Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Cambodia: Tep Vong, the leader of Cambodia’s Buddhist community, dies at 93
(Associated Press)
Malawi: Bishops blast government of Malawi, saying oversight ‘rendered useless’
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Thailand persecutes the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. Why?
(Willy Fautré and Alexandra Foreman, The European Times)
Indonesia: Is there a new strongman leading the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation?
(Paul Marshall, Religion Unplugged)
Australia: Muslim peak bodies in NSW and Victoria reject invitations to premiers’ iftar dinners
(The Guardian)
Iran: Religious persecution and issues – Monthly Digest February
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Tibet: Mass detention of Tibetans trying to save monasteries
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Japan: The Unification Church Case in Japan: A politician speaks up. 2. Spies and fake news
(Toshikazu Masubuchi, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)
Japan: Religious believers should not acquiesce to religious freedom violations
(Haruhisa Nakagawa, Japan Institute for National Fundamentals)
African Philosophy of Religion and Western Monotheism
(Kirk Lougheed , Motsamai Molefe and Thaddeus Metz, Cambridge University Press)
Monday, 26 February 2024
Cuba reiterates respect for religious freedom
(Beatriz Montes de Oca, Radio Havana Cuba)
Nigeria: Islamist Nigerian militants press attacks against Christians to foment religious war
(Tonny Onyulo, Religion News Service)
IRFBA Chair’s statement on the somber anniversary of two years since the Russian aggression against Ukraine accompanied by severe violations and abuses, killing of priests and destruction of places of worship
(International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA), U.S. Department of State)
God, Religious Extremism and Violence
(Matthew Rowley, Cambridge University Press)
The Taliban want a piece of Pakistan
(Lynne O’Donnell, Foreign Policy)
China: Pray.com addresses Apple App Store in China restricting access to content, impacting National Day of Prayer livestream
(PR Newswire)
Algeria inaugurates Africa’s largest mosque after years of political delays and cost overruns
(Associated Press)
Mexican church officials have helped arrange a truce between 2 warring drug cartels
(Fabiola Sánchez, Associated Press)
Articles of interest - 26 February 2024
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Pakistan Supreme Court defends free exercise rights of Ahmadis; protests follow
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Sisters at Work: A Special Global Cohort
(Luisa Banchoff and Katherine Marshall, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Mozambique bishop warns jihadist anti-Christian violence being ignored
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Israel court hears challenges to religious draft waiver amid Gaza war
(Reuters)
'An explosion is coming': Hamas warns against Ramadan restrictions on Temple Mount
(Sam Halpern, The Jerusalem Post)
South Africa: Why do some Jews feel forgotten?
(David Ehl and Katharina Peetz both in Johannesburg, Deutsche Welle)
It is time to articulate a Muslim approach to justice and liberation
(Shaykh M A Kholwadia, Al Jazeera)
India: Hamas to halal: How anti-Muslim hate speech is spreading in India
(Yashraj Sharma, Al Jazeera)
India: West Bengal: Indian zoo asked to change lions’ 'blasphemous' names
(BBC News)
Law and religion: Legal victories and tools for IRF
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Two weeks in review, 12– 25 February 2024
(Tal Gross, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Iran: Majority of Iranians want secular government, leaked study shows
(The Jerusalem Post)
Burkina Faso: At least 15 Catholic worshippers were killed in an attack during a service in northern Burkina Faso
(Chinedu Asadu, Associated Press)
Brazil: Financing religious monuments does not harm the secularity of the State, decides Mendonça (Portuguese)
(Rafa Santos, Conjur)
Friday, 23 February 2024
Al Mujadilah: A women-only mosque in Qatar inspires ‘sense of connection’
(Kubra Solmaz, TRT World)
Canadian, Ukrainian religious leaders call for justice, peace in Ukraine as war enters third year
(Gina Christian, OSV News)
Canada: Judge rules killer of London, Ont., Muslim family committed terrorism, calling it a 'textbook example'
(Kate Dubinski, CBC News)
Canada: Muslim groups say MPs won't be welcome in mosques until they call for Gaza ceasefire
(Yasmine Hassan and Raffy Boudjikanian, CBC News)
Killing of Muslim family in Canada terrorist act: Court
(Daily Sabah)
Lebanon: Podcast Episode 026 | National report on freedom of religion or belief
(Fadi Hachem, Religious Freedom Institute)
A call for Christian leaders to denounce the Russian Orthodox Church
(Mark Silk, RNS Column: Spiritual Politics)
Argentina’s Jewish umbrella group condemns Milei’s decision to shutter country’s anti-discrimination office
(Juan Melamed, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Tajikistan: Criminal cases against human rights defenders, relatives threatened
(Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service)
Empowering dialogue for peace: Insights from KAICIID's 2024 fellows programme in Costa Rica
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
China: Mosque in China remodeled with pagodas, communist slogans
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
China arrests at least 100 Tibetans over dam project protests
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Religious persecution in Latin America today
(Rick Plasterer, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
Beyond Opuz v. Turkey: the CJEU’s judgment in WS and the refugee law consequences of the state’s failure to protect victims of domestic violence
(Türkan Ertuna Lagrand, Strasbourg Observers)
Al-Azhar University president urges interfaith dialogue to promote peace
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))
Nigeria: Subsidising religious pilgrimage, irresponsible
(Punch)
Malaysia’s court system struggles with the rise of state-level theocracy
(Aizat Shamsuddin, The Diplomat)
Pakistan: Ashrafi stresses religious diversity as key to Pakistan’s harmony
(Associated Press of Pakistan)
Australia: Voluntary assisted dying is different to suicide. But federal laws conflate them and restrict access to telehealth
(Michaela Estell Okninski, Marc Trabsky, and Neera Bhatia, The Conversation)
New Zealand: Christchurch terrorist discussed attacks online a year before carrying them out, new research reveals
(Chris Wilson, Ethan Renner, Jack Smylie, and Michal Dziwulski, The Conversation)
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Iran: Annual report: Faceless Victims: Rights Violations Against Christians in Iran
(Article 18)
Mozambique: Resurgence of jihadist attacks force missionaries to flee
(Lisa Zengarini, Vatican News)
China: Uyghurs continue to oppose 'genocide tours' to Xinjiang
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)
China: Whatever happened to China’s 2024 Universal Periodic Review?
(Marco Respinti, Bitter Winter)
Belarus: UN experts concerned about new law on freedom of conscience and religious organisations
(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations)
Pakistan: Christian sentenced to life in prison under blasphemy law
(Morning Star News)
Indonesia: Why Aceh's cities rank low in tolerance
(Arti Ekawati, Deutsche Welle)
Israel bars Brazilian president after Lula compares Gaza war to the Holocaust
(Jacob Kessler, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Occupied Ukraine: Priest killed within two days of Russian detention
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Russia’s Christian dissidents
(Jonathon Van Maren, The European Conservative)
For Iranian converts claiming religious persecution, European courts require proof of faith
(Hanna Vioque, Religion News Service)
WCC general secretary meets Israeli president, calls for ceasefire, freedom of religion and humanitarian care
(World Council of Churches)
India: Christian family attacked in Chhattisgarh State
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Australia: Why the “equality” Bill is a threat to religious freedom
(Michael Stead, Sydney Anglicans)
Monday, 19 February 2024
Official call for election of the president and certain board members of the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies
(African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS))
2nd youth charged in connection with anti-Jewish terror plot
(CBC News)
The Islamic State group poses rising threat in Africa despite progress, UN experts say
(Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press)
Australia: Same-sex marriage, trans identity force religion bill that could backfire
(Angela Shanahan, The Australian)
Indonesia: Tolerance and respect: Educational paths in Indonesia
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Iran: Persecution against Christians in Iran continues to grow
(Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged)
Secular vs. religious violence: The epistemic violence of colonisation
(Syed Hammaad Mehraj, London School of Economics Religion and Global Society Blog)
Religion Watch, Volume 39 No. 3
(Religion Watch, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
‘Ye Shall Do No Injustice in Judgment’—Are Religious Courts to Blame for the Agunah Problem?
(Lord Wolfson KC, William Gelley, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
Global Interfaith Monitor No. 20
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Articles of interest - 19 February 2024
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
India: State in India passes law against Christian ‘magical healing practices’
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Israel: PM’s office avers that freedom of religion will be respected during Ramadan
(The Times of Israel)
Israel to restrict access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan
(Al Jazeera)
Russia: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest Feb. 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest February 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Malaysia: Of Nik Elin and religious bigotry
(Ahmad Farouk Musa, Free Malaysia Today)
UAE: Abu Dhabi heralds era of religious accommodation in Islamic West Asia
(P.K. Balachandran, Daily Mirror)
Botswana: Fifty years of religious freedom
(JW.org)
Friday, 16 February 2024
Canada: Extending the use of notwithstanding clause in Bill 21 is a grave injustice
(Canadian Civil Liberties Association)
Canada's Shin Mei: no tax exemption for Shinto place of worship
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)
India: Hindu Mandir: India PM Modi inaugurates temple in Abu Dhabi
(BBC News)
India: Mehrauli: A mosque demolished, and orphans displaced in India
(Zoya Mateen, BBC News)
Mexico: Catholic bishops in Mexico say they negotiated for possible peace accord with drug cartel leaders
(Fabiola Sánchez, Associated Press)
Nepal: ‘Our gods were locked in the basement.’ Now Nepal is pursuing sacred items once smuggled abroad
(Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press)
Israel complains after Vatican denounces ‘carnage’ and disproportionate response in Gaza
(Associated Press)
Costa Rica, Supreme Court recognizes Hebrew Roots devotees’ right not to work on Saturday
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)
Indonesia: The world’s largest Muslim-majority country goes to the polls
(Paul Marshall, Providence)
Kenya: Church leaders in Kenya raise alarm about ongoing health crisis
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Japan: The right to legal entity status: Religious freedom challenges in Japan
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Korean Protestant Church unveils plan to boost fertility rate
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Colombia: WCC at peace dialogue table with UN Security Council in Colombia
(World Council of Churches)
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