The National Education Ministry’s plan to reconstruct the curriculum of religious education for students calls for the attention of all stakeholders, particularly because religious education has played and always plays an important role in the creation of an Indonesian identity. As we live in a diverse country, students should learn […]
Terrorism is attracting an increasing number of creative and intellectual university graduates who differ from its stereotypical adherents of Islamic boarding school (pesantren) students and preachers. For the last several years, college graduates from middle class families have played a prominent role in plotting terror attacks. The recent distribution of […]
The expected UN vote on a Palestinian state in September leaves me, in contradiction to the unofficial rules governing columnists, without a decisive opinion on the matter. On the one hand, despite the doomsday scenarios we’ve been hearing in recent weeks, I’m having trouble getting frightened by what we can […]
Israel remains in the 17th place among the world’s 59 leading economies in terms of competitiveness, according to the 2011 World Competitiveness Yearbook of the International Institute Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. The annual report ranks countries according to difference economic parameters and is based on data collected from different […]
(CNN) — Next time Grandma asks why you’re going to the mall on Sunday morning instead of church, tell her you’re going to Apple Chapel. For Apple fans, the brand triggers a reaction in the brain that’s not unlike that of religious devotees, according to a BBC documentary series that […]
Washington (CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday firmly rejected President Barack Obama’s call for an approximate return to the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war, telling the U.S. leader that such a move is impossible in light of current security concerns and demographic realities. […]
by Jamal Abdul Khaliq Muhammad Al-Ghamdi says that he was happily married to his first wife, who bore him three sons. When household duties became too much for her, she asked Muhammad to hire a maid. The maid was a pretty Indonesian Muslim who was well treated by the wife […]
A Gallup poll released Friday showed that 53 percent of Americans believe that same-sex marriage should be recognized by law with the same rights as traditional marriages. The results were based on Gallup’s three-day Values and Beliefs poll in May, which it has tracked every year since 2004 (the first […]
by Peter Stone. George W. Bush said after bin Laden’s killing that he wanted to stay out of the public eye. But Peter H. Stone of the Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News says 43’s becoming a high-profile figure on the buck-raking circuit. When George W. Bush declined President Obama’s […]
I have come about to write this article after much thought and prayer and not without spiritual and psychological anguish, even at this very instant that I write. Over the last few months leading to the referendum, as an official minister of the Catholic Church I have been involuntarily made […]
I am going to vote yes and I am entirely comfortable with my choice because we are not voting on whether the Catholic Church’s take on divorce is correct or not or on whether divorce is a morally acceptable choice or not but simply about whether civil society should have […]
The emergence of secularism is often attributed to the Age of Enlightenment when, in the 18th century, major advances in philosophy, intellect, science and culture led to major changes in one’s reasoning. This resulted in a gradual consistent separation between state rule and Church teachings. I still remember in my […]
Patients in Switzerland are among the most satisfied with hospital care, according to an international study. The survey compared 15 countries, 11 within Europe and four outside, and found that hospital staff were also generally happy with their working conditions. read more
By REBECCA SANTANA | AP BAGHDAD: It’s easy to identify the Iraqis fleeing the violent uprising in Syria as they arrive by bus in Baghdad. They’re the ones carrying a sad array of worldly possessions: blankets and mattresses tied with cord; TVs and curtain rods; boxes once filled with food […]
by SULTAN AL-TAMIMI | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: Around 1,200 Saudi couples are expected to tie the knot on June 29 in a mass wedding ceremony in Jeddah. The event will be hosted and officiated by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal who also serves as an honorary chairman of the Jeddah […]
So what’s it going to be: Israeli chutzpah or Barack Obama’s audacity of hope? Predictably, Israel’s Netanyahu has lost no time in trashing President Barack Obama’s call for a “viable Palestine” along the 1967 borders. The Israeli PM has virtually rubbed Obama’s nose in, dismissing the borders that existed between […]
AMMAN (JT) – Her Majesty Queen Rania on Thursday attended the graduation of the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts’ (RSICA) second Masters of Fine Arts class. The RSICA board of directors, academic peers and friends and family of the 22 graduates as well as many of the school’s supporters […]
Is India now living on woman power? The most powerful Indian is a woman – Sonia Gandhi, chief of the ruling Congress party. India’s President is a woman. The speaker of the parliament and the leader of the opposition are women. Mayawati, a Dalit (untouchable) woman rules India’s most populous […]
CHICAGO, May 20 (Xinhua) — The outgoing U.S. ambassador to India warned Friday against another terrorist attack in the South Asian country, saying it could spark serious conflict with its neighbor and fellow nuclear state of Pakistan. Speaking before members of Chicago’s foreign affairs establishment, Timothy J. Roemer said that […]
Laws are meant to discipline and protect. In Pakistan, not all laws do either. Recently, especially after the cold-blooded murders of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, a good part of the Pakistani blogosphere voiced opinions against the abuse of the Blasphemy Law. Much has been said – a stronger part […]