“Moaning About Mosque Loudspeaker Not Blasphemy”: Indonesian Muslim Group
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organisation called for greater tolerance on Friday as it criticised a court that jailed a mother of four for blasphemy after complaining that a mosque in her neighborhood was too loud. The 44-year old ethnic Chinese Buddhist woman, named Meiliana, was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison by a court […]
Violent extremists tarnish image of their own faith, cardinal says
ROME – Meeting with a top Muslim leader in Saudi Arabia, the Vatican’s chief interreligious dialogue official called for the equal treatment of people of all religions, saying discrimination and double standards based on religious affiliation only increase Islamophobia and Christianophobia. And, religious leaders “have a duty to keep religions from being at the service […]
The State of Our Religious Freedom
Tuesday’s State of the Union address falls on the first anniversary of then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates’ historic refusal to defend President Donald Trump’s initial executive order barring admission to the U.S. for people from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. “I thought, based on all the evidence I had, that it was […]
What Is Religious Freedom Day Announced By Trump?
President Donald Trump proclaimed Jan. 16 as Religious Freedom Day, the White House announced Tuesday morning. It was “to commemorate the 232nd anniversary of the passing of a State law that has shaped and secured our cherished legacy of religious liberty,” he said in a proclamation. In 2017, Trump signed an executive order to this […]
Morocco minorities call for religious freedom
Representatives of Morocco’s religious minorities on Saturday urged the government to clarify the law on freedom of worship in Morocco, where Islam is the state religion. Their statement came after an unprecedented meeting in the capital Rabat. “The Moroccan state still places barriers when it comes to legal reforms concerning minorities,” Jawad el Hamidi, the […]
Recognizing World War II Muslims that sheltered fleeing Jews
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2017 – One of the little-known stories of the Holocaust is that of Muslims who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis. Fortunately, on this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, more attention is being paid to this important record of bravery and idealism. At Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C.., Holocaust […]
U.S. Monitoring Europe on Religious Discrimination
The United States is monitoring Western Europe for signs of religious discrimination, particularly against Muslims and Jews, according to the annual report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “The state of affairs for international religious freedom is worsening in both depth and breadth of violations,” according to the USCIFR, a federal government commission.
Report: Russia Among World’s Worst on Religious Freedom
Days after imposing a complete ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses operating in the country, Russia has been labeled a “country of particular concern” by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). It is the first time that Russia has been designated among the highest tier of violators of religious freedom. It joins 15 other […]
China Bans Muslim Baby Names in Xinjiang Region
Chinese authorities have banned a list of Muslim names for children born in the northwestern region of Xinjiang according to reports. Officials released a list of dozens of baby names with religious connotations used by Muslims around the world. The ban on baby names existed in Hotan, a region of the semi-autonomous Xinjiang, since 2015, […]
In ‘historic’ move, Trump envoy hosts interfaith meeting
During summit with Jason Greenblatt, Jewish, Muslim and Christian clergymen vow to advance peace and to ‘reject all incitement to violence’ By Raphael Ahren Jason Greenblatt, the US administration’s Special Envoy for International Negotiations, with members of the Council of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land at a gathering at the US Consulate-General in Jerusalem, […]