Author: Priya Saha

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Saturday urged Greece to cease its interventionist practices and policies that pressure Muslim religious leaders elected by the Turkish minority in Western Thrace. Çavuşoğlu released the statement on Twitter after Ibrahim Şerif, the chairperson of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board and elected mufti of Gümülcine (Komotini), shared on Twitter that he is being put on trial for alleged “usurpation of office” over a religious ceremony he attended five years ago. Decrying the recent decision by the Greek court, Çavuşoğlu said: “We stand by our kin in the protection of their rights arising from…

India’s North East comprises eight states after the inclusion of Sikkim in the region. The population of the region is over 45 million and the region covers an area of 262179 square kilometres. The region is connected with the rest of India through a 17 kilometre-wide (at its narrowest) Siliguri Corridor. Christians are the majority in the states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and there are even sizable Christian minorities in the rest of states of the region. Assam, Tripura and Manipur have a majority population following the Hindu religion, followed by a sizeable Muslim population in the region. The…

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call for ethnic minority groups to put the interests of the nation first has fueled concerns that the government will double down on up its repressive policies against them, analysts said. Xi’s speech at the two-day Central Conference on Ethnic Affairs in Beijing late last month focused on guiding ethnic groups to put the interests of China above all else and to share a sense of community with the Chinese nation. China has 56 ethnic groups, with the majority Han comprising more than 91 percent of the country’s population of 1.4 billion people. Xi told assembled…

An Australian family with a child stranded in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan are desperate to be reunited with the teenager, saying he will be a target for the resurgent militant group.The family, who cannot be named for safety reasons, has pleaded with the Australian government to help reunify them with the 17-year-old, currently in hiding in Kabul, but with Australia and its allies now out of the country, and the Taliban in near total control, there are few options to escape.“He is in that city all alone,” his father told the Guardian. “Now that the Taliban have captured Kabul, he is very…

Mizoram erupted in protests in late 2019 and early 2020 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that seeks to provide shelter to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from three neighbouring countries (Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan) in India.Mizos opposed the CAA even though the state was kept out of the purview of the act. The Mizos contended that they feared they would be swamped by Hindus from Bangladesh.Many of the protestors held up placards with secessionist slogans like “Welcome To Independent Christian Country”. “Hello China, Bye Bye India”, “Hello Independent Republic of Mizoram” and “Mizoram Opposes Hindu Nationalism”.No…

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Turkish airstrike on Thursday evening targeted a position of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) in Iraq’s disputed Yezidi(Ezidi)-majority district of Sinjar (Shingal). The Yezidi-focused Ezidipress website wrote in a tweet that the airstrike took place on the western Shingal outskirts, near the village of Bara. “The target was apparently a checkpoint of the #Ezidi (Yezidi) Resistance Units of Shingal,” the site said. #Breaking: another #Turkish airstrike took place a few minutes ago in the west of the #Shingal region, near the village of Bara. The target was apparently a checkpoint of the #Ezidi Resistance…

09/02/2021 Myanmar (International Christian Concern) – Russia announced last week that it would deliver arms to Myanmar’s military regime, also called the Tatmadaw, in line with a contract agreed to in January of this year. The Tatmadaw overthrew the civilian government on February 1, just over a week after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu met with the Tatmadaw’s General Min Aung Hlaing, who recently declared himself Prime Minister. The arms deal between Russia and China was reported to include Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile systems, surveillance drones, and radar equipment. “Like a loyal friend, Russia has always supported Myanmar,” General Min Aung…

Hazaras protest in Quetta | Via Twitter/@RiazToori Text Size: A- A+ New Delhi: The Hazaras, a religious minority, have been the hardest-hit victims of oppression and terror activities, and became among the most persecuted groups when the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan. This time as well, it appears no different. The hatred towards the community is mostly due to differences in sect and ethnic origins and both the Taliban and the Islamic State consider them as “infidels”. With the fear of mass executions still looming in the minds of the Hazara Shias, many have fled to find shelter,…

The Rema family’s move to Australia placed her on a path to creating history by becoming the first Bangladeshi Garo lawyer in Australia 02 September, 2021, 12:45 pm Last modified: 02 September, 2021, 01:01 pm Elinore Rema”> Elinore Rema In 1993, when Elinore Rema was only five years old, her whole life moved to an island halfway around the world. A member of the Garo community, her childhood was spent tucked away on a mountain-laden corner in the north of Bangladesh. Rema initially struggled to comprehend why her parents would take her away from everything familiar and throw her straight…

In this photograph taken on April 24, 2017, a statue of the Hindu god Lord Krishna is seen at a cow shelter in the Indian capital New Delhi AFP Since Modi came to power, Hindu nationalist mobs have killed dozens in the name of protecting cows Amid continuing incidents involving cow, a top Indian court has suggested that the mammal species be declared the country’s national animal and its protection be made a fundamental right of Hindus.Justice Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday made the observations while denying bail to…

A new organisation was formed yesterday to campaign for necessary reform to the country’s “customary Hindu laws” and formulating relevant new laws. The central committee of the newly formed Bangladesh Hindu Law Reform Council currently comprises 35 members. For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Gradually, the number of members will be increased to 101, said a press release of the council. The council was formed during a virtual meeting held by individuals belonging to different religious communities with various professional backgrounds. Journalist Ajay Dasgupta chaired the meeting. Mayna Talukdar, associate professor of Dhaka University’s Sanskrit…

Religious leaders can promote tolerance by interacting with representatives of other faiths Life has been serene and full of harmony among various faith groups, living as neighbours in villages and towns, since time immemorial. We remember our childhood days where we never bothered about our differences based on religion. If it had been a puja, we had gone over to our friends to say hello or if it had been a mela on the occasion of Chaitra Sankranti, the villagers all participated, and had fun irrespective of their faith. In 1971, we foiled a treacherous game of befooling us in the name…