Category Archives: Religion + Belief

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief
Interfaith memorial for victims of last year’s Israel-Gaza conflict provides rare opportunity to set aside religious and ethnic divisions.
  • “From Mourning to Hope” took place at Kibbutz Kfar Azza, three miles from Gaza’s eastern neighborhoods.
  • The concert featured a Catholic funerary Mass, musical performances by Jewish and Arab artists in Hebrew and Arabic, and three attendees approved to visit from Gaza.
  • While some dismissed the activities as ineffective, others lauded the acknowledgment of joint suffering and desire for peace.

“I don’t know if this will help, but I support the idea of better neighborly relations…I have music in Tel Aviv too, but the combination of music and this location is meaningful.”

More on this story at The Times of Israel.

(Image Credit: Noam Ekhaus, via The Times of Israel)

Religion + Belief
Belgian town sees interfaith support as Muslim community raises funds to help Jewish community reopen shuttered synagogue.
  • Despite not having a permanent mosque of their own, local Muslims rallied to provide the Synagogue d’Arlon, the oldest Jewish house of worship in the country, with €2,400 in assistance after it was shuttered because of structural problems.
  • The funds were presented at an interfaith roundtable discussion on “Living Together” bringing together local religious and secular leaders.

“Jews and Muslims have lived together for centuries. Do you know that the first hydraulic clock was invented by a Jew so that Muslims can observe prayer times? Imams in France protected Jews during war. It is regrettable that religions are used for political purposes and sow discord between men.”

More on this story at the Huffington Post.

(Image Credit: Association of Muslims of Arlon, via The Huffington Post)

Religion + Belief
Saudi supreme court upholds sentencing of 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for blogger accused of “insulting Islam.”
  • After being sentenced for speaking out against the religious police in Saudi Arabia, Raif Badawi received the first 50 of his lashes in January before subsequent rounds were postponed for medical reasons.
  • Badawi and his lawyer Walid Abulkhair, also an imprisoned rights activist, have been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by a Norweigian parliamentarian.
  • Badawi’s supporters have launched a Twitter solidarity campaign called #backlash, drawing red marks on their backs with lipstick to draw attention to his plight.
“All this cruel suffering happened to me because I expressed my opinion.”
More on this story at Middle East Eye.
(Image Credit: AFP Photo / Stephane de Sakutin, via Middle East Eye)
Age, Religion + Belief
#MyFriend campaign shows interfaith friendships in Myanmar, currently an international spectacle because of its persecution of Rohingya Muslims.
  • Hate speech and harassment online have created hostile conditions for many religious minorities in Myanmar.
  • Launched in April, the selfie Facebook campaign hopes to provide a counternarrative to prevailing discriminatory attitudes.

More on this story at Global Voices.

(Image Credit: Facebook photo, via Global Voices)

Religion + Belief
U.S. Supreme Court rules Muslim woman can pursue discrimination claim against Abercrombie & Fitch for being denied job because of religious headscarf.
  • The ruling was 8-1 in rejection of the notion that companies can shield themselves from discrimination claims through neutrally applied, one-size-fits-all policies.
  • The claim sparking the judgment came from Samantha Elauf, who in 2008 was turned down for a job at an Abercrombie Kids store due to the company’s policy banning headwear.
  • Shifting the responsibility onto employers for discussing accommodations, the judgment clarifies that applicants do not have to disclose their religious affiliation in order for a necessary, reconciliatory conversation about accommodations to begin with applicants.

More on this story from Reuters.

Religion + Belief
A Brazilian TV network agrees to broadcast religious freedom PSA following host’s anti-atheist comments.
  • Federal prosecutors took action after the incident in 2010, when host Jose Luiz Datena made the disparaging remarks suggesting atheists are more likely to commit crimes.
  • The Rede Bandeirantes network will run the piece on religious freedom 72 times until November.
  • Brazil’s constitution guarantees religious freedoms (including, in this case, freedom from religion), and intolerant speech can lead to fines or prison sentences for violators.

More on this story at BBC.

(Image Credit: BBC)

Religion + Belief
Recent Pew report on American religiosity finds Seattle has largest atheist proportion of the major U.S. metro areas.
  • According to the study, 10% of Seattle residents identify as atheist.
  • 52% of Seattleites identify as Christian (23% evangelical, 10% mainline).
  • 22% identified as “nothing in particular.”

More on this story at the Seattle Sun Times.

Religion + Belief

News

Hungarian PM dismisses multicultural society as something from which Hungary must be spared.
  • Viktor Orban denounces “mass-scale” intermingling of different faiths.
  • He has been outspoken in his opposition to the EU’s response to the Mediterranean migration crisis.

“Multiculturalism means the coexistence of Islam, Asian religions and Christianity. We will do everything to spare Hungary from that.”

More on this story at Reuters.

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief
Tony Blair, former U.K. PM, appointed head of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation.
  • Within the Council’s mission to combat antisemitism, xenophobia, and racism across Europe, Blair hopes in particular to counter the increase in anti-Semitic sentiment.
  • Blair notes that such sentiment tends to increase during times of economic slowdown, as was the case in the periods preceding both World Wars.
  • Blair hopes to push for strong counterextremist measures, including more aggressive responses to hate speech and expanded educational programs to promote tolerance.

“It is our firm belief that it is not religion or faith per se that causes or foments conflict. It is the abuse of religion, which then becomes a mask behind which those bent on death and destruction all too often hide. The real issues are far more complex and demand greater tolerance, understanding and legislative powers to achieve a solution.”

More on this story at The Guardian.

(Image Credit: Chris Jackson/PA, via The Guardian)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

In a country where “Israel” and “Jew” are often conflated, Turkish Jews grow increasingly concerned by official anti-Semitic statements. More from The Times of Israel.

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Local and national politics in Myanmar plays upon and is at times driven by society’s anti-Rohingya sentiment (and anti-Muslim sentiment more generally). More from Al Jazeera.

Religion + Belief

Man disguised in women’s garb detonates self outside Shiite mosque in Dammam, killing himself and three others in the second such attack in the region a week. More from Reuters.

Religion + Belief

Bosnia and Herzegovina sees excitement from Catholics, Muslims, and its Orthodox communities alike ahead of Pope Francis’s visit. More from Reuters.

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

The Dalai Lama calls on Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out against the country’s persecution of the Rohingya. More from Al Jazeera.

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

A branch of the Armenian Apostolic Church sues the Turkish government to reclaim a major religious center seized during the WWI-era anti-Armenian pogroms. More from EurasiaNet.