At their recent meeting in Havana, the first in history, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia discussed the mutual relations between the Churches, the crucial problems of their faithful, and the outlook for the progress of human civilization. “By meeting far from the longstanding disputes of the “Old World”, we experience with…
Pakistani Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi and other speakers at an event held at the United Nations voiced serious concern over the increasing hate crimes against Muslims in the West, saying that the most effective action to reverse this dangerous trend lay in promoting interfaith cooperation. They also stressed the need for unity among Muslims, as they…
World Report 2016 is Human Rights Watch’s 26th annual review of human rights practices around the globe. It summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events from the end of 2014 through November 2015. In the introductory essay, “Twin Threats: How the Politics of Fear and…
The 2016 “Annual Dialogue Report”, prepared by Media Tenor and just released, examines ways to build trust and increase dialogue across religious faiths. The report has been published annually since 2008 and aims to “provide objective data on the perception of religion and the media coverage of religious issues, in a study that compares attitudes and frames…
The Guardian reports that French Education minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem says pupils should be taught that the separation of church and state is there to protect them, and that the principle has been twisted by rightwing politicians. Villaud-Belkacem told the Guardian that the principle of secularism has often been wrongly used to attack Islam, and that schoolchildren have been left…
TUESDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2016 AT 6.00 ARRIVAL FOR 6.30PM PROMPT START UNTIL 8.30PM IN PARLIAMENT (ROOM TO BE CONFIRMED) The meeting will be considering the vexed questions of religion and interfaith in relation to issues of empire, colonialist abuse of power and racism. This is particularly relevant to the Church of England-led interfaith scene in the…
A review of Pew Research Society reports reveals international trends about religious affiliations. While the Center’s research says Muslims are the fastest-growing religious group in the world, it also reveals considerable ignorance of the religion, especially in the US. The Centre says: “The growth and regional migration of Muslims, combined with the ongoing impact of the…
SYDNEY, Dec. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Religious leaders gathered at the Church of Scientology of Sydney, to attend an interfaith conference organized by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international interfaith organization. Special guests speaker was Executive Director of HWPL, Mr. Jae-Seob Jee, who visited Australia for the first time for the conference. Mr. Jee urged those attending to…
Yklas Kabduakasov, a Seventh-day Adventist, was recently sentenced to serve two years in a labor camp for “inciting religious hatred.” Kabduakasov was accused of making incendiary comments during lectures with students of the capital university. A charge which Kabduakasov has consistently denied. On December 22, the City Court judge decided to reopen the case and…
After Kenyan authorities reported that Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked a bus near the northeastern village of El Wak, attempting to separate Muslims from the Christian passenger, a number of Muslims reportedly stood up against the radical gunmen and told them “to kill them together or leave them alone,”. The Bishop of Garissa in Kenya has said…
