A priest in the strife-torn Central African Republic is being hailed as a hero after saving the lives of hundreds of Muslims. Fr Xavier-Arnauld Fagba opened his church doors to protect the Muslims from attacks by a militia, the Globe and Mail reports. “They didn’t have anyone to help them,” said Fr Fagba, 31, who Read more
Religious persecution of Muslims in Burma has resulted in bloodshed and displaced entire communities. But grassroots initiatives have also emerged to counter the hatred. Ashin Issariya appears unassuming, but the quiet demeanour quickly changes when he has something to say. In the pre-dawn light of Burma’s nascent reform process the Buddhist monk and former Saffron Read more
Muslim hard-liners in Indonesia continued their protests against the Miss World pageant that is scheduled to take place this weekend on the resort island of Bali. About 1,000 members of the Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia rallied outside the building housing the local organizer of the contest on Thursday. While chanting “Allah Akbar,” or God Read more
Muslim groups planned to rally against the Catholic Church when the religious tussle over the Middle Eastern word for god heads back to the legal arena in Malaysia. Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary-general of the group Perkasa, said the planned rally was in support of the Home Ministry in its efforts to prohibit non-Muslims from Read more
Muslims around the world marked the end of Ramadan, ending the holy month of fasting with the Eid al-Fitr festival over the weekend. In Palestine, President Mahmoud Abbas placed a wreath on the grave of his predecessor Yasser Arafat. In France, which has some five million Muslims, the Great Mosque of Paris intervened to settle 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
Pope Francis on Friday called on Muslims and Christians to observe “mutual respect through education” in his message for Muslims at the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. “We are called to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols, its values,” Pope Francis said in a statement. “We have to Read more
Millions of Muslims make pilgrimages to Marian shrines every year — not only to the major shrines such as Fatima in Portugal or Harissa in Lebanon, but also to shrines in Egypt, Syria and Iran. Devotion to the Virgin Mary is quite strong in Islam, writes Vatican expert Father Samir Khalil Samir in an analysis Read more
Raymond Ibrahim’s fundamental new book Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians, has been widely reported, covered and praised and does not require an introduction, but it prompts a reflection. The problem of Christian discrimination and persecution by Muslims is in fact two problems. Like unpunished crimes’ victims who suffer twice, for the crime and for Read more
Catholic guilt has been laid to rest and even most Mass-going Catholics no longer feel guilty about sexual sins, according to research in the United Kingdom. While a poll of 4437 adults detected no evidence that Catholics feel more guilty about sexual sins than other religious people, it found that religious people in general feel Read more