Indonesia’s religious affairs minister has called for the Miss World beauty pageant to be cancelled, as opposition in the Muslim-majority country mounts the week before the contest opens in Bali. Suryadharma Ali said that the organisers should follow the advice of the nation’s top Islamic clerical body, which last week called for the contest to Read more
To mark the the feast of Eid al-Fitr Pope Francis called for “mutual respect” between Christianity and Islam and an end to “unfair criticism.” “We are called to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols, its values,” he said. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community hopes that an exhibition it is putting on will Read more
This is the second article in a series of three instalments, comprising Aftab A. Malik’s reflections on his three month stay in Lakemba, Sydney. Even before I began giving lectures, controversy had spread concerning my presence in Lakemba. Who was I? Why was I here? What was my agenda? Needless to say, some emails that Read more
Now that Syria is in shambles—with an estimated 93,000 dead, 1.5 million refugees, and 4.5 million internally displaced; ancient churches torched, destroyed, or vandalized; Christians targeted for murder and kidnapping and even used as human shields—now the mainstream media is starting to admit that, yes, the rebel forces appear to include quite a few Islamist Read more
A vandalism spree at the Christchurch Islamic Centre is not believed to be racially-motivated. Representatives of the Lincoln Rd centre contacted police today after finding the premises had been entered and damaged. Sergeant Todd Webley of Christchurch Police says there is no indication at this stage that the break-in was racially motivated. “There are no Read more
News that Prince Charles is learning Arabic so he can read the Qur’an in its original language has prompted speculation about the heir to the throne’s fascination with Islam. The Prince is on record as saying that “Islam can teach us today a way of understanding and living in the world which Christianity itself is Read more
Papua New Guinea is the new frontier for the expansion of Islam in Oceania says Fr. Franco Zocca SVD, a missionary in Goroka and scholar of Islam at the Melanesian Insitute. Islam arrived in Papua New Guinea about 35 years ago, when a mosque was opened near Kimbe, West New Britain. Islam was officially registered Read more
A blogger has, perhaps light heartedly, called for New Zealand’s airlines to ban “Richard Prosser and his fellow Islamophobes from aircraft!” “How would he and they feel if that happened? Not too happy I would imagine!” says Chris Ford. On Wednesday Prosser apologised for comments made in a magazine column that young Muslim men should be Read more
The countries where Christians are worst off are those where the Arab Spring revolts took place, according to a survey by an American human rights organization. After mapping the religious freedom situation around the world, Open Doors said as many as eight out of 10 states that have adopted repressive measures against Christians are Islamic. Read more
The rise of political Islam following the Arab Spring has many worried that the democratic achievements of the revolution could be lost. In Egypt and Tunisia alike, citizens are once again taking to the streets. But this time they are opposing Islamism. Does secularism still stand a chance? Egypt’s strongman was sitting in the first Read more