Crimes against Dalits, a community marginalized for centuries in the complex Hindu social hierarchy, have increased by more than 7% in the last year, according to new government data. Experts and activists blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “politics of hatred” and say a law from the ‘80’s meant to deter the crimes has pervasively failed.
Read More(OPINION) Now, more than 25 years after the rather unclear resolution of a 1994 conflict—and emerging in the notoriously painful year 2020—the Armenia/Artsakh vs. Azerbaijan conflict has flared up again. And this time—tragically—Turkey’s Islamist President Tayyip Erdogan has powerfully entered the fray.
Read MoreWhy a federal court has denied petitions from a Native American tribe to stop construction on land they claim their ancestors are buried, how two Chilean churches were set ablaze during protests against inequality and the latest world leader to demand a UN investigation of China’s abuses against Uighurs.
Read More(ANALYSIS) At a time of tense China-India relations, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its affiliates are advancing the Hindu nationalist agenda in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other hubs of Indian diaspora in East Asia.
Read More(ANALYSIS) What was a nominally a little-known conflict regarding the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region — also known as Artsakh — claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan has erupted into a full-scale war with an estimated thousands of soldiers on both sides killed in intense fighting.
Read MoreA Chinese church now operating out of New York claims Jesus returned as a woman in China, upsetting Christian leaders in India wary of the group’s appeal among young Christians.
Read MoreZen, who recently returned to Hong Kong from a trip to the Vatican, has no higher authority on Earth to appeal to in his fight to save his country’s church from infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party.
Read MorePopular pilgrimage destinations like Jerusalem and Rome have seen a massive drop in religious travelers, especially during Passover, Easter and this past summer.
Read MoreKashmiris are welcoming the Indian government’s move to restore religious sites, including a Hindu temple, now in a Muslim neighborhood, vacated when Kashmiri Hindus fled the region’s armed rebellion in the 1990’s.
Read MoreIndian police have long been known to abuse their power, but this summer, a particularly brutal case made headlines shortly after the American outcry for George Floyd’s death. In a court order allowing charges to be filed, a majority-Hindu court made a surprising reference to the Bible.
Read MoreAfter China’s latest security law restricting several freedoms, Hong Kongers are increasingly drawing parallels between China’s treatment of the Uyghurs and themselves, while fears heighten in Hong Kong’s Muslim minority for speaking out against the government.
Read MoreA New Delhi-based Sikh organization is sponsoring dozens of Afghan Sikhs to settle in India after the March terror attack on a Kabul gurudwara, a Sikh temple. Although Sikh has ancient history in Afghanistan, Sikhs now make up only a tiny minority in the country, while the Indian government welcomes Sikhs, whose faith formed from Hinduism.
Read MoreIn East India, a popular mystic musician has been traveling and singing to spread awareness to the rural masses about COVID-19. Gautum Hazra draws on the syncretic Baul tradition that has influenced Western artists like Bob Dylan and blends Vaishnavite devotional Hinduism, Tantric Buddhism, Sufi thought and other traditions to emphasize religious harmony and tolerance.
Read MoreJimmy Lai is one of the most prominent Catholics in China, known for his pro-democracy involvement and financing of underground Catholic churches. He was acquitted on Thursday from the charge of intimidating a reporter of a rival newspaper. He will now face several more charges in Chinese courts.
Read MoreOver the weekend Indian security forces fired iron pellets into a peaceful Muslim procession in Kashmir that included children, citing the pandemic restrictions on large gatherings even though several Hindu pilgrimages have been allowed to continue. Although pellet fire has been used to quell political protests, this is the first time the government has used the condemned use of pellet fire on the Shia Muslim Muharram procession.
Read MoreIndia’s recent rise in Hindu nationalism can be seen playing out in multi-million-dollar projects funded by both government and private donations to build some of the world’s tallest statues of Hindu heroes, including not just an independence leader and Hindu gods but also a Hindu warrior king who defeated Muslim forces.
Read MoreJatindra Shunty and his family have helped cremate or bury the unclaimed poor in New Delhi for years. Now during a pandemic, they are also performing last rites for COVID-19 patients, whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian, aiming to give dignity in rest to people who may not have been treated with dignity in life.
Read MoreHere are four sacred journeys, some open but with country travel restrictions, that will brighten your “quarantine life.”
Read More(OPINION) Islam is caught in an ideological civil war, irreconcilable visions of the faith on each side. Do Muslim centrists have a chance to overpower these views?
Read MoreChan Young-man, a 69-year-old pastor, has been on the frontlines of Hong Kong’s protests since starting a petition to withdraw the proposed extradition bill. Now, since China’s new security law meant to punish dissidents in Hong Kong, he is continuing to help Christians hold onto hope in dark times.
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