Des pétitions circulent pour s’opposer à la construction de la mosquée de Papeete, et Gaston Flosse, élu de la République, Président de la Polynésie française autonome, a annoncé samedi qu’il aurait signé une pétition lancée sur une page Facebook (“Pas de mosquée à Tahiti“) mais aussi une pétition pour l’expulsion de l’imam Hicham el Berkani, Read more
Representatives of regional interfaith groups from throughout New Zealand participated in the National Interfaith Forum, held in Dunedin in the last weekend of June. People from a diverse range of faiths and beliefs came together over three days to deepen their mutual understanding, respect and cooperation, and celebrate our ‘unity in diversity’. The group Stated its Read more
The Catholic bishops of New Zealand have strongly urged the government of Sudan to remove the charge of apostasy from its penal code in order to align the code with its Constitution and international commitments. They did this in a letter to the Sudanese ambassador to New Zealand His Excellency Mr Abd Al Rahim Al Siddig Read more
An Auckland Mosque held an open day last Saturday in an attempt to rid people of their misconceptions about Islam. Manukau’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community says the stereotype of the mosque being a hub of incitement is quite wrong. National Vice President Bashir Khan wants to show people what really goes on. “This is what mosque Read more
The top ten countries for persecuting Christians over the last year were ranked: North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen, according to Open Doors USA, an organisation that monitors and exposes Christian persecution around the globe. Particularly, the “2014 World Watch List”, a rather nuanced report, has highlighted these Read more
New Zealand-based journalism academic is looking for more discussion of the role of the media in promoting diversity, and more cooperation among New Zealand organisations to promote responsible and equitable reporting in a multicultural society Verica Rupar knows first hand the power of the media to foster cultural and religious diversity – or to fan Read more
Edwina Pio, Auckland University of Technology’s Business and Law School, has become New Zealand’s first Professor of Diversity. Her expertise relates to work, ethnicity and religion, primarily focussing on ethnic minorities and migrants. Edwina has a PhD in Buddhist Psychology, a Master’s degree in Psychology and a double Bachelor’s degree – one in Psychology and Read more
The Sultan of Brunei says his country will begin enforcing a tough Islamic penal code in six months’ time. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said authorities had been considering the new Sharia Penal Code for years and it will be enforced in ‘phases’. Punishments under the Hudud code may include stoning for adultery, amputation for theft and Read more
A true partnership between the Churches and the State, doesn’t really exist in Papua New Guinea. What is in place is a remnant of the colonial structure or more precisely of the missionary era says Fr Giorgio Licini of the Office for Social Communications of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua. Licini was responding to Read more
More than 30 Dunedin church leaders, including Bishop Colin Campbell, and representatives of the Dunedin Interfaith Council greeted His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet on the steps of St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral last Tuesday. The welcome was followed by a discussion on Maori beliefs at the University of Otago Clocktower Building. On Monday, in Read more