· August, 2010

Stories about Religion from August, 2010

Angola: “Alambamento” and Marriage Practices

In Angola, there is quite strong cultural tradition of the asking of the hand of bride in marriage, called alambamento. Considered by some more important that the civil or christian marriage, the alambamento consists of a series of rituals, like the delivery of a letter, material goods and money.

29 August 2010

India: A Message To Pastor Jones

Raja Basu from New Delhi is shocked by the heinous plan of Pastor Terry Jones to burn The Quran to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 incident. The blogger...

29 August 2010

South Asia: Bloggers On The ‘Ground Zero Mosque’

The recent debate on the planned Islamic Center/Mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, USA has been reverberated in many blogospheres around the world. In this post we will look at snippets of some interesting conversations on this issue by a number of South Asian bloggers.

29 August 2010

Morocco: The Sublime Sufi Revival

The rhythms of a Sufi revival are passionately reverberating through the corridors of Morocco, and they are not going unheard, especially by the nation’s youth.

28 August 2010

Egypt: Ramadan Television and the Muslim Brotherhood

This year in Ramadan the Egyptian TV decided to produce a series about the opposition party Al-Ikhwan (The Muslim Brotherhood). The TV series, which is called El Gamaa, tries to shed light on the history of group and it's founder Hassan El Banna, bringing criticism from many bloggers that it reflects nothing but the regime's point of view.

28 August 2010

Malawi: Bloggers discuss freedom of speech and 2014 election

Malawian bloggers are currently discussing the nomination of Malawian president's brother as the ruling party presidential candidate for 2014 elections and recent arrest of a Presbyterian senior pastor Rev Levi Njombole Nyondo. He is alleged to have uttered seditious words at a funeral service.

26 August 2010

Egypt: My First Fast

Food Jihadist, is an American expat living in Egypt. She shared her experience of fasting for the first time in Cairo this year. Muslims are marking Ramadan, a month of...

23 August 2010

Morocco: When Sarkozy “Proposes” a French Version of Ramadan

When Ahmed wrote his satirical blog post about a completely fictional announcement by president Nicolas Sarkozy intending to impose a French version of Islam on French Muslims, he never imagined his "story" would make the headlines of newspapers and mainstream media websites, not as the innocent prank he initially intended but as factual news.

21 August 2010

Azerbaijan: Reflections on Ramadan

Aaron in Azerbaijan, a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) blog, reflects on how Ramadan is observed in Azerbaijan. Although a secular republic, with many people not observing fasting, the blog...

19 August 2010

Morocco: Fasting Versus Individual Liberties

For most Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan is a time of peace, of reflection, of family and faith. But for those who have given up on religion, Ramadan can be a difficult time, especially when you live in Morocco, where fasting is obligatory.

18 August 2010