Stories about Religion from April, 2009
Pakistan: This Is Not Islam
Pakistani blogger Faisal K. at Deadpan Thoughts questioned an enlightened scholar of Islam to confirm that what the Talibans are preaching is “hardly the Islam brought by the Quran and taught by the Prophet through his teachings.”
Egypt: Stigmatized by AIDS
A group of Egyptian bloggers and independent media personalities are putting their hands together in support of the “Openness” initiative, which aims at anti-stigmatizing AIDS patients, and calls for integrating them in the society instead of alienating them further by educating people on how to deal with them to avoid getting infected, reports Marwa Rakha.
Egypt: Interviewing a Baha'i Assailant
Egyptian blogger Ibn Rushd interviewed one of the Baha'i assailants. Marwa Rakha translates the interview, in which the assailant admits to his role in the burning of six homes belonging to Baha'i families in the village of Shoraneya, from Arabic.
Morocco: AIDS, Money and Sex Toys
Morocco has a reputation of tolerance, and although this is mainly a young and fairly open society there are still instances of prejudices suffered by people infected with HIV/AIDS, and the stigma attached to the disease, writes Hisham, as his country marked a nationwide day of campaigning, information and screening on April 25.
Czech Republic: Blog Roundup
A Czech roundup: Czechmatediary – on the new translation of the Bible into contemporary Czech and on Albert Einstein's Prague connection; CzechFolks.com – on xenophobia, job market, and the Brno Expats Forum online community; The Journeys of Captain Oddsocks – on bone churches and the liberation of Plzeň 64 years...
Pakistan: Death Penalty Mandatory for Blasphemy
KO blog reports that according to a new law in Pakistan penal code, death penalty is now mandatory for blasphemy convicts.
Bangladesh: Ramakrishna Temple in Dhaka
MysticSaint at Inspirations and Creative Thoughts visited the Ramakrishna Temple of Dhaka and wrote about Sri Sri Ramakrishna (February 18, 1836 – August 16, 1886), a remarkable mystic saint of Bengal.
Barbados: Waiting on the Verdict
AfriKa CRY BLOOD is very interested in the outcome of the inquest into the death of Barbadian I’Akobi Maloney – the verdict will be given today.
Jordan: Beyond Stereotypes
How to get past stereotypes and the future of the relationship between Denmark and the Arab and Muslim worlds was the centre of discussions at an event organised by the Danish Embassy in Amman. Mohammad Azraq, who attended the programme, picks up on this story and more in this round up of Jordanian blogs.
Pakistan: Why Talibans are Getting Support in Swat?
Pakistani blogger Ambreen Kazmi at Chowrangi blog answers the question “Why people of Swat support Taliban”?
Saudi Arabia: Temporary Marriages or Prostitution?
“Saudi's temporary marriages are prostitution,” charges American blogger Sand Gets in my Eyes, who lives in Saudi Arabia. Click the above link, for more on the debate.
Ethiopia: The plight of Ethiopian muslims
Negashi discusses the mistreatment of Ethiopian muslims, “Ever since the coming to existence of what is known as the Solomonic dynasty in the late 13th century, Islam and Muslims have been the prime targets of the leaders of the Christian North. Their southward expansion resulted in total annihilation of the...
Japan: An Oscar to “Okuribito” (Departures)
For the first time a Japanese movie, Okuribito (or Departures), has been awarded the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, over the French “The Class” and the Israeli animated documentary “Waltz With Bashir”. Directed by Yôjiro Takita, Okuribito is based on the novel Nôkanfû Nikki (納棺夫日記, lit. Diary of an undertaker)...
Russia: Hyde Park; WinRAR; Hot Water; etc.
A few links to recent posts at IZO: president Medvedev “to create a Russian Speaker's Corner, based on Hyde Park”; a Russian ad agency shows “how the WinRAR data compression utility shrinks files” – “bad idea, badly executed”; a useful link for Moscow-based readers who'd like to know when there'll...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Intermarriage
Gray Falcon writes about intermarriage in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Haiti: Senate Elections
Alice Smeets posts a series of photographs of Haiti's senatorial elections this past weekend, while My Life, an Open Book… says: “It turned out to be a terrible election…not because people were killed, but because the voice of the people was not heard.”
Ukraine: Cleaning Up and Littering Down
Observations on the “public, private and personal space” in Kyiv – at The Uncataloged Museum. Photos and video of the damage done to Kyiv's environment during this year's Easter holidays – at Ukrainiana.
Saudi Arabia: Support for fatwa prohibiting “immoral” women's sports clubs
Writing on Arabic online forum Al Saha Abu Marmesh applauds a new fatwa (religious edict) by a Saudi scholar which bans women only health and sports club in Saudi Arabia. “We have to stand together against all those who try to abuse our girls and women,” he writes.
Morocco: On “Jewish Morocco”
Morocco has a long relationship with Judaism; during the spread of the Roman empire, a number of Jews settled in what is modern-day Morocco. Over time, relations between Morocco's majority Muslim population and its small Jewish population have ranged from very good to heavily strained. Following the creation of the state of Israel, the vast majority of Morocco's Jews emigrated (approximately 15% of Israeli Jews are in fact of Moroccan descent), however, approximately 7,000 Jews reside in Morocco today. Moroccans are often quick to point out that the king's top adviser, André Azoulay, is Jewish.
Serbia: Thoughts on Doubt and Faith
Orthodox Christian believers will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 19. On this occasion, some Serbian bloggers posted their thoughts about different legends and dogma related to Jesus Christ. Sinisa Boljanovic has translated two of these posts.
Pakistan: Talibans Violating Constitution
Yasser Latif Hamdani at Pak Tea House reacts to the news that “Sikh families living in Orakzai Agency have left the agency after the Taliban demanded Rs 50 million as jizia (tax) from them” pointing that the Taliban’s Jizya scheme is unconstitutional.
