        
Sikkim: winds of change in Himalayas take toll on Buddhism
8 Mar 2004
Buddhist scholars in Sikkim, a frontier state bordering China, are worried over their faith getting diluted as winds of change blow across the lofty Himalayan ranges. 
Turkmenistan: State interference with Islamic religious life in the north east
8 Mar 2004
The Turkmen government has been replacing ethnic Uzbek imam-hatybs (mosque leaders) with ethnic Turkmens, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The authorities are also forcing imam-hatybs to place the Turkmen flag above mosque entrances, to begin every sermon by praising "Turkmenbashi", "Father of the Turkmens", as President Saparmurat Niyazov insists on being called. Also, a copy of Niyazov's book, the Ruhnama (Book of the Soul), must be placed at the entrance to every mosque and Muslims must touch it as if it were a sacred object. Similar instructions have reportedly been given to other Sunni Muslim mosques and Russian Orthodox Churches. These are the only two confessions allowed some limited freedom to operate in Turkmenistan.
Total number of Lutherans worldwide climbs to nearly 66 million
17 Feb 2004
Membership among Lutheran churches in the last two years increased by 570,000 putting the number of Lutherans worldwide up to nearly 66 million by the end of 2003. Lutheran Church membership in Europe is down by 640,000, but up by 1.1 million in Africa.
Tajikistan: Islamic party slams banned rival
13 Feb 2004
The Islamic opposition party in Tajikistan has spoken out against the radical Hizb-ut-Tahrir group, in a bid to stake out a position as the only legitimate voice for Muslim political aspirations ahead of next year’s general election.
Kazakhstan: mosques resist pressure to join state-recognised central organisation
13 Feb 2004
Ethnic Uzbek Imams leading mosques in southern Kazakhstan have resisted state pressure to come under the 'Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Kazakhstan', Forum 18 News Service has found. Pressure followed a 2002 attempt to change the law on religious associations, which the Constitutional Council ruled contradicted the constitution. Kazakh officials have frequently privately told Forum 18 that the region is the country's "hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism".
Sri Lanka: Buddhists on warpath
31 Jan 2004
Lord Buddha may have stood for peace and benevolence, but his disciples in Sri Lanka are an angry lot. Buddhist monks in the country allege that Christian groups are busy weaning away Buddhists from their ancient religion, reports OneWorld.
Sikh religious bodies appeal to France on turbans
30 Jan 2004
Sikh leaders and religious groups from Punjab have asked the French government to review a proposed law banning the wearing of turbans and other types of headgear in public institutions and workplaces.
Nepalese to spread Osho's gospel in India
9 Jan 2004
Fourteen years after godman Rajneesh aka Osho's death, a Nepalese disciple who spread the movement in this Himalayan kingdom plans to focus on India, the goal being an Osho centre in each village.
Afghanistan: Shia make constitutional gains
8 Jan 2004
Shia Muslims, a significant minority in Afghanistan, made important gains in the new constitution passed Sunday at the end of the Loya Jirga. Unlike the previous constitution of 1964, when the king who then ruled Afghanistan had to be a follower of the Hanafi Sunni school of Islam, a Shia Muslim can now become leader of the country.
Kyrygyzstan: religious freedom survey
7 Jan 2004
In its survey analysis of religious freedom in Kyrgyzstan, Forum 18 News Service notes that both registered and unregistered religious communities appear to function freely, despite a 1996 presidential decree requiring religious communities to register. A dispute in 2003 about headscarves worn by Muslim schoolgirls seems to be over, however the closure of six mosques has not been overturned and the official who ordered the closure has not been punished. A Pentecostal Church which faced a massive tax bill and obstruction in registering affiliated congregations hopes that, due to international concern attributed to Forum 18's reporting, a solution will be found. However, due to Muslim anger at conversions from Islam to Christianity, Forum 18 has been told by some that an official campaign against Christian proselytism may soon be launched.
China: when will Beijing's Orthodox have church?
18 Dec 2003
After today's funeral of Beijing's last Orthodox priest, it is still unknown when the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church will have a church in the capital. Visiting Russian Orthodox priest Fr Dionisy Pozdnyayev told Forum 18 News Service that Orthodox believers "have no priest now, no church and nowhere to pray", although he said the authorities were positive about the idea of Chinese Orthodox studying for the priesthood in Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church has being trying to help the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church, which the Cultural Revolution decimated, without success asking to send priests to surviving Chinese parishes. Several parishes still survive in Inner Mongolia and in Xinjiang Province in north west China.
India: VHP launches drive against Christian missionaries and conversions in Chhattisgarh
17 Dec 2003
Encouraged by the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the assembly poll, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has launched a fresh drive against Christian missionaries and conversions in Chhattisgarh.
India: the lost Jews of Mizoram
16 Dec 2003
"I am convinced the Mizos are Jews. There are lots of similarities between Israelis and Mizos," said Rabbi Hannock Avizedek, an Israeli preacher who is in Aizawl for the past three months, teaching Hebrew to some 400 people daily.
Iraq: women join Shia revival
6 Dec 2003
The collapse of the Ba'athist regime has given Shia women a chance to learn about their once-suppressed faith.
Mongolia: authorities don't follow neighbours' exclusion of religious leaders
1 Dec 2003
Even though Mongolia's influential neighbours China and Russia have not recently hosted Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso XIV or Pope John Paul II, Forum 18 News Service has found that in Mongolia they are welcome guests.
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