Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, has emerged from a weeks long coma after suffering a severe brain haemorrhage last November, according to a Jan. 3 statement released by his monastery.
Worldwide News
Interfaith News from around the world
The Sunni – Shia Divide
An ancient religious divide is helping fuel a resurgence of conflicts in the Middle East and Muslim countries. Struggles between Sunni and Shia forces have fed a Syrian civil war that threatens to transform the map of the Middle East, spurred violence that is fracturing Iraq, and widened fissures in a number of tense Gulf countries. Growing sectarian clashes have also sparked a revival of transnational jihadi networks that poses a threat beyond the region. We present a video from the Council for Foreign Relations.
Muslim Leaders Worldwide Condemn ISIS
Why don’t we hear Muslims condemning the barbarian ISIS terrorists in the worldwide media? It turns out they are loudly condemning ISIS … but our press isn’t covering it.
China to list legal places of worship, ‘root out’ illegal activities
China is to publish online details of legal religious venues, the official Xinhua news agency reported today, apparently in an effort to identify unsanctioned groups as part of an effort to “root out illegal religious activities”. – See more at:
Read more…China to list legal places of worship, ‘root out’ illegal activities
United Nations declares June 21 the International Day of Yoga
(Reuters) – The United Nations on Thursday declared that June 21 will be International Day of Yoga, adopting a measure proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said yoga lets people “discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature.”
Read more…United Nations declares June 21 the International Day of Yoga
Australian inspires Anti Slavery Pledge
Australian Grace Forrest inspires Pope Francis and other world religious leaders to sign pledge to eradicate slavery by 2020
China imposes harsh restrictions on Monks
Chinese authorities have launched a campaign to tighten restrictions on monastic life in a restive county in Tibet, ordering the destruction of recently built religious structures and demanding that younger monks be expelled from the monasteries and sent back to their family homes, according to sources
Call for Programs – 2015 Parliament of Religions
The 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions will be held in Salt Lake City, October 15-19, 2015. The Coordinating Committee has called for programs to be delivered at the event.
Timor mortis and responding to Islamic State
‘Timor mortis conturbat me‘ – the fear of death disturbs me. These words, from the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church, first became a literary device in medieval times, bracketing human follies and fears within the ambit of our common mortality.
World Conference Reaffirms Commitment to Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
23 September 2014: Delegates at the first World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) adopted an outcome document calling for the appointment of a high-level UN official on indigenous peoples, and for UN system-wide coherence of efforts to bring about the full realization of indigenous peoples’ rights. The conference outcome urges all concerned to address the needs of indigenous women, youth, persons with disabilities, and older people.
Read more…World Conference Reaffirms Commitment to Indigenous Peoples’ Rights