Muslim minorities
All topics-
Human rights in China
Search tool offers Uighur diaspora harrowing insights
Overseas Uighurs have gained insights into their family members in China's Xinjiang region, thanks to leaked data and a new search tool. Some say they feel a deep sense of guilt, others are filled with fear. William Yang reports from Taipei
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Freedom of speech in Pakistan
Islamabad's shift towards Islamism
By curtailing free speech and doubling down on blasphemy laws, Islamabad is endangering its relationship with Europe and the United States, argues Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
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Hindu nationalism
Gandhi's killer – a Hindutva hero
Hindu fundamentalist Ashok Sharma has devoted his life to championing the deeds of an Indian "patriot": not revered independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, but the man who shot him dead
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Hindu nationalism
Interfaith marriage in India – a dangerous undertaking
Citing archaic "anti-conversion" laws, right-wing Hindu groups are working to prevent marriages between Indian Hindus and Muslims. Some couples have faced violence and death threats. Murali Krishnan reports from New Delhi
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Identity politics
The pain of India's partition
India’s partition in 1947 continues to evoke strong emotions even after seven decades. Entrenched identity politics, arguably a product of colonial rule, saw Hindus pitted against Muslims. Collective trauma was the result, deepening the faith divide on both sides of the border. By Suparna Banerjee
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Rahman Abbas' "Zindeeq"
Who's learning lessons from the Holocaust?
Set in a dystopian future, Rahman Abbas’ new novel “Zindeeq” draws on the Indian author’s worries about recent trends in his home country, where aggressive identity politics have been – and still are – gaining momentum. Almuth Degener read the book
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Islam and tolerance
Albania's Bektashi Muslims
In Albania, where most Muslims live a pretty secular life, it would seem that praying and drinking go hand-in-hand. Nevertheless, over a hundred Albanians still went to fight for Islamic State. By Karin A. Wenger with photos by Philipp Breu
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Indian democracy at 75
Narendra Modi’s damaging dominance
In office for more than eight years, Narendra Modi’s high popularity across India and formidable electoral clout make him nearly invincible. But, while his success in amassing political power is unquestionable, his ability to use it for the benefit of the vast majority of citizens remains very much in doubt. By Shashi Tharoor
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Rooh Afza, the 'drink of love'
Pink refresher unites wilting Indians and Pakistanis
Pakistan and India have fought three wars and countless skirmishes, but as summers get hotter with climate change, their peoples are united by love for a cooling 115-year-old pink libation with a secret recipe
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Narendra Modi's ruling BJP
Middle East furore at Indian official's Prophet remarks
Anger in the Middle East is spreading over comments made by an official of India's ruling BJP about the Prophet Muhammad, with various countries summoning New Delhi's envoy and a Kuwaiti supermarket removing Indian products
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Islam in Southeast Asia
Autocratic versus democratic Islam
Indonesia has become a primary battleground between democratic and autocratic visions of Islam in the 21st century, with Nahdlatul Ulama pitted against Abdullah bin Bayyah, a Sunni high priest who provides UAE autocrats with religious legitimisation. Commentary by James M. Dorsey
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Hindutva target Muslims
Mumbai mosques forced to turn volume down
Follwing demands by a regional Hindu leader that mosque loudspeakers to be turned down in Mumbai, local police intervened to ensure compliance. The row is the latest point of tension between India's Muslims and Hindus, despite repeated assurances by Narendra Modi's ruling BJP that it does not discriminate against anyone