Religion

Gazan dairy bombed out in Israeli air raid. Credit: Mel Frykberg/IPS

MIDEAST: Gaza Border Tension Sparks Security Concerns

By Mel Frykberg
Tension on Israel’s border with Gaza has increased over the last two weeks. A number of rockets hit Israel while ensuing clashes between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and armed Palestinians left a number of Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers dead.
Pascual Pachaguaya Credit: Franz Chávez/IPS

Q&A: “Morales Is a Guide in a Long Period of Change”

By Franz Chávez
The resurgence of the thinking of Aymara "amautas" or shamans about nature, the collective welfare of society and the defence of life is now a political project in Bolivia led by left-wing President Evo Morales.
Samir Asfour with a picture of his son, Ahmed, at a weekly protest in Gaza by families of Israeli prisoners. Credit: Pam Bailey/IPS

MIDEAST: Adding Torture to Injury

By Pam Bailey
It was bad enough that Ahmad Asfour was severely maimed by an Israeli drone strike outside his house on Jan. 9, 2009. But, his search for advanced treatment landed the journalism student, now 19, in Israeli prison where he remains.
Enaam Abu Nada who nearly died from carbon monoxide gas poisoning Credit: Mel Frykberg/IPS

MIDEAST: Gazans Gassed by Silent Killer

By Mel Frykberg
"You feel very sleepy and dizzy. You put your head down and all you want to do is sleep. Everything feels very peaceful, you are not even aware what is happening and if there is no immediate intervention you are dead within minutes," Enaam Abu Nada told IPS.

GUATEMALA: Bringing Murdered Activist Bishop Back to Life on the Screen

By Danilo Valladares
On the evening of Apr. 26, 1998, as Bishop Juan Gerardi returned to the parish house at St. Sebastian's Church, three blocks from the seat of national government in the heart of the Guatemalan capital, he had no idea it would be the last day of his life. That night, his head was bludgeoned with a concrete block.

MIDEAST: ‘Poetic Justice’ in Jerusalem

By IPS Correspondents
President Barack Obama has made plain he means to deconstruct Israel’s 43-year-old grip on East Jerusalem. But, for all Washington’s pressure, Israel seeks to tighten its hold on the occupied part of the city.
Israeli soldiers patrol entrances to Jerusalem's old city. Credit: Mel Frykberg/IPS

MIDEAST: Palestinian Christians Barred From Jerusalem for Easter

By Mel Frykberg
Israeli authorities prevented thousands of Palestinian Christians from entering Jerusalem and accessing Christianity’s most holy sites over Easter in an unprecedented clampdown on religious freedom.

LATIN AMERICA: Controversial ‘Man Jesus Christ’ Pulls in Followers

By Emilio Godoy
"Abba, father," call out the people gathered in the meeting hall. They raise up their hands and stare enraptured at a television screen, where they are addressed by their spiritual leader, José Luis de Jesús Miranda, or as he calls himself, "the Man Jesus Christ."

RIGHTS-US: Suit Challenges Ultra-Restrictive Prison Units

By IPS Correspondents
Two U.S. federal prisons are being used overwhelmingly to hold Muslim prisoners and prisoners with unpopular political beliefs, and are practicing religious profiling, retaliation and arbitrary punishment, according to a lawsuit filed by the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR).
Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI Credit: Courtesy of the Kremlin

RELIGION-LATIN AMERICA: Scarred for Life

By Daniela Estrada
As Catholic Church authorities in Latin America close ranks around the Vatican, whose credibility has been undermined by countless cases of child sex abuse committed by priests, other sectors are calling for major structural reforms in the institution.

IRAQ: Uphill Coalition-Building Battle for Winners Unfolds

By IPS Correspondents
Iraq's major political forces are beginning what is likely to be a lengthy and uncertain process of talks to form a government. A key question is whether Iraq's politically diverse groups will join forces together based on ideological, ethnic, sectarian or merely pragmatist considerations.

RIGHTS: Not Quite Islamic Executions

By Sanjay Suri
The Middle East leads the world in executions after China, says an annual Amnesty International report released Tuesday.

MIDEAST: Religion Sways Policy, Now in Israel

By IPS Correspondents
There was a time when Israel was held in contempt by its neighbours for its over-liberal ways. They felt it did not "belong" in the Middle East.

MIDEAST: ‘Palestinian Life is Cheap’

By Mel Frykberg
In early February, 41-year-old Fayez Ahmed Faraj, a father of nine from the city of Hebron, 30 miles south of Jerusalem, in the southern West Bank, was shot dead in his home town by Israeli soldiers after he allegedly tried to stab one of them.

MIDEAST: Israeli Army World’s Most Moral?

By Mel Frykberg
Many Israelis like to believe, and the cliché is repeated regularly in Israel, that their army is the "most moral army in the world."
Rana Husseini Credit: Courtesy of Rana Husseini

Q&A: “Honour Killings Happen in All Religions”

By Chryso D'Angelo
Thirteen women are murdered in "honour killings" by their own relatives every day, according to Rana Husseini, a human rights advocate and journalist who has devoted her career to fighting the barbaric and widespread practice.

MEDIA-MALAYSIA: Censorship Taking A Religious Turn, Critics Say

By Baradan Kuppusamy
For many Malaysian journalists these days, it has become very tricky to draw a clear line between commenting critically on an issue and offending a particular community and thus threatening social order.

MIDEAST: Israel Hovers Between War and Peace

By IPS Correspondents
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current visit to Washington is not just about trying to smooth over the crisis which has rocked U.S.-Israeli relations over the past fortnight.
Chimbalanga and Monjeza (r) have been charged under colonial-era laws against homosexuality that are in direct conflict with the constitution. Credit: Claire Ngozo/IPS

RIGHTS-MALAWI: Full Court Trial for Gay Couple

By IPS Correspondents
Two men who married each other in a traditional engagement ceremony will have to undergo trial and face years of imprisonment if found guilty of having a homosexual relationship.

MIDEAST: EU Boosts Israel Ties, Ignores Illegal Settlements

By IPS Correspondents
Diplomats representing the European Union (EU) have drawn up a new plan for strengthening their relations with Israel despite the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

MEXICO: Kidnapping – A Growing Risk for Central American Migrants

By Emilio Godoy
The increase in kidnappings of Central American migrants crossing Mexico on their way to the United States will be brought up at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) current session next Monday.
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