Category Archives: Religion

Jerusalem holy site visits restricted after Israeli soldiers shoot two Palestinians

Posted on by

Al-Aqsa mosque closed to non-Muslims and tourists after gunmen who shot at an army post killed by security forces

Israel has halted visits by non-Muslims and tourists to a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, as its military said soldiers had shot dead two Palestinian gunmen in the occupied West Bank, as a wave of unrest showed no sign of subsiding.

Last week, an Israeli police raid at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, a tinder box in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, triggered rocket attacks from Gaza, south Lebanon and Syria that drew Israeli air and artillery strikes.

Continue reading...

‘The Saint’ leaves Italian town after case opened into statue’s ‘tears of blood’

Posted on by

Maria Giuseppe Scarpulla investigated after claim blood stains on statue of Virgin Mary come from a pig

A woman nicknamed “the Saint” has mysteriously vanished from a small lakeside town near Rome where pilgrims have flocked for years to pray before a statue of the Virgin Mary that she claimed shed tears of blood.

Maria Giuseppe Scarpulla, originally from Sicily, and her husband reportedly fled Trevignano Romano last week after a private investigator triggered a judicial investigation against her based on his alleged finding that the blood stains on the statue came from a pig.

Continue reading...

Dalai Lama apologises after kissing boy and asking him to ‘suck my tongue’

Posted on by

Interaction at temple in India seen in video that has gone viral condemned as ‘inappropriate’ and ‘scandalous’

The Dalai Lama has apologised after he faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour after kissing a young boy on the lips and asking him to “suck his tongue” at a public event in India.

The interaction, which took place in late February at the Dalai Lama’s temple in Dharamshala, was attended by about 100 young students who had just graduated from the Indian M3M Foundation.

Continue reading...

Iranian police plan to use smart cameras to identify “violators of hijab law”

Posted on by

Women who break Islamic dress code will be identified, warned on first instance and then taken to court

Police in Iran plan to use smart technology in public places to identify and then penalise women who violate the country’s strict Islamic dress code, the force said on Saturday.

A statement said police would “take action to identify norm-breaking people by using tools and smart cameras in public places and thoroughfares”.

Continue reading...

Tensions run high across Israel after car ramming attack leaves tourist dead

Posted on by

Further violence feared after Arab-Israeli man drives his vehicle into busy city promenade following a West Bank shooting

On 8 April 2022, a Palestinian gunman entered a crowded bar in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial capital, and opened fire, killing three people and wounding 10. This weekend, on the anniversary of that attack, an Arab-Israeli man rammed his car into pedestrians on the city’s seaside promenade, killing an Italian tourist and injuring seven more people.

That attack followed a shooting earlier in the day in the north of the occupied West Bank that killed two British-Israeli sisters, aged 15 and 20, and left their 48-year-old mother in critical condition after their car veered off the road.

Continue reading...

Indian government accused of rewriting history after edits to schoolbooks

Posted on by

References to Muslim rulers, deadly riots connected to PM and Gandhi’s dislike of Hindu nationalism removed

The Indian government has been accused of rewriting history to fit its Hindu nationalist agenda after school textbooks were edited to remove references to Mahatma Gandhi’s opposition to Hindu nationalism, as well as mention of a controversial religious riot in which the prime minister, Narendra Modi, was implicated.

Textbooks were also revised to remove chapters on the history of the Mughals, the Muslim rulers who controlled much of India between the 16th and 19th centuries.

Continue reading...

Israeli hospitals scramble to comply with ‘chametz law’ for Passover

Posted on by

New law bans people from taking leavened food made from grain into medical centres during Jewish holiday

Passover celebrations in Israel this year are once again being overshadowed by a row over the consumption of leavened food such as bread in public buildings, in a symbolic fight about the role of religion in the state.

Last week, the Knesset passed the “chametz law”, which bans people from taking leavened food made from grain into hospitals during Passover. The law, sponsored by an ultra-Orthodox party, is in accordance with traditional Jewish teachings stipulating that observant Jews cannot eat chametz or have it in their homes during the week-long holiday.

Continue reading...

Mount of Olives becomes latest target in fight for control of Jerusalem

Posted on by

Israeli settler movement is making life harder for Jerusalem’s Palestinians and erasing Christian character of holy city

Even in a city as storied as Jerusalem, some places are holier than others. The Mount of Olives, studded with churches marking events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, home to the most sacred Jewish cemetery in the world and tombs celebrated as those of the Sufi mystic Rabia al-Basri and the medieval scholar Mujir al-Din, is one such place.

Christians believe Jesus spent the last days of his life here, while according to the Hebrew Bible, the mount is where the resurrection will begin; in both Christianity and Islam, it is revered as the site Jesus ascended to heaven. The Mount of Olives’ summit, which gives the clearest view of the Temple Mount, or al-Haram al-Sherif, has served as a pilgrimage destination for all three faiths for millennia.

Continue reading...

Pope Francis could be discharged from hospital ‘in next few days’

Posted on by

Doctors say 86-year-old has shown marked improvement and has been treated for bronchitis

Pope Francis has had a marked improvement in his health and could be discharged from hospital “in the next few days”, doctors treating the 86-year-old said on Thursday.

The pontiff was taken to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday afternoon after complaining of breathing difficulties and chest pain in recent days.

Continue reading...

Founder of Afghan girls’ school project arrested in Kabul

Posted on by

Matiullah Wesa, head of Pen Path, beaten and arrested outside a mosque after prayers

The founder of a project that campaigned for girls’ education in Afghanistan has been detained by Taliban authorities in Kabul, his brother and the UN have said.

The Taliban government last year barred girls from attending secondary school, making Afghanistan the only country in the world where there is a ban on education.

Continue reading...

Lebanon split into two time zones in row over daylight saving

Posted on by

Government’s last-minute decision to delay clocks going forward caused confusion and deepened religious division

The Lebanese government’s last-minute decision to delay the start of daylight savings time by a month until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has resulted in mass confusion.

With some institutions implementing the change while others refused, many Lebanese have found themselves in the position of juggling work and school schedules in different time zones – in the same small country.

Continue reading...

Concern over violence as Palestinians prepare for Ramadan in Jerusalem

Posted on by

Bloodshed and hardline Israeli politics raise tensions on eve of Muslim holy month

In the Old City of Jerusalem and the Palestinian neighbourhoods surrounding it, preparations for Ramadan are under way: strings of festive lights and lanterns are ready to welcome sundown on Thursday, while sweet shops and bakers are busy making qatayef – fried dumplings filled with cream or sweet cheese, traditionally eaten during the Muslim holy month.

The period of fasting that commemorates Gabriel’s revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad is a time for self-discipline, reflection and celebrations with family and friends. As with almost every religious holiday in the contested city, however, this year Ramadan is accompanied by worries of surging violence.

Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan switches on London’s first Ramadan lights in Piccadilly Circus

Posted on by

Mayor turns on display made up of 30,000 sustainable lights on eve of Muslim month of fasting

Sadiq Khan has switched on the London’s first ever celebratory Ramadan lights, in Piccadilly Circus.

It is the first time a European city has seen such a grand display for the festival, with the installation featuring 30,000 sustainable lights.

Continue reading...

Punjab hit by internet blackout as authorities hunt for Sikh preacher

Posted on by

Shutdown imposed as part of search for Amritpal Singh Sandhu, accused of disrupting communal harmony

Economic life in the north Indian state of Punjab has been paralysed by an internet shutdown, affecting 30 million people, imposed as part of a huge manhunt for a Sikh preacher fighting for a separate Sikh state.

Police have been searching for Amritpal Singh Sandhu, who is wanted for allegedly disrupting communal harmony, since Saturday.

Continue reading...

Spanish monastery admits girls to choir for first time in 700-year history

Posted on by

Mixed group to take over duties of Escolania choir at Montserrat monastery one weekend a month

Women and girls are to be admitted to a choir at the Montserrat monastery near Barcelona, home to the famous Escolania all-boys choir, for the first time in its 700-year history.

The new chamber choir, made up of a mix of about 25 boys and women and girls aged 17 to 24, will be separate from the Escolania, which comprises 45 boys aged nine to 14.

Continue reading...

Board of Deputies of British Jews apologises for calling journalist an ‘asshole’

Posted on by

Tweet, now deleted, was in response to Rachel Shabi’s comments on Holocaust education

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has apologised to the journalist Rachel Shabi after a message on its official Twitter account described her as an “asshole”.

The tweet from the organisation’s account on Saturday was in response to Shabi’s comments on Holocaust education.

Continue reading...

Australian Catholic order accused of waiting for paedophile to die and using death to shield it from abuse claims

Posted on by

Marist Brothers approach in seeking to halt a survivor’s case over a clergy member’s death would be ‘absolutely perverse’, court hears

A Catholic order allegedly sat on its hands for almost two years waiting for a notorious paedophile clergy member to die and is now using his death to claim it could no longer receive a fair trial against one of his victims, an approach described in court as “absolutely perverse”.

The Marist Brothers order is currently seeking to permanently halt a survivor’s case alleging abuse by the late Brother Francis “Romuald” Cable, arguing his death renders it unable to fairly defend itself because it can no longer call him as a witness.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Hillsong under investigation by charities regulator over explosive allegations aired in parliament

Posted on by

Documents tabled by MP Andrew Wilkie claim to show church used jobkeeper funds to help purchase Melbourne’s Festival Hall

The federal charities regulator is investigating Hillsong over explosive allegations aired under parliamentary privilege that it engaged in money laundering and tax evasion, with claims the mega-church earned $80m more than it publicly declared.

Financial documents tabled in parliament by the independent MP Andrew Wilkie, obtained from a whistleblower, claim to show Hillsong used funds from the jobkeeper wage subsidy program to help fund the purchase of Melbourne’s Festival Hall, and that its founder, Brian Houston, used tithes from parishioners to pay for upgraded hotel quarantine accommodation when returning from overseas at the height of the Covid pandemic.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Iraqi customs officials ordered to impose import ban on alcohol

Posted on by

Move met with indignation by many across country, where liquor sales have boomed in recent years

Over the past two decades of problems in Iraq, where to find a drink has never been one of them. But one of the country’s most popular vices – alcohol – is again at the centre of a tussle between hardliners, who are demanding an import ban, and drinkers intent on defying them.

The latest row about whether alcohol can be served has followed a decree from a conservative cabinet minister at the weekend that ordered customs officials to impose an import ban.

Continue reading...

Evangelical Christians flock to Republicans over support for Israel

Posted on by

Powerful voting bloc looking to back pro-Israel politicians in hopes of dictating policy that fits their theological views

When Israel’s former ambassador to the US said his country should worry less about what American Jews think and concentrate on Christian evangelicals as the “backbone” of support for the Jewish state, he had in mind the Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee.

Hagee founded Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a group that claims 11 million members, who have had a significant influence on Republican party politics and in hardening Washington’s already strong support for Israel.

Continue reading...