(OPINION) The Aug. 12 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie was a vivid reminder that threats that we had thought were fading are still with us and are even growing. But we often misunderstand those threats, and this distorts our understanding of the dangers of blasphemy accusations.
Read MoreThe government of Mozambique claims that religious fundamentalism rather than its own failures is the primary cause of a fast-escalating conflict that has killed over 2,500 people and displaced another 700,000. In March, the U.S. began training Mozambique defense forces in counter terrorism. But some journalists, researchers and clergy on the ground say that this narrative only serves the authoritarian government, accused of torturing and killing critics.
Read MoreThe Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan Congressional caucus, held a panel on Dec. 17 to discuss religiously-motivated violence in Nigeria. Hundreds of Christians and Shia Muslims have died or suffered other violence at the hands of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen. The committee and panelists discussed what the U.S. should do to help in the future.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) The country’s incumbent president Jokowi, seen as a liberal “metalhead of state”, chose conservative Muslim cleric Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate to win votes from an increasingly conservative Indonesia. Meanwhile, Jokowi’s challenger Subianto has been wooing radical Islamist groups.
Read MoreChristian women in Egypt face an epidemic of kidnapping, rape, beatings and torture.
Read MoreA handful of American mainstream news outlets have picked up the story, but unlike their European counterparts, they chose not to reprint the cartoon.
Read MoreThe defeat of Jakarta’s Christian governor (Ahok) on April 19 after an ugly campaign featuring mass rallies by hardline Islamists and a trial for blasphemy revealed the extent to which Saudi-inspired Salafis have made inroads into Indonesia.
Read MoreGood religion stories find their way out into the open every year, but these reports are rarely the final word. There is always more to be said about the big religion stories of the day.
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