Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 26 February 2021
Latter-day Saint Charities commits US$20 million in support of UNICEF’s global COVID-19 response
(Newsroom: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Massacre in the mountains: How an Ethiopian festival turned into a killing spree
(Bethlehem Feleke, Eliza Mackintosh, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Katie Polglase, CNN)
NCCM deeply concerned after another attack on black hijabi woman in Edmonton
(National Council of Canadian Muslims)
Tajikistan: JW Shamil Khakimov (70), prisoner of conscience adopted by USCIRF
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Eritrea: Christian prisoners Twen Theodros and Mussie Eyob are free!
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Crimea: Muslim meetings for worship main target of "anti-missionary" prosecutions
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Korea's Supreme Court accepts secular conscience objection to military service
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Korean Supreme Court acquits man refusing to train with reserves
(Korea JoongAng Daily)
Malaysia's top court restricts scope of state power to enact sharia law
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Federal Court unanimously declares Selangor Shariah law criminalising ‘unnatural sex’ void, unconstitutional
(Ida Lim, Malay Mail)
Shariah lawyers see Federal Court’s ‘unnatural sex’ decision as closing doors to hudud in Malaysia, inviting challenges to other state Shariah enactments
(Ida Lim, Malay Mail)
With no support from government or society, Covid-19 has hit Somali Christians harder
(Jonatán Soriano, Evangelical Focus)
AP photos: Hindu festival draws crowds of bathers to rivers
(Rajesh Kumar Singh, Associated Press)
Photos of the Week: Purim in Israel, Magh Mela in India
(Kit Doyle, Religion News Service)
Vatican foreign minister: religious freedom ‘being eroded’ by COVID-19 response
(Catholic News Agency)
Coup in Myanmar follows history of severe religious freedom violations
(Jay Church, International Christian Concern)
Love country and party': Taiwan criticizes China for religious persecution
(Sylvia Teng, Taiwan News)
Taiwan slams China for tightening religious freedom through law
(Focus Taiwan)
China's secret weapon: Changing the meaning of 'human rights'
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
What do Turkey and Israel have in common? A different take on religious nationalism
(Jocelyne Cesari, London School of Economics)
Revisiting religious pluralism in Ukraine (Jose Casanova)
(YouTube Video, Ukrainian Research Institute Harvard University)
Is social media ethical? (Including multiple responses)
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
A holistic approach to law and Islam
(Rahimjon Abdugafurov, Emory CSLR)
Diocese in India says arrest of nun for ‘attempted conversion’ a revenge ploy
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Children recruited by Colombian armed groups are now ambassadors for peace due to Catholic missions (Spanish)
(Religión Digital)
Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Former Ghana lawmaker: referencing soldiers by their religion is divisive and toxic
(Ghana MMA)
U.K. churches viewed more positively since COVID-19 pandemic, new survey shows
(Jillian Cheney, Religion Unplugged)
Financial Times reports that the UK is to call for UN probe of Uighur camps in China’s Xinjiang province
(David Alton, Lord Alton of Liverpool)
Letter to the Economist regarding the horrors in Xianjin, China
(Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Ewelina U. Ochab, Zachary D. Kaufman, Kyle Matthews, John Packer, Michael Polak, Nury Turkel, Joanne Smith Finley, Medium)
Why Nigeria’s religious leaders should learn more about climate change
(George Nche, The Conversation)
A critical look at what’s missing from Muslim education in South Africa
(Nuraan Davids, The Conversation)
‘Smoke and mirrors’ in post-revolution Sudan: Lessons from Egypt
(Ellis Heasley, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Japan: COVID-19 leads to increased turning to religion
(FSSPX.news)
What we are reading today: on understanding Japanese religion
(Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa, Arab News)
Serbia's new patriarch brings track record of peace-building to divided nation
(Mladen Aleksic, Religion Unplugged)
Malaysia deports more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals despite high court order
(Religion Unplugged contributor, Religion Unplugged)
Peruvians officials, Vatican diplomat secretly obtained COVID-19 vaccines meant for doctors
(Reynaldo Aragon, Religion Unplugged)
Vote passes in Canada's House of Commons recognizing China’s treatment of Uighurs as genocide
(Emerald Bensadoun, Global News)
Canada calls it a genocide: The vote in Ottawa’s House of Commons is a sign of hope for those persecuted in Xinjiang.
(Marco Respinti, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
Do India’s cows have special powers? Government curriculum is ridiculed
(Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj, The New York Times)
Increase in online hostility towards churches in Hebei province in January
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
An urgent appeal to deescalate violence on the streets of Myanmar
(Religions for Peace)
Hindu temple's reopening in Kashmir spotlights Muslims caring for temples for decades
(Zaffar Iqbal, Religion Unplugged)
Paul Rusesabagina, 'Hotel Rwanda' hero who credited Adventist upbringing, on trial in Kigali
(Mark A. Kellner, Religion Unplugged)
‘Destruction by a thousand cuts’: the relentless threat mining poses to the Pilbara cultural landscape
(Sarah Holcombe and Bronwyn Fredericks, The Conversation)
Imran Khan visits Sri Lanka as Muslims demand burial rights
(Bharatha Mallawarachi, Associated Press)
Iraq's struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
(Mariam Fam, Star Tribune)
Pope plans historic visit to Iraq as its Christian populations dwindle
(Alice Fordham, National Public Radio)
Iraq’s struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
(Mariam Fam, Associated Press)
USCIRF condemns killing of Gonabadi Sufi activist by Iranian officials
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Weekly highlight #144: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Message alignment and responses to gender violence
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Religious leaders urge Biden to support global coronavirus aid, debt relief
(Dennis Sadowski, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
German court convicts 'IS recruiter' Abu Walaa
(Deutsche Welle)
Saving the Middle East’s last bastion of Christianity
(Kennedy Lee, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
Meeting between Russian patriarch, Pope doesn't improve Christians' position in Middle East contrary to expectations - Metropolitan Hilarion
(Interfax-Religion)
Uzbekistan: 7 prisoners of conscience jailed for between 11 and 4 years
(Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service)
Proclaiming Christianity, Navalny tells Russian judges, 'You're all going to hell'
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
The ECtHR in Georgia v. Russia – a farewell to arms? The effects of the Court’s judgment on the conflict in eastern Ukraine
(Anastasiia Moiseieva, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Inaccuracies in the HSE study on Islam in northern Russia
(Religion Today)
Russia: Imam appeals to prosecutor's office against Orthodox culture impositions on his children
(Religion Today)
Intersecting religious and gender-based persecution in Yazidi genocide case: a request for an extension of charges
(Alexandra Lily Kather and Alexander Schwarz, Just Security)
Pakistan’s religious politics has emboldened extremists to question Malala Yousafzai’s patriotism
(Muhammad Amir Rana, Scroll.in India)
Pakistani couple’s appeal of blasphemy sentence postponed
(Babar Dogar, Associated Press)
Peace, interfaith harmony essential principles of Prime Minister’s vision of Riasat-e-Madina: Allama Ahsan
(Zubair Qureshi, Pakistan Observer)
Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan
(Bharatha Mallawarachi, Associated Press)
Petition to preserve religious liberty in Chile launched
(Catholic News Agency)
Sisters and brothers, welcome home
(Greg Marcar, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Monday, 22 February 2021
Catholics march for peace as protests intensify in Myanmar
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Burma’s Catholic bishops call for peace and dialogue as two protesters killed
(Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency)
Religious affiliations considered in the COVID-19 vaccine discussion
(Marko Milanovic, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
21 young people appointed peace ambassadors to build bridges across various faith communities
(Michelle Ng, The Straits Times)
Why we did it: the Kenyan women and girls who joined Al-Shabaab
(Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen, The Conversation)
Then and Now: 25 years of sexual exploitation and abuse
(Jessica Alexander and Hannah Stoddard, The New Humanitarian)
Algeria: Christian sentenced to five years
(International Christian Concern, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Russia: A Jehovah's Witness sentenced to 7.5 years at age of 63 years
(JW World Headquarters, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Ousted by war, Iraq's Christians struggle to reclaim homes
(France 24)
Iraq: Full of historic sites important to understanding Christianity
(Dale Gavlak, Catholic News Service)
Articles of interest - 22 February 2021
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Sri Lankan bishops urge government to release blast inquiry
(Krishan Francis, Associated Press)
Faiths institute asks Gates Foundation to change tactics in Africa
(Fredrick Nzwili, Catholic News Service)
If Muslims can build churches in Egypt, has persecution ended?
(Jayson Casper, Christianity Today)
Egypt helps Sudan confront Brotherhood ideology through missionaries
(George Mikhail, Al-Monitor: Egypt Pulse)
Progressive(ly) dishonest: The lies of progressive Muslamic academia
(Zainab bint Younus, Muslim Matters)
Religious news from around the web - 22 February 2021
(World Religion News)
Orthodox Amazon sellers say they’re squeezed by new 6-day-a-week shipping requirement
(Ron Kampeas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Indian state seeks tribal religion code in census
(Bijay Kumar Minj, Union of Catholic Asian News)
What can the Indonesian Church do to ease the Papua conflict?
(Ryan Dagur, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Pakistani Christians arrested for promoting Christianity
(Kamran Chaudhry, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Why Iran won’t cross China on the Uighurs
(Kourosh Ziabari, Asia Times)
U.S. State Department lawyers concluded insufficient evidence to prove genocide in China
(Colum Lynch, Foreign Policy)
Canada’s Trudeau, Cabinet abstain from China genocide vote
(Rob Gillies, Associated Press)
China: Special weekly FoRB newsletter on freedom of religion or belief (15-21.02.2021)
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Hindutva, the political ideology that puts Christians under suspicion
(Evangelical Focus)
USCIRF releases new report about Santería in Cuba
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Saudi schoolbooks: What does it take to recontextualize Islam? – Analysis
(James M. Dorsey, Eurasia Review Opinion)
Saudi women can join armed forces in latest widening of rights
(Reema Alothman, The Economic Times)
Missing piece of the puzzle: Preserving religious diversity by protecting the past
(Knox Thames, The United States Institute of Peace)
Assailants vandalize chapels in southern Philippines
(Joseph Peter Calleja, Union of Catholic Asian News)
When Brahma Became Allah Or Selected Aspects Of Transcultural Transformation Of Hindu Epic The Ramayana Into Malay Hikayat Seri Rama – OpEd
(Dr. Azly Rahman, Eurasia Review Opinion)
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