· January, 2007

Stories about Religion from January, 2007

Haiti, France: Creole Language Catholic Mass in Marseilles

  31 January 2007

Collectif Haiti de Provence reports (Kr) on a Creole language mass that took place last Sunday in Marseilles, France for the Haitian community there: “More than 120 people showed up in their Sunday best. Restless young men weren't very excited about the music and hymns but they still showed up…...

Palestine: Anti-Semites Increasing in Europe

  30 January 2007

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah wonders why anti-Israeli sentiments are on the increase. He quotes Haaretz saying: “…the number of anti-Semitic incidents rose significantly in Europe last year, according to a joint study released Sunday by the Jewish Agency’s Forum for the Coordination of the Struggle Against Anti-Semitism.” He also links...

Swahili Blogosphere: CIA's Role in the Zanzibar Revolution, Bloggers Association, The Wretched of the Earth, and Protesting UK's $12M Secret Payment

  30 January 2007

Following their virtual conference last November, Tanzanian bloggers are currently discussing the details of the organization they are intending to form. A blog has been set up by the interim committe, to facilitate the process. So far, they have chosen the name for the organization, Jumuiya ya Wanablogu Tanzania (the...

French Caribbean DOMs: Welcoming Vaval, King of Carnival

  29 January 2007

Mas a kle, a Guadeloupe mas bandUploaded by Akynou No sooner were the 2006 holidays over that Martiniquans, Guadeloupeans and Guianese were kicking off the prelude to “Vaval”, their affectionate nickname for carnival which will take place in February, in a three-day celebration peaking on “Mardi Gras”, the “fat tuesday”...

Lebanon: What Does Nasrullah Want?

  29 January 2007

Lebanese blogger Anton Efendi objects to Hassan Nasrullah‘s Ashura speech, saying that the Hizbulla leader “is intent on taking the country to war.” “What was his message to the Shiite community and the Lebanese? It was one of war, death, and suicide. This was best crystallized in a truly disturbing...

Kuwait: What is a Muhajababe?

  29 January 2007

K the Kuwaiti has just come across an interesting book, which he has ordered online, provided, of course, it gets past the Kuwaiti customs! The book is entitled Muhajababes: Meet the Middle East's next generation. As an explanation, K tells is that: “muhajabah noun (Arabic) a woman who veils muhajababe...

Pakistan: A Sufi Shrine in the US

  29 January 2007

Azad Forever has an original video on the first Sufi saint shrine in the US. “Some 40 miles from Philadelphia, among the rolling hills and tall trees of Chester County, is a Mazar (a shrine), the resting place of Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen the Sufi saint and founder of the...

Bangladesh: God and Friendship

  29 January 2007

Sadiq M.Alam on God, friendship and Islam. “the mainstream islam often come in clash with sufi stream of islam which interestedly emphasize a lot on the inner dimension whereas the orthodox school in most of the cases moves around the periphery of rituals, religious laws etc.”

Bahrain: Commemorating Muharram in Style

  26 January 2007

It's the month of Muharram in the Muslim calendar – a month commemorated with a variety of activities in Bahrain. Blogger Mahmood Al Yousif pays a visit to a friend's house, where they were preparing three pots – each with a capacity for 850kg of Shilla – a special dish...

Japan: Namba Yasaka Shinto Shrine

  26 January 2007

Ampontan introduces the Namba Yasaka Shinto Shrine in Osaka: The outdoor structure is called the Ojishi-den, or Palace of the Great Lion. Visitors say it’s about the size of a three-story building, and officially it is 12 meters high, 11 meters wide, and 10 meters deep. The ferocious face is...

Indonesia: Movie on Bali Bombing

  26 January 2007

The Swanker talks about a new movies on the event related to the Bali Bombings of 2002 has just been released in Indonesia. The blogger says “In a majority-Muslim country, the importance of a frank portrayal of Islam's role in driving the terrorists to murder cannot be underestimated and certainly...

The Arabist: Saudi Arabia Persecuting Ahmadis

  25 January 2007

The Arabist reported today a Human Rights Watch plea to the Saudi monarch urging him to stop presecuting Ahmadis. According to the letter, “Saudi Arabia has so far arrested 56 non-Saudi followers of the Ahmadi faith, including infants and young children, and deported at least 8 to India and Pakistan.”

Arabisc: Hijab-clad Doll Under Fire in Tunisia

  25 January 2007

This is Fulla, the Hijab-clad Arab Muslim adaptation of the decadent West's Barbie doll. Our Barbie wears the Hijab (head scarf) and Islamic attire – a long dress with long sleeves. While she is a blessing to many parents in the Muslim world who are happy to see their children...

Sri Lanka: Peacemaking and Religion

  24 January 2007

Infoshare Research Unit points to a research titled “Religious Contributions to Peace Building”. “The report expresses both the difficulties and the successes of religious peacemaking, and show that properly conducted religious efforts can bear much fruit.”

Bangladesh: End to end solution for religious events

  23 January 2007

Salam Dhaka on glimpses of life in Bangladesh, like meeting Huzur. “You want an end to end solution for all your religious events? Hanif is your man. In 2 hours notice he will buy a goat, bring in a professional butcher and get it all done. If you want the...