Law and Religion Headlines

Friday, 9 February 2024

Rwanda: Polish President visits Kibeho shrine, praises work done by Catholic nuns in education
(Arnold Neliba, Catholic Information Service for Africa)

RFI co-hosts 35th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference
(Religious Freedom Institute)

Sri Lanka: Prison overcrowding in Sri Lanka: Repurposing religious spaces as makeshift detention areas
(Ebenezer Mensah, BNN)

Brazil: STF [Supreme Court] judges religious freedom in photo for identification documents (Portuguese)
(Redação, Migalhas)

Brazil: Religious freedom and Western civilization (Portuguese)
(Bruno Irion Colleto, Gazeta do Povo)

Wednesday, 7 February 2024

Hatred on the basis of religion or belief (Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief)
(Nazila Ghanea, United Nations)

Turkey plans to convert another iconic Byzantine era church into a mosque
(Turkish Minute)

Children held in B.C. Doukhobor camp in 1950s offered $10M compensation package
(CBC News)

Canada: War in Gaza taking heavy toll on Manitoba Muslims
(John Longhurst, The Free Press)

Canada: Pro-euthanasia activists to sue Catholic hospital in Canada
(Thomas McKenna, National Review)

Canada needs time for 'deeper conversation' on assisted dying, mental health: Holland
(Laura Osman, The Canadian Press)

Canada: Catholic Church challenging Quebec MAID law in court on religious freedom grounds
(The Globe and Mail)

Canada: B.C. math instructor fired for 'deeply intolerant' YouTube videos loses human rights complaint
(Bethany Lindsay, CBC News)

Canada faces hate crime headache 7 years since mosque shooting
(Daily Sabah)

Canada appoints first representative to fight Islamophobia
(Al Jazeera)

China, pro-government Buddhist abbott defrocked after a sexual scandal
(Ding Bohai, Bitter Winter)

China urges religious leaders to be more purposeful in the Sinicization drive in New Year greetings
(Tibetan Review)

China: Elderly Uyghur women imprisoned in China for decades-old religious ‘crimes’, leaked files reveal
(The Guardian)

Erasing Tibet: Chinese boarding schools and the indoctrination of a generation
(Tenzin Dorjee and Gyal Lo, Foreign Affairs)

Religious freedom in Africa: The launch of the African Forum for Religious & Spiritual Liberty
(YouTube Video, FOREF Europe)

Kenya: As femicide cases rises, Kenyan religious leaders move to act
(World Council of Churches)

Kenya: NCCK asks Ruto to ease tax burden on Kenyans
(The Star)

CAR: Transforming conflict resolution in Central Africa Republic: KAICIID's pioneering initiative with Bangui University
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)

Jordan: Arrests, harassment of pro-Palestine protesters
(Human Rights Watch)

Paul Mackenzie: Kenyan cult leader charged with 191 murders
(Anne Soy, BBC News)

Malaysia: Dozens of Rohingya refugees flee Malaysian immigration detention centre
(Al Jazeera)

Language and traditions are considered central to national identity: Publics around the world divided on birthplace and religion as requirements for national belonging
(Christine Huang, Laura Clancy, and Sarah Austin, Pew Research Center)

8 facts about atheists
(Michael Lipka, Patricia Tevington, and Kelsey Jo Starr, Pew Research Center)

How international recognition of cultural practices could be a new way to protect refugees
(The Conversation)

Uzbekistan: Documentary renews focus on religious freedom in Uzbekistan
(Navbahor Imamova, VOA News)

February 2024 Newsletter
(The Association of Religion Data Archives)

India: Authorities must immediately stop unjust targeted demolition of Muslim properties – new reports
(Amnesty International)

India: Interference in religious issues, will go to court, says AIMPLB
(The Times of India)

Is India targeting Muslims, with population growth committee as ‘camouflage’?
(Vasudevan Sridharan, South China Morning Post)

Colombia: Constitutional Court orders removal of Virgin Mary statue from public office
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)

ECHR delivers judgment in Hamzayan v. Armenia case
(Panorama.am)

A life of struggle and survival: the reality of religious oppression in Cuba
(Alberto Reyes Pias, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)

Indonesia’s presidential elections: How have human rights fared under Jokowi?
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)

Noted Muslims condemn Hamas as Israel continues to seek release of hostages
(Gil Zohar, Religion Unplugged)

Bishops of Evangelical Churches in Ukraine held a meeting with a fellow believer, - Mike Johnson, US Congress speaker
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))

Philippines: Filipinos embrace unity through religious diversity
(Jerico Joshua M. Kahulugan, Religion Unplugged)

Iraq: Yazidi woman rescued from Islamic State captivity
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)

Laos: Bible burning, church destruction dismay Lao Christians
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Maldives: Government announces public holidays for last 10 days of Ramadan
(Mohamed Rehan, The Edition)

Venezuela's leftist leader Maduro makes a play for evangelical voters
(John Otis, National Public Radio)

Religious persecution impacts millions of women worldwide, advocates say at D.C. summit
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)

Victims of persecution testify at International Religious Freedom Summit
(Tyler Arnold, National Catholic Register)

Brazil: Neglected by history, Bantu heritage is a central pillar in the formation of Brazil (Portuguese)
(Laura Pereira Lima, Jornal da USP)

Monday, 5 February 2024

Can’t we just be civil? Jean-Jacques Rousseau and a hellish limit to toleration
(Greg Marcar, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)

New book: Islam, Religious Liberty and Constitutionalism in Europe
(Edited by Mark Hill KC and Lina Papadopoulou, Hart Publishing)

India: Hindutva is at war with secular democracy in India
(Amit Singh, London School of Economics Religion and Global Society Blog)

Morocco: Covenantal pluralism and religious literacy in Morocco
(Chris PreJean, London School of Economics Religion and Global Society Blog)

Samson in Gaza: The biblical story of Samson sheds light on the current war in Gaza.
(Brian Britt, Sightings, The University of Chicago Divinity School)

The WFB participated in the forum on Transforming Mentalities
(The World Fellowship of Buddhists)

Pope reaffirms Christians’ special relationship with Jews amid rising antisemitism, Gaza war
(Associated Press)

Articles of interest - 5 February 2024
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Free to Believe? The Intensifying Intolerance Toward Christians in the West - 2024 Edition
(Family Research Council)

Senegal: Religious leaders in Senegal concerned over presidential election postponement
(Guy Aimé Eblotié, La Croix International)

The damp squib of third party intervention in Ukraine v. Russia
(William Schabas, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

Canadians call for removal of provincial minister after she called pre-occupation Palestine ‘a crappy piece of land with nothing on it’
(Middle East Monitor)

China arrests 200 Christians for ‘defying’ state body
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Indonesia: Religious affairs minister emphasizes public involvement in implementing govt programs
(Tempo)

In South America, African-inspired religions gain more followers
(Lucinda Elliott and Candelaria Grimberg, Reuters)

Cape Verde: 10 years of the legal agreement between the State of Cape Verde and the Holy See – What lessons? (Portuguese)
(Adilson F. Carvalho Semedo, Expresso das Ilhas)

Brazil: TRE-RJ revokes state deputy for abuse of religious power (Portuguese)
(Poder360)

Brazil: Judge invokes freedom of belief to reject lawsuit against hospital that denied IUD (Portuguese)
(Rafa Santos, Conjur)

Friday, 2 February 2024

ICJ delivers preliminary objections judgment in the Ukraine v. Russia genocide case, Ukraine loses on the most important aspects
(Marko Milanovic, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

EJIL: The Podcast! Episode 23: Unhappy New Year! Genocide in the Courtroom
(Marko Milanovic, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

Erga Omnes Partes standing and procedural issues in South Africa v. Israel
(Jan-Phillip Graf, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

The Mariupol Test: Analysing the briefs of third states intervening in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia
(Marko Milanovic, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

Vietnamese Christian jailed for holding prayer meeting in his home
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)

Harmony in diversity: Exploring religious freedom worldwide on World Religion Day Brian J. Grim PhD.
(YouTube Video, South Asia Research Institute for Minorities)

Hong Kong: It’s time to defend what’s left of Hong Kong’s religious freedoms
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Canada: Statement following attack against a Mississauga mosque
(Twitter, Justin Trudeau)

China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly digest Jan. 16-31
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

China: Mayflower Church persecution (video)
(Twitter, IRF Summit)

Weekend Plug-in: Religious freedom summit covers mental health, antisemitism, persecution
(Bobby Ross Jr., Religion Unplugged)

IRF Summit 2024: RFI highlights
(Religious Freedom Institute)

Argentine bishops renounce government-funded stipends
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Occupied Ukraine: "Disappeared" Greek Catholic priests in Russian Investigation Prisons?
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)

India: Couples must comply with anti-conversion law to legalise marriage even if they changed religion in past: Allahabad High Court
(Bar and Bench)

India: Hindu prayers begin inside India’s Mughal-era mosque after court order
(Al Jazeera)

Cuba: A life of struggle and survival: the reality of religious oppression in Cuba
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)

Nigeria: Freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria
(Eleanor Gadd and Louisa Brooke-Holland, House of Commons Library, UK Parliament)

Wednesday, 31 January 2024

Myanmar: The need of trust-building in a future, post-coup Myanmar
(Seng Mai Aung, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)

China introduces strict rules in Xinjiang on Islam, other religions
(Ruslan Medelbek and Reid Standish, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)

China: Religious regulations tighten for Uyghurs
(Human Rights Watch)

China, new white paper hails “deprogramming” of “religious extremists”
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)

Hong Kong: Hostile Takeover: The CCP and Hong Kong’s Religious Communities
(Frances Hui, The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation)

Nepali pastor to be jailed for praying after Supreme Court denies appeal
(Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post)

Canada: Muslim students at McGill call on university to address Islamophobia on campus amid Israel-Hamas war
(Alyssia Rubertucci, City News)

Canada: Statement on recommendation to delay expansion of MAiD
(Rebecca Vachon, Cardus)

How religious freedom promotes peace and security
(YouTube Video, The United States Institute of Peace)

Mike Pence has a message for the religiously oppressed worldwide: ‘Never give up hope’
(Tad Walch, Deseret News)

Pakistan: Meet the Hindu politician breaking barriers in Muslim-Majority Pakistan
(Amit Pandey, Religion Unplugged)

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The International Center for Law and Religion Studies maintains a Law and Religion Headlines service covering news about freedom of religion or belief internationally. All interested may subscribe to this service, free of charge, using the link below.