Stories about Religion from May, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Will Swine Flu Threaten Hajj?
Every year millions of Muslims converge to Mecca to perform Hajj (pilgrimage), one of the five pillars of Islam. Is this year's Hajj season being threatened by the A/H1N1 or Swine Flu virus? Bloggers commenting on the region weigh in.
India: Remembering The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots
Sidhusaaheb at I, Me, Myself remembers the Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, India. The riots were triggered by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards (in retaliation for Operation Bluestar). The article in three parts...
Pakistan: Information About IDPs
A new website has been launched documenting reliable information, including pictures and videos about the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from FATA, Swat, Dir and Buner in Pakistan.
Pakistan: Swat Crisis Via Live Blog
The Swat Plea is a platform to support the Internally Displaced Persons [IDP's] of northern Pakistan. It has launched a live blog to collate all the buzz from blogs and twitter accounts monitoring the Swat crisis.
Egypt: Obama to Address Muslim World from Egypt
The date is all set. US President Barack Hussain Obama will deliver his much anticipated speech on relations with the Muslim world in Egypt on June 4 and the Egyptian blogosphere is as divided as ever, with some questioning whether Obama will turn a blind eye to the country's human rights record. And although the speech and its content and impact on relations with the region are taking a backseat for the moment, the pressing question on many bloggers' minds is: "Why Egypt?"
Cuba, Jamaica: Examining the Revolution
“What has the Cuban Revolution achieved for the people of the country, the Caribbean and the wider world after 50 years in power?” Jamaican diaspora blogger Mark Lee, writing at Abeng News Magazine, attempts to find out.
Jamaica: The Road Most Traveled
“Universities are supposed to provide hope that at least the coming generation will be better and brighter than the one so corrupted now”: The Phoenix in a Gas House is disappointed that young academics “opted for the ignorant draconian approach” when faced with a burglary incident at Jamaica's Mona campus.
Pakistan: Fighting The Taliban
The Pakistan army has started to fight back to take control of several districts of the North-West Frontier Province from the Taliban insurgents. More than half a million people have been displaced due to the fighting and this has become a humanitarian crisis. And the fighting is not going to end anytime soon. Pakistani bloggers weigh in on the situation.
Iraq: Organised ‘crackdown’ on homosexuals
In the past few weeks there has been an increase in the persecution of homosexuals in Iraq, due to an organised 'crackdown' based on a religious decree for their death. This has been met with anger and outrage amongst both the Iraqi and global LGBT blogosphere.
Bahrain: An Alcohol Ban – And Then?
Bahraini blogger The Dude fears for the consequences of an alcohol ban, as proposed by Bahrain's MPs.
Trinidad & Tobago: Lack of Integrity
“Somehow I don’t feel a self-confessed, under-pressure, serial plagiarist should be allowed to even come within 1000-feet of a member of the Integrity Commission much less chair it”: This Beach Called Life thinks that Trinidad and Tobago's “new Integrity Commission is even worse than the last”, while B.C. Pires asks:...
Russia: Car Wash and Christ the Savior's
24-hour car wash in the Christ the Savior Cathedral's compound – at Pictures of Moscow.
Poland: Hitler and Abortion
Sylwia Presley reviews online reactions to neo-Nazi anti-abortion posters that appeared in several public places in Zielona Gora at the end of April.
China: Living Buddha stuck in court
More than a year since the March 14 riots in Lhasa, Joshua Rosenzweig at Siweiluozi gives an update on the case of Tibetan living Buddha Phurbu Tsering, charged in part with possession of a firearm, along with reasons why delivery of a verdict in his trial has been postponed.
Maldives: Destruction Of Tombstones
Abdullah Waheed condemns the vandalizing of historic tombstones in Maldives and reports: “a large number of tombstones in Koagannu were vandalized in the recent past based on a superstition that if one breaks a tombstone one could commit Quran to memory.”
Jamaica: Stereotyping
“Every Jamaican man lives in fear of a lie. It’s a lie that continues to wreak havoc on both sides of the racial and gender divide and is a frequent topic of pornography: the Black, male stud”: Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp examines the effects of the stereotype.
Serbia: The Pope
Belatedly, a link to an explanation of why “the Serbian Orthodox Church, even though unable to stop the Stones, the AC/DC and Madonna, has some deciding power over the Pope Benedict XVI penetrating [Serbia's] borders” – at Belgraded.com.
Cuba: Ladies Attacked
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense links to a report that says the Damas de Blanco were attacked by both police and private citizens following a Mass in the Cuban province of Matanzas.
Hong Kong: Tin Hau festival
See Lamborghinis and lion dances in Gilad Feldman's video and photos from celebrations of the Taoist Tin Hau festival in Hong Kong at Fili's world.
Barbados: Questions about Maloney inquest verdict
The Rastafari community in Barbados responds to the verdict in the inquest into the suspicious death of 23-year-old I'Akobi Maloney, alleged by Barbados police to have jumped from a cliff during an encounter with two officers.
Singapore church supports same sex marriage
The Church of Our Saviour, a Singapore local church, issued a statement expressing support for same sex marriage
