Over 6,000 guests gathered in Bristol’s St Marks Road on Thursday night, invited by local Muslim groups to join in the breaking of the fast during the holy month of Ramadan
Continue reading...Category Archives: Religion
All Germans urged to wear kippah in protest against antisemitism
Call for solidarity follows warning that Jews wearing cap face abuse and attacks
Germans of all faiths and none are being urged to wear kippah skullcaps on Saturday as a symbol of solidarity with the Jewish community, after a steep rise in antisemitic attacks.
Protests across the country have been called by the government’s antisemitism ombudsman after he triggered a heated debate when he warned Jews last week not to wear the kippah because of the increasing likelihood of being attacked.
Continue reading...The Guardian view on German responses to antisemitism: frankness and honesty | Editorial
The rise of anti-Jewish actions in Germany is profoundly worrying, but Angela Merkel’s fightback sets an example of moral seriousness and rigour
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has spoken openly about the spectre of antisemitism in Germany. She told CNN that “We have always had a certain amount of antisemites among us ... Unfortunately there is to this day not a single synagogue, not a single day care centre for Jewish children, not a single school for Jewish children that does not need to be guarded by German policemen.” Her remarks came a week after the country’s ombudsman for antisemitism, Felix Klein, suggested that observant Jews would be wise not to wear kippahs (skullcaps) in public. Taken together, these developments might suggest that Germany is sliding back into its dreadful past. In fact, they are signs of a determination that this must not happen. The crime figures do not suggest there is a crisis under way – though crime statistics do not measure fear.
The Jews of Germany are alarmed. It is not just the success of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in recent elections that contributes to their feeling of unease. A short-lived campaign to ban circumcision in 2012 was the first alarm bell; large demonstrations against the Gaza war in 2014, in which hostility to Israel often seemed indistinguishable from antisemitism, was another. And they are aware of the rising currents of antisemitism around Europe, even if it takes different forms in different countries.
Continue reading...Italy’s new ruins: heritage sites being lost to neglect and looting
Overgrown and weathered, many historical monuments are disappearing as public funds for culture fail to match modern Italy’s inheritance
Legend has it that the grotto hidden among the craggy cliffs on San Marco hill in Sutera in the heart of Sicily holds a treasure chest full of gold coins. In order to find it, three men must dream simultaneously about the precise place to dig.
Treasure or no treasure, the grotto itself is an archaeological gem, its walls adorned with a multi-coloured Byzantine-esque 16th-century fresco depicting Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saints Paulinus, Luke, Mark and Matthew.
Continue reading...Netanyahu threatens to call fresh election as coalition talks falter
Israeli PM needs support of religious and nationalist parties to form government
Benjamin Netanyahu has played a last-minute gambit to persuade politicians to help him form a government, threatening to call fresh Israeli elections if deadlocked negotiations do not succeed.
The prime minister and his rightwing and religious allies won a general election just last month, but the leader is required to announce a new coalition by Wednesday, a deadline mandated by law. If he fails, the Israeli president may assign another legislator to attempt the task.
Continue reading...Jews in Germany warned of risks of wearing kippah cap in public
Government commissioner says lifting of inhibitions and rise of uncouthness are factors behind rising incidence of antisemitism
Germany’s government commissioner on antisemitism has warned Jews about the potential dangers of wearing the traditional kippah cap in the face of rising anti-Jewish attacks.
“I cannot advise Jews to wear the kippah everywhere all the time in Germany,” Felix Klein said in an interview published Saturday by the Funke regional press group.
Continue reading...Archbishop’s response to mandatory child sex abuse reporting labelled ‘pig-headed’
Perth’s Timothy Costelloe says forcing revelations will interfere with the ‘free practice of the Catholic faith’
Perth’s Catholic archbishop, Timothy Costelloe, says forcing religious leaders in Western Australia to reveal knowledge of child sex abuse risks “interfering with the free practice of the Catholic faith” and will be ineffective – a stance that advocates say is “ignorant and pig-headed”.
The state government plans to expand mandatory reporting laws to include religious leaders such as priests, ministers, imams, rabbis, pastors and Salvation Army officers.
Continue reading...What happened when I met my Islamophobic troll
In 2017, I started getting regular messages from an anonymous Twitter user telling me my religion was ‘evil’. Eventually I responded – and he agreed to meet face to face. By Hussein Kesvani
In 2017, I started to receive messages from a Twitter user who called themself True Brit, telling me that my religion was “Satanic”, “barbaric” and “evil”. Bearing a profile image of the St George’s cross and a biography that simply read “Anti-Islam, stop Islamic immigration now”, True Brit often spammed me with pictures taken from anti-Muslim websites, blogs and Facebook groups. Sometimes they would be cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad as a sexual deviant. Other times, I would be sent memes I had seen circulating in rightwing communities online, depicting groups of south Asian men who had been arrested for child sexual grooming, or alleged Syrian refugees who were, supposedly, secret members of Isis. One meme showed a man with a long beard, in battle camouflage, brandishing a pistol in one hand and holding the hand of a woman wearing niqab. In bold white writing below the image were the words “EUROPE IN 2020”.
True Brit never said anything directly to me to begin with. I had seen social media profiles like this one, and much worse, for years. Like those accounts, True Brit had few followers – 65 in total. Their activity on Twitter predominantly consisted of retweets from rightwing news sites such as Breitbart and Fox News. They frequently posted videos of online celebrities who were popular on anti-Muslim forums and Facebook groups, including Milo Yiannopoulos, a rightwing “provocateur” who has referred to Islam as “the real rape culture”, and Paul Joseph Watson, a UK-based YouTuber and editor of the conspiracy-theory website Infowars.com, who produces weekly videos about the “dangers of Islam” in the west, with titles such as The Truth About Islamophobia and Dear Gays: The Left Betrayed You For Islam. True Brit was also a fan of the British rightwing commentator Katie Hopkins, who in 2015 likened Syrian refugees to cockroaches, and who until recently produced anti-Islam videos for Canadian far-right outlet The Rebel Media.
Continue reading...Asia Bibi’s lawyer to defend couple on death row over blasphemy
Pakistani Christian man and wife sentenced to death for text messages sent to Muslim
The case of a Christian couple on death row in Pakistan after being convicted of blasphemy has reportedly been taken up by the lawyer who defended Asia Bibi.
Shagufta Kousar and Shafqat Masih were accused of sending blasphemous text messages to a Muslim man. They were sentenced to death, but have appealed to the high court in Lahore.
Continue reading...Better the devil they know: how Christians came to terms with Trump
Evangelical backing for a thrice-married celebrity is not as odd as it seems: on abortion, the supreme court and more, the president keeps delivering
After bowing his head in prayer, Donald Trump addressed faith leaders in the sunshine of the White House rose garden.
Related: Trump wants Barr to consider investigating Biden – Giuliani
Continue reading...Divine intervention: Vatican aide defies police to restore power to homeless shelter
Pope Francis aide crawls into manhole to return power for hundreds of homeless in unused state-owned building
An aide to pope Francis has shimmied down a Rome manhole in order to restore electricity for hundreds of homeless people living in an unused state-owned building.
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski broke a police seal to turn the electricity back on on Saturday evening in the building where 450 people, including about 100 children, had been living without lights or hot water since 6 May, according to Italian news reports
Continue reading...Prague TV tower under fire as dark reminder of city’s antisemitic past
Memorial should be built at site of tourist attraction erected over Jewish cemetery, say campaigners
It has been called one of the world’s ugliest structures, pointing above Prague like a jabbing metallic finger while offering visitors panoramic views of the Czech capital’s more aesthetically pleasing sites.
Now the city’s looming 216-metre (709ft) television tower – one of the most distinctive architectural legacies of communism – is the subject of renewed complaints from the Prague Jewish community, which says it is a brooding reminder of the antisemitism of the regime that ruled the former Czechoslovakia for more than 40 years and whose dark history needs to be officially recognised.
Continue reading...Scientology ship remains under measles quarantine in Caribbean scare
Twenty-eight people required to stay on Freewinds after female crew member came down with virus
Authorities in the Caribbean island of Curacao have announced that 17 crew members and 11 passengers must stay on board a ship owned by the Church of Scientology that is under quarantine following a confirmed case of measles.
Dr Izzy Gerstenbluth said the group was required to stay on the 440-feet Freewinds ship until 13 May because they were still at risk of contracting measles after a female crew member came down with the virus.
Continue reading...Louis Farrakhan denies antisemitism – then refers to ‘Satanic Jews’
- Nation of Islam leader speaks in Chicago after Facebook ban
- Christian and Jewish leaders in city condemn invitation
In a speech denying allegations of antisemitism, misogyny and homophobia after Facebook banned him from the social media platform, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan referred to “Satanic Jews”.
Related: Facebook bans Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos and other far-right figures
Continue reading...Pakistani campaigner says he could be killed if UK deports him
Azeem Wazir left Pakistan in 2015 over involvement in protest against blasphemy laws
A Christian man who has been living in Bristol for four years says he is at risk of being killed if he is deported to Pakistan after protesting against the country’s draconian blasphemy laws.
Azeem Wazir is being held in Colnbrook immigration removal centre near London, and may be deported as soon as Friday following his arrest last week.
Continue reading...Pope issues law to force priests and nuns to report sexual abuse
All Catholic priests and nuns will be required to report abuse and cover-ups by superiors
Pope Francis has issued a groundbreaking law requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities, in a fresh effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks.
The new edict provides whistleblower protections for anyone making a report and requires all dioceses to have a system in place to receive the claims confidentially. It outlines procedures for conducting preliminary investigations when the accused is a bishop, cardinal or religious superior.
Continue reading...Asia Bibi begins new life in Canada – but her ordeal may not be over
Islamic extremists vow to pursue Christian acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan
Asia Bibi has arrived in Canada hoping to start a new life after her years on death row. But although there is huge relief among campaigners for religious freedom that she is out of Pakistan, her ordeal may not be over.
Islamic extremists have pledged to pursue the Christian woman and kill her for the act of blasphemy of which she was accused and later acquitted. Bibi may spend the rest of her days looking over her shoulder in fear of an international assassin.
Continue reading...Revealed: new evidence of China’s mission to raze the mosques of Xinjiang
Guardian and Bellingcat investigation finds more than two dozen Islamic religious sites partly or completely demolished since 2016
Around this time of the year, the edge of the Taklamakan desert in far western China should be overflowing with people. For decades, every spring thousands of Uighur Muslims would converge on the Imam Asim shrine, a group of buildings and fences surrounding a small mud tomb believed to contain the remains of a holy warrior from the eighth century.
Pilgrims from across the Hotan oasis would come seeking healing, fertility, and absolution, trekking through the sand in the footsteps of those ahead of them. It was one of the largest shrine festivals in the region. People left offerings and tied pieces of cloth to branches, markers of their prayers.
Continue reading...Scientology cruise ship leaves St Lucia after measles quarantine
Church of Scientology vessel held in port after contagious disease detected onboard
A cruise ship quarantined for a reported case of measles has left the Caribbean island of St Lucia after health officials supplied 100 doses of vaccine to the ship, according to reports.
The Church of Scientology cruise ship was confined to port this week by island health officials after the highly contagious disease was detected onboard.
Continue reading...The Vale do Amanhecer religious community in Brazil – in pictures
This eclectic community holds its most important ritual of the year on Labour Day to honour the mediums who communicate with good and bad spirits. The group combines a range of religious practices, including Christian and Hindu, with symbols borrowed from the Incas and Mayans, as well as a belief in extraterrestrial life and intergalactic travel. With some 600 temples throughout Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Japan, Bolivia, Uruguay and the US, the religious movement claims to have 800,000 members
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