Tag: Saudi Arabia

‘Religious freedom key to Trump war on terrorism’

February 3, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, USA

An American Muslim says propagating freedom of religion is the key to US President Donald Trump’s aim to “eradicate” radicalism and terrorism “from the face of the earth”. Amer Aziz, writing for The Hill, praised the establishment in 1998 of an office of Religious Freedom in the US State Department, . . . Read More

UK Foreign Office hosts global summit on freedom of religion or belief

October 27, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Bangladesh, China, Eritrea, Iran, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kazakhstan, London, Lord Alton, Myanmar, North Korea, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates

“Religious freedom can counter violent extremism” was the key message at a two-day global conference held at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) last week. The conference explored ways to build resilience against extremism and identified opportunities for collaboration. More than 50 expert speakers and over 170 participants from . . . Read More

Maldives leaves Commonwealth over rights progress

October 18, 2016 Maldives Commonwealth, Islamic extremism, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism

The Republic of Maldives has withdrawn from the Commonwealth after the Indian Ocean nation was accused of failing to show progress on democracy, . Describing its move as “difficult but inevitable”, the nation says the Commonwealth did “not recognise its achievements in strengthening its democratic institutions and a raft of . . . Read More

Erdogan: ‘Only Sunni Muslims should live in Mosul’

October 7, 2016 Al-Qaeda, Ankawa, Arabs, Assyrians, Erbil, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Qatar, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared that only Sunni Muslims should be allowed to live in the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul once it has been liberated from Islamic State control. Interviewed by Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on the Saudi Arabia-based TV station Rotana Khalejia on 2 Oct., . . . Read More

Freedom of religion or belief ‘the defining issue of our time’

September 16, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Angela Merkel, Boko Haram, Canada, Copts, Egypt, India, Iraq, Islamic State, Jan Figel, Kandhamal, Myanmar, New York, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Shahzad Masih, Shama Bibi, Syria

Over 100 parliamentarians from 60 countries met this week in Berlin for a series of workshops and seminars under the title, “An Embattled Right: Protecting and Promoting Freedom of Religion of Belief”. The second conference of this size after last year’s meeting in New York, it was organised by the . . . Read More

Coptic priests in Gulf meet to discuss challenges

August 13, 2016 Alexandria, Arabian Peninsula, Bahrain, Cairo, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

Egyptian priests serving in the Arab Gulf region have held their first conference to discuss challenges faced in the heartland of Islam: “Challenges facing Gulf priests and their wives”. The head of the largest group of Christians in the Middle East, Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II led bishops and priests . . . Read More

US religious-freedom report urges government to add 7 countries to worst-offenders list

May 2, 2016 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, BJP, Boko Haram, Central African Republic, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Europe, India, Iraq, Middle East, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Taliban, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

What is happening? The primary US government agency on global religious freedom issued its annual report 2 May. It says “religious freedom abroad has been under serious and sustained assault” during the past year, and says America should add seven countries to its list of worst offenders: Central African Republic . . . Read More

Australian Minister ‘confused’ over Islamic dogma

January 5, 2016 Boko Haram, Chibok girls, Islamic extremism, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Quran, Saudi Arabia

A claim by Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Australia’s Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, that Islam has no overarching authority has been . Responding to Fierravanti-Wells’ article in ‘The Australian’, “We need mellow Muslims and moderate imams”, in which she asserts that “there is no overarching authority to establish or forbid religious practices . . . Read More

Report: Christianity contracting in MidEast, Africa

October 16, 2015 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Belarus, Boko Haram, China, David Cameron, Egypt, Eritrea, Europe, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, London, Middle East, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pope Francis, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine, Vietnam

Christianity is fast disappearing from entire regions, most notably a huge chunk of the Middle East, and could vanish from Iraq within five years, according to a new report by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Released in the UK’s House of Lords on Tuesday, the report, “Persecuted and . . . Read More

‘Scandalous’ choice of Saudi for UN rights panel

September 24, 2015 Saudi Arabia Arabian Peninsula, Churches, Human rights, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, UN

Critics are accusing the UN of handing a key human rights role to the country with ‘arguably the worst record in the world when it comes to religious freedom’, writes the Independent. The appointment to the Human Rights Council of Saudi ambassador to Geneva, Faisal bin Hassan Trad, was uncovered . . . Read More

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