Regional Interfaith Dialogue, Connecting and Cooperating for Peace and Harmony In the Asia-Pacific region
To commemorate the historic encounter between St Francis of Assisi with the Sultan of Egypt, AL-Kamil in the year 1219, Christians and Muslims held a special ceremony launch a year of events to promote tolerance, dialogue and a common commitment to peace.
Pope Francis is to arrive in Abu Dhabi on 3 February and take part in an international interreligious conference there the following day. On 5 February, the last day of his visit to the UAE, he would celebrate a public Mass in Abu Dhabi.
Read more…UAE Muslims prepare warm welcome for Pope
In many mosques, women are excluded from leadership positions; in others, women are not even provided space to worship. But a new mosque in one of England’s oldest cities is offering a thrilling vision of space open to all.
Read more…The Cambridge mosque offering a new vision of community
Prayag, India: The biggest cultural festival named Sanskriti Kumbh is celebrating the conglomeration of Spiritual Consciousness and Cultural Heritage of India in the main premises of Kumbh Mela area in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Read more…Sanskriti Festival Begins at Kumbh Mela Area in Prayagraj
The representatives of the “Perkasa” human rights group, together with the youth wing of the PAS Islamist party, were among the various Malay-Muslim groups present at a Christmas celebration organized during the Christmas season by the “Christians for Peace and Harmony in Malaysia Movement, CPHM”. The event also included groups such as Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), the Selangor Islamic Religious Council, the Malaysian Missionary Buddhist Society, the Malaysian Buddhist Association of Malaysia and the Bahai Malay Community, along with other Christian leaders.
Read more…Malaysia: Committed Christians Promote Harmony in Multireligious Society
The annual meeting with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) and the World Council of Churches was held in Rome from 10-11 January. Staff of both the PCID and the Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation of the World Council of Churches participated.
A sculpture of Ronald McDonald nailed to a cross — a spoof of the crucifixion of Jesus — has sparked violent protests in Israel, with rioters hurling a firebomb at the museum. Hundreds of Christians calling for the removal of the sculpture, entitled “McJesus,” demonstrated at the museum in the northern city of Haifa last week.
Read more…‘McJesus’ exhibit featuring crucified Ronald McDonald sparks violent protests in Israel
CAIRO (Reuters) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated Egypt’s largest church and mosque in the New Administrative Capital on Sunday, the eve of Coptic Christmas, in a message of tolerance in the predominantly Muslim country.
Read more…Egypt’s Sisi opens mega-mosque and Middle East’s largest cathedral in New Capital
China’s main English newspaper, Global Times, reported on Saturday that after a meeting with representatives from eight Islamic associations, government officials “agreed to guide Islam to be compatible with socialism and implement measures to Sinicize the religion.”
Read more…China passes law to make Islam ‘compatible with socialism’
NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand (Reuters) – Boodsabann Chanthawong recently joined a growing number of women defying generations of Thai Buddhist tradition by becoming ordained as novice monks at an unrecognized all-female monastery outside Bangkok.
Read more…Thailand’s rebel female Buddhist monks defy tradition