COMMENTARY: It’s time to open the wartime pope’s records
Source: Religion News Service A. James Rudin | Feb 27, 2014 | 1 Comment (RNS) It’s almost a year since Pope Francis was chosen as Benedict XVI’s successor. The Argentinian-born […]
Opinion/Editorial: Why does Israel feel threatened by humanitarian workers?
Anne Irfan The Electronic Intifada 24 February 2014 Humanitarian workers habitually find themselves unwelcome, detained or turned back at Israeli-controlled border crossings. (Joe Goldberg) The Israeli detention of and denial of entry to Western activists, academics and humanitarian workers sympathetic to Palestinians has received particular attention in […]
Diaries: Live from Palestine A tragic life that mirrors Palestine’s history
Yousef M. Aljamal The Electronic Intifada 28 February 2014 Palestinian refugees in Syria in 1948. Many Palestinians have faced multiple displacements since their families’ first exile from their homeland. (UN Photo) Muhammad is a second generation Palestinian refugee with a very tragic story of displacement and alienation. He […]
Generations on, Christians fleeing Syria return to Turkish homeland
(Reuters) – When Louis Bandak fled the violence in Syria, he sought refuge in the country his grandfather was forced to abandon exactly 90 years ago this week. Bandak, his […]
Katy Perry accused of ‘portraying blasphemy’ using A pendant inscribed with word “Allah”
Guardian: Katy Perry accused of ‘portraying blasphemy’ with Dark Horse video An online petition demanding Katy Perry’s Dark Horse video be taken off YouTube has attracted more than 50,000 signatures. […]
Salvation and grace cannot be regarded as the monopoly of one faith
Sharia’s attributes ANWAR ABBAS SALVATION and grace cannot be regarded as the monopoly of any one faith, any one sect or any one people. No one can achieve it merely […]
Danger ahead for planned Philippine Muslim peace deal
Dawn: MANILA: Philippine President Benigno Aquino is on the brink of an accord to end one of Asia’s longest and deadliest rebellions, but renegade guerrillas, hostile politicians and the nation’s highest court lie in potential ambush. After completing negotiations last month, Aquino is expected to sign within weeks a final […]
Harvard recognises Quranic verse as one of the greatest expressions of justice
Cii News | 24 January 2013 Harvard Law School, one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind in the world, has posted a verse of the Holy Quraan at […]
Pakistan: Judicial review: ‘Christian divorce law is insulting to women’
By Our Correspondent Published: February 28, 2014 Share this article Print this page Email Judicial review: ‘Christian divorce law is insulting to women’ Seeks removal of a section under which women have to be accused of adultery.PHOTO:FILE LAHORE: A section of the Christian Divorce Act 1869 has been challenged before the […]
Public Divided Over Increased Deportations Of Unauthorized Immigrants
Public Divided Over Increased Deportation of Unauthorized Immigrants Immigration legislation is stalled in the House, but the public continues to broadly support a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants. At the same time, however, Americans are evenly divided over the growing number of undocumented immigrants who have been deported from […]
Pilgrims in awe of massive expansion work in Makkah
UNPRECEDENTED: Wherever you cast your eye, you can see hundreds of red- and yellow-colored cranes around the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (AN photo by Ahmad Hashad) MAKKAH: SIRAJ WAHAB Published — Friday 28 February 2014 Forty-five-year-old Syed Laeequddin Quadri, from Maharashtra, India, was standing in quiet […]
Islamic scholars draw out plan to combat polio
A young boy receives polio vaccine from government health workers in Najran on Thursday. (SPA) JEDDAH: HABIB SHAIKH & FOUZIA KHAN Leading Islamic scholars from all over the world led by the imam of the Grand Mosque on Thursday adopted a “Jeddah Declaration” and a focused six-month […]
Jihadists subjugate Christians in captured Syrian city
Christians are not allowed to make renovations to churches, display crosses outside churches, ring church bells or pray in public. By Haaretz | Feb. 27, 2014 | 9:29 PM […]
Pakistan plans military operation in North Waziristan, targeting extremist groups
Credit:TheXpressTribune By Karen DeYoung, The Pakistani government is on the verge of launching a major military offensive in the North Waziristan tribal region after brutal Taliban attacks in recent weeks and […]
Peace process: TTP set to end hostilities?
Credit: TheXpressTribune By Qaiser Butt Published: February 28, 2014 PESHAWAR: The top advisory council of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is set to agree to announce the suspension of hostilities against the government, […]
Why 2014 is a key year for women’s rights and gender equality
theguardian: by Liz Ford — Help us create a global platform for discussion that amplifies the voices of women’s rights advocates around the world Over the past few decades, the often tireless work of the women’s movement around the world has brought positive change. There has been a growing recognition […]
If Spain welcomes back its Jews, will its Muslims be next?
theguardian: by Ashifa Kassam — A proposed law will fast-track naturalisation of Jews whose ancestors were expelled 500 years ago. Now the descendants of Muslims who were ousted are also seeking the right to return. Perched dramatically on a rocky mountain, the small city of Toledo overlooks a bend in […]
Girls in Pakistan village given pioneering sex education lessons
theguardian — Sitting in neat rows, a group of Pakistani schoolgirls in white headscarves listen intently as their teacher describes how their bodies will change during puberty. When she asks what they should do if a stranger touches them inappropriately, the class erupts. “Scream,” says one. “Bite,” suggests another. “Scratch […]
Aga Khan compares Sunni-Shia conflict to Ireland
Speaking to both houses of Canada’s parliament, the Aga Khan said tensions between the two denominations “have increased massively in scope and intensity recently and have been further exacerbated by external interventions.” “In Pakistan, Malaysia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan it is becoming a disaster,” he […]
Israeli troops ‘using excessive force’ in West Bank – Amnesty International
Israeli troops ‘using excessive force’ in West Bank Amnesty accuses the Israeli authorities of failing to publish the findings of investigations into killings Continue reading the main story Mid-East crisis Q&A: Israeli-Palestinian talks Little hope for talks Prisoner profiles Core issues Israeli forces are using excessive and […]