AZERBAIJAN: Threats and deportation “to stop us talking about God”

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>
On 22 August Russian citizen Imamzade Mamedova was deported from Azerbaijan to Russia for talking to nearby residents in the north-western town of Zakatala about her faith as a Jehovah’s Witness. She is the ninth Jehovah’s Witness to be deported from Azerbaijan for religious reasons in the last […]

RUSSIA: Religious dispute fuels state oppression of Kabardino-Balkaria Muslims

By Geraldine Fagan, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>
Conflict between Muslims in the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria led to the local authorities’ repressive policy towards one party, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Returning from Islamic study abroad in the 1990s, young Kabardin and Balkars insisted upon the removal of what they learnt to be […]

As Olympics End, Tibetan Cause Continues in NYC

 
By Evan MantykEpoch Times Staff Aug 24

Tibetans and supporters on Broadway on Saturday protesting human rights abuses against Tibetans in China. (Evan Mantyk/The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—Thousands of Tibetans and supporters lined Broadway from Times Square to Harold Square on Saturday, one day before the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony.
The last two weeks have not only […]

Pakistan’s Christians Face Uncertain Future after Musharraf Resignation

Pakistan’s Christians Face Uncertain Future after Musharraf Resignation

Source:  www.assistnews.net
Date:  2008-08-22
By Jeremy ReynaldsCorrespondent for ASSIST News Service
LONDON (ANS) — The future for Pakistan’s minority Christian community is an uncertain one after the resignation of Pervez Musharraf this week, said Glenn Penner of Voice of the Martyrs Canada.
“Even Christians in Pakistan are […]

RUSSIA: Kabardino-Balkaria Muslims still afraid

RUSSIA: Kabardino-Balkaria Muslims still afraid

By Geraldine Fagan, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>
Little has changed for practising Muslims in the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria since a state crackdown on alleged Islamic extremists culminated in a failed 2005 uprising, Forum 18 News Service has been told. The capital of what is a traditionally Muslim region still […]

Dalai Lama’s words misinterpreted, there was no massacre, says Tibetan leader

by Nirmala CarvalhoThe Prime Minister of Tibet’s Government-in-Exile Samdhong Rinpoche tells AsiaNews that there was no massacre by the Chinese army in Tibet in recent days. Any current controversy stems from a wrong translation during the Tibetan leader’s interview with French daily Le Monde.Dharamsala (AsiaNews) – “There was a language problem in the translation of […]

Prachanda’s trip to Beijing for Olympic closing ceremony cools relations with India

by Kalpit ParajuliNew Delhi urged new prime minister to visit India first. Kathmandu replies trip is not political but only sports-related. Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – Nepal’s new prime minister, Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, is very likely to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. This has upset India which was the […]

RUSSIA: State persecution wrecked religious life, Kabardino-Balkaria Muslims claim

By Geraldine Fagan, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>
A sustained crackdown on Muslims by the local authorities in the traditionally Muslim North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria preceded the bloody uprising three years ago in the capital, Nalchik, Forum 18 News Service has been told. Local Muslims report mosque closures, arbitrary detentions and police brutality. “The police […]