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In the third and final blog sharing findings from a survey of attitudes towards the Hazara Shia in Quetta, Pakistan (following government broadcast messages referring to ‘the Shia virus’), Mohammad Aman and Sadiqa Sultan compare and contrast the responses of men and women and postulate what factors may lie behind them. Local girls on Tony Abad Mountain, Mariabad Quetta, Pakistan. Credit: Habib Qasimii While the Covid-19 pandemic has affected all communities around the world, minority communities have evidently been hit hard. Described by UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres as “a tsun...

The clock is ticking for Pakistan's beleaguered Christian nurses Christian rights activists must continue the peaceful struggle of Bishop John Joseph to end the misuse of blasphemy laws Christian staff nurse Maryam Lal (left) and Catholic nursing student Newsh Arooj were arrested on blasphemy charges in Faisalabad last month. (Photo supplied) "Religiously charged staff of Lahore mental hospital take over the building." This headline may seem like something ripped straight out of a psychological horror film, but it actually happened on April 27 when Muslim nurses occupied a chapel at the hospi...

At least, not in the AP world. This past week, the AP Stylebook made an official change — to no longer use the term “anti-Semitism” or “anti-Semitism,” and to change it to “antisemitism.” They have finally caught up with Microsoft Word, which long ago stopped red-lining “antisemitism.” No one could accused AP of being avant-garde in this matter. Deborah Lipstadt’s recent book on the phenomenon made that change: Antisemitism Here and Now. In May, 2020, in a speech at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, she said: “Why do I spell antisemitism without a hyphen? Because anti-Se...

Published on 14 April 2021 With Ramadan starting this week for the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, another much smaller and more ancient religious group largely based in Iraq is also celebrating an important religious festival. “Red Wednesday” is the Yazidi New Year, and the IDS-led Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development has been working with heritage gatherers in Iraq to record and document their culture as part of a wider effort to rebuild communities following years of devastating conflict and genocide. The Yazidis are one of Iraq�...

Published on 28 January 2021 Developing a good pro-pluralism religious education curriculum requires much planning and a deep understanding of the context. In a country like Iraq, where the education system is in decline due to years of conflict, weak governance and management, and a displacement crisis, this becomes a challenging task. This Learning Briefing, prepared during the implementation phase of the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) project to introduce reform to the religious education curriculum in Iraq, highlights...