GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, November 26, 2001: An attempt to block legislation for a new offense of incitement to religious hatred has been defeated despite the rebellion of several Labour MPs. The bill extends the racially aggravated offenses of assault, public order, criminal damage and harassment to cover attacks aggravated by religious hostility. They extend the provisions concerning incitement…
GO TO SOURCE CANADA, NOVEMBER 20, 2001: Asking military chaplains to forego their Christian beliefs during public services represents a new low in political correctness, says Canadian alliance member of parliament Art Hanger. “How on earth can a Christian chaplain represent a Muslim cleric?” asked the former defense critic. “Unless they’re going to pray to a generic god, how can…
GO TO SOURCE MASSACHUSETTS, USA, November 27, 2001: Roman Catholic and conservative Protestant leaders condemned the first reported cloning of a human embryo, while other Christian and Reform Jewish leaders supported using the procedure to cure diseases. Massachusetts scientists announced Sunday that they had cloned a six-cell embryo. It wasn’t clear whether the cloned embryo that Worcester, Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell…
GO TO SOURCE BOMBAY, INDIA, November 21, 2001: Tension prevailed in the sprawling Borivli National Park on the outskirts of Bombay following the desecration of an illegal temple in the area, police said. The icons of Siva, Parvati, Hanuman, Ganesha and the resting place of a local saint, Khadeshwar baba, were desecrated. Police have taken possession of the icons to…
GO TO SOURCE USA, November 21, 2001: With a spotlight cast on American Muslims since September 11, one simple question has defied a clear answer and become the focus of a politically charged dispute: What is the size of the U.S. Muslim population? Four major Muslim organizations released a study in April that estimated the population at 6 million to…
GO TO SOURCE NEPAL, November 24, 2001: Maoist guerrillas in Nepal have broken a four-month truce by launching attacks on police stations in the west of the country, killing at least 100 people — most of them policemen. The violence comes two days after a senior Maoist leader, Prachanda, said the cease fire could no longer be justified because the…
Source: Times of India SRINAGAR, INDIA, November 19, 2001: While the women of Afghanistan are celebrating the fall of the Taliban, their sisters in the Kashmir valley have also been liberated from wearing a burqa to cover their faces. Quoting Rifat Hyder, a working woman, ” If Afghan women who were covered from head to foot can now remove their…
Source: The Daily Star, November 25, 2001 DHAKA, BANGLADESH, November 25, 2001: A Division Bench of the High Court of Bangladesh yesterday issued a order asking the government to explain within four weeks why it should not be asked to take proper steps to protect the country’s Hindus from terrorist attacks and harrasment. The court will also hear on November…
GO TO SOURCE ESSEX, UNITED KINGDOM, November 24, 2001: A vicar in Essex has banned yoga classes from his church hall because he fears it is not compatible with Christianity. Reverend Dick Farr of St Mary’s Church in Henham, near Saffron Walden, said he became concerned on discovering an aim of the class was to “ascend to a higher spiritual…
GO TO SOURCE CHINA, November 25, 2001: The exact year in which woodblock printing was invented is still very much debated in academic circles because no artifacts or documentary records related to the earliest printing have been discovered. However, a sheet with mantras of the Dharani Sutra, in Sanskrit, printed in the early Tang and unearthed in the suburban district…