Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 3 August 2022
China: ‘I fear they will normalise this’ – Restrictions combine to make life even more difficult for religion and belief groups in China
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Nicaragua’s government shutters 6 church radio stations
(Gabriela Selser, Associated Press)
Iraq: Followers of cleric told to withdraw from Iraq’s parliament
(Samya Kullab, Associated Press)
Eight years into genocide, Yazidi community threatened by political inaction
(Yazda)
India: Hyderabad: Masjid-e-Khaja bulldozed late at night in Shamshabad
(Shaista Khan, Siasat Daily)
India: How religious worship is boosting conservation in India
(Kavitha Yarlagadda, BBC News)
Religion, health, and public life: A conversation with Becky Yang Hsu
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Somalia names former al-Shabab spokesperson as religion minister
(Al Jazeera)
Somalia appoints former al-Shabab militant as new religious affairs minister
(Deutsche Welle)
Deborah Lipstadt, back from Saudi Arabia, says progress underway on combatting antisemitism in Gulf states
(Andrew Lapin, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Turkish NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom is hosting an interfaith basketball clinic in Jerusalem
(Jacob Gurvis, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
"While standing up to the enemy, Ukraine thinks about feeding the world’s hungry,"- Head of the UGCC
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
An interfaith prayer for Ukraine held in Bucha
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Churches criticize Ukraine’s OK of Council of Europe women’s convention
(Jonathan Luxmoore, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Russia: Government pressure on religious leaders to support Ukraine war
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
Colombian bishops offer president-elect support in tackling narco criminal gangs
(La Croix International)
Putin’s war in Ukraine politicizing Muslims in Russia – OpEd
(Paul Goble, Eurasia Review)
Pope Francis to visit Kazakhstan for interfaith conference
(Al Jazeera)
Religions for Peace-South Africa hosts interfaith youth climate program
(Facebook, Religions for Peace)
‘Biased’, ‘selective’, ‘antisemitic’: Accusations against the UN commission of inquiry on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
(Rosa Freedman, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Pakistani politician calls for expulsion of Ahmadis
(Kamran Chaudhry, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Faith groups praised for response during Covid pandemic
(Paul Jeffrey, Union of Catholic Asian News)
South Korea: Prayers, songs in South Korea express hopes for reconciliation and the WCC 11th Assembly
(World Council of Churches)
Russia: Freedom of religion or belief: Special bimonthly digest (16-31.07.2022)
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Amos C. Brown Fellowship to Ghana begins
(Newsroom: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Religious freedom rolled back in Sudan
(Barnabas Fund)
El Salvador: The faith-based politics of El Salvador’s millennial president
(Amy Fallas, Religion & Politics: Fit for Polite Company)
In Japan, ties between politics and religion run deep
(Will Fee, Japan Times)
The impact of religion and religious organizations
(Elizabeth Clark, SSRN)
Turkey: Former President Gül implies ruling AKP should keep religion out of politics
(Turkish Minute)
The Turkish school preserving culture of young Uighurs in exile
(Jaclynn Ashly, Al Jazeera)
Archbishop of Canterbury’s remarks on human dignity lift up traditional and progressive marriage beliefs
(David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service)
Monday, 1 August 2022
North Korea: USCIRF releases report on Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism and religious freedom in North Korea
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Vocation of the Business Leader: A Reflection, 5th ed.
(Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
Australia: Parliament to host de facto euthanasia debate with territory rights bill
(Lisa Visentin, The Sydney Morning Herald)
Hong Kong: Religious freedom next to be threatened in Hong Kong, says Christian campaigner
(Tola Mbakwe, Premier Christian News)
Iran arrests members of Baha’i faith on spying charge
(Associated Press)
Salvadoran Archbishop praises government crackdown on gangs
(Associated Press)
Iraq cleric’s followers camped out in parliament for 2nd day
(Samya Kullab and Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press)
Canada: Pope visits Nunavut for final apology of his Canadian tour
(Nicole Winfield and Rob Gillies, Associated Press)
Many educational systems, a common good
(Albert Cheng, Rian Djita, David Hunt, Cardus)
Photos of the week: Pope visits Canada; Hindu festivals
(Jessi Dodge, Religion News Service)
Japan: Lawyers say church caused suffering for Abe’s alleged killer
(Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press)
Articles of interest - 1 August 2022
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Argentine bishops call for more action to tackle country’s economic crisis
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
There is a lot of antisemitic hate speech on social media – and algorithms are partly to blame
(Sabine von Mering, Monika Hübscher, The Conversation)
US officials ‘outraged’ over comments made by member of UN inquiry into Israel-Gaza conflict
(Andrew Lapin, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Kremlin refuses to comment on situation surrounding Jewish Agency for Israel
(Interfax-Religion)
Russian state news agency reports Ukrainian church politics
(RIA Novosti, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))
Indonesia: In Yogyakarta, we are giving fellows a unique experience in the context of interreligious training
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Two weeks in review, 18 July – 31 July
(Tal Gross, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
President of Peru attends interfaith prayer service hosted by Latter-day Saints
(Church Newsroom)
Vietnamese religious leader appeals five-year sentence
(Radio Free Asia)
There is no freedom to insult — Hafiz Hassan
(Malay Mail)
Egypt keeps former powerhouse Muslim Brotherhood out of politics
(Reuters)
Egypt: Mabrouk Attia to stand trial over contempt of religion charges
(Egypt Independent)
Ghana: Harmonious religious diversity is a force for good – Dr Bawumia, as he Launches to Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana’s 175th Anniversary
(African Business)
Pakistan: Abolishing blasphemy laws in Pakistan will lead to more violence
(Farah Adeed, Acton Institute)
Thailand: Southern museum eyes multiculturalism
(Bangkok Post)
Human trafficking: ‘All-out assault’ on rights, safety and dignity
(Modern Diplomacy)
Lao Evangelical church conducts peace building workshop for Christian leaders
(Institute for Global Engagement)
“Call Bethel”: Jehovah’s Witnesses and sexual abuse. 1. A biased investigation
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
Friday, 29 July 2022
Vietnam religious freedoms group hits out at sentences against Peng Lei members
(Radio Free Asia)
Weekly Highlight #215: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: COVID-19 vaccination and social assistance efforts; tensions play out in the law
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Afghanistan: The UN must not ignore Afghan religious minorities
(Martin Parsons, The Critic)
Responsiveness to religious inequalities in contexts of displacement: Evidence from providers of humanitarian assistance to Shi’a Hazara refugees from Afghanistan in Pakistan
(Jennifer Philippa Eggert, Maryam Kanwer, Jaffer A. Mirza, Institute of Development Studies)
Canada says pope’s apology to Indigenous not enough
(Nicole Winfield and Rob Gillies, Associated Press)
God does not want ‘a world governed by religious laws,’ pope tells Canadian clergy
(Claire Giangravé, Religion News Service)
ISIS is a problem of yesterday, today and tomorrow
(Sarhang Hamasaeed, The United States Institute of Peace)
Iraq: Followers of cleric enter Iraqi parliament in show of force
(Ali Abdul-Hassan and Samya Kullab, Associated Press)
Mali: Militants kill 15 soldiers, 3 civilians in two Mali attacks
(Reuters)
Lufthansa will create a position to fight antisemitism after kicking more than 100 Hasidic passengers off a flight
(Andrew Lapin, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The Parliament of the World’s Religions celebrates the UN recognition of “the right to a healthy environment” as a basic human right
(Parliament of the World's Religions)
Indonesia revokes textbook containing 'heretical' Christian teachings
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Jordan: Non-state schools in Jordan call for mandatory Quran teaching
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))
Australia: Muslim students pray outside to protest inadequate prayer spaces
(About Islam)
Australia: Fatima Payman becomes Australia’s first hijabi senator
(Geo News)
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivers keynote address at 2022 Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit in Rome
(University of Notre Dame Law School)
North Korean persecution of Christians intensifies
(Grayson Jang, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
Japan: The LDP’s tangled ties to the Unification Church
(Kosuke Takahashi, The Diplomat)
Turkish court backs parents’ objection to school religion classes
(Hamdi Firat Buyuk, Balkan Insight)
Religious liberty firm goes global with 1,500 international cases
(David Roach, Christianity Today)
Cuba: Leader of one of largest independent religious groups leaves Cuba
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Lithuania bans entry to the country of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Russian Church views Patriarch Kirill's ban on entry to Lithuania as abandoning European legal tradition
(Interfax-Religion)
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens a cultural heritage the two countries share, including Saint Sophia Cathedral
(J. Eugene Clay, The Conversation)
15 NGOs+ send letter to Secretary Blinken to throw pro-Russian anticult organization out from United Nations
(Jan Leonid Bornstein, The European Times)
Wednesday, 27 July 2022
Canada: A religiously diverse Edmonton hosts Pope Francis’ visit
(Peter Smith, Associated Press)
Chief Littlechild’s headdress gift to Pope Francis carries heavy significance
(Joy Spearchief-Morris and Willow Fiddler, The Globe and Mail)
Human rights advocacy in a world of interests: why the EU fell short at India’s Raisina Dialogue
(Jonathan de Leyser, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
India: How a ‘love jihad’ case was manufactured in India’s Uttar Pradesh
(Oishika Neogi, Al Jazeera)
Kashmir: Despite disaster, 35 deaths, Hindu religious pilgrimage in Kashmir continues
(Tarushi Aswani, The Diplomat)
Supporting persecuted Christians in Nigeria: An interview with Croatian MP Marijana Petir
(Marco Respinti, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
Sino-Vatican deal blamed for church demolition in China
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
The Vatican-China agreement and Pope Francis: To renew or not to renew?
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
United Nations, Kingdom of Morocco conclude high-level symposium commemorating fifth anniversary of Fez Action Plan adoption
(United Nations)
The Catholic Church can do more to address crimes against Indigenous Peoples
(Emily Riddle, The Washington Post)
Australia: Some rugby league players in Australia refuse pride jersey
(Associated Press)
Angola: Catholic leaders in Angola fear violence ahead of August election
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Guatemalan bishops warn against political manipulation
(Rhina Guidos, Catholic News Service)
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