· March, 2009

Stories about Religion from March, 2009

Macedonia: Student Protest Ends in Violence

  31 March 2009

Recently, the Macedonian government decided to build an Orthodox church with public financing on the main square of Skopje, a decision that the citizens of the city disapproved of. On March 28, a peaceful protest against the construction of the church turned violent when a group of counter-protesters attempted to prevent it. Elena Ignatova reviews the reactions in the Macedonian blogosphere.

Taiwan: Buddhist master creates controversy

  31 March 2009

Buddhist Master Hsing Yun created controversy at an international Buddhist conference when he claimed, “There are no Taiwanese in Taiwan and Taiwanese are all Chinese.” Taiwan blogs The View from Taiwan and Letters from Taiwan both write about how Buddhism is being used for political purposes.

Pakistan: Stand Against Terrorism & Extremism

  30 March 2009

Hasan Mubarak at Lahore Metblog mentioned that Lahore keeps its resolve after the attacks on a police training school in the city: “We should not and will not tolerate ideologies of extremism, terrorism, inhumanity, and hatred. We are humans, and yes, proud Pakistanis; Muslims or otherwise – but sorry, we...

Trinidad & Tobago: Shouter Baptist Liberation

  30 March 2009

triniscene.com pays tribute to the Shouter Baptists of Trinidad and Tobago, who today celebrate “the abolition of laws that prohibited the activities of the Shouter or Spiritual Baptist faith on March 30, 1951.”

Georgia: Holy Baby Boom!

  30 March 2009

The birth rate has increased by 20 percent in ex-Soviet Georgia and the country's Orthodox Church is taking much of the credit. The miracle responsible for the much-needed baby boom in this old Christian country has been a single promise from the head of the Georgian church to personally baptize newborns. Bloggers seem impressed.

Saudi Arabia: Censoring Skin

From Saudi Arabia, Susie describes the ‘trouble’ censors go through to ‘cover up’ women's skin: “Certainly seeing all that tempting erotic skin, and coloring in all those feminine body parts must have some kind of perverse effect on these men who have been entrusted with keeping the entire country out...

Pakistan: Suicide Bombing at Mosque While People Praying

  27 March 2009

CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan is reporting that ” 48 people were killed (today) when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque near the town of Jamrud in the Khyber agency in northwest Pakistan.” The Blogger comments: “For a suicide bombing to occur at all is horrific, but...

Pakistan Day And The Lawyers’ Movement

  24 March 2009

Pakistanis celebrated Pakistan day yesterday. Chapaty Mystery discussed the significance of the day and mentioned how the recent successful lawyers’ movement has provided “an opportunity for Pakistan to undertake a serious re-consideration of its self-conception.”

Maldives: Free Speech Under Threat

  23 March 2009

In early March Mohamed Nasheed, the new President of the Maldives, met with Frank La Rue, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression. In the meeting Nasheed expressed his government’s commitment to free speech and announced that Maldives will be made a haven for dissident writers from...

Angola: Pope is greeted by the largest crowd of his African tour

  22 March 2009

The climax of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Angola was an open-air mass this Sunday, when nearly million people from various Angolan provinces and other African countries came to Luanda to hear the mass in Cimangola, on the outskirts of Luanda. Bloggers report on the Pope's remarks during his first pilgrimage to Africa, and also on the facelift Angola was given to receive Benedict XVI.