· October, 2010

Stories about Religion from October, 2010

Brunei and the music of Maher Zain

The Brunei tour of Swedish singer Maher Zain, who is known for his Islamic inspirational songs, confirmed the global appeal of his music. The Brunei blogosphere and twittersphere are still buzzing with Zain's recent visit.

13 October 2010

China and Tibet: Democracy in Exile

Being a Tibetan in exile is a loss that manifests in many forms: the loss of homeland and natural rights fall within that. To some degree, the loss is also a blessing in disguise. Exile bestows upon Tibetan refugees in Dharamshala a reinforced national identity, a free voice, the right to practise and spread their religion without fear of persecution and the right to vote.

12 October 2010

Pakistan: Twin Blasts at Karachi Sufi Shrine

Yesterday two suicide bombs struck Abdullah Shah Ghazi (a sufi) shrine in Karachi, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 50 others. Fahad Desmukh posted in his blog...

8 October 2010

Tajikistan: Sewing a pattern

Alpharabius ponders on the situation in Tajikistan in the aftermath of a series of destabilizing occurences involving Islamic militants and escaped convicts.

5 October 2010

Sahel Region: On Paying Ransom for Hostages

Hostage-taking by a militant Islamist group called Al-Qaeda in The Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is on the rise in the Sahel region which spans across several countries in the north of Africa. In order to free hostages, governments and companies have put political pressure on the African nations involved, or opted to pay ransoms directly. However, the strategy of paying ransom is often decried as ineffective and dangerous in the long run.

2 October 2010

Kuwait: Eat, Watch and Pray

A major cinema company in Kuwait has announced that it would introduce a 10 minute break in its daily schedule to give worshippers the chance to perform their maghreb prayers. The announcement, on Twitter, received mixed reactions.

1 October 2010