Religion

Muslim Brotherhood Rises Under a Military Thumb

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi faces a host of daunting political hurdles after being officially declared Egypt's first freely-elected president on Sunday.

Maldives Sees Islamist Resurgence

By Ethan Freedman
Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed expressed concerns Monday about the state of democracy in his home country, noting the dividing effect of a rising tide of Islamist extremism.

OP-ED: Bahrain Repression Belies Government Stand on Dialogue

By Emile Nakhleh
Bahrain remains a repressive state, and civil rights are violated daily.

Behind Self-Immolations, a Cultural Genocide?

By Emily-Anne Owen
The Chinese government must not “eliminate individualism” but instead encourage diversity of religion, culture and language, the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, stressed - after yet another Tibetan self-immolated last week in China’s Qinghai province.

NIGERIA: Three Boko Haram Leaders Put on U.S. Terrorism List

By Jim Lobe
In its first legal action against the northern Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, the U.S. State Department Thursday designated three of the group's alleged leaders to its global terrorism list.

Nigerian Cities in Lockdown after Deadly Riots*

By AJ Correspondents
Soldiers and police are patrolling the empty streets of two Nigerian cities after three days of violence left at least 101 people dead, with some residents still unable to return home.

What is Stopping the Algerian Spring?

By Giuliana Sgrena
The on-going hunger strike of nine Algerian court clerks, coupled with the government’s indifference to their demands for an independent labour union, have stirred debate about Algeria’s role in the Arab Spring, which many see as an incomplete attempt to overturn a deeply flawed political and economic system.

Communal Violence Threatens Democratic Change in Myanmar

By Jim Lobe
The outbreak over the past week of communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine State seriously threatens the ongoing reform process in Myanmar, according to experts here.

Pakistanis Blame CIA for Fresh Polio Cases

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Pakistan’s efforts to contain polio in areas bordering Afghanistan may have received a setback following the conviction of a doctor who allegedly ran a fake vaccine programme to locate Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

TAJIKISTAN: Could Showdown With Popular Cleric Backfire?

By Correspondents
With a court order to close one of Tajikistan's most popular mosques, President Imomali Rahmon's administration is stepping up its campaign to neutralise both Islam and the last vestiges of any political opposition.
Sectarian rifts have seeped into most public schools in Lebanon. Credit: Mona Alami/IPS

Schools Plant Seeds of Sectarianism

By Mona Alami
Though most Lebanese take great pride in their national education system, deep sectarian rifts in public schools have made it impossible to ignore the political and religious fragmentation of society or its long-term impacts on youth. 

Calls for Jihad Split Salafist Movement

By Mona Alami
The Arab Spring brought a host of new actors to the political stage. In Jordan, it pushed the Salafists to the fore, where some of the group’s more radical elements are now calling for holy war in neighbouring Syria.

MLK Centre: Building Social Networks in Cuba for 25 Years

By Ivet González
There was little familiarity with community networks in Cuba until Apr. 25, 1987, when the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Centre (CMMLK) was founded. Today, this ecumenical Christian organisation links up local initiatives with others in the Americas.
Egyptians are voting for a president with undefined powers. Credit: Cam McGrath/IPS

A Sort of President Awaits Egypt

By Cam McGrath
Candidates competing in Egypt's first presidential election since Hosni Mubarak was ousted are vying for a prestigious position whose job description – oddly enough – has not yet been written. An unresolved dispute over who will write a new constitution for post-Mubarak Egypt has put the country in the unusual position of voting for a president with undefined authority.

India’s Economic Growth Leaves Human Development in the Dust

By Isolda Agazzi
Ahead of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of India, a coalition of NGOs denounced the gap between the country’s growth rate and the rate of poverty, malnutrition and lack of health and sanitation.

Poverty Fuels Clashes in Lebanon

By Zak Brophy
Age-old battlegrounds in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli have descended into violence once again. While the events are highly disturbing they are not necessarily surprising for Lebanon’s residents, who have grown accustomed to violent clashes along the impoverished sectarian divides in the city.

Obama’s Gay Marriage Endorsement Makes Waves in the Caribbean

By Peter Richards
It is a widely recognised cliché that when the United States sneezes, the Caribbean catches cold.

Presidential Hopefuls Haunted by their Past

By Cam McGrath
One is a conservative Islamist attempting to reinvent himself as a pragmatic liberal, the other is a secular statesman trying to distance himself from the authoritarian regime he once served. Both aspire to be Egypt’s first civilian president.

War Widows Turn to Sex Work in Sri Lanka

By Feizal Samath
On May 18, some 800 women in Sri Lanka’s northern region will hold Hindu religious ceremonies for the welfare of thier husbands who disappeared or surrendered to the military as it moved in to mop up nearly three decades of armed Tamil separatism.

Islamists Stall Gender Equality Bill

By Kafil Yamin
The fate of a gender equality bill pending in Indonesia’s parliament and aligned with the United Nations convention on the elimination of all forms discrimination against women (CEDAW) has become uncertain after falling afoul of powerful Islamist groups.

Calls Mount for Stronger U.S. Stance as Bahrain Resists Reform

By Jim Lobe
Citing growing violence and polarisation along sectarian lines, human rights groups and independent experts here are urging Washington to exert more pressure on the government of Bahrain to free political prisoners and launch a serious dialogue with its opposition on major democratic reforms.
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