Stories about Religion from February, 2007
Qatar: US Islamic Forum
Blogger Abu Aardvark (Marc Lynch) is off to Doha, Qatar, to participate the US-Islamic World Forum. “I hope to be able to blog from Doha like I did last time, wireless permitting,” he writes.
Eastern Europe: The Islamic Peoples
J. Otto Pohl posts the second “imaginary” syllabus – “Mehmet’s Grandchildren: The Islamic Peoples of Eastern Europe and their Ottoman Roots.”
Anniversary of Islamic Revolution and Iranian Bloggers
Several bloggers have written about their feelings, experiences and opinions about Islamic Revolution, with some celebrating its 28th anniversary on 11 February and others regreting it. Let's look at some of these writings. Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president and reformist politician, says the Islamic Revolution was one of...
Nepal: Our very own bishop
The Pope's benediction for Nepal – a bishop. Nepali Netbook says “If anyone had it all worked out these bewildering past months, it surely was Pope Benedict XVI. Nine months after the secularization of the Nepali state, the pontiff has elevated the Apostolic Prefecture of Nepal to the rank of...
Saudi Arabia: Muslim Swimsuit?
Saudi blogger Khloud tells us about an Islamic swimsuit developed in Australia for Muslim life guards.
Russia: Pancake Week
The Turkish Invasion writes about the celebration of the Pancake Week in Russia: “For the Russians Maslenitsa is like a carnival for the Italians, especially because the initial sense of festivals is the same: the Italian word “carnival” (carne-vale) means “farewell the beef!”, and Maslenitsa that precedes the Great Lent,...
Iran:Demonstration against Nestle in Tehran
Kamangir reports that Basij members protested in front of Nestle branch in Tehran.He adds one of the slogans was “to save Al-Aqsa Mosque, we do not eat Nestle.” We can see a few photos of this demonstration here.One of the slogans in photo is “Nestle Chocolate, Zionists’ Bullets”.
Lebanon: Sectarianism and Peace Groups
The fears of sectarian strife may be the reason why a good number of bloggers wrote about sectarianism this week. However, as one may expect, bloggers do not agree on how to define or confront this issue. While some see that it is blown out of proportion, or that ignoring...
Lebanon: Know Thy Neighbour
Lebanese blogger Ms Levantine gives us a brief outline of the history of Shia in Lebanon here.
Syria: The Difference between Saudi Arabia and Iran
Syrian blogger Mustafa Hamido briefly sums up the similarities and differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Serbia: Emir/Nemanja Kusturica
Belgrade 2.0 writes about Emir Kusturica, the Serbian filmmaker who has been awarded with France’s Order of the Knight of Arts and Literature of the first degree. Kusturica's name, by the way, is no longer Emir, but Nemanja: the name change occured after his baptism.
Bangladesh: Can the power of one save the nation?
The hottest topic in Bangladesh now is that the Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus has expressed his intention to start a political party and run for the next election. In an open letter he has asked the people to provide their support and feedback to him and suggest how he...
Pakistan: Ulema and Family Planning
Metroblogging Islamabad on a seminar on Ulema's views on family planning. “The research showed that many Ulema did not support family planning as it meant to them limiting the number of children one can have, which is not permissible in Islam. However, majority of them believed that Islam permits birth...
Afghan Whispers:National Reconcilation and Ashura
Askar Gu Raiz talks about national reconcilation in country.The blogger writes I believe the mere debate around the hostilities of the past three decades, and the indirect confession that parties involved in those wars shoulder responsibility for the destruction and bloodshed, yet are entitled to forgiveness, is a positive start....
Israel: Palestinian Officials Pilgrimage
Aussie Dave at Israellycool ridicules Palestinian officials performing the Muslim pilgrimage rituals here.
India: On Parzania, Gujarat and Hate
Indian Muslims comment on the refusal of movie theatre owners to screen a movie. “So, Parzania would not be screened in Gujarat. Not anytime soon at least. It seems the entire state is being held hostage to a particular ideology and anyone protesting against it would be silenced. All sighs...
India: Feminism, marrying trees and rituals
A famous actress indulges in a little harmless piece of superstition that has some people in arms. Amardeep Singh explains. “Aishwarya Rai, who has been in the news lately because of her engagement to Abhishek Bachchan, has apparently been ritually married to not one but two trees before her real...
Japan: spring festival
David Weber from Japundit blogs a serie of photos on Japan's spring festival and the ritual in driving away demons.
Estonia: The Jewish Community
Itching for Eestimaa writes about the history of Estonia's Jews.
Bangladesh: Fun and Islam
A bengali in TO on fun in Islam. “I asked one of my class mates, son of one muezzin, if he had watched the documentary. “We don't have TV.” He replied, “My dad says it's haram. He says the TV is evil.””
South Asia: unemployment, congregation, cricket, richest beggar and extra bed for bloggers
South Asia is one of the poorest regions in the world. Unemployment is one of the major problems for all the countries in this region. South Asia Biz writes a series on the employment situation in South Asia. The biz blog reviews online job portals from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan,...
