BRAZIL’S BOLSONARO EXEMPTS CHURCHES FROM QUARANTINE

Fri 27 March 2020: (AFP) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro decreed Thursday that places of worship are “essential services” that must be exempted from coronavirus confinement orders, the far-right leader’s latest jab at aggressive containment measures. The decree, published in the government diary, adds “religious activities of any kind” to the list of exempted services, alongside […]

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ANALYSIS: FRANCE’S NEVER-ENDING BATTLE WITH ISLAM

Sat 14 March 2020: With its roots in colonial rule, anti-Muslim rhetoric is being used by French politicians to tap up potential voters. With his declaration of war against so-called ‘Islamist separatism’ in February, French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to usher in a new phase in his country’s relationship with its Muslim communities. Since the September 11th […]

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TURKEY’S RELIGIOUS BODY ALLOWS FRIDAY PRAYER SUBSTITUTE

FILE PHOTO: Funeral prayers for Morsi in Turkey. Fri 13 March 2020: Highest religious council says Muslims at high-risk of COVID-19 can perform noon prayers at home instead of Friday prayer Instead of attending weekly collective mosque prayers, Muslims can pray at home, Turkey’s highest religious body said on Friday amid heightened concerns that such […]

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CANCELLING THE HAJJ? HOW CONFLICT, DISEASE OFTEN STOPPED PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA LONG BEFORE THE CORONAVIRUS

Thu 12 March 2020: Last week, images of Islam’s holiest site, the Great Mosque of Mecca, empty and deserted of worshippers caused shock across the Muslim world. For the first time in living memory, the Kaaba, the black cube structure which sits at the centre of the Great Mosque, had no worshippers around it praying or performing the […]

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CARDINAL PELL’S FINAL APPEAL AGAINST CHILD SEX CONVICTION OPENS

Wed 11 March 2020: (AFP) Lawyers for disgraced Cardinal George Pell claimed the senior cleric’s conviction for child sex abuse was based on “improbabilities”, as they launched a last-ditch appeal in Australia’s top court Wednesday. The 78-year-old former Vatican treasurer, who is serving a six-year sentence for sexually assaulting two choirboys in the 1990s, was […]

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