· November, 2008

Stories about Religion from November, 2008

India: A Muslim Speaks

  28 November 2008

Veteran Indian journalist M. J. Akbar blames complacence and politics for the failure to prevent the terror attacks and writes: “I am an Indian Muslim and proud to be both. Like any Indian, today I am angry, frustrated and depressed. I am angry at the manic, rabid dogs of war...

Ukraine: Daily Posts on Street Children

  28 November 2008

A whole month of posts and photos featuring street children in Ukraine – at Scenes From the Sidewalk. Some highlights: a photo report on a visit to a Ukrainian jail; photos of Ukrainian street kids from six years ago – here and here; the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures from the...

Egypt: Locking Al Azhar students in the dark ages!

  28 November 2008

Al Azhar English Training Center is funded through a partnership agreement between Al Azhar University, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund and the British Council. The Center was supposed to provide English Language courses in its first semester to 125 students from various disciplines until Ali Laban, a Muslim Brotherhood deputy, decided otherwise. One enraged instructor speaks up on Facebook.

Armenia: Bloggers Throw Funeral at Georgian Embassy

  27 November 2008

Carrying a black casket labeled “The Newborn Georgian Democracy,” a group of bloggers in Yerevan have marched toward the Georgian Embassy protesting what they call the destruction and desecration of Armenian cultural monuments in neighboring Georgia. Bloggers tell the story.

Georgia: Armenian Church Scandal

  27 November 2008

With the ever strengthening power of the Orthodox Church in Georgia causing concern for democracy and human rights activists, bloggers were first to report on attempts to seize a derelict Armenian church in the capital, Tbilisi.

Saudi Arabia: Lessons in morality

  27 November 2008

According to Saudiwoman's Weblog: ‘This month the Education Ministry instructed all religion teachers to spend five minutes of every class they teach to lecture students on how to dress properly and avoid western clothes.’

India: War, terror and Mumbai

  27 November 2008

‘What has struck India?’ is the question at the moment as the world awakes to yet another horrific day in the lives of millions in the Indian subcontinent.  The attacks go far beyond terror; bloggers are certain this is war. What has the Government of India done so far? Is...

Terror in Mumbai: Theories, strategies and more Media

  27 November 2008

An online list of people who are injured, in hospitals or reported dead has been put up on a google spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has details of people's names and which hospitals they are in. At Mahalo, a comprehensive link list is being updated with links to various sources of information....

Malaysia: Yoga is OK for Muslims but…

  25 November 2008

The National Fatwa Council of Malaysia has ruled that the physical aspect of yoga without the mantras and other spiritual elements is not wrong. Blogger Nuraina thinks the edict is unnecessary.

Michael Jackson ‘Converts’ to Islam

  24 November 2008

The King of Pop Michael Jackson has done it again and stories about his alleged conversion to Islam are keeping blogs in the Middle East abuzz with snark comments. Is Jackson's conversion a part of an American conspiracy "to destroy Islam from within," is it a media stunt or has he finally found his true calling?

Syria: A Blogosphere Divided

  24 November 2008

The Syrian blogsphere has been embroiled in a heated debate over the weekend. It is a debate that is quite reflective of some of our modern disagreements as Syrians, over a wide range of basic issues: identity, religion, state and personal freedom. Yazan Badran gathers the different threads of this controversy here.

Cuba: Brother to be Beatified

  24 November 2008

Uncommon Sense reports that a 19th century Cuban Brother is being beatified by the Catholic Church: “Br. Ollalo’s beatification will take place at 8 a.m. on November 29 in the Plaza de la Caridad of Camaguey, Cuba. It will be the first beatification to ever take place on Cuban soil.”