https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to pakistan en https://religiondispatches.org/2018/01/02/2017-around-world-progress-and-persecution-lgbt-people Journalist Masha Gessen dubbed 2017 “the year Russian LGBT persecution defied belief.” Pink News called 2017 “ the year of the homophobic purge” featuring “brutal crackdowns across the world.” The Daily Xtra’s year-end recap focused more on the good news… Tue, 02 Jan 2018 12:38:20 EST Peter Montgomery f1967b35-d0f3-45ce-a3ef-7e4ff0ffe508 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/08/14/challenging-both-homophobia-islam-and-populist-bogeyman-homophobic-muslim-and-more Taken together, several articles published this week challenge populist portrayals of the “homophobic Muslim” as a threat to Western values in various countries, while also challenging conservative Muslim teachings that queerness and Islam are incompatible. In the Guardian, Moustafa Bayoumi… Mon, 14 Aug 2017 10:00:10 EDT Peter Montgomery 6d519c21-6dba-43bb-a073-260ecc864c3d https://religiondispatches.org/2017/08/08/kuwait-morals-committee-announced-deportation-76-gay-men-and-more-global-lgbt-recap Brian Brown, president of the International Organization for the Family, the parent organization to the World Congress of Families, bragged in a fundraising email about the organization working with the government of Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban and praising the campaign… Tue, 08 Aug 2017 12:45:26 EDT Peter Montgomery ccf7a794-5897-4eb4-b06a-cc122a00d886 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/06/05/pride-month-prejudice-worrisome-time-lgbt-people-global-lgbt-recap LGBT communities in many parts of the world celebrate Pride month in June. The U.S. State Department told embassies and consulates that they may recognize local celebrations. The Associated Press’s David Crary kicked off the month with a June 1… Mon, 05 Jun 2017 11:56:51 EDT Peter Montgomery b8f4d533-0d8d-497d-9bc3-434b42022294 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/02/26/trump-considers-pulling-usa-out-human-rights-council-indonesian-president-blames Politico reported this week that the Trump administration is considering pulling the USA out of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Human Rights Council last year created the UN’s first independent expert position dedicated to investigating anti-LGBT discrimination and… Sun, 26 Feb 2017 10:27:53 EST Peter Montgomery d319d9b3-37aa-4a02-a4cd-abedfc77fc8c https://religiondispatches.org/2017/01/16/authoritarian-populism-vs-human-rights-campaign-against-gender-ideology-and-more-global Human Rights Watch released its 2017 World Report, in which the group reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries, which a focus on the “dangerous rise of populism” and global attacks on human rights values. From a description… Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:23:26 EST Peter Montgomery 6063e821-223f-46ae-9295-05117758a21b https://religiondispatches.org/2016/12/19/weeks-lgbt-recap-are-gay-priests-overdue-stonewall-moment “Unless gay priests decide that it’s time for their Stonewall moment, Church leaders—some of them closeted, sometimes self-loathing, homosexually-oriented men themselves—will continue to utter the slander that affects not just ordained gay men and seminarians, but every LGBTQ person in the Church.” Mon, 19 Dec 2016 07:32:15 EST Peter Montgomery 4e0861a5-100c-4f91-b39e-f3ba9ad0cb0f https://religiondispatches.org/2016/09/25/mexican-marriage-marches-show-struggle-between-church-and-secular-state-pro-lgbt-mormon Mexico: Anti-marriage marches stir clash between church officials and proponents of secular state A march drew tens of thousands – or hundreds of thousands depending on whose numbers you believe – of anti-marriage-equality Catholics and evangelicals to Mexico City, the… Sun, 25 Sep 2016 11:25:29 EDT Peter Montgomery b8f6bdb3-03b6-4c28-876a-0175fc73df9a https://religiondispatches.org/2016/08/26/indonesia-hears-islamist-arguments-lgbt-criminalization-zambian-churches-oppose-condom Wikileaks came under fire for releasing documents that included personally sensitive information, including the name of a man arrested for homosexuality in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is still a capital offense. In the International Journal of Human Rights, Po-Han Lee… Fri, 26 Aug 2016 08:04:26 EDT Peter Montgomery 346f14f6-e2b8-4782-9eda-72760a96ceac https://religiondispatches.org/2016/05/27/tutus-daughter-marries-woman-loses-anglican-priest-license-romanian-anti-marriage South Africa: Tutu’s Daughter Marries Woman, Loses License as Anglican Priest Mpho Tutu-Van Furth, Bishop Desmond Tutu’s daughter, was forced to give up her license to function as a priest in the South African Anglican Church because she married another… Fri, 27 May 2016 11:23:01 EDT Peter Montgomery 578cfe29-0964-44a7-aaae-20f69907c19a https://religiondispatches.org/2016/02/12/australias-harsh-refugee-policies-stirring-backlash-malawi-court-sides-pastors-lift The current issue of ILGA-Europe’s Destination EQUALITY magazine focuses on reconciling sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and religion. The magazine includes personal testimonies of LGBT Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists and an interview with Krzysztof Charamsa, the Polish priest and… Fri, 12 Feb 2016 11:07:42 EST Peter Montgomery 20f51a51-4058-4ce6-ba0d-1c36c1f7602a https://religiondispatches.org/2015/08/19/arrests-made-murders-atheist-bloggers-bangladesh-intl-response-violence-remains-anemic Authorities in Bangladesh announced yesterday that three men suspected of the brutal machete murders of bloggers Avijit Roy and Ananta Bijoy Das have been arrested. But the violence against secular and minority-rights activists continues. Hindu writer Niloy Neel was murdered… Wed, 19 Aug 2015 12:24:42 EDT Murali Balaji 5c74c35c-e4ec-4af9-88d2-d31950419592 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/06/22/mexican-bishops-exorcism-against-equality-african-bishops-oppose-enemy-human-race Mexico: Catholic bishops perform anti-marriage-equality exorcism At conservative journal First Things, intern Matthew Young contrasts the “weak” opposition from Irish church leaders to the marriage equality referendum with more robust statements from church officials in Mexico, where the courts are… Mon, 22 Jun 2015 09:22:14 EDT Peter Montgomery 90b08072-accd-4751-93d6-316682a06bd1 https://religiondispatches.org/2013/12/12/burka-avenger-pakistans-middle-class-gets-feminist-cartoon A mild-mannered schoolteacher doubles as an education-defending Muslim heroine. Thu, 12 Dec 2013 06:24:41 EST M. Sophia Newman d9530899-8c93-417b-bef1-6ab83db13e34 https://religiondispatches.org/2012/06/14/when-i-have-fears-middle-east-may-cease-be As I watch the latest news from Egypt, that the country’s parliament has been dissolved by a Mubarak-era court, I wonder: Has the revolution ended before it began? Thu, 14 Jun 2012 07:40:14 EDT Haroon Moghul 03bb6562-9542-4361-b554-495f735f35b8 https://religiondispatches.org/2011/08/09/nonviolence-muslim-style-ghaffar-khan-tahrir-square While many books will no doubt be written about the momentous events that are unfolding in the Middle East, many of them will doubtless leave out the prehistory. By exploring the rich tradition of nonviolent resistance in the Muslim world—from Palestine and Pakistan, to Kosovo and the Maldives—Amitabh Pal dispels the oft-repeated misconception that what we are witnessing in the Arab Spring is without precedent. Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:34:40 EDT Eric Stoner 6ff8d7f2-f3fc-4a4a-81a4-6f216f00e2fb https://religiondispatches.org/2011/01/06/blasphemy-and-betrayal-murder-salman-taseer Taseer’s assassin shot him multiple times at point blank range in a public market and then waited to be detained, allegedly expressing pride in his actions to the media that quickly surrounded him. It is the issue of blasphemy and the symbolic nature of a much-publicized case involving Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of maligning the Prophet Muhammad, that brought Taseer so centrally into the public eye in recent weeks. Thu, 06 Jan 2011 11:25:18 EST Anna Bigelow 62fc800a-b9cd-4cfd-903f-573c94a02ef1 https://religiondispatches.org/2010/10/20/pakistans-martyrs-love-under-attack Since last week’s bombing, I’ve spent quite a bit of time reviewing old photographs from trips to Pakistan. In seeing pictures of the shrine pre-attack, and in vividly recalling crowds of peaceful worshipers congregating there, posing no discernible threat to anyone, I was nearly moved to tears. Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:56:25 EDT Daanish Faruqi c2c7bd13-b22c-4a32-8e29-e463cf19600f https://religiondispatches.org/2010/07/22/euthanasia-billboards-post-rapture-pet-care-can-you-tell-burqa-hijab The week in religion, poetically. Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:16:23 EDT Michael J. Altman 9f9a92e2-47a6-4a65-833d-eff703390674 https://religiondispatches.org/2009/10/26/escalating-afghanistan-what-did-you-do-class-war-daddy Don’t the clergy have a duty to challenge the march of folly in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:33:42 EDT Peter Laarman 06d8f108-efb0-4274-af27-3023ee5a373e https://religiondispatches.org/2009/08/24/talibans-hit-list-exiled-pakistani-singers-plea-save-music An interview with a singer marked for death by the Taliban. Curiously, while the Taliban claims that music is a violation of Islamic law, they do have their own melodies and hymns. Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:21:55 EDT Austin Dacey 2339e1af-fed3-4cf8-b27d-d26d6c820c2f https://religiondispatches.org/2009/06/22/religious-persecution-wolf-anti-defamation-sheeps-clothing Capitalizing on the Muhammad cartoon riots and Western anxieties over the persecution of Muslims, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution urging member states to prosecute for “religious defamation.” Problem is, those likely to suffer most are religious minorities. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:33:46 EDT Austin Dacey e7fda241-d2a2-48a7-aefa-e6cfc769fed5 https://religiondispatches.org/2009/06/16/rdpulpit-israel-gaza-right-not-smart Israel is still using a strategy of domination in its struggle with Hamas, trying to use force to gain security. But this is a recipe for endless war. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:13:33 EDT Rabbi Michael Lerner 8d8137cd-84fd-4d1b-9514-4db8f9981030 https://religiondispatches.org/2009/06/15/mumbai-not-911 Though many have already sought to draw comparisons between Mumbai and 9/11, the most striking thing about the horrific attacks in Mumbai is the local sense of place that that the terrorists tried to destroy. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:36:25 EDT Laurie Patton 2757877a-dab2-4c2e-8c34-0347d674cce7 https://religiondispatches.org/2009/01/14/pakistan-and-iran-war-two-fronts Why did Bush not do more for peace during his failed presidency? Because someone is always lobbing a rocket or detonating a bomb, and this invalidates any and every gesture toward peace, in his simple view. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:49:55 EST Louis A. Ruprecht fc3120c5-f56b-4b20-9897-fdae9a2c3518