Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 26 March 2025
India terms US religious freedom report biased, calls panel 'entity of concern'
(Times of India)
Sudanese Christians pray in secret, plead for end to war and religious attacks
(Tonny Onyulo, Religion News Service)
Mozambique: Strengthening intra-Muslim dialogue for peacebuilding
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Niger: Mosque attack which killed 44 should be ‘wake-up call’, says rights chief
(UN News)
Pakistani YouTuber Rajab Butt’s perfume stirs religious controversy
(South China Morning Post)
Around the world, many people are leaving their childhood religions
(Kirsten Lesage, Kelsey Jo Starr and William Miner, Pew Research Center)
Iran: The suffocation and slow death of the Anglican Church in Iran
(Article 18)
Kenya: "Issues of human dignity should feature as critical conversations in universities," CRECO team urges
(Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology)
Cambodia: Showing solidarity with Khmer Muslims during fasting month
(Khmer Times)
Monday, 24 March 2025
A big heart open to God: Notes on the legacy of Pope Francis
(Ingeborg G. Gabriel, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Pacifism and Non-Violence in Contemporary Islamic Philosophy: Mapping the Paths of Peace
(Tom Woerner-Powell, Cambridge University Press)
Volume 5 (2024)
(various, Australian Journal of Law and Religion)
A Documentary History of Jewish–Christian Relations: From Antiquity to the Present Day
(Edited by Edward Kessler and Neil Wenborn, Cambridge University Press)
Articles of interest - 24 March 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Chile: Church rejects opening of commercial stores on Good Friday
(Aníbal Pastor N., Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Another Genocide Convention case, another conundrum for interventions
(Pranay Lekhi, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Buddhism’s holiest site erupts in protests over Hindu ‘control’ of shrine
(Mohammad Sartaj Alam and Yashraj Sharma, Al Jazeera)
India: Eviction-facing Indian Catholics to fight Muslim charity's claims
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
India: A comedian’s jokes about an Indian state leader are being investigated as potential defamation
(Associated Press)
Khamenei: Zionist regime committing atrocious crimes, US is complicit
(The Jerusalem Post)
Taiwan: Military to study exemptions on religious grounds
(The Taipei Times)
Zimbabwe: Makandiwa, Magaya, Uebert Angel under fire, as government cracks down on fake prophets
(ZimEye)
Cambodia’s religious harmony is a source of pride
(Khmer Times)
Friday, 21 March 2025
Afghanistan: Religious freedom in Afghanistan: Three years after the Taliban takeover
(Fereshta Abbasi, Human Rights Watch)
Uzbekistan: Ramadan ban on children at mosques, fasting by National Guard officers
(Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service)
Tajikistan: Authorities obstruct Ismaili commemoration of Aga Khan's death
(Felix Corley and Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service)
Pakistan: Mass arrests of innocent Ahmadis, including young children, intensify religious persecution based on their belief
(International Human Rights Commitee)
Islamophobia has become real threat to global peace: Al-Azhar grand imam at UN
(Ahram Online)
Latin American and Caribbean faith leaders release “A Call to Action towards COP30”
(World Council of Churches)
Side event addresses Christians finding it difficult to secure legal status for services
(World Council of Churches)
WCC calls for action on climate finance, debt cancellation, and tax justice at UN Human Rights Council
(World Council of Churches)
Iran: Fact-finding mission ‘only scratched surface’ of Iran’s religious discrimination
(Article 18)
India: “Unprecedented surge” in violence against Christians in 2024
(Evangelical Focus)
India: BJP MPs seek law to undo religion-based quota, slam K'taka
(The Economic Times)
Cameroon: Archbishop urges direct talks with separatist fighters
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
A ‘common vision’ for humanity and peace: Interview with the Indonesian Ambassador to the Holy See on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations
(Paolo Affatato, Agenzia Fides)
Myanmar: Military sets fire to cathedral in Kachin State amid escalating attacks on Christians
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
China: Police in China’s Anhui detain 2 Christians for ‘cult’ activities
(Qian Lang, Radio Free Asia)
De-Christianizing international law: US Politics and the evangelical legacy
(Ilias Bantekas and Andrew Dahdal, Opinio Juris)
Canada: Quebec bill would extend religious symbols ban to school support workers, force students to uncover faces
(Benjamin Shingler, CBC News)
T&T: Young discusses Concordat with religious leaders
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday)
Video: Religion and just peace: The fog of religious conflict: Can the fog lift?
(Religion and Public Life, Harvard Divinity School)
Brazil: Combating religious intolerance: What is the role of schools? (Portuguese)
(Globo)
Brazil: Influencer is convicted for linking floods in RS to African-based religions (Portuguese)
(Conjur)
Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Changing the conversation about religious freedom: An integral human development approach
(Fabio Petito, Scott Appleby, Silvio Ferrari, and Michael Driessen, Atlantic Council)
"Russia uses religion as one of the key tools of hybrid warfare" - Resolution of International Conference
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Russia bans local church publication as "extremist"
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)
Charting new paths to pluralism
(Templeton Religion Trust)
Nigerian faith leaders appeal to US to pressure their country on religious violence
(Fredrick Nzwili, Religion News Service)
At the king of Jordan's interfaith iftar, Orthodox and Catholic leaders attack Christian Zionism
(Daoud Kuttab, Religion News Service)
Canada: Important concerns regarding Recommendations 429 and 430 on charitable status
(Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops)
China: The repression of FoRB in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous region
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
China: Why the choice of the next Dalai Lama is such a sensitive issue for Beijing
(Yuanyue Dang, South China Morning Post)
Indonesian religious leaders oppose military law revision
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
South Korea's firebrand pastors flock to impeached president's cause
(Hyunsu Yim, Reuters)
Brazil: Municipal policy in Natal will address religious freedom and combats intolerance (Portuguese)
(Neilla Souza, Gazeta do RN)
Monday, 17 March 2025
Canadian officials, Muslim leaders call for action against Islamophobia
(Canadian Press)
Iraq’s representative statement to UN General Assembly on International Day to Combat Islamophobia
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Iraq)
Iraq: Addressing the precarious religious freedom in Iraq
(Rick Plasterer, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
Ambassador Rashad Hussain joins the Institute for Global Engagement as Distinguished Senior Fellow
(Institute for Global Engagement)
Iran’s religious minorities face ‘systemic discrimination, arbitrary detention, unfair trials’ – UN Rapporteur
(Article 18)
Public Reason and Injustice: Analysing Rawls’ and Habermas’ Requirements for the Introduction of Religious Arguments into Public Discourse
(Roberto Luppi, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
Can it be five years? Reflecting on the living legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic
(Katherine Marshall, Wilma Z. Mui, Olivia Wilkinson, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Articles of interest - 17 March 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Senegal: Lent, Ramadan overlap becomes a call for unity in Senegal
(Charles Senghor, La Croix International)
As Islam grows in Russia, Muslim prisoners struggle to practise their faith
(Mansur Mirovalev, Al Jazeera)
IF20 FoRB meetings in South Africa
(G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Russia: Religious issues and persecution: Bimonthly Digest March 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
China: The wolf in sheep’s skin: Promises and realities of religious freedom in China
(Grace Gaffet, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest March 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
India: Chhattisgarh assembly to intensify scrutiny on NGO-facilitated religious conversions
(Times of India)
Legal Journal Number 5 (20): March (Spanish)
(Observatorio de Libertad Religiosa de América Latina y El Caribe)
Religion and ideology: The irreducible as virtue (Spanish)
(Fishel Szlajen, Infobae)
Brazil: Christophobia is not a myth; it exists and needs to be fought in Brazil (Portuguese)
(Zizi Martins, Gazeta do Povo)
Friday, 14 March 2025
Francesco. Twelve years later
(Antonio Autiero, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Reject bigotry and discrimination, UN chief says, urging everyone to combat Islamophobia
(UN News)
Deputy Minister Prof. Muhammed Haron’s speech at the IF20 meetings in Pretoria
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Vietnam: The Ministry of Public Security labeled BoatPeopleSOS as a terrorism-linked organization (video)
(Robert Řehák, X)
Christians denounce impact of mandatory church registrations in countries like Serbia and Turkey
(Evangelical Focus)
Ethics, Politics, and Natural Law: Principles for Human Flourishing
(Melissa Moschella, Notre Dame Press)
UN report warns Iran is stepping up electronic surveillance of women to enforce headscarf laws
(Jamey Keaten and Jon Gambrell, Associated Press)
Syrian leader signs constitution that puts the country under an Islamist group’s rule for 5 years
(Ghaith Alsayed and Kareem Chehayeb, Associated Press)
Bishops in Africa object to ‘dirty money’ being given to churches
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Zelensky: Ukraine handed over a list of Ukrainian prisoners to the Vatican
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Pakistan: Defining a Muslim; the case of Pakistan and its Ahmadis
(Yasser Latif Hamdani, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
El Salvador: Religious sisters in El Salvador join church’s ‘Yes to life, no to mining’ campaign
(Rhina Guidos, OSV News)
Australia: Islamophobia is on the rise across Australia, new report finds
(Jason Om and Raveen Hunjan, Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Latin American and Caribbean faith leaders come together in Brazil ahead of COP30
(World Council of Churches)
Death camp in Mexico: Church denounces ‘cruelty and human wretchedness’
(Catholic News Agency)
Nigeria: Presidency rattled, rebukes Catholic bishops over criticism on economy and insecurity, insists country is on the right path
(Catholic Information Service for Africa)
Khouri: Dangerous escalation threatens Palestinian rights and Christian presence in Palestine during a meeting with the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission
(Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine)
Place to worship ‘integral’ to religious freedom
(Article 18)
Japan and religion, the scandal of “Public Welfare.” 1. Betraying Japan’s international obligations
(Patricia Duval, Bitter Winter)
Law Society warns Cook Islands' religious rules 'against human rights'
(Caleb Fotheringham, Radio New Zealand)
India: Book seizures in Indian-administered Kashmir spark fears of religious censorship
(Muheet Ul Islam, Middle East Eye)
Dozens of Syrian Druze make a rare visit to Israeli-controlled Golan Heights
(Alon Bernstein, Associated Press)
Labour Minister assures Jamaicans of their religious freedom
(Jamaica Information Service)
Indonesian cardinal calls for release of Trans person convicted of blasphemy against Christianity
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
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