Christmas is an occasion mostly associated with joy and celebration. Sadly, attacks on church services and worshippers in recent years mean that for many it is a time of heightened tension and fear. World Watch Monitor recently reported on the tension for religious minorities in India, stating that “Since the start of the holiday season, India’s minority religious…
Douglas Alexander says a Labour government would appoint a global ambassador for religious freedom to tackle the “evil” persecution of Christians around the world, reports The Sunday Telegraph. The shadow Foreign Secretary said he wanted to set up a new “multi-faith” council inside the Foreign Office to bring a “strong focus” to the government’s campaign against…
BLOOD, TREASURE AND ISLAMIC STATE: WAR, EXTREMISM AND THE LOOTING OF CULTURE This event was presented today by the APPG in partnership with Walk of Truth, an independent non-profit organisation founded by Tasoula Georgiou Hadjitofi. Walk of Truth raises public awareness of threats to cultural heritage from crime and war, and engages ordinary people in…
The third Freedom of Thought report, highlighting global discrimination against atheists, humanists and the non-religious, was published yesterday by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). The report assesses every independent country around the world, and every country gets a rating. There is also a brand new poster style map. In their preface, Gulalai Ismail and…
The All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG) today published the findings of its Parliamentary Inquiry into persecution in North Korea. The report, Religion and Belief in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, includes witness accounts of the horrific human rights abuses suffered by religious and belief minorities in the country,…
Uzbekistan authorities have banned a translation of the Koran, destroyed New Testaments and given heavy fines for ‘illegal’ religious gatherings, reports Forum 18. The Religious Affairs Committee has banned the publication of a poetic translation of Koran into Uzbek. They stated that the Koran “was never translated into Uzbek in poetic form, and that Imam-hatyps from various regions…
Baroness Berridge has met Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the Holy See to discuss freedom of religion or belief worldwide. The chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief yesterday visited the Holy See to celebrate Mass at the Papal Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, presided over by the Cardinal Secretary of…
Burma’s president has approved a set of controversial draft religious laws inspired by radical Buddhist monks and sent them to parliament, reports the Japan Times, prompting rights groups to voice alarm over the divisive nature of the proposals. The draft legislation — including curbs on interfaith marriage, religious conversion and birth rates — will be…
The Bishop of Coventry asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the ability of members of the Baha’i community in Iran to bury their dead in accordance with the rituals of their faith. Foreign Office Minister Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con): The UK remains concerned over restrictions on freedom of religion in Iran….
Diane Corner, United Nations Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative and Deputy Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), is the special guest at this meeting, hosted by The All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Freedom of Religion or Belief, The All-Party Parliamentary Group on the African Great Lakes region and The Africa…