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Meanwhile on ... Scotland's Isle of Lewis and Harris, Christians are extending a welcoming hand to a new mosque

And in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the government has allowed more than 200 indigenous Bronze Age artifacts to leave the country for the first time. 

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Cheyne/Reuters/File
Isle of Lewis and Harris Russell
  • By Staff

Scotland's Isle of Lewis and Harris, Christians are extending a welcoming hand to a new mosque. This remote outpost of the Scottish Hebrides is known for its conservative Christian attitudes, but when reporters sought out controversy over a mosque opening there this month, there was little to be found. When one minister of a breakaway Christian sect spoke of the dangers of Islam, two ministers from the island’s larger churches responded by praising Muslim residents’ contributions to the community and defending their right to worship as they see fit. One resident brought a £500 ($680) check to the mosque. “This goes a long way to show the love and support we have been receiving,” the mosque team tweeted.

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the government has allowed more than 200 indigenous Bronze Age artifacts to leave the country for the first time. The artifacts – highly decorated carriages, jewelry, weapons, and other items from the Silk Road kingdom of Margiana – will be on display in three German cities, beginning in Berlin. Margiana existed alongside Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt but is relatively unknown in the West, in part because of the Turkmenian government’s reluctance to allows its treasures to leave the country.

Santa cruz, Aruba, animal welfare advocates are working to nurture what remains of the island’s historic population of wild donkeys. Although for centuries donkeys were the main mode of transportation on the island, they went out of style when cars became popular. Many residents then freed their donkeys, creating a population of thousands of wild donkeys. Their numbers dwindled and are reported to have reached a low of 20-some donkeys in the 1970s. Donkey Sanctuary Aruba says there are about 200 donkeys on the island today. 

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