NEWS: Jazz as Religion

Historian David W. Stowe’s most recent article, “Both American and Global: Jazz and World Religions in the United States,” offers a quick overview of one of America’s most enduring styles of music, then neatly connects this uniquely American music to religious belief and experience. By the end of the piece, one is left viewing jazz … Continue reading →

NEWS: Muslim Treatment of Minorities Condemned at Parliament of the World’s Religions

“How Islam treats minorities is excessive, no question’’, the former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister said in Melbourne on Saturday. Anwar Ibrahim, who is now an opposition leader, told the participants at Parliament of the World’s Religions that Muslims cannot talk about religious discrimination in the West as long as they are willing to turn a … Continue reading →

NEWS: Ahmadinejad’s Messianic Politics

As Ahmadinejad begins his second term as Iran’s President amid much furore, his government continues to spend heavily on constructing the Mahdi Highway stretched from the holy city of Qom to the Iran-Iraq border. ‘The road is in the direction of Samarra, in Iraq, the location from which the Mahdi disappeared and where he is … Continue reading →

NEWS: Annual Report on International Religious Freedom Released

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has just released its 2009 annual report. The report, which is the most comprehensive in the Commission’s decade-long life, recommends that President Obama designate Burma, Democratic People‘s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, People‘s Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam as ‘countries of … Continue reading →

NEWS: A New GCSE Religious Studies Course

A new GCSE course, introduced in 50 schools from September 2009, would give British pupils a chance to study the Unification Church, Rastafarianism, Atheism, Falun Gung, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, as part of a syllabus designed to deepen understanding of religious diversity in Britain and in the world at … Continue reading →

NEWS: A Faith Denied: Death or Conversion in Mona’s Dream

Production of a new film entitled Mona’s Dream, is due to commence in October this year, commissioned by director Jack Lenz. This potentially controversial film examines the story of Mona Mahmudnizhad, her father and her companions who were captured, interrogated, tortured and murdered by the Iranian government because of their Bahá’í faith in Iran, 1983. … Continue reading →