Law and Religion Headlines International

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Thursday, January 31
APPLICATIONS DUE 31 January 2019: Young Scholars Fellowship on Religion and the Rule of Law (hosted at Christ Church, Oxford, International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Tuesday, January 29
Pakistan high court upholds Asia Bibi acquittal (Michael Gryboski, Christian Headlines)
Ayatollah asks UN to investigate violence against Mosul’s Christians (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Village in India’s Gujarat state bans entry of “Christian outsiders” (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Blasphemy laws: Pakistan’s Supreme Court upholds Asia Bibi’s acquittal (The Economist [Erasmus: Religion and public policy])
Sharia, the Cairo Declaration and the European Convention on Human Rights (Resolution 2253 (2019) Provisional version,Partiamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe)
PACE stresses the need to protect human rights, regardless of religious practices (The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe)
Jehovah’s Witness to spend two months in jail without trial (Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, Russia Religion News)
Cresco Investigation GmbH v Markus Achatzi (the “Good Friday” case) (Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber), Court of Justice of the European Union)
Religious leaders condemn Philippines cathedral attack (Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Holocaust education is key in tackling global anti-Semitism (Douglas Schoen and Arielle Confino, The Hill)
Egypt’s sectarian committee to combat sectarianism (Timothy E. Kaldas, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy)
Pakistan, Blasphemy, Islam, and A Way Forward Jennifer S. Bryson (Guest Post by Muhammad Akram, Arc of the Universe)
Monday, January 28
Articles of interest – January 28, 2019 (Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Pessimistic view of case of Danish Jehovah’s Witness (Maksim Kliagin, Orlevskie Novosti)
Why Sikhs don’t throw Muslims under the bus (Simran Jeet Singh, Religion News Service)
Expressing religious views is risky in the Maldives (Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch)
Rwanda: Church and state signal a new relationship (Joseph Rwagatare, The New Times)
USCIRF denounces violence against demonstrators in Sudan (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
BBC features case of Danish Jehovah’s Witness (Viktor Nekhezin, Russia Religion News)
Conclusion of trial of Danish Jehovah’s Witness put off again (Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, Russia Religion News)
Huge international expression of support for Jehovah’s Witnesses (Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, Russia Religion News)
Moscow church leader acknowledges religious persecution in Russia (Interfax-Religiia, Russia Religion News)
American diplomat courts Ukrainian churches (RISU, Russia Religion News)
The coming fight for the Dalai Lama’s soul (Krithika Varagur, Foreign Policy)
Cubans inaugurate first new Catholic church in decades (Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press)
20 killed, 111 wounded in ISIS bombing at Catholic Cathedral (Kayla Koslosky, Christian Headlines)
Twenty killed in explosions during Mass in Philippines cathedral (Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency)
Bomb blasts at cathedral in southern Philippines kill at least 20 (Regine Cabato and Shibani Mahtani, The Washington Post)
Controversy implodes at Al-Azhar in the wake of PDA incident (Abdulla Kadry, Al-Monitor: Egypt Pulse)
US-Gulf tensions mount over restrictions on Syria reconstruction (Giorgio Cafiero, Al-Monitor: Gulf Pulse)
Diminished crowds at World Youth Day (Jonah McKeown, Catholic News Agency)
61 Rohingya Muslims arrested in India (Nathan Glover, World Religion News)
Kidnapped Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh still missing after 700 days (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
Armenian parliamentary member singled out in Turkey (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Nigerian president suspends Chief Justice weeks before election (Nathan Johnson, International Christian Concern)
Friday, January 25
The Right of Religious Hospitals to Refuse Physician-Assisted Suicide (Barry W. Bussey, (2018) 85 S.C.L.R. (2d) (via SSRN))
Crimea: Four years’ jail for mosque meetings (Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Ignatieff’s book on what global virtues might be (Marc O. DeGirolami, Law and Religion Forum)
USCIRF welcomes release of jailed Jakarta Governor; denounces Indonesia’s blasphemy law (Press Release, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Thursday, January 24
Abortion kills 42 million in 2018 (Amanda Casanova, Christian Headlines)
Malaysia: religious freedom in chaos (Ruth K’lama, Mission Network News)
Israel uses Qatari grant to pressure Hamas (Ahmad Abu Amer, Al-Monitor: Palestine Pulse)
Conflict erupts over properties surrounding Samarra shrine (Ali Mamouri, Al-Monitor: Iraq Pulse)
World Youth Day pilgrims receive warm welcome in Panama (Jonah McKeown, Catholic News Agency)
Religious leader forum in Abuja warns against violent election season (Nathan Johnson, International Christian Concern)
Turkey builds first new church on Christian graveyard (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Landmark church project stirs mixed sentiments in Turkey (Sibel Hurtas, Al-Monitor: Turkey Pulse)
Turkey rejects attempt to investigate dink murder (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Threatened with an end to Shariah divorce, Egypt’s imams work to save marriages (Jacob Wirtschafter and AMr El-Tohamy,Religion News)
Thirty years after: Tiananmen and religion (Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
Closing arguments in trial of Danish Jehovah’s Witness (Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, Russia Religion News)
The last god-king (William Hamblin and Daniel Peterson, Deseret News Faith)
Governor convicted of blasphemy freed from Indonesian prison (Stephen Wright and Niniek Karmini, Associated Press)
Wednesday, January 23
New research reveals how the marriage equality debate damaged LGBT Australians’ mental health (Stefano Verrelli, Fiona White, Lauren Harvey, and Michael R. Pulciani, The Conversation)
Les persécutions antichrétiennes en Afrique, un sujet sensible (Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, The Conversation)
Pope Francis’s battle against the nation-state (James P. Pinkerton, The American Conservative)
Court takes Jehovah’s Witnesses’ property in Kostroma oblast (Website of Prosecutor’s Office of Kostroma oblast, Russia Religion News)
CALL FOR PAPERS Deadline 23 January 2019: Religion and Law in North America (Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion in Public Life, University of Alberta)
Tuesday, January 22
Sunni clergymen under “provincial arrest” (Maryam Dehkordi, Iran Wire)
Iranian judges pressure Christians to renounce their faith (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
India’s home minister calls for national debate on mass conversions (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Thailand aims to reform tough refugee policy after Saudi asylum case (Gary Nguyen, International Christian Concern)
Christian man kidnapped in Sinai (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Why do Muslim women wear a hijab? (Caitlin Killian, The Conversation)
Scores of Afghan troops killed in suicide bombing claimed by Taliban (Pamela Constable and Sharif Hassan, The Washington Post)
Philippines: Muslim autonomy referendum ‘not a silver bullet’ for peace (Srinivas Mazumdaru (Interview), Deutsche Welle)
Vatican and Muslim experts unite to defend palliative healthcare (Claire Giangravè, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Nicaragua bishops keep cajoling Ortega to dialogue with opposition (Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Indian police arrest 61 Rohingya Muslims this week (Wasbir Hussain and Julhas Alam, Associated Press)
Alarm bells against discrimination (Christof Sauer, Christian Examiner)
Monday, January 21
Ukrainian president calls out Moscow churches (RISU, Russia Religion News)
Almost two-year-long trial of Jehovah’s Witness nears end (Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, Russia Religion News)
Articles of interest – January 21, 2019 (Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
In Iraq, there’s life for Christians after Islamic fundamentalism (Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Sunday, January 20
Baha’is celebrate World Religion Day on January 20, 2019 (Corey Barnett, World Religion News)
Saturday, January 19
Why Israel’s culture minister defended Haifa’s Christians (Shlomi Eldar, Al-Monitor: Israel Pulse)
Privatization of Turkish military factory draws strong criticism (Metin Gurcan, Al-Monitor: Turkey Pulse)
Jerusalem tensions rise without security coordination (Daoud Kuttab, Al-Monitor: Palestine Pulse)
One in every six Christians in Africa experience high persecution (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Arabian peninsula prepares for historic Papal visit (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Friday, January 18
North Sumatra protests against Protestant church (Mathias Hariyadi, Asia News)
Philippines: Tight security in place ahead of Muslim vote (Froilan Gallardo and Richel V. Umel, Eurasia Review)
Kenyan Anglicans condemn Nairobi attack (Adam Becket, Church Times)
Palestine on right track to protect children (Entsar Abu Jahal, Al-Monitor: Palestine Pulse)
Israel goes after Hamas in Sinai (Adnan Abu Amer, Al-Monitor: Palestine Pulse)
Israel’s nationality law takes over election campaign (Mazal Mualem, Al-Monitor: Israel Pulse)
Trump administration finds its Iran policy not working (Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor: Iran Pulse)
AME Church announces death of Senior Bishop McKinley Young (RNS Press Release Distribution Service, Religion News)
Cross shape lights on a building in Malaysia stirs debate (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
Bodies of 34 Ethiopian Christian ISIS victims found in Libya (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Turkish MP demands investigation into insulting Turkishness (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Russian lawmakers threaten restrictive law (Gennady Okorokov, Vecherniaia Moskva)
Vatican expert says anti-migrant crackdowns exacerbate trafficking (Elise Harris, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Thursday, January 17
EU court finds Turkey violated religious freedom (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Morocco’s crackdown won’t slience dissent (Ilhem Rachidi, Foreign Policy)
Iraqi curriculum issues veiled threat against Christian women (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Christian teachers flee Kenya’s border with Somalia fearing attack (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Asia is the new hotbed for Christian persecution, says Open Doors (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
India ranked among top ten worst persecutors in the world (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Residents rally to demand church closure in Indonesia (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Iraqi Christian village withstands Turkish airstrikes (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Persecution in world’s two most-populous countries escalates to troubling levels (RNS Press Release Distribution Service,Religion News)
Religion and the state: Could state-guided faith be a trend of the future? (The Economist [Erasmus: Religion and public policy])
Vatican urges global collaboration, more prosecutions to fight trafficking (Elise Harris, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Bishops visiting Israel hear Christian concerns over Jewish nation-state law (Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Why al-Shabaab targets Kenya, and what can be done to stop attacks (Brendon J. Cannon and Martin Plaut, The Conversation)
State-religion partnership benefits all (Mohammad Alami Musa, Straits Times)
Wednesday, January 16
Rescuing religious freedom (Elizabeth Oldfield, Theos)
No entry: Ukrainian crowd blocks priests from church (video) (Ray Furlong, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)
Ukrainian parliament to view new bill on changing churches (Religiia v Ukraine, Russia Religion News)
Guam Catholic Church enters bankruptcy amid sex abuse claims (Grace Garces Bordallo, Associated Press)
Rohingyas in limbo as diplomacy falters (Duncan Bartlett, The Diplomat)
Tuesday, January 15
The surprise of reconciliation in the Catholic tradition (Daniel Philpott reporting on JJ. Carney and Laurie Johnston, eds., Arc of the Universe)
China’s Muslims fear crackdown in ancient city of Xi’an (Xiaomei Chen in Xi’am, The Guardian)
Kumbh Mela: Hindus converge for largest-ever human gathering (Michael Safi and Kakoli Bhattacharya, The Guardian)
Syrian jihadist group’s takeover of Idlib undermines Turkish plans (Khaled al-Khateb, Al-Monitor: Syria Pulse)
Egypt closes crossing to Gaza as Abbas tightens noose (Ahmed el-Komi, Al-Monitor: Palestine Pulse)
Egypt’s internal debt rises on wider budget deficit (Ahmed Elleithy, Al-Monitor: Egypt Pulse)
Turks unite to condemn Trump’s threat to ‘devastate’ economy (Jasper Mortimer, Al-Monitor: Turkey Pulse)
Iran attempts to deflect from its own persecution of Christians (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Six Christians assaulted in Tamil Nadu after false conversion accusation (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Nigerian bishop released from captivity (Nathan Johnson, International Christian Concern)
Egyptian authorities close four churches (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Kachin IDPs were able to enjoy a peaceful Christmas (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
Pope Francis meets with Chilean bishops to discuss abuse crisis (Andrea Gagliarducci, Catholic News Agency)
Pope tells Life academy to defend human dignity with courage (Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency)
Talmud-inspired learning craze sweeps South Korea (Tim Alper, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Catholic church questions surprise Congo election results (Gabriele Steinhauser, The Wall Street Journal)
Monday, January 14
Articles of interest – January 14, 2019 (Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Religion in the years ahead (Martin E. Marty, Sightings: Religion in Public Life (University of Chicago Divinity School))
Ukrainian parliament seeks to help new church (Nezavisimaia Gazeta, Russia Religion News)
Vatican, Venezuela bishops play ‘good cop/bad cop’ with Maduro (Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Church in South Sudan laments continuing violence (Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
‘McJesus’ sculpture sparks outrage among Israel’s Christians (Areej Hazboun and Isabel Debre, Associated Press)
Children must see the faith lived at home, pope tells parents (Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency)
Is Sisi good for Egypt’s Christians? (Marlo Safi, The Wall Street Journal)
Egypt extends state of emergency (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Christians rejoice as Egypt forms committee to combat sectarianism (Menna A. Farouk, Al-Monitor: Egypt Pulse)
Egyptians decry Pompeo’s ‘ode to Israel’ from Cairo (Shahira Amin, Al-Monitor: Egypt Pulse)
Assad promises to rebuild Armenian church (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Archbishop to attend public hearing on 2008 Kandhamal riots (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Series of attacks on Christians in eastern Uganda leaves community in fear (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Chinese stream of life house church raided by police (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
Turkey to build first-ever church in its modern republic (Amanda Casanova, Christian Headlines)
Saturday, January 12
Pope’s Romania trip confirmed for early summer (Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency)
Hamas, PA suspicious of Israel’s new webcast (Adnan Abu Amer, Al-Monitor: Israel Pulse)
Hundreds mark Jesus baptism at historic Jordan site (AFP, Al-Monitor: Jordan Pulse)
Regional powers stick with Bashir as Sudan protests mount (AFP, Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East)
Pakistani Christian faces forced deportation from U.K. (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
China now demands “church-free zones” near schools (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
Turkish court rules against compulsory religion class (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Indian high court rules in favor of American doctor and religious freedom (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Christian leaders in Nigeria call for peaceful general elections (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Vietnamese authorities bulldoze homes in predominantly Catholic area (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
Local government takes steps to protect Christian graveyard in Pakistan (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Philippine president renews attack on Catholic church (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
Friday, January 11
Thursday, January 10
Turkey prepares for historic church construction (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Will 2019 be a more peaceful year for India’s Christians? (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Somali Christians continue to survive by worshiping in secret (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Church grows in Qatar despite challenges (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Pakistan: Muslim clerics denounce radicalism (Kamran Chaudhry, Eurasia Review)
Gulf states slowly warm to Damascus (Giorgio Cafiero, Al-Monitor: Gulf Pulse)
Wednesday, January 9
The cone of silence around China’s Muslim ‘gulags’ (Ishaan Tharoor, The Washington Post)
Crimea: “Anti-missionary” prosecutions double in 2018 (Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Misuse of psychiatry in assessing religious behavior (Religiia i Pravo, Russia Religion News)
Synagogue to host World Youth Day pilgrims in Panama (Christopher White, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
What Catholics can learn from protests of the past (Mara Willard, The Conversation)
Tuesday, January 8
Two women enter a temple. A country erupts. (Supriya Nair, The New York Times)
China’s Xinjiang tour should have fooled no one (Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch)
Debate begins on decriminalizing abortion in Ecuador (David Ramos, Catholic News Agency)
Patriarch grants Ukrainian Church independence at Istanbul mass (Ayla Jean Yackley, Al-Monitor: Turkey Pulse)
Sale of churches sparks controversy in Iraq (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Pakistani Christians fear new security mandate may lead to church closures (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Hmong Christians in Vietnam repeatedly beaten and arrested (Gina Goh, International Christian Concern)
Impacting Freedom of Religion or Belief one step at a time: 5 highlights from 2018 (International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB))
January 2019 Legislation factsheet: Registration laws (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Putin goes to church on Christmas Eve (Interfax-Religiia, Russia Religion News)
In repressive Myanmar, a tiny Jewish community hangs on to the past (Charles Dunst, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Pope appoints retired cardinal as apostolic administrator of Hong Kong diocese (Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Pope’s outreach to Islamic world in 2019 has deep roots (Elise Harris, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
With migrants stranded at sea, Pope Francis urges welcome (Claire Giangravè, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Monday, January 7
Saudi Woman who tried to flee family says, ‘they will kill me’ (Richard C. Paddock and Ben Hubbard, The New York Times)
Hindus prepare for Thai Pongal celebration (Corey Barnett, World Religion News)
Coptic Christians cautiously prepare for Orthodox Christmas (Claire Evans, International Christian Concern)
Christians face mounting discrimination in Pakistan’s schools (Olivia Miller, International Christian Concern)
Ukrainian Orthodox Church breaks away from Russian influence (Ayse Wieting and Zeynep Bilginsoy, Deseret News)
Celebrations planned, tension lingers a month after marriage equality resolution takes effect (Mary Frances Schjonberg and David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service)