        
Turkmenistan: secret police close down mosque refusing to go against Islam
19 Nov 2003
The State Security Ministry (MSS) (ex-KGB) has closed down a mosque for not putting the Ruhnama (Book of the Soul), President Saparmurat Niyazov's spiritual writings, on the same stand as the Koran during Friday prayers to be filmed for TV. 
Afghanistan: approval for Constitution's Islamic content
18 Nov 2003
Most Afghans back use of Islam to underpin constitution, but some intellectuals fear fundamentalists will benefit.
India: annual pilgrim season at Sabarimala temple
17 Nov 2003
The famous Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa in Kerala opens Monday for the annual pilgrim season.
Great Britain: Home Secretary Blunkett wants imams to learn English
2 Nov 2003
British Home Secretary David Blunkett wants Islamic preachers in the country to learn English to help combat the "clash of cultures" suffered by young British Muslims.
India: religious groups join hands to halt demolition of shrines in Mumbai
2 Nov 2003
Cutting across religious lines, spiritual leaders of different faiths as well as politicians are joining hands to prevent the razing of roadside shrines in Mumbai.
India: Mumbai's roadside shrines being knocked down
30 Oct 2003
Civic authorities in India's financial capital are demolishing dozens of illegal shrines belonging to various faiths as part of a judicial directive.
India: 70 Hindus convert to Buddhism in Bodh Gaya
30 Oct 2003
Over 70 Hindus have embraced Buddhism at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, the birthplace of the global religion of peace in eastern India's Bihar state.
Russia moves to embrace Muslim world
24 Oct 2003
The Russian government is seeking closer ties with the Muslim world and has applied for observer status at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Sri Lanka: conversions spark controversy
21 Oct 2003
The issue of religious conversions is snowballing in Sri Lanka, with an NGO asking the government to probe a spate of attacks on churches even as Christians allegedly attacked a journalist.
Azerbaijan: election crackdown on independent Muslim leaders
20 Oct 2003
Amid the widespread violence in the wake of the 15 October presidential elections, police swooped on the Juma Mosque in the capital Baku during Friday prayers on 17 October and tried to arrest the imam Ilgar Ibragimoglu and one of his close colleagues Azer Ramizoglu. The two – both supporters of failed presidential candidate Isa Gambar - are leading members of religious freedom group Devamm, which has long been denied official registration, and the Islam-Ittihad Society, whose registration was stripped from it by a Baku court in August.
Karachai-Cherkessia: church ownership row
20 Oct 2003
Local people in the North Caucasian republic are resisting plans for the Russian Orthodox Church to take over ancient churches.
Russia: the impact of Islamic parties on the elections
9 Oct 2003
Experts say that by 2010, if present trends continue, 40 percent of Russia's 18-year-old men will come from historically Islamic peoples within the Russian Federation. They will be of draft age -- and also of voting age. Their brand of Islam may be cultural and moral rather than spiritual. Only 4 million to 5 million of all Muslims in Russia are said to regularly practice their religion, experts say, although the higher birthrate of Muslims means they are likely to become more visible and active in politics.
Anglicans: Pope warns of "serious difficulties" for unity of Churches
7 Oct 2003
Any possible union between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches has run into serious problems, Pope John Paul II told the Archbishop of Canterbury at a personal audience over the weekend.
India: 5,000 Dalits convert to Buddhism in Gujarat
5 Oct 2003
About 5,000 Dalits, or members of socially underprivileged classes, converted from Hinduism to Buddhism in the cultural capital of Gujarat, Vadodara, defying the state's anti-conversion law.
Bangladesh: increasing number of women using the veil
27 Sep 2003
Walk down the streets of this Bangladeshi capital city and you will see a large number of women looking at the world from behind the veil.
| |
|
|
