Religion

Photo: Collage of the book cover and Kalinga Seneviratne's picture at a railway station in a Southeast Asian country.

Buddhism Under Threat in Asia, Warns New Report

By Krishan Dutta

BANGKOK (IDN) — A new report released by the Sydney-based Lotus Communication Network (LCN) on February 26 warns that Buddhism is under threat across Asia, both from within and outside, and calls for concerted action by Buddhists across the region to empower themselves.

The 238-page report produced as an eBook identifies six issues that threaten Buddhism in Asia, a region, whose identity over the centuries has been built around what is called the ‘Indic-Buddhist’ civilization. These issues include proselytism targeting Buddhist communities, particularly by Evangelical (Pentecostal) Christian groups and lately Wahabi Islamists.

: Krishan Dutt; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 01 March 2021

Photo: The Sun is Laughing by five-year-old Konstantin G., Russia| UNODA Art for Peace 2012 contest.

Faith-Based Communities Greet the Global Ban on Nuclear Weapons

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – Rejecting the existential threat to humanity that nuclear weapons pose, a wide coalition of faith-based communities from around the world has hailed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the first international treaty to comprehensively ban nuclear weapons. Over 160 organizations endorsed a joint interfaith statement coordinated by the Faith Communities Concerned About Nuclear Weapons, which include Soka Gakkai International (SGI).

: Caroline Mwanga; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 23 January 2021

Photo: Abu Dhabi skyline. Criminal violence is much lower in Muslim cities like Kuala Lumpur, Algiers, Rabat and, the world’s safest city, Abu Dhabi, than in many Christian-influenced societies. CC BY-SA 4.0

The West Is Often Ill-Informed About Islam

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – France has its back to the wall, unnecessarily so. Its coronavirus policy is in a mess. (How come the Asians and Africans can get it right and the Europeans and Americans can’t? Perhaps we are racially inferior.) And now there is the appalling act by an 18-year old fanatic who, in the name of Islam, decapitates a teacher for showing his class the notorious caricatures of Mohammed, published in the satirical magazine, “Charlie Hebdo” five years ago. Two weeks later three worshipers in a church in Nice were gunned down by another young fanatic of Muslim origin.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 03 November 2020

Photo: Bhikkhuh Sanghasena, a leading Buddhist monk based in the state capital Leh, led a procession of local spiritual leaders across the town centre. The spiritual leaders included not only Buddhists, but also Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Sikhs.

Ladakh Buddhist Monk Leads A Campaign for Peaceful Resolution of Border Conflict

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 43rd in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

SINGAPORE (IDN) – When India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation foreign ministers' meeting in Moscow on September 10, Wang noted that it was "normal for India and China to have differences as two neighbouring major countries".

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 12 September 2020

Photo: Singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu sentenced to death for blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad in Kano, Source: Sleek

Muslim Songwriter Facing Death Penalty for Blasphemy Revives Bitter Debate in Nigeria

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Death sentences are rare in northern Nigeria where Sharia law is implemented alongside secular law in most states.

But the recent sentence of a 22-year-old singer to die by hanging has revived an emotional debate in the West African nation. An upper Sharia court in the Hausawa Filin Hockey area of Kano state ruled on August 10 that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, 22, should die by hanging for the crime of blasphemy for a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 10 August 2020

Photo: Atomic Bombing in Nagasaki and the Urakami Cathedral. Credit: Google Arts&Culture

Japanese and American Catholics Take on the Bomb

By Drew Christiansen

Writer Drew Christiansen, S. J., is Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Human Development at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. He is the co-editor with Carole Sargent of A World Free from Nuclear Weapons: The Vatican Conference on Disarmament (Georgetown University Press, 2020). facebook.com/disarmnowgeorgetown

WASHINGTON, DC. (IDN) -- Nagasaki is the historic centre of Japanese Catholicism. In the 16th century, beginning with the missionary visits of one of the first Jesuits, Francis Xavier, Nagasaki was the focal point of their efforts to bring Christianity to Japan.

: Asia Editor; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 01 August 2020

Photo: Interfaith efforts between Chilkur Balaji Temple in Hyderabad and the Helping Hand Foundation help achieve shared community health goals. Credit: WNV/Helping Hand Foundation

Long Before COVID-19, Muslim Communities in India Built Solidarity Through Mutual Aid

Viewpoint by Z. Fareen Parvez*

This article was originally published on Waging Nonviolence and is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

AMHERST, Massachusetts (IDN) – For generations, Muslims in India have drawn on mutual aid networks for solidarity and support amid government neglect and social discrimination. Now, as India faces a humanitarian disaster during the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, these networks are more important than ever.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 July 2020

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Indian troops during his visit to the forward post at Nimu in Ladakh, Friday, July 3, 2020. Credit: PIB/PTI

Cultural Wisdom Might Help Resolve India-China Conflict

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 42nd in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

SINGAPORE (IDN) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a special address given on Asadha Poornima day on July 4 marking the anniversary of Gautama Buddha's first sermon said Buddhism teaches respect for people, and respect for peace and nonviolence.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 06 July 2020

Photo: The Potala Palace in Lhasa, chief residence and political centre of the Dalai Lamas. CC BY-SA 3.0

Timely New Book Warns India and China About Dangerous Manipulations in the Buddhist Himalayas

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 41st in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

SYDNEY (IDN) – At a time when the United States is ramping up its rhetoric against China triggering a new Cold War between the world's leading superpowers, India is increasingly being wooed by the U.S. to join them to pressure China. In recent weeks there have been some minor skirmished between Chinese and Indian forces on the border in the Himalayas.

In this scenario, former Indian diplomat Phunchok Stobdan's book on the Buddhist Himalayas is very timely.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 May 2020

Photo: Religious leaders in an online meeting. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

UN Chief Appeals to 'Common Humanity' Across All Faiths to Tackle COVID-19

By UN News

NEW YORK (IDN) – Our shared vulnerability to the coronavirus pandemic reveals “our common humanity”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told religious leaders in an online meeting to discuss the role they can play in limiting the damage caused by COVID-19.

Speaking during the meeting on May 12, Guterres said “it lays bare our responsibility to promote solidarity as the foundation of our response – a solidarity based on the human rights and human dignity of all … and it highlights the crucial role of religious leaders in your communities and beyond.”