Asian

Anti-Muslim monk faces sedition charge in Myanmar

Ultra-nationalist monk U Wirathu has been accused of sedition for speeches attacking Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, with a local court reportedly already having issued a warrant for his arrest. U Wirathu has also railed against religious minorities and especially Muslims, deepening the social divide in the Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation where Rohingya […]

Fishing ban leaves Bangladeshi fishermen all at sea

The Bangladeshi government’s unprecedented two-month sea fishing ban has hit thousands of fishermen in the country’s long southern coastal zone. Lamenting their loss of livelihood and pondering alternative means of survival, many have taken to the streets to protest against the ban in recent days. Protesters have demanded the ban be shortened and fishermen get […]

Cardinal Bo preaches Gandhi’s non-violence to check religious extremism

Cardinal Charles Bo of Myanmar has asked Church leaders in Asia to preach peace, not vengeance. The 71-year-old president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences urged his fellow prelates to follow leader of India’s freedom struggle Mahatma Gandhi who is revered as the apostle of non-violence. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was born on October […]

Concerns grow over Philippine student military training plan

Duterte wants to reintroduce cumpulsory Reserved Officers’ Training Corps program in all schools Child rights groups and church leaders in the Philippines have voiced concern over a move to reintroduce compulsory military training for schoolchildren. The Lower House of Congress last week approved a bill making the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program mandatory for […]

Nepal’s Christians need new laws as cults wreak havoc

A pastor accused of evangelizing in Sarlahi, a remote province in southern Nepal, was beaten by an angry mob on March 24 as religious minorities in the country face escalating levels of persecution. Meanwhile, the organizer of a retreat held in Kathmandu Valley from April 11-13 had to change the venue at the last minute due […]

Christian-Muslim dialogue should continue and promote freedom of religion

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue issued a message addressed to Muslims on the occasion of Ramadan, which began on 5 May, and for the Eid al-Fitr, which ends the Islamic holy month of fasting. Titled ‘Christians and Mu-slims: Promoting Universal Fraternity Dear Muslim Brothers and Sisters,’ the message is signed by Secretary of the […]

Iftar held inside a church premises

Keeping with the UAE’s vision for 2019 to be the ‘Year of Tolerance’, a group of expats took the opportunity to celebrate Ramadan and partake in a special Iftar inside a church in Ras Al Khaimah. In what could be a first, the expats, mainly from Kerala, spent the evening celebrating Ramadan and partaking in […]

‘Today God has answered their prayers’: Pakistan releases Asia Bibi

Pakistani authorities freed Asia Bibi, a Catholic woman acquitted of blasphemy, and she has flown to Canada to join her family at a secret address. Her release was confirmed on May 8 by Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association, who has been in almost daily contact with Ashiq Masih, Bibi’s husband. In a […]

Indian bishops slam terror attack on tourists in India’s Kashmir

No action taken against police who assaulted Catholic priests in India