News Briefs

Dalai Lama Visits D.C. Sukkah

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Dalai Lama visited the sukkah of a Washington synagogue.

The Buddhist spiritual leader met with the congregation's worshippers in the sukkah of Adas Israel Synagogue after Saturday's Sukkot holiday prayers, Ynet reported.

The Dalai Lama told the crowd that it was his first time inside a sukkah, and that he admires Jews very much for their perseverance through years of oppression.

He also stated that he has "a lot to learn from the Jews" and sees them as an example for his own Tibetan people, who have been in exile for 50 years.

President Barack Obama declined to meet with the Dalai Lama during his time in Washington for fear that it might aggravate the Chinese government ahead of the president's upcoming visit to Beijing.

The president hopes to convince China to impose sanctions on Iran in the U.N. Security Council.

Report: 1 in 4 Are Muslim

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Nearly 1 in 4 people in the world are Muslim, according to a new report.

The global Muslim population is 1.57 billion, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life report, which was released last week.

The report estimated the world population at 6.8 billion.

Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon, China has more than Syria, Russia has more than Jordan and Libya combined, and Ethiopia has nearly as many Muslims as Afghanistan, the report disclosed.

More than 60 percent of the world's Muslims live in Asia, followed by 20 percent in the Middle East and North Africa.

The report, which took three years to compile, analyzed the Muslim populations in 232 countries.