Law and Religion Headlines
Monday, 23 February 2026
Iran’s crackdown on Christians undermines Trump’s emphasis on religious freedom
(Janatan Sayeh and Samuel Ben-Ur, Foundation for Defense of Democracies)
Israel imposes restrictions on prisoners regarding religious rituals
(Jordan News)
Friday, 20 February 2026
The United States should pay attention to South Asia
(Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau, George W. Bush Presidential Center)
Azerbaijan, Egypt discuss exchange of experience in religious affairs
(Azerbaycan24, Azerbaycan)
Bill to make English an official language of NZ introduced to Parliament
(Giles Dexter, Radio New Zealand)
Lakemba Mosque calls for more security after third threatening letter as Ramadan begins
(Rhiannon Soliman-Marron, ABC News Australia)
Allama Muftah affirms full solidarity with Palestinians & all Arab & Islamic Nations
(Yemen News Agency)
Head of world churches body meets Sudan's prime minister, urging peace
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Breaking down NC’s 10-point pledge ahead of March 05 elections
(Nepal News)
Watchdogs say Russian church helped recruit young Kenyans who have fought in Ukraine
(Fredrick Nzwili, Word & Way)
Nigerian governor’s decision to spare Catholic cathedral in flyover project hailed as landmark of interfaith tolerance
(Abah Anthony John, Aciafrica)
Beyond conflict: Africa's interfaith reality
(DW)
“You can’t impose religion on us!” – Niger Christians reject Bago’s Hisbah Commission
(Mfonobong Daniel, Politics Nigeria)
Buddhist monks rally in Sri Lanka to pressure the government for a wider role in affairs of state
(Associated Press)
Israel’s highest court rebukes government for blocking egalitarian prayer at Western Wall
(Asaf Elia-Shalev, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The unique resilience of Iran’s theocracy
(Max J. Prowant, Law & Liberty)
Iran’s religious minorities face escalating persecution
(Cassidy Grom, Religion Unplugged)
Israel blocks Palestinians from attending Ramadan Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa
(Al Jazeera)
India's top court bars exhumation of tribal Christians’ bodies
(Michael Gonsalves, Union of Catholic Asian News)
When prayer meets police: why the law must bind us all
(Nick Dyrenfurth, The Australian)
Restoring human dignity and lives – A Lenten call to love
(Peter Loy Chong, The Fiji Times)
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Freedom, family, and faith: Introduction to IRF Summit 2026 (Part 1)
(Marianna Richardson, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Global democracies and the responsibility to promote religious freedom: Introduction to IRF Summit 2026 (Part 2)
(Marianna Richardson, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
U.S. House bill seeks tougher oversight of religious freedom abuses in Nigeria
(Vincent Matinde, Christian Daily)
Russia resorts to religion for sway in Africa
(Antony Sguazzin, Bloomberg)
Australia has ruled out repatriation for ISIS families. This isn’t a safe or coherent plan
(Se Youn Park, The Conversation)
El-Sisi extends Ramadan greetings to Egyptians and the Arab and Islamic nations
(Egypt Today)
Egypt to provide 1M meals to Gaza during Ramadan
(Egypt Today)
Bahrain launches renovation of 60 mosques across kingdom
(News of Bahrain)
A dispute over words points to the need for Christian diplomacy in Lebanon
(Katie O'Malley, Mission Network News)
Turkish government denies targeted deportation of Christian missionaries; Accuses European Parliament of ‘interference’
(ADF International)
Pope laments ‘ashes of international law’ left by today’s conflicts in Ash Wednesday liturgy
(Associated Press)
Palestinian Authority unveils new draft constitution
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Vatican’s top diplomat says Holy See won’t join Board of Peace
(Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Uzbekistan: Mosque prayers for sick mother to lead to former prisoner of conscience re-jailing?
(Forum 18 News Service)
Fostering cultures of peace in Latin America and the Caribbean: KAICIID co-organizes regional dialogue in Costa Rica
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Toronto mosque boosts security for Ramadan after receiving threats of violence
(CBC News)
Sudan: Local authority halts reconstruction and worship in Coptic church
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Taliban leader approves new law regulating religious preachers’ activities
(AtlasPress)
Religious and union groups raise concerns about push to ban certain phrases in Queensland
(Jack McKay, ABC News Australia)
PM Tarique Rahman vows to turn Bangladesh Into safe land for people of all faiths
(ETV Bharat)
Lent: Bishops rally Kenyans to defend human dignity and safeguard unity
(Rose Achiego Ande - Lodwar, Vatican News)
Monday, 16 February 2026
South Africa: Faith communities speak with one voice: No mandate for state regulation of religion
(Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA))
Turkey opens three mosques in Gaza as Ankara expands religious influence
(Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post)
Australia: Strict liability for abuse committed by non-employees: the AA case
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
Egypt’s Ministry of Interior announces exceptional inmate visits for Ramadan
(Egypt Today)
Free speech at stake in Quran-burning case, NSS warns
(National Secular Society)
Two children killed in drone strike on mosque in central Sudan: Doctors
(Al Jazeera)
Articles of interest - 16 February 2026
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Uzbekistan: Political prisoner tortured for protest against ban on reading Koran
(Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service)
Freedom of Thought Report
(Humanists International)
Indonesia: Islam-state relations under Prabowo: More carrots and more sticks, but less progressive and less civil?
(Ary Hermawan, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
15 years after Egypt’s uprising, how faith reshaped a generation
(Nareman Amin, Religion Unplugged)
Islamophobia on rise in Brazil
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))
Environmental destruction contributes to child labour, says interreligious roundtable
(World Council of Churches)
Intellectual prevention and sound awareness are the first line of defense against hate speech, racism, extremism, and terrorism
(Muslim Council of Elders)
China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest February 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Kurdistan PM receives UK Parliamentary Group on Freedom of Religion
(Kurdistan24)
Friday, 13 February 2026
Faith, policy, and the future: A cohesive vision for the G20 Interfaith Forum (Part 2)
(Marianna Richardson, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
International Women’s Day webinar will focus on human rights
(World Council of Churches)
A police attack on a place of worship is a worrying sign of the erosion of civil and political rights in Kenya
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Follow the law on construction of houses of worship, avoid politicising religion, says King
(Malay Mail)
Syria’s new government returns property to Syrian Jews who left decades ago
(Jane Arraf and Christine Arrasmith, NPR)
Egypt tests Trump’s pledge to defend persecuted Christians
(Mariam Wahba, Foundation for Defense of Democracies)
UAE lobbied pro-Israel groups to level antisemitism charges against Saudi Arabia
(Sean Mathews, Middle East Eye)
UAE announces private sector working hours during Ramadan
(Balaram Menon, Gulf News)
Key elements for the Jewish community are missing from Quebec’s new Constitution law: CIJA
(Joel Ceausu, Canadian Jewish News)
Religious diversity around the world
(Yunping Tong, Pew Research Center)
South Africa: Cogta Committee reaffirms constitutional protection of religious freedom amid concerns of overreach
(All Africa)
India: 'Contrary to religious freedom': Muslim Personal Law Board oppose govt order on Vande Mataram
(Amrita Madhukalya, Deccan Herald)
Jehovah’s Witnesses imprisoned for their faith—by location
(Jehovah's Witnesses)
Sri Lanka drops LGBTQ tourism plan amid religious pressure
(Quintus Colombage, Union of Catholic Asian News)
From Venezuela to Greenland, Catholic Bishops reassert ‘just war’ limits
(Gerald Powers, Religion Unplugged)
Saudi Arabia reshapes Vision 2030 around new priorities
(Jennifer Holleis, Deutsche Welle)
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Religion, ethnicity, and the jihadist search for a holy war in Nigeria
(James Barnett, Hudson Institute)
Institutions, communities, and individuals advancing the common good
(Bahá’í World News Service)
Quiet and often unseen, religious leaders promote peaceful and transparent elections – and ethical governance around the world
(Religions for Peace)
Religion in Modern Education: Conflict, Economics, and Politics
(Editors: David Kim and Melissa Lovell, Brill)
Regional colloquium on interreligious dialogue opens in Guinea with calls for peace, stability and fraternity
(Joseph Pronechen, ACI Africa)
Fresh kidnapping of nine parishioners in Nigeria “deeply saddening, unfortunate”, Catholic bishop in appeal for prayers
(Nicholas Waigwa, ACI Africa)
Christians in Nigeria live in fear amid kidnappings, killings
(Christian Daily)
Inside the Nigeria religious freedom bill: Why U.S. lawmakers are targeting Nigeria and the bigger questions it raises
(James David-Kings, Arbiterz)
Fifteen years after Egypt’s uprising, how faith and politics reshaped a generation
(Nareman Amin, The Conversation)
Campaign launched for the release of Christian convert from Egyptian prison
(Uzay Bulut, PJ Media)
Indian bishops call for the repeal of laws that ‘are inconsistent with religious freedom’
(Asia News)
Legal Spirits 074: Religion and the State in Japan (podcast)
(Eiichiro Takahata, Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
Drone strike on a mosque kills 2 children in Sudan’s Kordofan region
(Fatma Khaled, Associated Press)
Israel’s president visits Sydney’s Bondi Beach massacre site and meets victims’ families
(Rod McGuirk, Associated Press)
Peruvian prelate pioneering prison reform calls for social development
(Elise Ann Allen, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Britain’s top lawyer warns of ‘unacceptable reality’ facing Jewish communities
(Lee Harpin, Jewish News)
Cities for Inclusion Call for Proposals
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Two ultra-Orthodox parties to back draft-exemption law, state budget 'at any price'
(Aaron Rabinowitzand Noa Shpigel, Haaretz)
A police attack on a place of worship is a worrying sign of the erosion of civil and political rights in Kenya
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Monday, 9 February 2026
Yemen: Houthis arbitrarily detain, disappear Christians
(Human Rights Watch)
Foreign Minister affirms Bahrain’s consolidation of the values of human fraternity and interfaith harmony
(Bahrain News Agency)
How criminalizing hate speech in South Africa could unjustifiably censor religious views
(Elizabeth Brink, International Journal for Religious Freedom)
Church bells, chimes and calls to prayer: A religious blessing or noise nuisance?
(Helena van Coller, International Journal for Religious Freedom)
The conceptual placement of atheism in secularist and post-secularist conceptions of society
(Christo Lombaard, International Journal for Religious Freedom)
Towards an index on policies on and attitudes towards propagation of religion or belief
(Christof Sauer, International Journal for Religious Freedom)
Email Subscription
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies maintains a Law and Religion Headlines service covering news about freedom of religion or belief internationally. All interested may subscribe to this service, free of charge, using the link below.
Subscribe