US rights report on India cites abuses in Manipur, harassment of media and minorities
Washington DC, US Reuters The US State Department’s annual human rights assessment found “significant” abuses in India’s north-eastern Manipur state last year and attacks on minorities, journalists and dissenting voices in the rest of the country. Manipur has seen fierce fighting between its tribal Kuki-Zo and majority Meitei populations after a court order a year […]
Essay: Repression of women points to worsening religious freedom trends abroad
NURY TURKEL, co-founder of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Rabbi ABRAHAM COOPER, director of global social action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and vice chair of USCIRF, say that denying religious freedom and women’s rights go hand-in-hand…
Essay: At 75, Pakistan has moved far from the secular and democratic vision of its founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah
In an article first published on The Conversation, FARAH N JAN, a scholar of South Asia, looks at the vision of Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah and how it stacks up against today’s reality…
Essay: The US Senate needs to confirm Biden’s new international religious freedom ambassador now
In an article published by Religion News Service, KNOX THAMES, who served as the special adviser for religious minorities in the Obama and Trump administrations, writes about why the US Senate should confirm Rashad Hussain, President Joe Biden’s nominee for ambassador-at-large…
Essay: The Pope’s Iraq visit will make headlines. Can it make life better for religious minorities?
In an article first published on Religion News Service, KNOX THAMES, a former special adviser for religious minorities at the US Department of State, looks at the hopes of religious minorities around Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Iraq…
Essay: How much longer will the Middle East celebrate Christmas?
In an article first published on Religion News Service, KNOX THAMES, a former special adviser for religious minorities at the US Department of State, says that many Christians in the Middle East face a Hobson’s choice – align with a brutal dictator or face discrimination and destruction…
Religious freedom: Minorities under attack as PM pushes “tolerant” Pakistan
KATHY GANNON, of Associated Press, reports on the ongoing challenges facing religious minorities – including Christians – in Pakistan…
New law in Iran threatens more arrests of Christians, rights advocates say
Morning Star News Legislation passed by parliament in Iran could make it easier to arrest and imprison Christians and other religious minorities, rights advocates said. Under amendments to articles 499 and 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, those found guilty of “deviant psychological manipulation” or “propaganda contrary to Islam”, whether in the “real or virtual […]
Hundreds arrested in India during days of protests over citizenship law
New Delhi/Mumbai, IndiaReuters More than 1,500 protesters have been arrested across India in the past 10 days, officials said, as police try to quell sometimes violent demonstrations against a citizenship law that critics say undermines the country’s secular constitution. Additionally, some 4,000 people have been detained and then released, the officials said. Demonstrators shout slogans […]
INDIA: OPPOSITION TO MODI ISN’T JUST ABOUT ANTI-MUSLIM VIOLENCE, CHRISTIANS SAY
AYSHA KHAN, of Religion News Service, reports on how rising nationalism in India has left the country’s 28 million Christians uncertain about their future in the nation…