices into Canterbury Cathedral  
Religion Unplugged: In recent weeks, visitors to the cathedral have been surprised to find eye-catching graffiti on the walls. But this is not the work of vandals; the colorful graphics are part of a thought-provoking art installation centered on the idea of asking questions to God.

The Spark

November’s closest supermoon will appear even grander
A supermoon is a celestial event where the moon’s orbit brings it closer to Earth than usual. Today’s supermoon will be the closest in 2025, says USA Today.

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