Posts Tagged ‘Inter faith relations’

Muslim schoolgirls in trouble for wearing headscarves

Friday, June 17th, 2016

A Methodist school in Fiji last week reprimanded a group of Muslim students for wearing religious headscarves to school. The  Church’s secretary for education, Waisake Ravatu, said the students were disciplined for breaking the school dress code rules. He said the school principal asked students to remove their headscarves last week Wednesday. Ravatu said all religious Read more

Imam says proposed constitutional change may affect aid

Tuesday, May 24th, 2016

An imam in Samoa has questioned whether the proposed constitutional change to reinforce Samoa as a Christian country would mean it would no longer do business with non-Christian countries. Imam Mohammed Bin Yahya said there are a lot of non-Christian countries that give aid to Samoa. “Will they say no aid because you are not Christians, keep Read more

Greeting to the Jewish community for the coming festival of Hanukkah

Tuesday, December 8th, 2015

NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations have sent the following letter to Jewish community in New Zealand: Dear brothers and sisters in the Jewish community in Aotearoa New Zealand, On behalf of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations, I send you warm greetings as you celebrate Hanukkah from 7 to 14 Read more

Church leaders welcome review of Indonesian religion laws

Friday, November 13th, 2015

Catholic leaders in Indonesia have welcomed an announcement that the government will review religion laws that critics say restricts constitutional protections to religious freedoms. “The most important thing is that freedom of religion and of worship guaranteed in the constitution must not be narrowed with regulations that can create problems,” Father Guido Suprapto, the Indonesian Read more

Islam has helped show the world the real Sonny Bill

Friday, November 6th, 2015

The world is in love with Sonny Bill Williams. One of his closest friends, Australian boxer Anthony Mundine, a fellow Muslim, says a huge part of the change he has undergone is down his conversion to Islam. During the Rugby World Cup Sonny Bill Gave away his medal to a 14 year old boy. Mingling Read more

Bainimarama says Christianity not under threat

Friday, October 23rd, 2015

The Prime Minister of Fiji says the people of Ra and Nadroga have the common sense to see through those spreading division and encouraging so-called breakaway Christian states. Voreqe Bainimarama say they know they are being manipulated by people misusing the word of God. He says some people are “falsely claiming that Christianity in Fiji Read more

Authorities in Aceh demolish Christian churches

Friday, October 23rd, 2015

Indonesian security forces tore down three small Christian churches in Aceh on Monday. Hardline Muslims demanded their closure, citing a lack of building permits, and following religious violence. Local government security officers used sledgehammers to raze two small Protestant churches and a Catholic church – modest buildings of wood, concrete and tin – in the Read more

Religious tolerance concert banned from Nelson cathedral

Tuesday, September 15th, 2015

A concert including the Islamic call to prayer has been turned away from Nelson’s cathedral after its dean said it “was not Christian”. The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace is a contemporary anti-war composition, dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis and is based on the Catholic Mass, and includes texts from other religious Read more

Muslims Jews Christians together in Wellington: a world first

Friday, April 17th, 2015

In what may be a world first a religious group representing Christian and Jewish communities has expanded to include Muslims in an effort to foster friendship and dialogue between religions. The group celebrated its relaunch as the Wellington Abrahamic Council of Jews, Christians and Muslims at Parliament on Tuesday night. Council Christian co-chair Reverend Jenny Read more

Muslims facing many challenges in NZ

Tuesday, March 31st, 2015

A racist rant on a Lower Hutt bus last week, captured on a video, highlights the some of the challenges faced by Muslims in New Zealand. The incident took place on a Valley Flyer bus travelling between Petone and Naenae last Wednesday morning. Another challenge is the reluctance of employers to hire them are among Read more