Islam in Southeast Asia
All topics-
Endemic anti-Ahmadiyya discrimination
Pakistan's "Commission for Minorities" without the Ahmadis
Pakistan’s conduct towards the Ahmadis and its obsession with religious identity is symptomatic of the radicalisation of society that permeates all areas of life and is reflected in the laws of the land, says Mohammad Luqman
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COVID-19 in Southeast Asia
Coronavirus and Pakistan's wayward clerics
The fact that Pakistani politicians are closing their eyes to the machinations of religious forces during the corona crisis is the result of decades of a policy of appeasement towards the clerics, says Mohammad Luqman
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Coronavirus in India
Muslims as scapegoats
On the streets and online, radical Hindu nationalists, including MPs from the ruling BJP party, are agitating against the Muslim minority, inciting hatred and spreading rumours of a "corona jihad": they allege that Muslims are spreading the virus in order to harm India. By Dominik Müller
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2020 Singapore Art Week
Of spirituality in a contemporary age
How to talk about spiritual matters in a highly secularised, hyper-pragmatic society? This was the question artists exhibiting at the Stamford Art Centre in Singapore grappled with during the 2020 Singapore Art Week. By Naima Morelli
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Human rights in the Islamic world
Battle cry "blasphemy"
Many predominantly Muslim countries have penal laws against "blasphemy", "defamation of religion" and "apostasy". In practice they serve as highly effective weapons to settle personal animosities, family vendettas and land disputes. By Thomas Krapf
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Interview with Indian Muslim writer Sadia Dehlvi
"The soul of India is inclusive, pluralistic, and democratic"
Modi’s Citizenship Amendment Act grants the Indian citizenship to members of persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries, yet excludes Muslims. This has sparked waves of protest all across India. For prominent Delhi-based Muslim writer Sadia Dehlvi the new law is a long overdue wake-up call. Interview by Marian Brehmer
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India and big business
Complicit in Modiʹs Hindu nationalist agenda
Having re-invented himself politically following the Gujarat porgroms of 2002, Narendra Modi has – to the delight of big business – consistently pursued a tough line in market-driven economic policy. Buoyed by this support, the Indian Prime Minister is now intent on realising a darker agenda of discrimination and repression. By Dominik Muller
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Protesting Modi's Citizenship Amendment Act
The rape of India's soul
India's rapid descent into xenophobia, violence and irrationality has an important economic dimension, but it takes politicians to channel these emotions into nationalism and to embolden the nationalists to commit violence. Now that the ruling BJP has done so, is it able – or willing – to exorcise the many demons it has unleashed? By Jayati Ghosh
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Muslims in Myanmar
What hope The Hague for the Rohingya?
The first hearings at the International Court of Justice reflect the entrenched positions in the Rohingya crisis. Rodion Ebbighausen believes the trial may finally help to soften the fronts
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India and Pakistan
"If Germany can be reunified, so can Kashmir"
Calls for a free Kashmir are becoming louder on both sides of the divided region. Can the German reunification model be applied to the India- and Pakistan-ruled Kashmirs? And what can Kashmiris learn from it? By Shamil Shams
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Interview with Indonesian author and feminist Feby Indirani
"God is my partner in crime"
Described by some as a Muslim feminist, Feby Indirani’s writing is daring and light-hearted at once. Her collection of short stories – "Bukan Perawan Maria" – recently translated into Italian, parodies the inconsistencies of radical Islam and orthodoxy, while seeking to emphasise the humanity we all share. Interview by Naima Morelli
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Social unrest in Southeast Asia
Indonesian women demand their rights
In Indonesia, social resistance is mounting against a law banning sex before marriage and the government's weakening of the anti-corruption authorities. A report by Zora Rahman from Yogyakarta