Religion

POPULATION: UNFPA Partners With Faith-Based Groups

By IPS Correspondents
The United Nations has realised that if it wants to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it will have to partner with like-minded faith-based organisations (FBOs).
Condoms on banners at ICAAP. Credit: Johanna Son/IPS

HEALTH-ASIA: Where Are the Religious Leaders?

By Lynette Lee Corporal
"Thank God for condoms!" Donald Messer of the U.S.-based Centre of Church and Global AIDS declared during one of the many sessions at an AIDS conference for the Asia-Pacific, which ended here Thursday.

MOROCCO: The Berber Dance Is Over

By Daan Bauwens
The satellite receiver has speeded up the process of wiping out the cultural heritage of Morocco's Berbers. Old traditions are now dying out under the influence of television imams.

IRAQ: Chance of a Breakthrough With the Kurds?

By Mohammed A. Salih
A recent meeting between Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Kurdish President Massoud Barzani appears to be a crucial step in lowering tensions in the country, but it has also prompted questions as to whether the two leaders can put an end to their differences.
AIDS campaigner Correa Mint Sidi has been publicly condemned in her community for her work. Credit: Ebrima Sillah/IPS

HEALTH: Fighting AIDS in Conservative Mauritania

By Ebrima Sillah
Campaigners against HIV/AIDS in Mauritania face an uphill task to put their messages across, especially those that deal with safer sex and condom use. Campaigners have to cut corners in order to avoid angering the country's powerful religious clerics.

MIDEAST: ‘Lay Not Thine Hand Upon the Boy’

By IPS Correspondents
"And He said, Lay not thine hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God" (Genesis 22:12). Not so much in fear of God as in fear of their own conscience, Israeli leaders have given temporary relief to hundreds of children of foreign workers who were facing deportation with their parents.

RELIGION-NIGERIA: Poverty, Frustration Fuel Sectarian Violence

By Toye Olori
The sectarian violence which broke out in several parts of northern Nigeria at the end of July has more to do with popular anger and frustration with prevailing economic conditions than religion, say religious experts and Muslim groups. Concerns have also been raised about the reaction of security forces.

MIDEAST: Obama Maneuvres Between Jewish Israelis, Jewish Americans

By Helena Cobban
Pres. Barack Obama has repeatedly declared himself a close friend of Israel. But many Israelis inside and outside their country's government have now expressed concern about the lack of closeness, or even just of attention, with which they feel Obama is treating them.

MOROCCO: New Law, But the Same Old Men

By Daan Bauwens
The new Moroccan family law was designed to give women equal rights in the family. But five years after its introduction, Moroccan women leaders say opposition to the law from politicians and within the judicial system persists, and the new law has not been able to change Moroccan mentality.

EGYPT: Christian-Muslim Tensions Rise

By Adam Morrow
A handful of recent clashes between Muslims and Christians has again raised the spectre of sectarian discord in Egypt. The incidents, though relatively minor, highlight longstanding tensions between the country's Muslim majority and its Christian minority.

BOSNIA: Not at Peace With Itself

By Zoltán Dujisin
Apart from sporadic civil society initiatives, Bosnia has attempted little by way of inter-ethnic reconciliation.

US-IRAQ: Kurds Caught Up in Biden’s Diplomatic Offensive

By Mohammed A. Salih
The indefinite postponement of a referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan's controversial draft constitution just days after a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has given rise to speculation that Washington may have played a role in the delay.

FILM: Graphically Condemning a “Barbaric and Horrific Punishment”

By IPS Correspondents
Director Cyrus Nowrasteh's latest feature film "The Stoning of Soraya M." begins with a car radio blaring the successes of Iran's 1979 Revolution.

POLITICS: Top Pastor Catches Flak for Reaching Out to U.S. Muslims

By Bill Berkowitz
Pastor Rick Warren would never be described as laid back. However, since delivering the invocation at President Barack Obama's inauguration in late January, he's been somewhat on the down low.
Nafissatou Diop Credit: Ben Case/IPS

Q&A: Teens Wrongly Excluded From Family Planning

By Ben Case
Nafissatou Diop has worked for decades on issues of reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and development in West Africa, including designing and implementing many studies and programmes.

RIGHTS-US: Muslim Groups Seek Reform of Charity Blacklisting

By IPS Correspondents
While President Barack Obama conceded in his speech in Cairo last month that U.S. rules on charitable giving "have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation", civil rights advocates are pressing the president to turn his words into action.

TURKEY: Constitutional Crisis Escalating

By Jacques N. Couvas
Tension between the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and the high command of the Armed Forces (TSK) has escalated to new heights after a series of political coups and counter-coups.

CHINA: Rights Groups, U.S. Officials Call for ‘Restraint’

By IPS Correspondents
Human rights groups have expressed concern over the deadly clashes involving Uighur protestors in the western China's Xinjiang region Sunday, which left 156 dead and over 800 injured.

RIGHTS: Muslims Under Scrutiny Despite Waning of ‘Terror War’

By Thalif Deen
When the administration of President Barack Obama formally abandoned the longstanding U.S. "war on terror" - perceived by some as a codeword for "war against Islam" - there were hopes of a new relationship between the United States and the Muslim world after eight long years of political friction.
A publication at a news stand in Paris. Credit: Djav McKenzie/IPS

FRANCE: ‘Where Is the Burqa They Want to Ban?’

By A. D. McKenzie
There was not a burqa in sight. On the bustling streets around Boulevard de Belleville, in one of the most diverse neighbourhoods here, women wore a variety of clothing, including summer dresses, jeans, chadors, headscarves and traditional African dress, but no burqas.

RELIGION-BRAZIL: Intolerance Denounced at UN

By Fabiana Frayssinet
"Ialorixá" Gilda died of a massive heart attack in 1999 after members of a pentecostal church swarmed into her temple and hit her over the head with a Bible. Her death drew attention to the growing religious intolerance in Brazil, which was denounced this week at the United Nations.
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