Religion, power and politics in Indonesia
Source: BBC A former minister has won the race for Jakarta governor after a divisive campaign that has tested Indonesia’s multi-faith society. As BBC Indonesian’s Rebecca Henschke in Jakarta reports, […]
West to East
Source: Medium By Alex Hacillo The US continues to flag as the world’s last superpower, and critics fret that China is poised to take over the reins. Should its perceived […]
Pence tours Southeast Asia’s biggest mosque, talks trade in Indonesia
Source: Reuters By Roberta Rampton | JAKARTA U.S. Vice President Mike Pence toured Southeast Asia’s largest mosque on Thursday during a visit to Indonesia, calling the Muslim-majority nation’s tradition of […]
Ayodhya dispute: India top court orders trial for BJP leaders
Source: BBC Senior figures in India’s ruling party will be tried for criminal conspiracy over the destruction of a 16th Century mosque, the Supreme Court has ruled. The order is […]
Even a Horrific Murder Isn’t Enough to Shake Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws
Source: The Diplomat By Usman Ahmad With the sudden fury of a flash storm, images of an angry mob lynching a young man to death at the Abdul Wali Khan […]
When Daesh is defeated
Apr 18,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Ramzy Baroud Back in the Middle East for a few months, I find myself astounded by the absence of strong voices of Arab intellectuals. The region that has given rise to the likes of Michel Aflaq, George Habash, Rached Al Ghannouchi, Edward Said and numerous […]
The mullah-led development model
Apr 18,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Nadeem ul Haque A longstanding debate in economics — and among social scientists more broadly — centres on how best to deliver international aid to developing countries. Should these countries’ governments rely on top-down wisdom from donor capitals? Or should they focus more on funding bottom-up […]
Punjab University’s retired Ahmadi professor found murdered in her home
April 18, 2017, A retired Punjab University professor belonging to the Ahmadi community was found murdered at her house in Lahore today. According to police, retired professor Tahira of […]
Jakarta election exposes deep political, religious divide
Source: Reuters By Tom Allard and Gayatri Suroyo | JAKARTA Jakarta voters head to the polls on Wednesday to elect a governor for Indonesia’s teeming capital after a campaign that […]
Nervous China ramps up religious persecution
Source: Asia Times: President Xi Jinping’s China is becoming a more fearful place. The government has cracked down both on dissent and contact with the West. Religious persecution also is rising: the communist god that failed fears competition. A new Freedom House report details how “the authorities have intensified many […]
Tehran’s success, Riyadh’s failure
Source: Asia Times: Each for its own reasons, the world’s major powers have decided to accept Iran as a regional hegemon, I wrote March 4 in Asia Times, leaving Israel and the Sunni Arabs in isolated opposition. The global consensus on behalf of Iranian hegemony is now coming clearly into […]
Rescue on the Mediterranean – suffering, death and hope
Reuters International APR 17, 2017 – 16:53 Migrants try to stay afloat after falling off their rubber dinghy during a rescue operation by the Malta-based NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station […]
Religious tensions rise in Jakarta
Source: CNN Indonesia’s capital is on edge one day before a vote that has become a test of tolerance in the world’s most populous majority-Muslim nation.The incumbent governor of Jakarta, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, is facing a challenge by a Muslim former government minister backed by […]
The darkness within
Source: Dawn A medieval brutality, a very cancer of the soul, has permeated this society. Not only has it pervaded the hinterland, it has also spread to places where minds are supposed to be enlightened by knowledge and learning. Each ghastly detail of Mashal Khan’s murder on Thursday illustrates this […]
‘For sake of God and family’, Saudi man forgives murderer of his two sons
Saudi father forgives the killer of his two sons for the sake of God and family ties. (Supplied) Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Sunday, 16 April 2017 Six months after the […]
Address to the Kurdish Nation
by BERNARD-HENRI LÉVY Bernard-Henri Lévy is one of the founders of the “Nouveaux Philosophes” (New Philosophers) movement. His books include Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism, American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville, and most recently, The Genius of Judaism. ERBIL – By history […]
Jordan: Muslim youth take initiative to guard churches as Easter celebrated
By Suzanna Goussous – Apr 15,2017 -JORDAN TIMES Christians perform rituals on Palm Sunday in Amman last week (Photo by Hassan Tamimi) AMMAN — After the attacks on […]
‘Turkey resolved historical conflict in its administrative system’
DAILY SABAH WITH ANADOLU AGENCY ISTANBUL AA Photo President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday evening claimed victory in the constitutional referendum with a margin of 1.3 million votes, and said […]
Iraqi Christians celebrate Easter, dream of returning home
Reuters International APR 16, 2017 – Believers take part in the Easter Mass in Mar Gewargis (St George) Chaldean Catholic church, which was damaged by Islamic State militants, in the […]
Iraqi police accuse IS of chemical weapons attack in Mosul
Reuters International APR 16, 2017 – A vehicle of the Iraqi forces drives along a street controlled by the Iraqi Federal Police during combat with Islamic State in western Mosul, Iraq, April 14, 2017. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares (reuters_tickers) By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi police on Sunday accused Islamic […]