Stories about Religion from January, 2013
The ‘Vishwaroopam’ Ban: Attack on Freedom of Speech?
The screening of Kamal Haasan's big budget Bollywood movie Vishwaroopam was banned in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu after Islamic organizations protested the depiction of the Muslim community. Actor-Director Haasan is fighting the matter in court and many have condemned the ban as an attack on freedom of speech.
Pakistan’s Forgotten Hindu Heritage
Shiraz Hassan recently visited dilapidated temples and gurdwaras of Rawalpindi and appeals that these old heritage sites, which depict the secular past of the country, need to be preserved. There are still more than 25,000 Hindus living in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
A Couple's Civil Marriage Rejected in Lebanon
A secular marriage in Lebanon is still not possible, but a couple's claim to the contrary reignites the debate and hope for partisans of civil marriage.
Tibetans Outraged by Chinese TV Drama on Tibet
A recent TV drama, Tibet's Secret, has outraged many Tibetans who criticize that the director Liu Depin for distorting Tibetan culture and religion. As the drama was broadcasted in the state-run China Central Television (CCTV), the conflict is inevitably political in nature.
Naming the Victims of the Algerian Hostage Crisis
If the press have the energy to expose the names of victims and their pictures, why can't they pour the same energy into covering the information and wisdom that would prevent further tragedies? A professor of Islamic studies Naito Masanori commented on Twitter [ja] about the press coverage of the Aménas hostage crisis...
Parallels Between Religious and Copyright Wars
Rick Falkvinge, the founder of Pirate Party, reinterprets the wars of religion that devastated Western Europe in the XVI and XVII centuries in terms of the current struggle to control information through overbearing legislation related to copyright and freedom of expression: The religious wars were never about religion as such....
Apostasy Case against Saudi Activist Dismissed
‘The apostasy case against Saudi activist Raif Badawi has been dismissed, his lawyer Waleed Abu Alkhair said on Twitter today. “It was not proven to the judges that the accused has insulted God or the Prophet,” Abu Alkhair added.,’ reports Ahmed Al Omran on Riyadh Bureau.
Diplomatic Passports for Religious Representatives in Brazil?
The Ministry of External Relations issued diplomatic passports to the heads of the evangelical World Church of the Power of God, sparking a discussion on the notion of secularism enshrined in Brazil's constitution.
Traditional Hutsul Celebration of Epiphany in Ukraine
Photographer Maxim Balandyukh posted a photo report [uk] from the traditional Hutsul celebration of Epiphany (a religious holiday commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River; Vodokhreshcha in Ukrainian) in the Carpathian village of Kryvorivnya in western Ukraine.
Sant'Egidio Community Helps Free Senegalese Hostages
Last December, eight Senegalese prisoners were freed following long negotiations led by the Sant'Egidio community. The hostages were taken by guerrillas who have been fighting for independence in Casamance, Senegal's most southern region, since 1982.
PHOTOS: Pakistan's Countrywide Shia Solidarity Protests End Peacefully
After the bombings in Quetta killed more than 100 people of the Hazara Shia community, protests spread like fire across Pakistan. People from all sects and tribes joined hands together to show solidarity with the Hazaras chanting #WeAreAllHazara. Sit-ins were registered in more than 100 cities and towns.
“We Are All Hazara” Protests Across Pakistan
Thousands across Pakistan and worldwide are showing solidarity with the Shia Hazara minority, as their sit-in protest enters its second day in the country's southwestern city, Quetta.
Gay Man Lynched in Northern Cameroon
Oscarine Mbozo’a reports [fr] on L'Actu that one gay man and his companion were lynched at a market on January 6, 2013 in Maroua, Northern Cameroon : Goche Lamine, a medical merchant, was caught with a high school student named Sanda, aged 17. The crowd was alerted by a kid shouting...
Dueling Demonstrations Surround Same-Sex Marriage in France
For several months there has been a raging debate in France surrounding 'universal marriage' (i.e. same-sex marriage). Those who oppose same-sex marriage Commitment 31 want for the whole nation, not merely the parliamentarians, to engage in the debate.
