Tenzin Peljor runs a popular Buddhist blog that addresses controversies in Tibetan Buddhism, especially regarding abusive spiritual teachers. After choosing a guru, students take vows to see their teacher as an enlightened being — questioning or criticizing them can send one to a Tantric hell. Peljor, a monk himself, says he is exposing harmful practices while remaining faithful to the Buddhist tradition.
Read MoreThe Indian government banned one of the country’s top Muslim organizations for at least five years, claiming the Popular Front of India has links to terrorists. Critics of the government have two main concerns: The proof that the PFI has participated in terrorist activities is unclear, and the government does not appear to be similarly motivated to investigate Hindu extremist organizations that have participated in or instigated violence.
Read More(OPINION) On Aug. 31, the U.N. concluded that “serious human rights violations” against the Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim communities have been committed in Xinjiang. China continues to deny the allegations and brands them as propaganda.
Read MoreIn December 2021, Congress adopted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act with strong bipartisan support. The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force has issued guidance instructing companies on how to conduct human rights due diligence and supply chain tracing. But Uyghur activists say more must be done.
Read MoreAfter just two days into the trial of retired Chinese Cardinal Joseph Zen and five co-defendants, a Hong Kong magistrates’ court adjourned the proceedings until Oct. 26. The sudden turn of events took place on Wednesday in a trial that officials had said would last five days.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A scholar visited Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to document the lives and stories of everyday Afghans. What he found is that the Taliban have less authority on the ground than they project to the media, fostering uncertainty about the government’s stability and longevity.
Read MoreRecently Wycliffe USA announced it would be joining with eight other groups to work on a Bible translation effort in Southeast Asia. The project involves seven of the region’s language communities.
Read MoreA rise in “anti-conversion” laws is causing greater persecution of Indian Christians in states ruled by India’s Bharatiya Janata Party. There have been targeted attacks on pastors and nuns, and churches and Christian schools have been vandalized.
Read More(ANALYSIS) K-pop group BTS is having its best year yet. The seven-member Korean boy band topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, broke 13 new Guinness World Records hitting a total of 23 and visited the White House. The band draws on the spirituality of self-realization, psychology, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Greek mythology and more to create its fictional universe.
Read MoreA political storm has erupted after Jammu-Kashmir’s Chief Electoral Officer Hridesh Kumar recently announced that anybody living and working or studying in the contested Jammu-Kashmir region, even temporarily, can vote in the assembly elections, likely next year.
Read MoreWe visited one of the first churches in downtown Honolulu — Kawaiahao Church — that was made from white corral and dedicated in 1842. Nicknamed the “Westminster Abbey of the Pacific,” the church offers services in Hawaiian and English each Sunday. Unfortunately, my trip was from a Monday to Saturday, which meant I wouldn’t be able to visit a service. Everywhere we went in downtown and on the outskirts of Honolulu seemed infused with Houses of Worship and spiritual meaning.
Read MoreWhen fans aren’t packing stadiums to watch soccer matches, another thing that will get a lot of attention will be Qatar’s Islamic art and culture. As is the case with any country that plays World Cup host, visitors will get a real chance to see things in person they may not otherwise ever see anywhere else. Among those things will be the Imam Abdul Wahhab Mosque in the capital city, Doha.
Read MoreNew research recently found bias against Muslim women in India exists across all industries. For the study, two similar fake resumes were created, one of a Hindu woman and the other of a Muslim woman. The Muslim woman received half as many job offers.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Gambia initiated proceedings against Myanmar, alleging it has been involved in atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims, including “killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting conditions that are calculated to bring about physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births, and forcible transfers, (which) are genocidal in character because they are intended to destroy the Rohingya group in whole or in part.”
Read MoreIn the past few years a national conversation has ignited about the character of racial and religious outsiders, who belongs in America and under what terms and conditions they belong. According to Stanford historian Kathryn Gin Lum in her latest book “Heathen: Religion and Race in American History,” these ideas and American conceptions of race can be traced back to the religious and racialized concept of the “heathen.”
Read MoreNear a refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims in North India, a jail has been turned into a detention center. Children of detained parents are surviving in the camps with new guardians as their parents are taken away, many believe never to return.
Read MoreAn annual Hindu pilgrimage to a holy cave in Kashmir has resumed after two years of its suspension during the pandemic and only days after a series of targeted deadly attacks on Hindus, allegedly by militants fighting against Indian rule.
Read More(OPINION) On June 2, the U.S. State Department delivered its annual report to Congress on international religious freedom. The report identifies the numerous challenges to the right to freedom of religion or belief worldwide. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized some of the main findings of this in-depth research into the situation around the world.
Read MoreAnnamma Lucy, 49, started her teaching career in India, now teaches in the United Arab Emirates and won the 2021 Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Award, a global competition of more than 13,000 nominations in 112 countries. While such a title is hard to quantify, Lucy’s dedication to her students is palpable and her gift to the poor each month is a simple calculation: 10%.
Read MoreFive of the nine known prisoners of conscience in Kazakhstan jailed for exercising freedom of religion or belief were punished for participating in an online Islamic discussion group. The other four are also Sunni Muslims.
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