Americas

Catholic ‘Sharia’ in Pittsburgh

Source: LATIMES. In the post-9/11 culture wars over Islamic fundamentalism, American conservatives — properly — have condemned attempts in Muslim countries to punish blasphemy or insults to the prophet Muhammad. It will be interesting to see if they are similarly outraged over what has happened to an art student at […]

Is Religion the Cause of Most Wars?

Huff Post: Rabbi Alan Lurie: There are many common misconceptions about religion that are often taken as unquestioned facts, such as the idea that religious people are inherently anti-science, that a literal reading of holy texts is the “true” religious stance, that faith is incompatible with reason, and that all […]

How not to say the wrong thing

Source:LATIMES: (Illustration by Wes Bausmith / Los Angeles Times) When Susan had breast cancer, we heard a lot of lame remarks, but our favorite came from one of Susan’s colleagues. She wanted, she needed, to visit Susan after the surgery, but Susan didn’t feel like having visitors, and she said […]

Zia ul-Haq passed punitive laws that defined the practice of the Ahmadi faith as a “blasphemous” criminal offense.

Source: NY Times. Yet the birth of Pakistan was not auspicious for minorities. The original claim of Pakistan — religious equality — was the first claim proved false. Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, though he became the first foreign minister, was hounded by religious conservatives, who branded him an apostate because of […]

Cyber disinformation campaign

Source: Daily Star Editorial. Doctored news confuses general public. THE scale and sophistication involved in spreading propaganda around the number of casualties at Shapla Chattar during the crackdown by security forces on May 05 has reached new heights. From news reports it appears that some bloggers managed to spread the […]

US support war crimes trial

Source: BD News 24 Washington DC: The United States has reiterated its support to the Bangladesh government’s initiative to put to trial the crimes against humanities committed during the 1971 Liberation War. US State Department Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell extended the assurance to Bangladesh in wake of the ‘debate’ and political […]