Category: religion

Islamists threaten ‘fractious path’ of Pakistan’s democratic transition

     

Weeks of scathing criticism has apparently prompted a provincial government in Pakistan to review a grant of $3 million it has recently allocated for a controversial Islamic seminary, which some… Read more »

Three paths to instability in Zimbabwe

     

  Zimbabwean authorities this week imposed restrictions on the import of a range of goods, from bottled water to fertilizers and canned beans, while local businesses complain of not being… Read more »

Will new Archbishop transform Cuban Church?

     

In the mid-1970s, a recently ordained priest trekked the Cuban countryside, defying the communist government by distributing hand-printed religious pamphlets to townspeople bold enough to open their doors, The New… Read more »

Religious restrictions, hostilities decline despite rise in religious terrorism

     

  Worldwide, both government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion decreased modestly from 2013 to 2014 despite a rise in religion-related terrorism, according to Pew Research Center’s latest… Read more »

Iran’s Islamic Republic ‘in a period of flux and tension’

     

The 2016 elections resulted in important gains for moderates in the parliament and the Assembly of Experts, reaffirming developments that have been visible in Iranian politics since 2013, Stanford University… Read more »

Obama must raise Vietnam’s rights abuses, civil society crackdown

     

Thich Quang Do, the Patriarch of Vietnam’s Unified Buddhist Church (left), has called on U.S. president Barack Obama to use his forthcoming trip to the Communist state to highlight continuing… Read more »

Saudis facing similar problems to collapsing Soviet Union

     

Saudi Arabia has ordered the segregation of men and women in local council meetings, in a setback to women’s rights in the ultraconservative kingdom, The Wall Street Journal reports. The… Read more »

Civil resistance in the Arab Spring: what went wrong?

     

The overriding lesson of the abortive Arab Spring is that getting rid of a dictatorial and corrupt ruler is not enough. Building democratic institutions, and restoring confidence in a flawed… Read more »