site.news_by_theme religion
Sri Lanka detains British tourist over Buddha tattoo
Sri Lanka has detained a female British tourist for having a Buddha tattoo on her right arm and ordered her deportation, police said.
23 April 2014
Brunei delays introduction of tough Islamic law
Brunei has postponed its implementation of tough Islamic criminal punishments that were due to begin Tuesday and have drawn condemnation from the UN's human rights office and rare criticism at home.
22 April 2014
UN evacuates 100 Muslims from C. Africa capital
The United Nations has evacuated almost 100 Muslims from the capital of the crisis-torn Central African Republic to "save their lives", according to officials.
22 April 2014
Philippines' Easter crucifixons draw huge crowds
Thousands of people flocked to rural fields in the Philippines on Friday to witness the gruesome spectacle of men being crucified in their annual Easter re-enactment of the death of Jesus Christ.
18 April 2014
Pope asks forgiveness for child sex abuses
Pope Francis on Friday personally asked forgiveness for thousands of child sex abuses carried out by priests and promised more action following accusations of cover-ups and excessive leniency by the Vatican.
12 April 2014
Malaysia bans Noah film as 'un-Islamic'
Malaysia has joined other Islamic countries in banning the Hollywood biblical epic "Noah" starring Russell Crowe, decrying it as irreligious and saying it violates Islamic law against depicting prophets.
06 April 2014
Pakistan couple gets death over 'blasphemous' text message
A court in eastern Pakistan has sentenced a Christian couple to death for sending a blasphemous text message insulting to the Prophet Mohammed, their lawyer said Saturday.
05 April 2014
First gay marriages take place in England and Wales
Gay couples across England and Wales said "I do" on Friday night as a law authorising same-sex marriage came into effect at midnight, the final stage in a long fight for equality.
29 March 2014
What is behind anti-vaccination movements in Kazakhstan?
Every day there are more and more parents refusing to get their children vaccinated for religious reasons.
27 March 2014
Chechen president dedicates Israel's biggest mosque
The head of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, inaugurated Sunday Israel's largest mosque, in a village near Jerusalem whose inhabitants claim descent from Muslim migrants from the Caucasus.
24 March 2014
Morocco threatens to expel Syrians for mosque 'disruption'
Morocco on Friday threatened to expel some Syrian refugees it accused of "causing disruption to mosques and the faithful" in several towns, after a first warning earlier this month.
15 March 2014
Pope marks first year far from Rome's madding crowd
Pope Francis will spend the first anniversary of his election in a spiritual retreat, far from the adoring crowds in Rome and the tensions within the Church hierarchy that have defined the last year.
13 March 2014
Dead Indian guru in freezer for 'deep meditation'
An Indian guru declared dead has been in a deep freezer in his ashram for nearly six weeks with followers confident he will return to life to lead them.
13 March 2014
Malaysia bans Japanese comic book Ultraman for using 'Allah'
Malaysia has banned a translation of an Ultraman comic book after it referred to the popular Japanese superhero as "Allah", authorities said Friday, during an ongoing row over use of the word by non-Muslims.
08 March 2014
Malaysia's highest court takes up use of 'Allah' by Catholics
Hundreds of Muslims demonstrated Wednesday outside Malaysia's highest court as it took up the Catholic Church's bid to be allowed to refer to God as "Allah" in a case that has increased tensions in the multi-ethnic nation.
05 March 2014
Faith and firearms: US churches give away guns
Baptist churches in Kentucky are giving away guns as prizes in the southern US state in hopes of drawing wayward locals to Christ.
04 March 2014
Hundreds of Mauritanians protest over desecration of Koran
Hundreds of residents took to the streets in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott to protest in the early hours of Monday against the desecration of the Koran.
03 March 2014
Remove children from radical Muslim parents: London mayor
Muslim youngsters who are being radicalised by their parents should be treated as child abuse victims and removed from their families.
03 March 2014
Daughter aims to spread 'true Islam' of executed Sudan activist
Almost three decades after peaceful Muslim activist Mahmoud Muhammad Taha was hanged for apostasy, his daughter plans to revive his Republican Party and spread his notion of "true Islam".
28 February 2014
US court orders Google to pull YouTube anti-Islam film
A US appeals court on Wednesday ordered YouTube to take down an anti-Islamic movie that triggered protests in the Muslim world, after an actress alleged she had been duped into appearing in it.
27 February 2014