Everyday, evidence of our increasingly diversified community is presented in any number of ways. We see new ethnic restaurants pop up all the time, see bilingual newspapers, or hear neighbors speaking in a multiplicity of tongues.

So it should come as no surprise that the world of comic book superheroes should similarly evolve. I refer to The Fantastic Four, the famous team of crime-fighting superheroes whose exploits are available at a store near you. With one twist: The action will for the first time ever be documented en Español.

According to a report from the Associated Press last week, the latest chronicles of the adventures of Sue, Reed, Johnny and Ben are now available in English and Spanish.

The bilingual issue marks a first for a major American comic book publisher. And it’s no surprise, given that Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the United States after English, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

And at a population of approximately 44 million, Hispanics are the nation’s largest ethnic or racial minority. In fact, according to 2005 figures, the U.S. had the third-largest Hispanic population in the world, second only to Mexico (106 million) and Colombia (43 million). The U.S.’s Hispanic population then was 42.7 million.

Released Friday, “Fantastic Four: Isla de la Muerte!� — or “Los Cuatro Fantasticos: !Isla de la Muerte!� — takes the long-running series to Puerto Rico, according to publisher Marvel Entertainment Inc.’s Web site. The book’s name translates as “Island of Death� in Spanish, and the crime-fighters will confront a mythical creature of Latino lore.

Kwanzaa, the week-long Pan-African festival most popular in the United States, begins today.

Running annually from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, Kwanzaa focuses on seven African principles: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).

The non-religious holiday was developed in the United States in the mid 1960s as a way for African-Americans and others in the diaspora to focus on the culture, history and traditions of Africa.

Key Kwanzaa symbols include the kinara, or candle holder; the seven candles for the holder; crops to represent the harvest; a mat symbolizing the foundational importance of history and tradition; and the unity cup.

Kwanzaa is Swahili for “first fruits.�

For more about the holiday, click here.

I can’t tell you how old I was at the time, but I do remember my head barely reaching the fourth drawer on my bedroom bureau. And looking down at me were rows of Barbie dolls, all white, all blond and all beautiful. The toys — though hand-me-downs — were still a precious treasure. I would carefully comb their tresses to a shine, dress them in attire befitting their stature. Some were gowned, others fashionably modern, and all were models worthy of aspiration to a young girl.

In a recent documentary about race, a New York City high school student recreates the famous 1940s “doll test” conducted by scientist and educator Dr. Kenneth Clark. Kiri Davis, who was 16 years old when she made the the film “A Girl Like Me” presents a group of black children with a white doll and black doll and then asks them which one they think is better. Like Clark’s original experiment, the children overwhelmingly chose the white dolls. Check out a clip of her documentary below.

I can’t help but wonder what I would’ve chosen if given the option. Would I have preferred the blue-eyed blond or the brown-eyed brunette?

Anyhow, it’s too late for that test and I’m too old for dolls. BUT Read more of this entry »

The New York Times had an article in today’s paper about a growing trend among Muslim men in Egypt. Writer Michael Slackman reports that as Egypt experiences a revival of the Islamic faith, many are eager to prove their religious piety. And while women will adopt the hijab, a scarf fitted around the hair and ears and wrapped around the neck, men will wear their faith on their foreheads.

Slackman writes: Read more of this entry »

Rockland residents are this week leaving to participate in the hajj, the sacred annual journey to Mecca that is one of the five pillars of Islam.

The hajj, which begins on Tuesday this year, consists of a series of detailed rituals that Muslims believe date back to the prophet Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and to the prophet Muhammad, Islam’s final and revered prophet.

Pilgrims believe participation cleanses them of their sins. Millions will go to Medina, the site of Muhammad’s grave, then to Jeddah, and Mecca and nearby Mina and Arafat.

In Mecca, the pilgrims — all dressed in white — will walk and pray the required seven times around the Ka’aba, which is a stone building at Mecca’s Great Mosque and which Muslims believe was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael.

The journey around the Saudi Arabia sites is physically arduous and financially costly, but pilgrims say it is worth it to retrace the steps of their prophets.

The pilgrimage to Mecca is required at least once of all able-bodied Muslims who have the financial means.

The end of the pilgrimage is marked with a joyous, three-day festival known as Eid al-Adha.

The start of three-day festival is one of Islam’s holiest days and commemorates the prophet Abraham’s willingness to give his son’s life as a sacrifice. God stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead.

According to the Islamic Society of North America, Eid al-Adha will be on Wednesday.

Gami Mostafa, acting imam of the Islamic Center of Rockland, said the concept of the hajj pilgrimage is one of peace.

“The pilgrimage is a devotion (of) love, obedience, sincerity and submission to God by pilgrims,� Mostafa said. “(The) Pilgrimage has been described as (the) experience of a lifetime and a journey of the soul.�

Today is International Human Rights Day, the 59th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly.

Adopted on Dec. 10, 1948, the landmark document calls upon all member countries to publicize and enact its provisions.

The declaration, which starts with “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,� contains a preamble and 30 articles that, according to the UN, elaborate the core values of universal human dignity, non-discrimination, equality and fairness for all.

The UDHR is the most translated document in the world (more than 360 languages, at last count.) To see the document translated into those languages, click here.

The UDHR is generally believed to be the foundation of international law.

Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that given the ongoing struggles against violence, racism, xenophobia, torture and repression of speech and other injustices, and the growing divide between rich and poor, the vulnerable and the powerful, aggressors and their victims, the relevance of the document needs to be loudly reaffirmed.

“It is difficult to imagine today just what a fundamental shift the Universal Declaration of Human Rights represented when it was adopted …,” she said. “In a post-war world scarred by the Holocaust, divided by colonialism and wracked by inequality, a charter setting out the first global and solemn commitment to the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings, regardless of color, creed or origin, was a bold and daring undertaking.”

Today also marks the start of the year-long commemoration of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the declaration.

The theme for year-long celebration is “Dignity and justice for all of us.�

For the full text of the UDHR, click here.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security plan to get FDNY members involved in anti-terrorism is being met with unease by a national Muslim civil liberties organization.

Firefighters in New York and other cities across the country are being trained to be lookouts for terrorism, according to news reports.

Firefighters don’t need warrants to enter homes and buildings, and therefore are in a unique position to look for suspicious materials, literature or equipment.

But, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Association of Muslim American Lawyers and the Sikh Coalition questioned the plan in a joint statement issued Nov. 28.

“Undoubtedly, firefighters should inform law enforcement authorities of activity deemed ‘suspicious’ under a reasonable person standard. However, FDNY’s partnership with the government as intelligence agents may compromise resident’s trust in firefighters and consequently threaten the fire department’s standing as a group that our city holds in high esteem,” the statement read.

The American Civil Liberties Union and many firefighters across the nation have expressed concern about the plan’s effects, but FDNY officials have spoken in favor of the plan.

The Rev. Francisco Moriones chuckled as he discussed his upcoming birthday party.

The priest at Tagaste Monastery in Suffern marked his 97th birthday on Monday, and his fellow friars were planning to host a celebration complete with cake and guest appearances from area officials belonging to the Order of Augustinian Recollects.

As he talked Monday, Moriones, a multi-lingual Spaniard who joined the priesthood 73 years ago, said this decade has been productive.

Moriones embarked upon an ambitious project when he turned 90. He decided to write a book.

“I began writing the book when I was 90, finished when I was 93 and published it when I was 95,â€? Moriones said of his work, titled “Teologia de San Agustinâ€? (or, “Theology of St. Augustin”).

The publishers in Madrid tell him the book is selling well, Moriones said. The volume sells for about 35 euros, or around $51.

Although the priest was no stranger to writing — having already published other books in Spanish as well as in Latin — one part of the process was new to him: the computer.

“I had never used one before,â€? he said in his softly-accented English, “and I learned word processing. I typed the book myself, over 800 pages.â€?

Moriones, who is the oldest priest in the entire Augustinian order, is looking forward to the future.

“I can see 100 coming close,â€? he said.

Today is the first full day of Hanukkah, the joyous eight-day Jewish holiday also known as “The Festival of Lights.�

Hanukkah is an eight-day celebration marking the re-dedication of the Jerusalem temple after a freedom war fought by Judah Maccabee and his brothers and followers against the Greeks and Syrians.

The Maccabees were eventually victorious, but the Greeks had defiled the temple.

According to the tradition, the Temple needed to be cleansed during the re-dedication. There was one container of pure oil for the lamp – one container that should have lasted only one day. It lasted for eight days.

The most recognizable symbol of Hanukkah — and one that you will see again and again around Rockland, which is home to an estimated 100,000 Jews — is the nine-branch Hanukkah menorah (or Hanukkiah).

A popular holiday activity is the dreidel game (where children spin a four-sided top). People eat potato pancakes known as “latkes,” and many people also give gifts on each of the eight days.

Hanukkah gelt is usually given to children. “Gelt” — the Yiddish word for “money” — has traditionally been given in the form of small coins.

The holiday began at sundown yesterday.

According to an Associated Press report, the Sudanese teacher jailed for insulting Islam after allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad was pardoned today.

The British teacher, 54-year-old Gillian Gibbons, was convicted and sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation for insulting Islam, but today, Sudan’s president pardoned her. Her time in jail since her arrest Nov. 25 counted toward the sentence.

The conviction of Gibbons under Sudan’s Islamic Sharia law shocked Britons and many Muslims worldwide. It also inflamed passions among many Sudanese, some of whom called for her execution.

Initially, under the Sudan’s Islamic Sharia law, Gibbons was facing 40 lashes, six months in prison and a fine.

In a written statement released by the presidential palace and read by Warsi reporters, Gibbons said,

I have a great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone … I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends, but I am very sorry that I will be unable to return to Sudan.

Read the original blog post here: Teacher’s teddy bear taboo in Sudan could result in 40 lashes