(ANALYSIS) The land we now call Afghanistan has been a place of constant migration through its mountainous passes. Its linguistic, cultural and religious diversity is a result of millennia of trade along the Silk Road. Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban means that some minorities are again at heightened risk of persecution.
Read More(OPINION) Hundreds of people who wish to leave remained in Afghanistan and now fear for their lives. Among them are generations of human rights defenders including judges, lawyers, journalists and human rights activists — those who spent years working to make Afghanistan a country that affirms and protects the human rights of all.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For the Armenian religious minority in Istanbul, a practice based on ancient tradition serves as a strategy of visibility, a cry and demand, a claim to the minority right to the city for a people scattered and decimated by genocide more than 100 years ago.
Read More(OPINION) “Why are our efforts being blocked?” The question is being raised everywhere — in daily emails, WhatsApp messages or texts from people on the ground in Afghanistan. Why are these Afghan refugees becoming “refuseniks,” those refused permission to leave?
Read MoreA state government in North India known for its Hindu-first moves is increasing its number of “anti-terrorism squads” in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a Muslim member of parliament appeared to support the Taliban on social media, sparking online harassment against Muslims.
Read MoreAfter more than two decades struggling with a post-Soviet economic recession and destabilization brought on by war and anti-terrorist operations, Georgia’s Pankisi Valley is rebuilding its reputation and attracting tourists — enough to secure a coveted spot in the world’s most popular guidebook, “Lonely Planet,” in 2020.
Read MoreA fake online auction targeted Muslim women in India with derogatory language, harassment and rape threats. Muslim women activists who endure frequent cyber bullying from Hindu nationalist online trolls say it’s far from an isolated incident in India.
Read More(OPINION) The past four U.S. administrations have talked a lot about Islamic women having equal rights and making Afghanistan a modern democratic country. But all four administrations seem to been clueless as to what gave rise to these rights.
Read MoreA displaced Kashmiri Hindu family talks to show host Harshita Rathore 30 years after fleeing anti-Hindu violence in India’s Muslim-majority Kashmir region, their ancestral home. This is the second episode in the docuseries “The Dinner Table” produced by Newsreel Asia in partnership with ReligionUnplugged.
(OPINION) Aug. 22 marks the U.N.-designated International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. While the day was established as a direct response to the atrocities perpetrated by Daesh (ISIS) against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, similar acts of violence continue to this day globally.
Read MoreThe U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced its cooperation with the U.S. government to organize and process the tens of thousands of Afghan refugees entering the country as the U.S. withdraws troops and the Taliban assumes control over Afghanistan.
Read More(OPINION) As this story unfolds, many of us are experiencing something like déjà vu. In the summer of 2014 we watched as Islamic State/ISIS rampaged across Iraq and committed genocide against Christian and Yazidi communities. Although ISIS and the Taliban have fought each other, they practice the same deadly tactics.
Read MoreAfghans in and outside the capital describe scenes of violence, deteriorating living conditions and shrinking personal freedoms amid the Taliban’s rise to power with the U.S. troop withdrawal set to complete on Aug. 31.
Read MoreJohn and Jan Bradley have spent years building schools and trying to improve life in war-torn Afghanistan. Amid the Taliban’s takeover after U.S. troops withdrew, they are helping other volunteers and colleagues evacuate the country. Anyone who helped the Bradleys is in danger.
Read MoreHindu nationalists recently came up with a new slogan that translates: “An India Liberated of Muslims and Christians.” That slogan reinforces new data finding incidents of hate and violence against the Christian minority in India is persisting and even increased during India’s deadly second wave of COVID-19.
Read MoreIndian authorities bulldozed a makeshift mosque in one of New Delhi’s most populous Rohingya refugee camps last week, less than a month after a fire engulfed more than 50 lean-to homes built on undeveloped, government-owned land along the Yamuna riverbank. “It was not just a place of worship for us,” one resident said.
Read MoreThree years after the lynching of 16-year-old Junaid Khan in India, “The Dinner Table” host Harshita Rathore meets his family for a heart-to-heart conversation over a meal. In the first episode of the docuseries produced by Newsreel, the Khans share what it’s like to experience grief and discrimination as Muslims in India, who have faced increasing incidents of violence and hate crimes by Hindu nationalists since 2014.
Read MoreThe controversy and context surrounding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics pose an opportunity to think about the Games through a lens of faith. From a Muslim track and field athlete to Israel’s first surfer, here is a guide to the Games for the religiously-minded.
Read More(OPINION) The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Muslim organization, recently welcomed the new leader of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA). The two groups aim to further Muslim-Christian relations and counter threats to religious freedom and secular extremism.
Read More(REVIEW) The movie “The Divine Ponytail” packs a lot in just 91 minutes and doesn’t ignore Roberto Baggio’s Buddhist faith and how it helped motivate the former Italian soccer star at the World Cup and beyond.
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