Religion

Image: The clash of civilizations according to Huntington (1996) The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Wikimedia Commons.

The Koran Is Partly on the Side of Islamic Fundamentalists

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — What do we in the West know about Islam? Perhaps more than we did before 9/11 but not much. Now the US and NATO have withdrawn from Afghanistan we are again reminded how little we understand about Islamic fundamentalism and how its adherents justify their beliefs, not least their use of violence.

When Tony Blair was prime minister of the United Kingdom, he was photographed walking along holding the Koran. I wonder how much of it he read. Did he read the verses on violence?

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 21 September 2021

Photo: Grand Synagogue of Edirne, Turkey. The Ottoman Empire created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor) grew to be one of the most powerful states in the world during the 15th and 16th centuries. CC BY-SA 4.0

The Western Debate About Islam Is Frankly Uninformed, Sometimes Infantile

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Once again the CIA and MI6 are publishing dire warnings of the vitality of Al Qaeda. Once again the Islamic world as a whole is being tarnished by association. Are we returning, as we sadly commemorate the destruction of New York’s Twin Towers on 9/11, to what the late U.S. presidential contender John McCain said: “America needs a leadership to confront the transcendent challenge of our time: the threat of radical Islamic terrorism".

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 14 September 2021

Photo: RSS thinker and member of parliament Rakesh Sinha. CC BY-SA 4.0

Are Christian Missionaries Vestige of Colonialism?

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 15th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile a social activist and commentator.

: Suresh Jaura; OPINION; 27 July 2021

More Than 220,000 Germans Leave Catholic Church in 2020

By Catholic News Agency (CNA)*

ROME (IDN) — More than 220,000 people left Catholic Church in Germany in 2020, according to official figures. The statistics issued by the German bishops’ conference on July 14 showed that 221,390 people exited the Catholic Church last year.

The figure was almost 19% lower than that of 2019 when a record 272,771 people departed. But it was higher than the 2018 figure of 216,078, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

: Europe Editor; HUMAN RIGHTS; Religion; 15 July 2021

Photo: Nigerian President Buhari. Christian clerics have joined calls that he should step down. Source: Energy Voice

Growing Calls for Nigerian President to Step Down

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — New troubles are facing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, already struggling to rein in the kidnappings of Nigerian schoolchildren in the country’s Northwest. Now, a federal High Court has ordered the Government to pay $951 million to the Bayelsa State government, while another court has ordered the Federal Government to pay over $3.3 billion to Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, as a share of the revenue from crude oil sales.

: THE WORLD; Africa; 30 June 2021

Photo: Praying at the Western Wall. CC BY 2.0

The Jews Need to Reflect on Their History

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — There are questions that even today the historians don’t seem moved to investigate. Two important ones come to mind. Why was it that Pharaonic Egypt never went to war for hundreds of years until Ramesses 11 became pharaoh in 1303 BC? Isn’t it a fact that Jews in Europe were unmolested for most of the first millennium after the death of Jesus?

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 25 May 2021

Photo (top): Launch of an Internet portal 'Sutta Central'.

Australian Monk Takes On The Mammoth Task To Bring Buddha’s Discourses Into One Place

By Kalinga Seneviratne

As Buddhists across the world celebrate the triple anniversary of Vesak on May 26 that marks the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, this IDN-Lotus News special feature by Kalinga Seneviratne—46th in a series—focuses on a landmark project in the dissemination of the Buddha’s teachings. Click here for previous reports.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 24 May 2021

Photo: Palestinians protest Israeli ban on Al-Aqsa guards. Source: The Rahnuma Daily.

Netanyahu Has Raised the Stakes Over Jerusalem

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Poets as diverse as William Blake and Yehuda Amichai have sung the praises of the heavenly Jerusalem, a land without strife or rancour, war or bitterness, envy, acquisitiveness or hatred. Israel, Fatah and Hamas, in the midst of the present chaos and carnage, have the historic opportunity to take a giant step towards making the present-day Jerusalem acquire, at least in some of its aspects, the earthly prototype of the heavenly Jerusalem.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 18 May 2021

Photo: Terrorist attack in Sri Lanka. Credit: Sri Lanka government.

A Counterpoint to 'Geopolitics of the 2019 Easter Sunday Crime in Sri Lanka and Cover-Up by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake'

Viewpoint by Muttukrishna Sarvananthan PhD*

POINT PEDRO, Sri Lanka (IDN) — I have read with great interest Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake’s well-crafted conspiracy theory on the Easter Bombings in Sri Lanka in a two-part viewpoint dated November 2020 and April 18, 2021. There are a few factual inaccuracies or deliberate hyperbole to insinuate that the United States of America (USA) was directly or indirectly responsible for the carnage.

: South Asia Bureau; OPINION; 24 April 2021

Photo: Catholics, Buddhists and Muslims hold silent protest to demand the truth about the Easter Sunday massacre. Credit: SL Time, Colombo Page News Desk.

Two Years On: Geopolitics of The 2019 Easter Sunday Crime in Sri Lanka and Cover-Up

The Weaponization of Religion Amid Hybrid Cold War in The Indian Ocean Region

Viewpoint by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

The writer is a cultural and medical anthropologist with research expertise in international political economy, peace, and development studies in South and South-East Asia. Her research spans issues in gender and women’s empowerment, migration and multiculturalism, ethno-religious identity politics, new and old Diasporas and global religion, particularly, transnational Theravada Buddhist networks in the Asia-Pacific region. Darini was a Senior Lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka. Her Bachelor’s degree is from Brandeis University and her MA and PhD are from Princeton University.