Tom Wood a former Deputy Chief Constable, has questioned whether religious segregation in schools remains acceptable, and urged authorities to address root causes of the divide.

Last week the council decided to ban six Loyalist and Republican parades through the city over the weekend following violent scenes over consecutive weeks.

This prompted hundreds of protesters to line George Square on Saturday morning to challenge the decision. Read more

The report is a fresh reminder that forced integration can throw up some wicked dilemmas, whether it is in Nauru or Australia's other offshore resettlement facility on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.

By introducing migrants that are ill-suited and ill-prepared for integration into PNG, Australia's refugee resettlement agreement with Port Moresby may risk sowing the seeds for a future sectarian conflict.

The Manus settlers are almost all Muslim and will be entering a conservative Christian nation whose only mosque is frequently stoned and vandalised.

While there are common values shared by Christianity and Islam, popular anxieties in PNG about Sharia law and violent Islamic extremism may generate suspicion towards the Manus settlers.

Last year Bernard Yegiora a lecturer Department of PNG Studies and International Relations at Divine Word University posed a number of question regarding the agreement settlement:

• How will Iranians, Iraqis, Syrians, Afghans, Sri Lankans and others fit into our society?
• Will they be respected and given their privacy?
• How will they interact with individuals from different indigenous ethnic groups?
• How will they handle racial discrimination?
• Will they feel free to move around and engage in economic activities?

"In a self-proclaimed Christian nation like PNG, what kind of treatment will refugees who are non-Christians get?" asks Yegiora.

"Most asylum seekers come from nations where a large proportion of their population practices Islam. Once they settle, the number of Muslims in PNG will increase."

"Papua New Guineans are known for their gullibility. The radical teachings of a Christian leader can move believers to form opinions which may be detrimental to peace among different religious sects," he says.

"The possibility of experiencing religious discrimination and segregation may lead to the creation of Christian and Muslim militant groups."

Source

• William Stoltz lowyinterpreter.org
• asopa.typepad.co
• dwu.ac.pg

New statistics released by the Scottish government revealed an increase of 26 per cent in religious hate crimes in 2011-2012. Anti-Catholic attacks made up 58 per cent of all religious hate crimes.

The president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, said: "I am saddened by the latest figures on religiously aggravated offending. While most Catholics are safe most of the time, these figures show a side of Scotland which is truly unfortunate.

"Sadly, it seems incontrovertible now that our problem is not so much sectarianism but anti-Catholicism. This is regrettable because popular culture is inventing all kinds of new reasons to marginalise and hate Catholics.

"In the face of this, the Catholic community of Scotland remains steadfast in faith, joyful in hope and fully committed to being part of Scottish society."

Of the 876 religious hate crimes analysed by the Justice Analytical Services, 509 were committed against Catholics. There were 19 attacks against Muslims and 14 against Jews.

Most areas of Scotland saw a rise in religiously aggravated charges since the previous year, with Glasgow being a notable exception.

The number of charges related to football rose from 231 to 267, although the number of hate crimes at football stadiums fell.

The Minister for Community Safety, Roseanna Cunningham, said the government had brought in new legislation to eradicate sectarianism.

"It is completely unacceptable for people to think that offensive religious or sectarian language, or verbal or physical attacks based purely on religious prejudice, have any place in 21st century Scotland," she said.

Sources:

Independent Catholic News

The Scottish Government

Image: STV News