Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 30 August 2023
China: ‘Worse than physical torture’ – how China uses exit bans to inflict suffering on human rights defenders and their loved ones
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Episode 2: FoRB and Democracy: A Conversation with Parliamentarians on FoRB and the Road to Democratic Renewal in the Gambia (podcast)
(Spotify, International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB))
Eritrea: USCIRF releases new report on Eritrea’s religious freedom violations
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Afghanistan: USCIRF releases new report on religious freedom and women’s rights in Afghanistan
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Research on religious freedom’s Econ. impact
(Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
New book: The Contest and Control of Jerusalem's Holy Sites: A Historical Guide to Legality, Status, and Ownership
(Marshall J. Breger and Leonard M. Hammer, Cambridge University Press)
History tells us that burning sacred texts and other books never ends well
(Anna Piela, Religion News Service)
Sri Lanka: Church urges Sri Lankan prez to address economic woes
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
As Armenian ambassador visits, WCC reiterates calls to lift blockade of Nagorno-Karabagh
(World Council of Churches)
Pacific churches call for Japan to halt wastewater dump
(World Council of Churches)
Canada: Charges withdrawn against Fairview Baptist Church
(Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms)
Interfaith dialogue and religious freedom: a project for the Near East and North Africa
(Meridian International Center)
Monday, 28 August 2023
Iraq: Law banning contact with ‘Zionists’ threatens desperate attempts to save the last synagogue in Mosul
(Jewish News)
Iraqi Christians only have a future if the country will be a safe place for its diverse minorities — a discussion with Jeremy P. Barker
(Hungarian Conservative)
Rasul al-Akram Cultural-Religious Institute publishes “Religion of Freedom and Free Will”
(Shia Waves)
Ethiopia: Sexual violence continues in Tigray despite the cessation of hostilities agreement
(Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes)
Taliban rebuffs UN report claiming presence of terror groups in Afghanistan
(Anadolu Agency)
India: Top court grants reprieve to Indian priest in 'baptism' case
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
India: Modi’s ‘tiger warrior’ diplomacy is harming India’s interests
(Kunal Purohit, Foreign Policy)
India teacher investigated for telling pupils to slap Muslim peer
(BBC News)
JKPDP condemns WAQF Board’s decision as an ‘attack on religious freedom’
(Kashmir Images)
Vietnam: IGE conducts religion and rule of law training in Vietnam’s Nghe An Province
(Institute for Global Engagement)
Media coverage of 2023 Parliament shares call to conscience to 2.5 billion
(Parliament of the World's Religions)
Summer internship furthers international peacebuilding efforts
(Cecily Powell Tolleson, Harvard Divinity School)
Articles of interest - 28 August 2023
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
BRIC by BRIC, the foundation for Pope’s geopolitical endgame is being laid
(John L. Allen Jr., Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Joint prayer held in Britain in solidarity with Ukraine
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Two weeks in review, 14 August – 27 August 2023
(Tal Gross, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
China detains ethnic Kazakh Muslim for reciting Quran publicly
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Indonesia committed to combating religious intolerance in Jakarta Plurilateral Dialogue
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia)
DRC: At least 14 killed in church attack in eastern Congo, official says
(Reuters)
Friday, 25 August 2023
22 Aug: International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
(YouTube Video, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, BYU Law)
Bahamas introduces bills to legalize marijuana for medical and religious purposes
(Associated Press)
Argentina: Why Pope Francis has become a political lightning rod in Argentina
(Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged)
Argentina: Human rights abuses against Buenos Aires yoga school denounced at the United Nations
(Thierry Valle, Bitter Winter)
Libya captures ISIS leader behind 2018 deadly attacks in Tripoli
(Al Arabiya News)
WCC general secretary statement on Christians denied access to holy site
(Jerry Pillay, World Council of Churches)
Religious liberty event pays tribute to 130 years of advocacy
(Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review)
In historic Relief Society Building, former U.S. ambassador says religious freedom needs to be more than a ‘boutique foreign policy issue’
(Hanna Seariac, Deseret News)
Nicaragua bans Jesuits and confiscates all their assets
(Vatican News)
China, Christians told to strictly enforce new restrictive measures on religion
(Zhang Chunhua, Bitter Winter)
China, stop targeting overseas human rights defenders
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
New book: Pentecostal and Charismatic Education: Renewalist Education Wherever It Is Found
(William K. Kay and Ewen H. Butler, Rowman & Littlefield)
Belarus: Threatened with criminal prosecution for sharing faith in public
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Myanmar: Six years on, still no justice for Myanmar’s Rohingya
(United Nations)
USCIRF calls for action against Burmese military’s genocidal campaign and expanded assistance for Rohingya survivors
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
RFI announces Howard Slugh as recipient of 2023 Religious Freedom Impact Award
(Religious Freedom Institute)
Australia: The Ethics of Freedom: Religious Freedom in the Workplace
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
Brazil high court rules homophobia punishable by prison
(France 24)
Podcast on Karabakh
(Mark Movsesian, Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
Central African Republic: What’s religion got to do with it? External state engagement in the Central African Republic
(Laura Collins, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Russian occupants seized a Roman Catholic chapel in Skadovsk
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Russian persecution of evangelicals exceeding that of Soviet era, Mission Eurasia president says
(Scott Barkley, Baptist Press)
Russia: Freedom of religion and belief monitoring group to be liquidated
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
India: Distressing trend of ‘reverse dowry’: shattering families and challenging values
(Zaffar Iqbal, Religion Unplugged)
Providing refuge for climate refugees in international law
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Catholic bishops appeal for debt relief to help Africa
(Fredrick Nzwili, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Korean religious groups to support suicide victims’ kin
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Malaysian interfaith body slams Islamic module in schools
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Nigeria: Religious freedom in Nigeria: Ilorin in perspective
(Ifaseesin Ifagbemi, Foundation For Investigative Journalism)
Nigeria: Amidst death threats, Nigerian Court rules Christian convert is free to change her religion
(ADF International)
Bridging the divide: Nigeria’s Interfaith Code of Conduct ushers in a new era of religious harmony
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Nigeria: NGO providing relief to Nigeria’s persecuted Christians
(Ekpali Saint, Religion Unplugged)
In Nigeria, WCC promotes interfaith dialogue between religious and community leaders toward eliminating HIV stigma
(World Council of Churches)
The global crisis of religious persecution
(Lord David Alton, Geopolitical Intelligence Services)
Pakistan: Religious intolerance is burning Pakistan
(Mariyam Suleman Anees, The Diplomat)
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are misused and in need of reform
(Knox Thames, The Washington Post)
In Pakistan, religious freedom is withering
(Knox Thames, The Hill)
Christian persecution on the rise in Asia, world
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Resolve to expose violence based on religion or belief: UN experts
(United Nations)
Stopping violence based on religion must be a priority
(Janet Epp Buckingham, Evangelical Focus)
On the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, spotlight on violence in Pakistan
(ADF International)
How Pakistan's blasphemy laws stir vigilante violence
(Haroon Janjua, Deutsche Welle)
Pakistan hands out cash to Christians who lost homes in rioting over alleged desecration of Quran
(Asim Tanveer and Munir Ahmed, Associated Press)
Today, stand with victims of blasphemy laws
(Sean Nelson, Real Clear Religion)
Pakistan: 'The fear is not going away': Christians in Pakistan afraid to return home
(Charlotte Greenfield, Reuters)
Costa Rican evangelicals reject UN request to decriminalise abortion in the country
(Evangelical Focus)
African faith leaders statement on how Africa can emerge from today's multiple crises
(Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA))
Nicaragua: Jesuit residence in Nicaragua seized by Ortega regime
(Kevin Clarke, America: The Jesuit Review)
Regional advisory group workshop on faith actors for child rights and well-being
(Asian Conference of Religions for Peace)
Israel: Ultra-Orthodox push for draft exemption law strains the coalition’s docile unanimity
(David Horovitz, The Times of Israel)
OIC affirms the rejection of any decision to change the geographical or demographic character of the City of Al-Quds
(Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)
WCC calls on Israeli government to allow access to holy site
(World Council of Churches)
Church leaders plead with Israeli government as anti-Christian incidents increase in Holy Land
(Michele Chabin, Religion News Service)
India: Assam government has invited public comments on proposed law banning polygamy
(Bikash Singh, The Economic Times)
India: HC seeks Maha govt response on Swamy’s PIL against Pandharpur Temples Act
(Hindustan Times)
Opinion: When it comes to drag queen storytime in schools, Ontario should look to its long history of compromise
(Jason Ellis, The Globe and Mail)
Kenya closes churches over ‘starvation massacre’ that has killed 427
(Fredrick Nzwili, Religion News Service)
Afghanistan: Policy options for preventing mass atrocities in Afghanistan (PDF)
(United States Holocaust Memorial Musuem)
Future bleak for Rohingya in Bangladesh, Myanmar
(Human Rights Watch)
Mozambique: Southern African leaders silent over abuses in Mozambique
(Zenaida Machado, Human Rights Watch)
Uzbekistan: Agenda for change on human rights
(Human Rights Watch)
Pope Francis calls for peaceful end to the Niger crisis
(Associated Press)
Ghana: Combatting accusations of witches in Ghana
(Katherine Marshall, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Ghana: Don’t compromise bill for LGBTQ+ investors, clerics tell Parliament
(Arnold Neliba, Catholic Information Service for Africa)
Imam Chaplain: There are no interreligious conflicts in the Ukrainian military
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
2 minutes for believers of all faiths in prison in Russia
(Willy Fautré, The European Times)
Türkiye summons Danish, Dutch envoys over continued Quran desecration
(TRT World)
Muslim girls forced to recite Hindu prayers in IIOJK school
(Kashmir Media Service)
Taiwan: No anti-cult activity, no religious intolerance: the example of Taiwan
(Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
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