Law and Religion Headlines
Saturday, 2 January 2016
War on words: A woman’s battle to end stoning and juvenile execution in Iran
(Laura Secor, The New Yorker)
Saudi Arabia executes prominent Shiite cleric and 46 others in 12 cities
(Liz Sly, The Washington Post)
Islamic State ruling aims to settle who can have sex with female slaves
(Jonathan Landay, Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart, Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Fatwa No. 64 (on treatment of female slaves)
(ISIL Committee of Research and Fatwas)
Friday, 1 January 2016
Healing together: Religious organisations show solidarity with earthquake survivors
(Lucia DeVries, Nepali Times)
Possible ban of hijab 'an affront to religious freedom of Muslim women'
(News24 Nigeria)
The martyrdom of an Afghan: New York Times brings clash of law and culture to light
(Julia Duin, Get Religion (blog))
Russia is a fully sovereign state, uses its sovereignty to defend itself, its friends - Patriarch Kirill
(Interfax-Religion)
Iraqis dive deeper into sectarianism
(Mustafa al-Kadhimi, trans. Sami-Joe Abboud, Al-Monitor: Iraq Pulse)
Diyarbakir's Christians suffer in margins of Turkey-PKK war
(Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor: Turkey Pulse)
Happy New Year 2016 !
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Civil courts have no jurisdiction over conversions, defer to Shariah Court
(V. Anbalagan, Malaysian Insider)
Malaysia Court of Appeal says civil courts have no jurisdiction over religious conversions
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Thursday, 31 December 2015
A depressing year of religion news
(Jerome Socolovsky, Religion News Service)
Conveying the Christian message: In church or between churches, clergy have a thing about transport
(ERASMUS, The Economist [Erasmus: Religion and public policy])
7 stories you should read to really understand the Islamic State
(Swati Sharma, The Washington Post)
Deseret News heroes of 2015: 7 people who made a difference this year (Faith: Brian Grim)
(Deseret News National Edition | Media)
Changing religion, changing economies: Future global religious and economic growth (Research prepared for the Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith
(The Full Report, by Brian J. Grim and Phillip Connor, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
Minors converted to Islam can seek redress after turning 18, Shariah lawyer says
(Ida Lim, The Malaya Mail Online)
Israel's Russians show pride by openly celebrating 'Novy God' on New Year's Eve
(Eetta Prince-Gibson, Forward)
Nigerian to unveil 'biggest' statue of Jesus in Africa
(Stephanie Findlay and Aderogba Obisesan, Agence France-Presse)
Iran arrests 9 Christians on Christmas day for celebrating Jesus Christ
(Stoyan Zaimov, The Christian Post)
ISIS mutilates and kills Syrian mother caught breastfeeding in public
(Samuel Smith, The Christian Post)
In new habit, Japan's Buddhist temples seek slice of foreign tourism boom
(Junko Fujita, Reuters)
Israel cracks down on Islamic State volunteers
(Dan Williams, Reuters)
Two Pakistani clerics fight at meeting over status of Ahmadi sect
(Jon Boone, The Guardian)
Muslims on twitter say they have better things to do than join ISIS
(Jeffrey Marcus, The New York Times)
Israel rejects book on Jew-Arab love for school curriculum
(Tia Goldenberg, The Associated Press, The Big Story)
How the battle against the Islamic State is redrawing the map of the Middle East
(Liz Sly, The Washington Post)
Death for Bangladesh blogger killers
(BBC News)
Ukraine debates whether to celebrate Christmas twice
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Andrew Osborn and Richard Balmforth, Reuters)
JFNA leader slams Israel Chief Rabbi for conservative school comment
(JTA, Forward)
A religious forecast for 2050: Atheism is down, Islam is rising
(Nadia Whitehead, National Public Radio)
The real reason Turkey is building so many mosques
(Borzou Daragahi, BuzzFeed News)
In Russia, a high-ranking Orthodox priest is sacked — and hits back
(Corey Flintoff, National Public Radio)
Bogor to stage interfaith prayer for a more tolerant 2016
(Jakarta Globe)
15 striking findings from 2015
(George Gao, Pew Research Center Fact Tank)
The most important religion stories of 2015
(Jerome Socolovsky, Sojourners)
Top 10 religion stories for 2015: How would Pope Francis have voted?
(Terry Mattingly, Get Religion (blog))
Wednesday, 30 December 2015
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin dismissed from post of deputy head of World Russian People's Council
(Interfax-Religion)
Russian Orthodox church sacks ultra-conservative senior priest
(Shaun Walker, The Guardian)
Victor Yelenskyy: “For the first time this year the Church faces serious competitors for human love and trust”
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine)
Historians condemn build-up in Ayodhya (for a future Ram temple at the site where the Babri Masjid once stood)
(Vikas Pathak, The Hindu)
Turkey-Israel dialogue works 'miracle' for Istanbul’s Jews
(Sibel Hurtas, trans Sibel Utku Bila, Al-Monitor: Turkey Pulse)
2015 in review
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
Jerusalem court allows Jewish-prayer activist back to Temple Mount
(Haaretz)
Israeli court avoids decision on definition of prayer on Temple Mount
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Often where groups wage war in the name of religion, 110 journalists were killed in 2015
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Sad day for religious minorities, interfaith council rep says after conversion ruling
(Yiswaree Palansamy, MalayMail Online)
Walk the talk on unilateral conversion, interfaith group tells Putrajaya
(V. Anbalagan, The Malaysian Insider)
Tuesday, 29 December 2015
Boko Haram slaughters 80 people after president says he's 'won the war' against terror
(Stoyan Zaimov, The Christian Post)
Russian Foreign Ministry speaks of OSCE's lack of action toward seizure of churches of Moscow Patriarchate's Ukrainian Orthodox Church
(Interfax-Religion)
Reading the Quran in Hebrew
(Jacky Hugi, trans. Danny Wool, Al-Monitor: Israel Pulse)
In Kazakhstan, Adventist sentenced to serve two years in a labor camp for profession of faith
(Adventist News Network)
Eritrean gospel singer Helen Berhane was tortured for her beliefs. Now she’s speaking up
(Rosie Scammell, Religion News Service)
To counter Islam’s critics, imam says Muslims need to relearn faith
(Umar Farooq, Religion News Service)
Christians in Baghdad remain hopeful during Christmas amid genocidal threats
(Sean Savage, The Christian Post)
Suspected Boko Haram attacks kill scores in Nigeria
(Ibrahim Sawab, The New York Times)
Early intervention? Why Montreal has an anti-radicalization center
(Dylan Robertson, The Christian Science Monitor)
Suicide bombing kills 26, wounds 45 in northwestern Pakistan
(Riaz Khan, The Associated Press, The Big Story)
Iraqi victory over ISIS in Ramadi could prove pivotal
(Falih Hassan and Sewell Chan, The New York Times)
Taliban chief rebuked by religious leaders in sign of turmoil
(Mujib Mashal and Taimoor Shah, The New York Times)
Flawed justice after a mob killed an Afghan woman
(Alissa J. Rubin, The New York Times)
Exclusive: seized documents reveal Islamic State's Department of 'War Spoils'
(Jonathan Landay, Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart, Reuters)
ISIS fatwas cover topics including slavery of infidels and harvesting of organs from apostates
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Religious leaders urge mutual understanding to bring about peace
(PR Newswire)
Egypt: TV show host Islam Al-Beheiry's sentence for contempt of religion reduced to one year
(All Africa)
Monday, 28 December 2015
Turkey's religious conservatives bemoan 'dangers of Christmas'
(Riada Ašimović Akyol, Al-Monitor: Turkey Pulse)
Crimean Archbishop outraged by Patriarch’s call on Ukraine "to end persecution of believers"
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine)
Iran's Rouhani says it's up to Muslims to correct Islam's image
(Reuters)
At least 48 killed in bombings in north Nigeria
(Reuters)
IS leader says 'caliphate' well, mocks Saudi-led alliance
(Zeina Karam, The Associated Press, The Big Story)
Iraq declares Ramadi liberated from Islamic Statev
(BBC News)
Zahid: Respect other religions for others to respect ours
(The Sun Daily)
Rivlin to church heads: We must work to build bridges between our communities
(Abra Forman, Breaking Israel News)
Kazakhstan: Two years' imprisonment for Astana Adventist
(Forum 18)
The Bishops: "The proximity of the Christian Christmas and the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet is an invitation to dialogue"
(Agenzia Fides)
The long road to interfaith harmony
(Shamim Shahid, The Express Tribune)
NYC taxi appeals unit says religious belief of driver does not justify gender discrimiination
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Sunday, 27 December 2015
Ahmadiyya Muslim minority find religious freedom in Australia
(Camille Bianchi, SBS)
Europe, Charlemagne and the pope: A non-European pope is hailed as the greatest European
(ERASMUS, The Economist [Erasmus: Religion and public policy])
Iran’s Rouhani says it’s up to Muslims to correct Islam’s image
(Religion News Service)
Preach tolerance, Gani Adams urges religion leaders
(The Guardian)
Religious freedom still neglected: Kontras
(Tempo.co)
Saturday, 26 December 2015
Jayalalithaa and BJP want to sacrifice bulls to gain votes in the 2016 elections
(Sandhya Ravishankar, Scroll.in)
Friday, 25 December 2015
The Christmas Revolution
(Peter Wehner, The New York Times Opinion Pages)
Christianity and church attendance: The future of the world’s most popular religion is African
(The Economist)
Somalia must respect religious freedom of Christians and other minorities - ACILA
(Graphic.com)
Thursday, 24 December 2015
When gods become shelterless: rituals and reconstructing temples in post-earthquake Nepal
(Axel Michaels, OUPblog Religion)
Just don't call it Christmas: In Israel, Russian holiday coming out of closet
(Joshua Mitnick, The Christian Science Monitor)
Somber Christmas for Iraq's Christians under threat from Islamic State
(Saif Hameed, Reuters)
Christmas is a time for hope and joy to triumph over adversity, say churches
(The Guardian)
With help from Lutherans, Syrian refugees start arriving in South Carolina despite governor's opposition
(Hazel Torres, Christian Today)
Muslims give Christians their hijabs to save lives in Al-Shabaab terror attack
(Stoyan Zaimov, The Christian Post)
Burundi sees 'single most deadly day' in violent attacks by gov't forces, Amnesty says
(Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post)
1 million children denied education because of Boko Haram, UN report reveals
(Stoyan Zaimov, The Christian Post)
Iran frees Pastor Farshid Fathi Malayeri after five years in prison
(Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post)
Sultan of Brunei bans Christmas 'because it could damage faith of Muslims'
(Barney Henderson, The Telegraph)
Christmas celebrations banned in Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei
(Niraj Warikoo, The Guardian)
Brunei bans Christmas: Sultan warns those celebrating could face up to five years in jail
(Alexander Sehmer, The Independent)
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