Category Archives: Religion + Belief

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

U.K. News | Muslims & Ethnic Minorities

Reported hate crimes double in Manchester in aftermath of bombing
  • Some 56 hate crimes were reported in the two days following the bombing in Manchester by a Briton of Libyan descent, a twofold increase over the 28 in the two previous days (the average amount, according to law enforcement).
  • Incidents included bomb threats, intimidation, slurs, and racist graffiti across the city.
  • Community members noted a significant number of incidents had gone unreported and expressed frustration at the expectation of apologizing on behalf of all Muslims while being subjected to anti-Muslim abuse.
Read

“Manchester attack: Hate crime ‘doubles’ after incident” (BBC News | May 2017)

“Muslim leaders in Manchester report rise in Islamophobic incidents” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Manchester sees rise in hate crimes after attack” (Al Jazeera | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters, via The Guardian)

Ideology + Affiliation, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

U.S. News | Racial & Religious Minorities and Allies

Attackers connected to white supremacist groups kill 3, wound another in Oregon and Maryland
  • In College Park, MD, black college senior Richard Collins III was stabbed and killed in an unprovoked attack by a 22-year-old white man on the University of Maryland-College Park campus.
  • In Portland, OR, two white men were killed and another injured after intervening as a neo-Nazi white supremacist yelled anti-Muslim rhetoric at two Muslim women on a train.
  • The attacks follow a number of high-profile incidents and an uptick in reported identity-based terrorism following the election of President Donald Trump, whose campaign was marked by anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric and a willingness to court and promote white-supremacist supporters.
Read

“University of Maryland Fatal Stabbing Investigated by FBI as Possible Hate Crime” (NBC News | May 2017)

“Man shouting ‘anti-Muslim slurs’ fatally stabs two men in Portland” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Spread of Hate Crimes Has Lawmakers Seeking Harsher Penalties” (The New York Times | April 2017)

(Image Credit: via The Baltimore Sun)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Indonesia News | Christian

Jakarta’s Christian governor of Chinese descent sentenced to prison for blasphemy
  • Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, was sentenced to two years in prison after having accused political opponents of using a verse from the Qur’an to mobilize opposition to his re-election.
  • His remarks drew massive protests in the Muslim-majority country and a religiously charged vote for the Jakarta governorship in April, where he lost to Muslim rival Anies Baswedan.
  • Judges cited fundamentalist religious groups in the ruling, shocking observers with a prison sentence for Ahok because he “did not feel guilt.”
Read

“Jakarta governor Ahok sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Jakarta’s Christian Governor Ahok jailed for two years for blasphemy” (The Sydney Morning Herald | May 2017)

“Jakarta’s former governor Ahok dropping appeal against jail sentence for blasphemy” (ABC | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Antara/Pool/Sigid Kurniawan, via The Jakarta Post)

Religion + Belief

Egypt News | Coptic Christians

More than two dozen Coptic Christians killed in attack in Egypt
  • Gunmen killed at least 29 and wounded two dozen more in Minya Province while they were en route to a monastery in central Egypt.
  • The Islamic State claimed responsibility, the latest in a series of attacks by the fundamentalist group on the religious minority that has left more than 100 dead since December 2016.
  • Thousands mourned the dead at the Church of the Sacred Family in the village of Dayr Jarnous before beginning a defiant march expressing outrage and calling for retribution.
Read

“Grief, rage in Egyptian church after Copts attacked by gunmen” (Reuters | May 2017)

“Gunmen in Egypt Force Coptic Christian Pilgrims From Buses and Kill 28” (The New York Times | May 2017)

“Egypt Coptic Christians: IS claims attack” (BBC News | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Amr Nabil/Associated Press, via The New York Times)

Religion + Belief

Egypt News | Christians

At least three dozen killed in church bombings in Egypt
  • At least 25 were killed and 78 injured at St. George’s Church in the Nile Delta city of Tanta, while a second targeted St. Mark’s Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Pope in Alexandra, killing at least 11 and wounding 35.
  • The bombings, claimed by the Islamic State, came during Palm Sunday observances, a week before Easter and ahead of a planned visit by Pope Francis.
  • The attacks are the latest in a series committed by fundamentalist Islamic militants, with the Islamic State having shifted its strategy in Egypt to targeting the country’s Coptic Christian minority.
Read

“Bombings at Egyptian Coptic churches kill 36, injure more than 100” (Reuters | April 2017)

“ISIS Claims 2 Deadly Explosions at Egyptian Coptic Churches on Palm Sunday” (The New York Times | April 2017)

“Egypt: Isis claims responsibility for Coptic church bombings” (The Guardian | April 2017)

(Image Credit: Khaled Elfiqi/European Pressphoto Agency, via The New York Times)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

U.S. Feature | Black Immigrants

Integrating Blackness into U.S. Immigration Justice

The surge in the visibility of anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. following the election of Donald Trump has increased the workload of immigration activists, particularly those fighting for justice for Afro-Latinx and black Muslim immigrants. In addition to broader xenophobia, black immigrant communities have been subject to broader anti-black racism that has compounded their insecurity, including disproportionate profiling and deportation, high unemployment rates, and marginalization by other immigrant communities. Recent media coverage has examined the challenges that arise at the intersection of being black and immigrant in a hostile political climate.

Read

“Meet the Afro-Latinx Activists Empowering Black Immigrants” (teleSUR English | February 2017)

“Black immigrants in U.S. fear profiling may drive up deportation rates” (Free Speech Radio News | February 2017)

“Black Muslims Face Double Jeopardy, Anxiety In The Heartland” (NPR | February 2017)

“Black and Muslim, some African immigrants feel the brunt of Trump’s immigration plans” (PRI | January 2017)

Study

The State of Black Immigrants (Black Alliance for Just Immigration + NYU School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic | 2016)

Connect & Support

Black Alliance for Just Immigration
African Communities Together
Black Immigrant Network
UndocuBlack

(Image Credit: Erik McGregor/Getty Images, via NPR)

 

Religion + Belief

Egypt News | Christians

Hundreds of Christians flee as Islamic State violence increases in Egypt
  • Dozens of families and more than 200 students fled the province of North Sinai as the Islamic State warned of more attacks against Christians in the country.
  • Seven Christians have been killed over the last month in the provincial capital Arish, where the Islamic State is making an insurgent push.
  • Militants circulated “death lists” online, forcing Christians to choose between flight or death.
Read

(Image Credit: Ahmed Aboulenein/Reuters)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

India Feature | Bengali Muslims

The Poetics of Protest for Bengali Muslims in India

Named for the pejorative term used to describe Muslims presumed to be undocumented immigrants, Miyah poetry has emerged as a cultural protest against the marginalization and scapegoating faced by the Bengali Muslim community in the northeastern state of Assam. Its dissemination through social media channels has made it distinctly public and communal as opposed to more academic forms of cultural protest, bringing together the voices of the trained and untrained alike. Al Jazeera highlights the origins of the form and the social and political conditions that have shaped its evolution.

Read:
“Protest poetry: Assam’s Bengali Muslims take a stand” (Al Jazeera | December 2016)

Related reads:
“For better or verse: Miyah poetry is now a symbol of empowerment for Muslims in Assam” (Firstpost | September 2016)
“A state on edge” (India Today | October 2016)

Additional:
Itamugur (Facebook)
#MiyahPoetry (The Sunflower Collective)

(Image Credit: Kazi Neel/Al Jazeera)

Nationality + Migration, Religion + Belief

Global Event | Christmas

Christmas for the Vulnerable Christians of the World

Source: Al Jazeera YouTube

One of the most important days in the Christian holiday canon, Christmas is celebrated by the devout, the lapsed, and the unbelieving alike as a time of gift-giving, decorating, and shared cheer. However, many of the worlds Christians, minorities in their communities, continue to face persecution as religious-extremist, nationalist, and other reactionary forces gain footholds around the world. From Indonesia to Egypt, religiously diverse societies have experienced increased sectarian tensions as parallel forces—anti-Christian sentiment and Islamophobia—have disrupted what was once stable co-existence. This roundup takes a look at recent developments in the plight faced by some of the most vulnerable Christians around the world. Continue reading Global Event | Christmas →

Class + Socioeconomics, Gender, Religion + Belief

Pakistan Feature | Women & Girls

The Endless Labors of Pakistan’s Debt-Bound Women

A form of indentured servitude persists in the vast fields of Pakistan’s poorest regions, where families labor on lands to pay off debts whose balance never seems to decrease. But while men may find their “payments” limited to hard labor, women and girls find themselves vulnerable not only to physical labor, but to domestic, sexual, and even marital labor forced under conditions of extreme duress.  Religious minorities are particularly vulnerable, with an estimated 1,000 Hindu and Christian girls trafficked as a result of these debts, sold off to predatory landowners and forced to convert to Islam. The Associated Press examines the conditions faced by the more than 2 million Pakistanis living in what human rights organizations have called modern-day slavery and the particular indignities to which women and girls are subjected.

Read:
“A Pakistani girl is snatched away, payment for a family debt” (The Associated Press)

(Image Credit: B.K. Bangash/AP)

Religion + Belief

China News | Christians

Christians see restrictions on Christmas celebrations as crackdown by Chinese government continues
  • A hotel in Zhejiang province canceled plans to host two services by local churches after a warning from the government.
  • Zhejiang authorities have also moved to prevent informal “house churches” from operating and have banned all forms of religious activity in hospitals.
  • Officials have condemned many forms of religious expression in the name of national security, considering Christianity an example of the “infiltration of hostile Western forces.”

Read more:
“China Cracks Down on Christmas Celebrations, Bans Protestant Services” (Radio Free Asia)

Additional reads:
“China’s Zhejiang Bans Religious Activities in Hospitals as Crackdown Widens” (Radio Free Asia, August 2016)
“Decapitated Churches in China’s Christian Heartland” (The New York Times, May 2016)

(Image Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press, via The New York Times)

Religion + Belief

Egypt News | Christians

IS claims responsibility on Cairo church bombing that left dozens dead
  • The attack on St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral killed at least 25 people and injured nearly 50, most of them women, in Egypt’s deadliest mass killing driven by sectarian conflict since 2011.
  • The cathedral was the seat of the Egyptian Orthodox Church and a prominent symbol for Egyptian Copts, who comprise around 10% of the country’s population and who have been subject to systemic discrimination.
  • Following the attack, the Islamic State threatened to escalate its “war on polytheism,” leading members of the Christian community and government officials to suspect more large-scale attacks are on the way.

Read more:
“ISIS Claims Responsibility for Egypt Church Bombing and Warns of More to Come” (The New York Times)
“Blast at Egyptian Coptic cathedral kills at least 25” (The Washington Post)
“23 killed in explosion inside church attached to Cairo’s Coptic cathedral” (Al-Ahram)

(Image Credit: Khaled Desouki/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images, via The New York Times)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

China News | Hui Muslims

Popular website for Chinese Muslims goes down following posting of Xi-critical letter
  • China Muslim Net, a site focused on content related to Hui Muslims in the country, became inaccessible after the site published a letter critical of President Xi Jinping, though the official cause of the issue has not been revealed.
  • The letter reportedly denounced Xi for the jailing of advocates and intellectuals and called for the release of Kwong Pyong, a student who disappeared after posting pictures of himself online wearing a satirical t-shirt comparing Xi to Hitler.
  • The Chinese government has cracked down on religious expression and expressed fears of extremism in the country as it has engaged in protracted conflict with Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

Read more:
“Popular Chinese Muslim website down after posting letter critical of Xi” (Reuters)
“China Shutters Muslim Website After Protest Letter to PresidentChina Shutters Muslim Website After Protest Letter to President” (Radio Free Asia)
“Chinese Muslim website blocked after Xi Jinping letter” (Al Jazeera/AFP)

Gender, Religion + Belief

Germany News | Muslim Women

Chancellor Merkel endorses partial ban on Islamic veils in Germany
  • Merkel’s announcement is the first public show of support for her party’s call for a ban on full-face veils in public spaces, a proposal Muslim women leaders have pointed out as unnecessary and inflammatory in a nation that already creates strong social pressure not to wear religious veils.
  • The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has proposed barring veils including the burqa and the niqab from public spaces including courts and educational institutions and during events such as traffic stops and police checks.
  • Merkel, who recently announced a run for a fourth term, has increasingly stressed “integration” and “law and order” amidst rising anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and nationalist sentiments in the country.

Read more:
“Angela Merkel endorses party’s call for partial ban on burqa and niqab” (The Guardian)
“Angela Merkel Calls for Ban on Full-Face Veils in Germany” (The New York Times)
“Burqa bans: As Angela Merkel supports prohibition, survey shows how Muslim-majority countries feel about veils” (The Independent)

Related reads:
“What’s That You’re Wearing? A Guide to Muslim Veils” (The New York Times, May 2016)

(Image Credit: Michael Gottschalk/Photothek via Getty Images, via The Guardian)

Gender, Religion + Belief

The Netherlands News | Muslim Women

Partial ban on public dress in Islamic veils clears hurdle in the Netherlands
  • The Dutch lower house approved legislation that would ban the wearing of “face-covering clothing” including the burqa and the niqab, sending the bill to the Senate for final approval.
  • The ban, which would impose a more than €400 fine on offenders, would apply to public spaces including educational institutions, healthcare centers, public transportation, and government buildings.
  • Although data indicates only a few hundred women wear the veils, the legislation comes as a part of a wave of European legislation targeting traditional Islamic wear, including in France and Belgium.

Read more:
“Dutch parliament paves way for approval of partial Islamic veil ban” (AP via The Guardian)
“Burka ban backed by Dutch MPs for public places” (BBC)
“Dutch parliament approves partial burqa ban in public places” (The Independent)

(Image Credit: Getty Images, via BBC)