Stories about Religion from May, 2007
Arabeyes: Short Skirts Looked Down at in Tunisia
From a conversation about her friend Fatima, Tunisian blogger Maheva takes us deep into an argument about education, freedom of choice and personal preferences. Click to read the full translation.
India: Muslims and Political Parties
Indian Muslims on the civic elections in Malegaon, which was rocked by bomb blasts last year. “So, does it helps if you are concentrated in a region, play communal politics and still be acceptable to the mainstream? Or can you be a party of only the majority group and still...
Pakistan: The Urs
Metroblogging Islamabad with a brief post on the urs of Bari Imam. “His yearly urs, celebrated in these days of the year, is attended by thousands of devotees from all over the country. The urs, now becoming a festivity for many city dwellers and people coming from across various villages,...
Algeria: More on the Pew Survey
Algerian blogger Nouri continues to discuss the Pew Survey on American Muslims. “Rather than posting a lengthy analysis of the entire survey, I will mention some of the interesting questions and answers, and my response and my view of some of the results,” he explains.
Bangladesh: Religion and Spirituality
Sadiq M Alam on religion and spirituality. “One can become cold blooded murderer even in the name of religion, in the name of God and justifying unthinkable crime even holding a holy book of religion. What is interesting is that Spirituality without religiousness again becomes selfish, an escape route for...
Israel: A Lesson in Sikhism
Israeli blogger David Bogner gives us a lesson about Sikhism after a trip to India.
Hong Kong: How Did The Obscene Articles Tribunal Get Hijacked?
ESWN translated an article from inmediahk.net by Leung Man Tao that explained how the obscene articles tribunal got hijacked in Hong Kong.
Bahrain: The ‘two seas’ are now a concrete jungle
From 'blog wars' to work ethics, the Bahraini blogosphere is bubbling with new ideas and excitement. Ayesha Saldanha sheds more light on discussions taking place this week about Bahrain's jungle of concrete, compensation for the victims of the capsized Al Dana dhow, the historic Bab Al Bahrain (Bahrain Gateway) and much more.
Malawians on the world stage: academic honors, music, science and technology
There is one discernible theme running through the Malawian blogosphere in the month of May. This round-up focuses mostly on what these bloggers have written in this month, now approaching its end. One Malawian has received international honors for his contributions to world scholarship, while two female Malawian musicians have launched their latest music albums outside Malawi. One Malawian scientist calls for the Malawi government to put in place mechanisms to prepare for the looming disaster that might possibly be triggered by global warming, and two Malawians have made their mark in the world of technology. It has been a month of Malawians showcasing their mettle on the world stage, and here with it all.
Benin: New government rumored to be considering a Ministry of Religion
Babilown points to an article in Le Matin (Fr) about rumors that Benin's government plans to create a Ministry of Religion, and outlines the potential of such a ministry to erode the constitutional separation of church and state (Fr). In a comment, T. Nouatin agrees that although a Ministry of...
Iran:Ultra Conservative Ayathollah Goes to Waterloo
Ultra conservative Ayatollah Messbah Yazdi is invited to the Waterloo university by the Mennonites.A petition has been launched to protest about this invitation.”We're not against dialogue but the Mennonites[Waterloo University] are naive if they think they can open one with these people,” says Haideh Moghissi, a York University sociologist who...
Romania: Pilgrimage to Csiksomlyo
About half a million Catholics from Hungary and Romania make an annual pilgrimage to see Our Lady of Csiksomlyo, Csikszereda Musings reports.
India: Muslims and the Media
After an attack on a mosque in Hyderabad, is the media missing the bigger picture? iFaqeer comments “Of course, he is taking it from the perspective of a “Security” hawk within the Indian establishment and not looking, as I am trying to do, beyond the tension between Muslims and other...
India: Jesus and his missing years
varnam on the speculation surrounding Jesus's missing years. “The Jesus in India theory comes from author Holger Kersten who wrote a book about the same. Though without proof the idea comes from the observation that the teachings of Jesus are similar to Buddha who lived in India, 500 years before...
Tunisia: Breakdown of Religions
From Tunisia Subzero Blue gives us a break down of the adherents of different religions. “The following is the list of the world's major religions ranked by the number of believers adherent to them: 1. Christianity: 2.1 billion, 2. Islam: 1.3 billion, 3. Secular/Nonreligious/ Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion, 4. Hinduism: 900...
Pakistan: Violence, Terrorism and Islam
iFaqeer on Islam, leadership, terrorism and the politics of it all. “Given that, the problem as I see it, both with Muslims in the West and globally, and “communities of concern” in places like Karachi, and Kashmir, and Palestine, is that, now that there is “leadership” in place that a...
Arabeyes: Breast-Feeding Dilemma
Imagine having to breast feed your colleague at work - five times - to ensure that your relationship remains professional! This is the fatwa (religious edict) that had Arab and Muslim bloggers buzzing with excitement and anger this week. Read the rest of the article to see how some of the region's bloggers reacted to the ruling, which has since been withdrawn.
Morocco: Muslims Making Headlines
“Muslims are making headlines yet again. The Pew Research Center has found that one in four American Muslims under the age of 30 think that suicide bombings can sometimes be justified as a means to defend Islam,” writes Christine Benlafquih in Arabisto. “With headlines focusing on this one aspect of...
Bangla Blogs: Breaking Taboos and a Debate
The Bangla blogging platform Bandh Bhanger Awaaj is buzzing with discussions, debates, memes and literatures. Hundreds of bloggers and thousands of readers are keeping this space lively. It is generating a lot of interest among the bloggers and readers with its variety of posts. Recently there was a wave of...
D.R. of Congo: Should Christian Revivalist Churches Be Encouraging Political Activism?
Continuing an age-old debate--is religion the "opium of the people" or can it be a catalyst for social change?--Congolese blogger Blaise Mantoto at UDPS Liege says the Congo’s Christian revivalist churches, which he cynically refers to as "for-profit spiritual shops," encourage political disengagement. He argues these churches should inspire their followers to improve their social conditions through political activism, but not everyone agrees that religion and politics ought to be mixed.
Belarus: Priest Fined for Blogging
TOL's Belarus writes about Belarusian church, politics, the history of WWII – and a priest fined for blogging.
