Stories about Religion from November, 2008
Israel: In the army – and Muslim?
Mo-ha-med describes meeting Ossama – Arab, Muslim, and a soldier in the Israeli army.
Nigeria: Hundreds of deaths in post-election riots
Hundreds of people were reportedly killed in the violence that erupted in Jos, Plateau State, Central Nigeria on Friday after a disputed local election. Nigerian bloggers respond.
The Baltics, India: “The Dangers of Turning a Minority into an Underclass”
Lithuania-based Andrei Khrapavitski of Belarusan American Blog reflects on the events in Mumbai and suggests there might be a “lesson for the Baltics” there: “I know any status comparisons of...
India: A Muslim Speaks
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....
Israel: Updates on the Chabad Home Hostage Operation in Mumbai
As the commando operation at the Chabad Jewish Center of Mumbai unfolded, very little was known about the state of the hostages. Chabad is one of the largest Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism. The most current update states that the five Jewish hostages held inside the building were found dead, writes Gilad Lotan.
Taiwanese version of Thanksgiving
Seeing Americans have Thanksgiving holidays, Arkun tries to search for similar festival in Taiwan and finds a similar counterpart, the peace ritual ceremony...
Ukraine: Daily Posts on Street Children
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;...
Egypt: Locking Al Azhar students in the dark ages!
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
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
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.
Is Secularism the answer to Egypt's Sectarianism?
Egypt has always been known as an Islamic country where Muslims, Christians, and Jews peacefully co-existed. Today this is no longer the case. Is secularism the solution? Following is an outline of the discussion taking place on Egyptian blogs today.
Saudi Arabia: Lessons in morality
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...
India: War, terror and Mumbai
‘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...
Saudi Arabia: Age of adulthood is now 18
Crossroads Arabia reports on legislation that has just been passed in Saudi Arabia – opposed by some religious scholars – raising the age of adulthood from 15 to 18.
Terror in Mumbai: Theories, strategies and more Media
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...
Jamaica: Punishable by Death
As a country struggling with spiraling rates of violent crime, Jamaica has voted to re-introduce the death penalty, despite appeals from Amnesty International and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The atmosphere on the island nation is tense, with the prevailing attitude appearing to be, in the words of blogger Kadene Porter, "Blood fi blood and fyah fi fyah."
Haiti: Non-Violence
Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre strongly advocates the path of non-violence.
Malaysia: Yoga is OK for Muslims but…
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...
Michael Jackson ‘Converts’ to Islam
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
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
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...
