Stories about Religion from December, 2006
The Saudi Blogosphere this Past Week
Sleeping blogs, zombie computers, Saudi driving culture, Saddam Hussein's hanging, Arabic MTV, Saudi lesbian bloggers, Christmas, and more in this week's roundup. Let's get this started… Relating to the demise of the blogging trend, mentioned in last week's roundup, Ahmad published a very interesting post about Saudi “sleeping blogs.” The...
Somalia: Islamists should be stopped
Somalia Islamists should be stopped, writes Bashir Goth, “Somalia for Somalis! Let them run their country as they please. Easy words to say but difficult to accept when it means beheading people for not praying five times a day, chopping hands of those who steal to stay alive in a...
Barbados: The other Eid
Titlayo discovers the “other” Eid — Eid al-Adha, when “Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice domestic animals, usually sheep, as a symbol of Ibrahim’s sacrifice.”
Iran:The Jailed Iranian Christian Converts
Azarmehr reminds us that in this Christmas period there are several Iranian Christian converts who are in the jail, just for their faith.
Serbia, USA: What Serbs Think About America
In his blog post called “America is shaking”, Neven Andjelic shares his opinion on the United States (SRP): This big country is shaking. A number of events have caused the current condition. None of them has anything to do with my arrival to Berkley four months ago when I first...
Uzbekistan: Religious Restrictions
Alisher reports that the new governor of the Andijon province, the site of the 2005 protests and massacre, has imposed new restrictions on Islamic religious practice, including requirements that all restaurants serve alcohol and that children and teenagers not be admitted to mosques for public prayers.
Pakistan: Bakra Mandi – where livestock is sold
Animals being traded for ritual sacrifice and more at the Bakra Mandi (a goat bazaar) as seen by Metroblogging Islamabad.
Poland: Offensive E-Cards
The beatroot writes about anti-Semitic e-cards and how some Polish politicians confuse protest for political correctness.
Trinidad & Tobago: Christmas, credulity and commerce
Jeremy Taylor goes over some of the impossible notions about Christmas we have come to accept as fact, concluding “I take some comfort in the thought that the man at the centre of all the fuss would have dismissed it all, just as he furiously ran the bankers off the...
Indonesia: Sharia Police in Aceh
Indonesia Matters looks at the latest campaign launced by Aceh's religious police against unislamic behaviour. Aceh is a province in Indonesian island of Sumatra that insists on adherence to strict islamic laws.
Guadeloupe, India: 152nd Anniversary of Tamul Hindus’ Arrival
Atout Guadeloupe announces (Fr) that Guadeloupeans of Hindu Tamul origin celebrated the 152nd anniversary of their ancestors’ arrival in Guadeloupe on Dec. 24. Says the feed: “Hindus arrived after the second abolition of slavery.” The ceremony which took place in capital Pointe-a-Pitre included offerings of flowers to the ocean and...
Vietnam: Christmas in Vietnam
Chris Harvey has pictures from a Christmas eve service in a Catholic church in Vietnam. “Many of you will be surprised to learn that Christmas in Vietnam is *huge*. And I don't mean the Vietnamese kinda sorta like it. They freaking LOVE Christmas.”
Brunei: Origins of Wedding Rituals
The Daily Brunei Resources blog traces the origin of Malay wedding custom of bunga telur. Bunga telur is the token gift presented to the guests who attend a wedding.
Ukraine: The New Year's
Carpetblogger posts pictures and writes about the New Year's in Kyiv.
Poland: Honorary King
The beatroot reports: “46 members of the Polish parliament have tabled a motion to name Jesus Christ as the ‘honorary King of the Republic of Poland’. […] There is an historical precedent to this mad move, however. The Virgin Mary was made Honorary Queen of Poland 350 years ago by...
Estonia: Christmas Customs
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonian Christmas customs.
Religion and Suicide Bomber
What is the relation between religions and suicide bomber? Is religion the only factor behind it? Who and why a person commit a suicide bombing? All these questions and more are answered in a series of posts by Lawrence of Cyberia. To start, follow the posts here and here then...
China: illegal church construction?
Ai Wei Wei criticizes a recent court case in Hanzhou concerning “illegal church construction”. More than a thousand people were involved in the church construction from 26-29 July 2006. On 22 of December, the court found 8 of them guilty (zh).
Ethiopia/Somalia: using propaganda to justify war
Arguing that religion is not the cause of Ethiopia-Somali war, Urael writes, “The suggestion that the conflict between the mafia gang [Ethiopian government] and the Union of Islamic Courts has something to do with religion is the ultimate attempt by the gang to survive. They know that the Islamiphobia in...
China: Nary Xmas?
A group of PhD students at several of China's biggest and best universities came together last week to release a letter calling for Chinese to boycott Christmas—a holiday they see as representing waning interest in traditional Chinese culture—and all the rest of non-native cultural trends. Presumably not a very popular...
This Week's Saudi Blog Roundup
The Human Rights Watch visit to Saudi Arabia is still making headlines, 80 rats were found on a Saudi Airlines plane, a Bible was denied entry into Saudi, the Quran is now recognized as the second-most wanted Christmas gift in Denmark, and Sheikh Dot is back. Now, for the roundup…...