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At first glance it would seem that yoga, an ancient spiritual and physical discipline originating in India, and Christianity, an Abrahamic religion that began in modern-day Israel during the first century AD, have little in common.

Practitioners of 'Holy Yoga', however, might disagree. According to the not-for-profit Christian ministry's website, 'Holy Yoga is an experiential worship created to deepen people's connection to Christ.' In Holy Yoga, Sanskrit phrases are replaced with Bible verses and stretching is done to the tune of gospel music.

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Source: ABC

A plan to build a new mosque in Melbourne's south eastern suburbs has been dumped by Casey council.

Only about half of the people who turned up to watch the proceedings, were able to fit into the council chambers. About one hundred were left outside, the doors to the civic centre guarded by a line of police.

Inside, Casey Mayor Sam Aziz read out a pre-prepared speech endorsing a recommendation by council officers not to allow a permit for the mosque with a "typical Islamic dome style roof" and 25-metre minaret on a vacant rural property on Belgrave-Hallam Road in Narre Warren.

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Source: The Age

Victoria has appointed its first Muslim woman to the bench.

Ms Masood, who is of Sri Lankan background, will be the first Muslim woman to sit on the bench of any Victorian court.

Ms Masood started practising criminal law in 2003 and has worked for the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Australian Tax Office.

She has worked cases in the Magistrates', County, Children's, Family and Federal Courts.

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Source: The Age

Passover is a Jewish festival which celebrates when the Israelites were freed from slavery under the Egyptians.

It is always a spring festival, although the date in the Roman calendar changes slightly each year.

In the Hebrew calendar it is celebrated from the 15th through the 22nd of the month of Nissan.

The festival, known as Pesach in Hebrew, is thought to be named such as a reference to when God “passed over” the houses of the Hebrews during the last of the ten plagues recorded in the book of Exodus.

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Source: Huffington Post

The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pakistani grand imam Maulana Khabir Azad are among 270 signatories of an interfaith climate change statement.

The statement outlines the positive judgement of the adopted Paris Agreement and urges for its prompt signature and ratification by governments.

The statement emphasises each person’s “moral responsibility” to care for our shared Earth.

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Source: Climate Home

The Victorian Government is committed to preventing violent extremism by providing an effective, accessible and targeted grants programs to build social cohesion and resilience within communities across Victoria.

The Community Resilience Grants are now open and provide an opportunity for eligible community, not-for-profit, youth and peak body organisations to deliver innovative projects to address the underlying conditions of violent extremism.

More than 2000 Sikh members from Melbourne took to the streets of Dandenong to mark annual celebrations of Vaisakhi.

The procession commemorated the anniversary of the brotherhood of the Khalsa on April 13, 1699 – one of the most significant dates in Sikh history – as well as ushering in the spring.

The sound of drums filled the streets of Dandenong on Sunday as thousands of devout Sikhs took part in one of Melbourne’s biggest annual Nagar kirtan.

Traditional orange flags and outfits of the Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan brought a splash of colour to a grey Sunday afternoon in Melbourne.

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Source: Singh Station

On Tuesday 29 March 2016, Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence tabled its findings with a 1900 page report which includes 227 recommendations.

The report includes a ten-page section on 'Faith Communities', highlighting the important role faith-based communities and organisations can play in the lives of Victorians affected by family violence.

The report notes it is important that faith-based communities address barriers to the disclosure, prevention of, or recovery from family violence.