Page 22 - Religion Belief

World nearing 'pivotal moment' in battle against hatred: UN chief

After a synagogue shooting in the United States and a church attack in Burkina Faso, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Monday that the world is nearing a "pivotal moment" in the battle against hatred. "As crime feeds on crime, and as vile views move from the fringes to the mainstream, I am profoundly concerned that we are nearing a pivotal moment in battling hatred and extremism," Guterres said in a statement. A teenage gunman opened fire at a synagogue in California on Saturday, killing one person and injuring three others including the rabbi as worshippers marked the final day of Passover. On Sunday, gunmen killed four worshippers and a pastor in a small town in Burkina Faso, the first attack on a church since jihadist violence erupted in the African country in 2015. On March 15, 160 people were killed in attacks on mosques in New Zealand. Guterres deplored a "disturbing groundswell of intolerance and hate-based violence targeting worshippers of many faiths," saying such

Muslims show solidarity with Christians in wake of Easter bombings in Sri Lanka

Members of the Muslim community in Bengaluru and Mysuru came out in large numbers in a show of solidarity with Christians following the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka that targetted churches and hotels and left over 250 people dead. Maqsood Imran Rashidi, the Imam of Bengaluru Jamia Masjid, said a large number of Muslims Sunday gathered in front of a church in the city and townhall to show that the community stood by the Christians at this hour of grief. "We want to convey the message that Muslims share the pain of the Christians and we express full solidarity with them," Rashidi told PTI. Munawwar Pasha, the head of the Mysuru chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said that following an appeal by him, Muslims and members of other communities Sunday gathered outside the main church of the city, St Philomena, to extend solidarity with the christians. "We want to convey the message that the Muslims and others are with the Christian brothers and sisters," he said. Pasha said a large ...

Case registered against one more person in "fake" letter case

A case was registered Monday against a woman for allegedly sharing on her Facebook page the 'fake letter' purportedly written by State home minister M B Patil to Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi two years ago on religious minority tag to the Lingayat sect. Sharada 'Diamond' is the fourth person to come under thepolice scanner in the last five days for allegedly sharing and talkingabout the letter, according to police sources. Police said the case was registered against her under the Information Technology Act-2008 based on a complaint by J Saravana. The post has been removed but the content is now part of the FIR registered by Srirampura police in the city, according to police. Patil had termed the letter fake and alleged that it was a conspiracy against him by his rivals. A journalist Hemanth Kumar, who is reportedly a BJP sympathiser, has already been arrested for allegedly circulating the 'fake letter' though social media. Prior to this, a BJP woman supporter ...

EC issues notice to Giriraj Singh over his 'Muslim' remark, asks him to reply within 24 hours

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday issued a notice to Union Minister Giriraj Singh for allegedly making a derogatory remark against Muslims and asked him to submit an explanation within 24 hours.The Commission raised objections over Singh's statement made on April 24 in Begusarai from where he is contesting the Lok Sabha election.In an apparent attack on Muslims, Singh had reportedly said: "...Whosoever does not say Vande Mataram, cannot worship motherland. My father and grandfather died at Simaria ghat and no grave was built for them. But you need three-arm's-length of land. If you could not do it, then the country will never forgive you..."A section of the Muslim is against saying Vande Matram calling it un-Islamic.The Commission in its notice quoted a Supreme Court's order where the top court held that religion and caste cannot be used by anyone while making any statement during electioneering.The police have registered an FIR under relevant sections."It has been ...

Pope urges hairdressers to cut gossip

Pope Francis on Monday welcomed hairdressers, hairstylists and beauticians to the Vatican but warned them not to indulge in gossip while feathering locks or painting fingernails. "Practise your profession in a Christian style, treating customers with kindness and courtesy, and always offering them a good word and encouragement," he said. Snip split ends and wax limbs while "avoiding giving in to the temptation of chatter that easily creeps into your work environment," he urged them during an audience in the Vatican. He said the cosmetologists should be guided by their patron saint, Peruvian Martino de Porres, a 16th-century barber-surgeon whose miracles include levitation, being in two places at once, instant cures, and an ability to communicate with animals. De Porres, who is also the patron saint of mixed-race people, innkeepers and public health workers, was a barber-surgeon in Lima, an ancient trade which covered everything from haircuts to amputations and bloodletting. "Each of ..

Turnout in Rajasthan is in BJP's favour: Rathore

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Monday expressed confidence that all the crowd queuing up outside various polling stations in Rajasthan is in favour of the BJP.

7 people shot at, 1 killed as gunman opens fire in Baltimore

At least one person lost his life when an unidentified gunman opened fire in a neighbourhood in southwest Baltimore on Sunday evening, police said.CNN quoted police spokeswoman Chakia Fennoy as saying that the incident took place on the 2500 block of Edmondson Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland.The state media noted that in the incident, reported after 5 p.m., around seven people were indiscriminately shot at.One person was found dead near Perkins Square Baptist Church, while the six others, including men and women, were shifted to the hospital.However, no additional details of the shootings have been reported.Further details are awaited.

Cheetah Mehrat community: Hindus, Muslims in same family; water scarcity main poll issue

Voters may be getting polarised on religious lines in many parts of the country, but a community in Rajasthan has Hindus and Muslims in the same family and the main election issue for them is not religion, but water scarcity. It is not odd in India to find villages with members of both the Hindu and Muslim community living together, but in Ajaysar village -- about 140 km Jaipur -- in Rajasthan's Ajmer district, one may find members of both the religions in a family. "This has been our culture since centuries," said Jawahar Singh, a Hindu, whose son, Salahuddin, is a Muslim. He is among the nearly 10-lakh Cheetah Mehrat community spread over Ajmer, Bhilwara, Pali and Rajsamand districts. Like most of the voters, this election season, Cheetah Mehrat community is closely monitoring the parties. Anand said the community is now divided between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "But, our vote will go to the party who solves the problem of water scarcity here," he ...

Children born to IS fathers not considered Yazidi: Council

Children born to Yazidi women as a result of rape by Islamic State group fighters will not be permitted to join the community in northern Iraq, the faith's Supreme Spiritual Council said. The Yazidi community once numbered around 500,000 members in the mountainous Sinjar region of northwest Iraq, but it was ravaged by IS's 2014 sweep into the area. Jihadists killed Yazidi men, forced boys to join their ranks as fighters and abducted and imprisoned thousands of Yazidi women as sex slaves. The children born of those rapes have been the subject of fierce debate in the insular community, which only recognises children as Yazidis if both their parents hail from the sect. Last week, the head of the Supreme Spiritual Council Hazem Tahsin Said issued what appeared to be a landmark shift, publishing an order "accepting all survivors (of IS crimes) and considering what they went through to have been against their will". The decision was hailed as "historic" by Yazidi activists, who understood ..

Israelis among wounded in US synagogue attack

Two Israelis were among the Jews wounded in the weekend attack on a synagogue in California that killed one person and injured three others, an official said Sunday. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said an eight-year-old girl and her 31-year-old uncle wounded in the shooting attack in Poway, north of San Diego, on Saturday were from a southern town bordering the Gaza Strip. "The two moved from Sderot to San Diego a few years ago," spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement, noting their condition was "good." San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said both were wounded by shrapnel in the attack on the final day of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover. A 60-year-old woman was killed in the attack, with the community's rabbi wounded as well. Israeli Diaspora Minister Naftali Bennett called the slain woman, Lori Gilbert Kaye, "a Jewish hero" who threw herself "in the path of the murderer's bullets to save the life of the rabbi." Gore identified the suspect, who was arrested ...

Multiple injured in US synagogue shooting: police

A man opened fire at a synagogue in California, injuring multiple people, police said Saturday after they arrested him. "A man has been detained for questioning in connection with a shooting incident at the Chabad of Poway synagogue," tweeted San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore. "@SDSOPoway Deputies were called to Chabad Way just before 11:30 a.m. There are injuries. This is a developing situation." Local news outlet KGTV reported at least four victims have been transported. It added that the synagogue was hosting its Passover Holiday Celebration, which was scheduled to begin at 11:00 am. The shooting comes exactly six months after a gunman killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.

BJP writes to ECI over alleged poll code violation by Arvind Kejriwal

The BJP has written to Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging that Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal had violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) with his statement related to a tweet by BJP president Amit Shah.Shah had in his tweet said: "We will remove every single infiltrator from the country except Buddh, Hindus and Sikhs"."Arvind Kejriwal with the sole intention of creating panic and mutual hatred between the communities made a deliberate and false statement. That Kejriwal is trying to mislead the people of India by saying that BJP considers Muslims, Christians, Jains, Parsis and other minorities in India as infiltrators..," read the complaint."He has made the highly provocative speech which has the tone and tenor to aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred between different religious communities, and thus violative of provisions of MCC. That such statements that have the undertone and propensity to polarize the elections..." the BJP's ...

T'gana CM takes blessings of Swaroopanandendra

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Saturday met religious guru Swaroopanandendra Swamy of Visakhapatnam here and took his blessings. Rao met the Swamy at 'Daiva Sannidhanam' (a religious, temple complex) at Film Nagar in the city, official sources said. Rao had visited the Swamy in Visakhapatnam (in Andhra Pradesh) earlier and offered prayers at a temple at the Sarada Peetham.

Prayers for Bangladeshi boy killed in Sri Lanka attack

More than 1,000 people gathered in Bangladesh's capital on Saturday to remember an 8-year-old Bangladeshi boy who was killed in one of the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka. They raised their hands seeking blessings for Zayan Chowdhury while many of his relatives cried at a prayer session in Dhaka. Zayan was with his father having breakfast at a hotel restaurant when it came under attack. His father was critically injured in the explosion and is being treated abroad. His mother and younger brother were safe as they were in the hotel room during the attack. The boy, who was vacationing with his family, was the grandson of a top ruling Awami League party leader and former Cabinet minister who is a cousin of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Zayan was buried Wednesday in Dhaka after his body was flown back home. Zayan's grandfather Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim was joined Saturday by Hasina's advisers and several Cabinet members as an imam led the prayer at a playground in Dhaka's Banani .

Temple-building spree in Asansol, rivals allege soft Hindutva push by TMC

Targeted by the BJP for alleged Muslim appeasement, the Trinamool Congress is on a temple building spree in Asansol and its surrounding areas in what is seen as its soft Hindutva push to counter the saffron party in this communally sensitive belt in south Bengal in Lok Sabha polls. In the sleepy town of Pandaveswar, which was hit by communal riots last year, a Ram temple is being jointly built and maintained by Hindus and Muslims with assistance of local TMC leaders to help "heal the scars" of the communal violence. Not just Ram temple, seven other Sun temples are being jointly built by people of different communities including Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs in various parts of Asansol. The temple has been built by joint efforts of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs living in the area. This temple reflects the brotherhood in our locality. "We have been living peacefully for the last several decades except for last year when there was a lot of tension following religious processions, said Abhijit .

Tharoor summoned by Delhi court over 'scorpion' remark

A court here Saturday summoned Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on June 7 on a complaint over his remarks that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "a scorpion sitting on a Shivling". Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal was hearing a criminal defamation complaint filed against Tharoor by Delhi BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who has said his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader's statement. Tharoor had claimed in October last year that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Prime Minister Modi to "a scorpion sitting on a Shivlinga". He had termed it as an extraordinarily striking metaphor. The complaint says, "I am a devotee of Lord Shiva.... However, the accused (Tharoor) completely disregarded the sentiments of crores of Shiva devotees, (and) made the statement which hurt the sentiments of all Lord Shiva devotees, both in India and outside the country." "The complainant's religious sentiments were hurt and the accused deliberately

Mysuru Muslim leader appeals to stand outside Church to offer solidarity with Christians

Mysuru chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has appealed to Muslims to stand outside a church here while Sunday service is underway to offer solidarity to Christians following the terror attacks in Sri Lanka that killed over 250 people. President of JeIM, Mysore,Munawwar Pasha, said the appeal has been made to convey the message that the Muslims and other communities stand by the Christians at this hour of grief. "I am sending this message to ask the Muslims to stand outside the main church of Mysuru,St Philomena, this Sunday to extend solidarity and show that we stand united and hate cannot divide us," he told PTI. In the audio message, circulated through social media, Pasha said when New Zealand had faced the terror attack at a mosque last month, the Muslims were overwhelmed with the amount of support received from various communities. "We saw thousands stand together in solidarity with us against the far right attack," he said. Pasha said mosques in various parts of the world saw ...

Kerala's eldest man celebrates 102nd birthday

Philipose Mar Chrysostom, the senior most metropolitan of the Thiruvalla-headquartered Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church and also Kerala's oldest man, celebrated his 102nd birthday on Saturday.

Orthodox Christians commemorate Good Friday in Jerusalem

Orthodox Christians from around the world marked Good Friday with a procession through Jerusalem's Old City, retracing the steps Jesus is said to have taken on the way to his death. Thousands of pilgrims, many carrying wooden crosses and at least one wearing a crown of thorns on his head, visited the 14 Stations of the Cross marking the traditional sites of Jesus's condemnation up to his crucifixion. Armed Israeli police lined the route, along the "Via Dolorosa", or "Way of the Suffering", which includes points where Jesus is said to have met his mother, fallen several times, been helped in carrying the cross and met the lamenting women of Jerusalem. The procession ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem, built at the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. Western Christians, who follow a different calendar to the Orthodox churches, made the same procession a week earlier. The majority of the Christians in the ..

Sri Lankans urged to pray privately

Sri Lankans of different faiths were being urged to pray privately amid fears of further attacks on Friday.