US religious freedom report notes violence against Indian minorities
Washington DC, US Reuters The US State Department’s 2023 religious freedom report on India noted violent attacks on minority groups, especially Muslims and Christians, including killings, assaults and vandalism of houses of worship. The State Department report on international religious freedom released on Wednesday said that during the year, senior US officials continued to “raise […]
Essay: Two years after Taliban takeover – why Afghanistan still poses a threat to the region and beyond
In an article first published on The Conversation, STEFAN WOLFF, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham, says two years of Taliban rule have seen the regime in Kabul do little to assuage concerns over security…
Modi’s denial of discrimination against minorities in India is a lie, activists say
Washington DC, US Reuters Narendra Modi’s denial that discrimination against minorities exists in India contradicts thorough documentation by rights advocates, according to activists disappointed by President Joe Biden’s embrace of the Indian Prime Minister. Asked at a press conference with Biden on Thursday what steps he was willing to take to “improve the rights of Muslims […]
Essay: The desperate plight of Yazidis and Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan did not end with the defeat of IS
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says we cannot simply assume that the plight of Christians, Yazidis and others ended with the defeat of IS in the region in 2017…
Sight-Seeing: Truth, justice and the torturing of tolerance
KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, in an article published on Religion News Service, reflects on her experiences around the idea of tolerance…
India’s DNA data law seen to harm minorities, hurt privacy
London, UK Thomson Reuters Foundation A proposed Indian law on the collection and use of genetic data to tackle crime can violate privacy, and target minorities and marginalised communities disproportionately, according to technology experts and human rights groups. The DNA Technology Regulation Bill allows the profiling of victims, those accused of crimes, and those reported […]
Essay: We need a better strategy to plant Black and brown churches
US pastors and church planting network founders THABITI ANYABWILE and JOHN ONWUCHEKWA, in an article first published on Religion News Service, argue that Black and brown communities need the freedom to plant churches responsive to their own contexts and needs…
“Algorithms of oppression”: Big tech urged to combat discrimination
Thomson Reuters Foundation Nearly a decade has passed since Safiya Noble googled “Black girls” and found the search results were mostly pornographic – a discovery that drove her to explore how algorithms can perpetuate discrimination and inequality. Google went on to fix that search engine issue, but Noble said the problem is far from solved. […]
Essay: What Trump should have told India’s Modi this week
ELLIS HEASLEY, public affairs officer at religious freedom advocacy CSW, looks at why US President Donald Trump should have raised issues of religious freedom on his visit to India this week…
Missing from India’s citizenship law: 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees
Mumbai, India Thomson Reuters Foundation Nearly 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees living in India are not eligible for citizenship under a new law, sparking concerns they may be forced to return to the island nation they fled during a decades-long civil war, many with no homes to return to. India’s Citizenship Amendment Act aims to fast-track […]