pewforum.org Religion News on the Web

Religion News on the Web

Selected religion-related news from around the Web
The Times: Beijing strips Ma Daqin of his title of auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai
Relations between China and the Vatican were tense yesterday after Beijing revoked the title of a newly ordained Catholic bishop.
WSJ: When an idol divided India
This week, India marked the 20th anniversary of one of the most virulent acts of religious aggression in its history as an independent nation: The destruction of a mosque, the Babri Masjid, by thousands of Hindu activists in the northern town of Ayodhya.
AP: Tibetan protests against Chinese rule in new phase
Two dozen Tibetans have set themselves on fire in western China this month in a dramatic acceleration of the protests against authoritarian Chinese rule, activist groups say.
Reuters: In Myanmar's volatile west, sectarian violence worsens
Hundreds of homes burned and gunfire rang out as sectarian violence raged for a fifth day between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in western Myanmar on Thursday, pushing the death toll to nearly 60 and testing the country's nascent democracy.
AP: Muslim rebels ink Philippine pact as step to peace
Muslim rebels and the Philippine government overcame decades of bitter hostilities and took their first tentative step toward ending one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies with the ceremonial signing of a preliminary peace pact Monday that both sides said presented both a hope and a challenge.
NYT: 10 years after Bali bombings, local militants still pose threat
Ansyaad Mbai, the director of Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency, has a genealogy of terrorism spread across his office wall.
WSJ: Moderate Islamic preachers gain followers in Indonesia
When protests against the low-budget, anti-Islam "Innocence of Muslims" video flared across the Islamic world last month, Indonesia's Habib Munzir Almusawa preached a different message to his tens of thousands of followers in Jakarta: Just ignore it.
McClatchy: Outrage over anti-Islam video threatens to reignite blasphemy debate at U.N.
The divide in world opinion over what constitutes free speech will be on display again next week at the United Nations, where heated arguments over a proposed blasphemy law were an annual feature for the past decade.
CS Monitor: Korean 'messiah' leaves behind religious and business empire
The Rev. Moon Sun-myung, who called himself the “messiah” and founded a global religious movement as well as far-flung business interests, died Monday at his Unification Church complex east of South Korea's capital, Seoul, surrounded by family members and well-wishers.
Reuters: Massacre trial exposes inconvenient truth for India's BJP
Ten years on, Abdul Sheikh can still hardly believe that the doctor who had performed an ultrasound scan on his pregnant wife turned out to be a ringleader in the orgy of violence that killed both the mother and her unborn child.
NYT: 32 people convicted for roles in Gujarat riots
A former state education minister and 31 others were convicted Wednesday for their roles in the deaths of 94 people during one of the most savage attacks of the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Wash. Post: Indonesian security forces turn to Islamic clerics to uproot terrorism
Every few months, the head of counterterrorism in the world’s most populous Muslim nation pays a visit to a Koranic academy south of the capital to address an assembly of clerics.
Miami Herald: Spiritual journeys
In troubled times, many people turn to their faith, which may explain why faith-based travel has been gaining momentum in recent years.
AP: Classes delayed at Shanghai seminary at heart of priest-party struggle over new bishop
Classes have been delayed indefinitely at a Shanghai Catholic seminary caught in the middle of a struggle between Chinese priests and the Communist Party-controlled church over the appointment of a bishop, a staff member and media report said Wednesday.
AP: Suu Kyi’s silence: Nobel winner faces rare criticism for failing to defend Muslim minority
She is known as the voice of Myanmar’s downtrodden but there is one oppressed group that Aung San Suu Kyi does not want to discuss.
Korea Herald: Opening a door to traditional Korean culture
Buddhism is not just a religion in Korea. It is an integral cultural asset that has substantially contributed to the development of the country’s tradition and arts for the last 1,700 years.
Wash. Post: Hindus from Pakistan flee to India, citing religious persecution
More than 250 Pakistani Hindus have arrived in India over the past two weeks bearing tales of religious persecution, according to Indian border officials, fueling perceptions of growing discrimination against minorities in Pakistan.
Straits Times: Race and religion crop up in Jakarta polls
Should a non-Muslim be voted in as deputy governor of Jakarta?
Reuters: Spain conservatives plan to ban abortions
Spain's conservative government plans to ban abortions, overturning a two-year-old law allowing terminations on demand, a justice ministry source told Reuters, in a move likely to galvanize support among its core voters.
CS Monitor: In Tibet, defiant self-immolations spread beyond monks, nuns
Yesterday, a Tibetan mother died after her self-immolation in protest of the Dalai Lama's exile and the lack of freedom in Tibet. The number of self-immolators has risen to 45 in the past 1-1/2 years.
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