Lagos (AP/UNB) — The roof of a crowded church collapsed onto worshippers in southern Nigeria on Saturday, killing at least 60 people, witnesses and an official said.
Category: Words of faith
US envoy for religious freedom to visit Bangladesh
Dhaka – US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein will visit Bangladesh this week.
3 Hindu temples vandalised in Lalmonirhat over 12 months
Dhaka – Though three Hindu temples were vandalised and desecrated in Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat over the last twelve months, no legal step has been taken in connection with those incidents.
Merkel calls for German burqa ban
By Isabella Mackie German Chancellor Angela Merkel has proposed a partial ban on the face veil, hardening her party’s once-progressive view on immigration in the face of rising anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe. Speaking at the Christian Democratic Party conference, Merkel…
Rohingya crisis: PM for identifying Oct 9 attackers
Dhaka – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said the world leaders should have been more vocal on Myanmar issue in identifying the handful of October 9 perpetrators that led to the sufferings of thousands of men, women and children…
Cloud over facebook posting that hurt Muslim sentiment in BD
Dhaka – Namita Rani Das, mother of Rasraj who was arrested for hurting religious sentiments through an alleged Facebook post, on Friday demanded the release of her son immediately, claiming her son innocent as he was illiterate and incapable of…
What the Koran really says about women
By Carla Power, Saturday 6 November 2015, The Telegraph When Middle East correspondent Carla Power began studying the Koran with a conservative Islamic scholar, she wasn’t expecting to learn that it nowhere advocates the oppression of women – or that…
Eid-e-Miladunnabi on Dec 13
Dhaka – Eid-e-Miladunnabi, the day of birth and demise of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SM), will be observed in the country on December 13 as the moon of Rabiul Awal of Hijri 1438 was not sighted in Bangladesh sky on Wednesday.…
Muslim purge in Myanmar is so awful it’s seen from space
By Patrick Winn If Myanmar’s notorious army is to be believed — that’s a very big if — its soldiers are facing a highly deranged adversary. Along Myanmar’s marshy coastline, villages keep going up in flames. All of them belong…
‘Muslims should be middle-roaders, vocal against extremism’
Shah Abdul Hannan, former secretary to the govt of Bangladesh says Islamists should be middle roaders and create public opinion against terrorism, extremism and sectarianism.
BD Buddhist Federation condemns Rohingya persecution
Dhaka – Condemning the ongoing persecution on the Rohingya people in Myanmar, leaders of Bangladesh Buddhist Federation yesterday came down heavily on the ongoing repression on them.
Give shelter to Rohingyas, Khaleda to govt
Dhaka – BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Sunday called upon the government to give shelter to Myanmar’s displaced Rohingya people ‘as much as possible’ on humanitarian ground as they are facing a genocide and brutalities in their own homeland. UNB…
Iraq’s parliament adopts law legalizing Shiite militias
Baghdad (AP/UNB) — Rekindling sectarian rivalries at a sensitive time, Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted to fully legalize state-sanctioned Shiite militias long accused of abuses against minority Sunnis, adopting a legislation that promoted them to a government force empowered to…
3 California mosques receive letters threatening Muslims
Los Angeles (AP/UNB) – A civil rights group has called for more police protection of mosques after several in California received letters that praised President-elect Donald Trump and threatened Muslim genocide. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said the…
Pope Francis allows Catholic priests to forgive abortions
Dhaka – Pope Francis on Monday extended indefinitely to all Roman Catholic priests the power to forgive abortion, a right previously reserved for bishops or special confessors in most parts of the world, according to reports received in Dhaka. Francis,…
Trump surrogate on Muslim registry
On the eve of Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — his first in-person conversation with a world leader and U.S. ally as President-elect — one of Trump’s surrogates repeatedly cited World War II Japanese internment…
This Muslim purge in Myanmar is so awful you can see it from space
If Myanmar’s notorious army is to be believed — that’s a very big if — its soldiers are facing a highly deranged adversary.Along Myanmar’s marshy coastline, villages keep going up in flames. All of them belong to the Rohingya, a…
Donald Trump team ‘discussing plans for Muslim registration system’
Donald Trump’s policy advisers are discussing plans to establish a registry for Muslim immigrants in the US, a man believed to be a key member of the President-elect’s transition team has revealed.Kris Kobach, the secretary of state for Kansas, said…
Govt bans preacher Zakir Naik’s NGO for 5 years
Dhaka – The government on Tuesday banned Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), the NGO of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, as an ‘unlawful organisation’ for five years with immediate effect. The ban has been enforced under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act…
Hate crimes surge: Violence against Muslims up – FBI
Hate crimes against Muslims in the U.S. surged in 2015 in the biggest increase since 9/11, according to FBI data released Monday. The increase from 2014 to 2015, as a racially charged presidential campaign got under way, was second only…
State religion will be dropped in time: AL leader Razzak
Dhaka – The state religion, which was included in the Constitution contravening the main spirit of the independence, will be discarded when the time comes, a policymaker of ruling Awami League has said. “Islam has been kept as the state…
Steps taken against deer poaching as ‘Rash Mela’ nears
Bagerhat –The Forest Department has taken some measures to prevent the poaching of deer and other wild animals in the Sundarbans ahead of ‘Rash Mela’, a traditional Hindu religious festival, at Alorkol in Dublar Char Island near the Bay of…
Raas Mela at Dublar Char to begin Nov 12
Khulna- The three-day traditional Raas Mela at Dublar Char island near the Sundarbans will be held on November 12-14 this year amid tight security. Thousands of people, irrespective of their faith, will throng the festival at Alorkol, which is located…
India voices concern over attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh
Dhaka- In the wake of attacks on Hindus in Brahmanbaria, India has conveyed its deep concern over the security of the minority community members in Bangladesh. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has talked to Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan…
Cyber cafés to come under CCTV surveillance: Tarana
Dhaka: State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim on Sunday said the installation of CCTV cameras at cyber cafés will be made mandatory to prevent the spread of religious provocations using social media. “It’ll be possible to prevent new…
Nasim smells int’l conspiracy behind B’baria violence
Dhaka: Terming the recent attacks on Hindus, their houses and worship places in Nasirnagar of Brahmanbaria unfortunate, Health Minister Mohammad Nasim on Sunday said there is a deep conspiracy behind the incidents. “We believe international forces who are trying to…
BNP demands judicial probe of B’baria attacks on Hindus
Dhaka – The BNP claims that they have found evidence of the ruling Awami League’s involvement in attack on Hindus in Brahmanbarhia. “It is now clear to the people of this country who are behind this disruption of communal harmony,”…
Minister Sayedul to brief media Sunday
Dhaka: Embattled Fisheries and Livestock Minister Muhammed Sayedul Hoque will brief the media at his constituency in Brahmabaria over the recent situation in Nasirnagar upazila on Sunday. The press briefing will be held at Nasirnagar Dak-Bungalow at 1pm, said a…
Protests across Bangladesh against attacks on Hindu temples
Dhaka – People across Bangladesh staged demonstrations on Friday protesting the attacks on Hindu community members in Brahmanbaria and Habiganj districts of the country. Meanwhile, miscreants set six dwelling structures of the Hindu community on fire at Nasirnagar upazila headquarters…
Local admin’s negligence behind B’baria attacks: NHRC chief
Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh Kazi Reazul Hoque on Thursday said negligence, indifference and lack of prudence of the local administration were the reasons behind attacks on Hindu temples and houses in Brahmanbaria.