Tag: Religious freedom

London landmarks go red for religious freedom

November 23, 2016 Bishop Angaelos, London, Religious freedom, UK

Westminster Abbey is one of several London landmarks to have been lit up in red for Red Wednesday.World Watch Monitor Iconic London landmarks have been floodlit in red this evening (23 Nov.) to raise awareness of people who suffer injustice because of their religion. The Palace of Westminster, Westminster . . . Read More

UK Foreign Office hosts global summit on freedom of religion or belief

October 27, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Bangladesh, China, Eritrea, Iran, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kazakhstan, London, Lord Alton, Myanmar, North Korea, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates

“Religious freedom can counter violent extremism” was the key message at a two-day global conference held at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) last week. The conference explored ways to build resilience against extremism and identified opportunities for collaboration. More than 50 expert speakers and over 170 participants from . . . Read More

Despite human rights abuse, Sudan wants US talks

September 22, 2016 Sudan Abdulmonem Abdumawla, Churches, Genocide, Hassan Taour, Kadugli, Khartoum, Kuwa Shamal, Nuba Mountains, Omar al-Bashir, Petr Jašek, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Sharia, South Kordofan, South Sudan, Sudan, USA

Senior Sudanese and US officials are due to meet today (22 Sep.) in New York to discuss a possible partial lifting of sanctions on Khartoum, Sudanese media reports have said. The hint at possible “rapprochement” between Washington and Khartoum comes despite continued human rights violations by the latter; the Islamist . . . Read More

Freedom of religion or belief ‘the defining issue of our time’

September 16, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Angela Merkel, Boko Haram, Canada, Copts, Egypt, India, Iraq, Islamic State, Jan Figel, Kandhamal, Myanmar, New York, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Shahzad Masih, Shama Bibi, Syria

Over 100 parliamentarians from 60 countries met this week in Berlin for a series of workshops and seminars under the title, “An Embattled Right: Protecting and Promoting Freedom of Religion of Belief”. The second conference of this size after last year’s meeting in New York, it was organised by the . . . Read More

Prosecutor demands ‘harshest punishment’ for pastors charged with highlighting Sudan Christians’ suffering

August 30, 2016 Sudan Abdulmonem Abdumawla, Hassan Taour, Khartoum, Kuwa Shamal, Nuba Mountains, Peter Yen, Petr Jašek, Religious freedom, Sharia, South Kordofan, South Sudan, SPLM-N, Sudan, Yat Michael

A trial of four men, including two Sudanese church leaders and a foreign aid worker, resumed on 29 August in Khartoum, with Sudan’s prosecution accusing the defendants of highlighting alleged Christian suffering in war-ravaged areas of the country. The four defendants are a Czech Christian aid worker named Petr Jasek; . . . Read More

Religious freedom ambassador visits Mexico

August 17, 2016 Mexico Catholics, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Lauro Pérez Núñez, Mexico, Mexico City, Protestants, Puebla, Religious freedom

The US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, David Saperstein, is in Mexico to discuss how its federal and state governments are adhering to their international obligations to uphold freedom of religion and belief. As World Watch Monitor has reported, Mexican Christians who branch away from the “traditionalist” village churches, which . . . Read More

Existence of Eastern Churches ‘at risk’

August 4, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Canada, France, Islamic extremism, Jacques Hamel, Middle East, Quran, Religious freedom

Christians are now an “endangered species” in lands where their faith was first rooted, a prominent ancient church leader warned on 3 August. “The very existence of Eastern Churches, those Churches that come from the apostles’ time, is at stake,” said Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan of the Syriac Catholic . . . Read More

Human rights must not ‘go down’ because ‘EU has other priorities’

July 1, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Europe, Jan Figel, Religious freedom, UN

The report was launched on 30 June at the European Parliament in Brussels.European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief / Facebook The European Parliament *Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance (FoRB & RT) launched yesterday (30 June) its third annual report on the . . . Read More

Pew reports decline in religious restrictions

June 28, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea, Religious freedom, Sub-Saharan Africa, Syria, Terrorism

In its latest report, Pew Research Center says there was an overall decline in religious restrictions and hostilities between 2013 and 2014, despite a continued rise in religion-related terrorism. The US-based “fact tank” ranked 198 countries and territories in the seventh report of its kind, titled “Trends in Global Restrictions . . . Read More

Monk stokes religious tension in Myanmar

June 8, 2016 Myanmar Buddhist nationalism, Cardinal Bo, Catholics, Churches, Hlaingbwe, Karen, Myanmar, Religious freedom

An influential Myanmar monk looks set to continue his controversial plan of building Buddhist temples on or close to the grounds of churches, says . On 6 June, Myaing Kyee Ngu and his supporters arrived near St Mark’s church in Hlaingbwe – one of the largest townships in Karen State, . . . Read More

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