Posts tagged : "Religion"

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: Iran, like the rest of the world, has seen the novel coronavirus wreak havoc on public health, the economy, education, and transportation. But in the Islamic republic, the pandemic is also exposing social and religious rifts that have been simmering under the surface for decades, and which come to light at times of crisis. The Iranian authorities on March 16 announced that the shrine of the eighth Shiite Imam Reza in the holy city of Mashhad and the shrine of his sister, the revered Fatimah bint Musa, in the pilgrimage city of Qom, would be closed down to preclude the spread of Covid-19, as both of these sites are used for congregational prayers. Qom was the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Muslims have been part of the American society for nearly 400 years. Although there are rumors that Muslim sailors navigated their way to America as early as the 12th and 14th centuries, the first documented arrival of Muslims in America occurred in the 17th century, when slaves from different African nations were brought to what is now the United States. About 10 to 15 percent of these African slaves were said to be Muslims. They practiced their faith clandestinely and handed it over to their offspring. Between 1878 and 1924, large numbers of Muslim immigrants from the Middle East, particularly from Lebanon and the Greater Syria, arrived in the United States and settled in Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and the...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Islamophobia in the United States animates a modern form of bigotry that was deepened following the 9/11 attacks and got worse under President Donald Trump; however, the reality of anti-Muslim prejudice in the United States is much older, dating back to the arrival of the first Muslim settlers in America in the early 14th century. According to some accounts, there are nearly 7 million Muslims living in the United States today. Despite enjoying legal protection to practice their faith freely by virtue of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, American Muslims have been mostly viewed in a cynical light since the September 11, 2001 attacks, constantly demanded to denounce terrorism and distance themselves...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: Two high-ranking clerics in Iran have issued fatwas against the production of a movie based on the life of the 13th century Iranian poet and mystic Rumi and his spiritual mentor Shams Tabrizi, reigniting a long-simmering, divisive debate about the role of religious authorities in the public life of Iranians. Born in 1207, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi is a celebrated Persian poet, theologian and Islamic scholar whose didactic epic Masnavi-yi Maʿnavi (Spiritual Couplets), comprising six books of poetry that amount to 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines, has enormously influenced mystical thought and literature throughout the Muslim world and is commonly referred to as the “Persian Quran.” Rumi, known as...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: The World Happiness Report published by the United Nations in March this year identified Norway as the world’s third happiest country. The Scandinavian nation is doing remarkably well when it comes to key variables that influence well-being, such as income, freedom, trust, life expectancy, social support and generosity. One of the wealthiest nations in the world, Norway offers free education, public pensions and universal health care to its residents and has made exemplary accomplishments in tackling inequality, unemployment and illiteracy. Norway is seen as a model in the developing world, including in Western Europe and North America, given the remarkable strides it has made in becoming an...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: People follow different paths to find meaning for their lives. For many, religion is a way of embracing spirituality. In a world plagued by loneliness, anxiety and conflict, religion can help people find peace of mind and inner calm. Since the beginning of time, humankind has resorted to a metaphysical power in which they can find refuge and look for answers to their questions. Worshipping a deity is seen as a way of expressing their desire for truth and peace when the world appears incapable of responding to their needs. Yet, at the same time, modern world history has been marred by wars and conflicts, some of which religious violence has played a role in. In 1975, only 2% of conflicts in the...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Data and figures on anti-Muslim bigotry across the world, especially in North America, paint a disturbing picture of the status of Islamic communities. Council on American-Islamic Relations recorded over 500 anti-Muslim hate crimes across the United States from January to May this year. The actual number, however, appears to be way bigger. On April 29, a mosque was assaulted and several Qurans were destroyed in Queens, New York by a 37-year-old man, who is now being indicted and can spend the next three to 15 years behind the bars if convicted. Earlier this year, on May 15, a fire tore through the Diyanet Mosque in New Haven, Connecticut, which left significant damage to the property. The New Haven police...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: Islamophobia can be seen in a variety of ways. As a form of intolerance and discrimination, it risks affecting relations between Muslims and non-Muslims and undermining social cohesion. In 2018, the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims made history by devising the first working definition of Islamophobia in the UK. The group noted in its report that “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” Tell MAMA, an organization that tracks anti-Muslim incidents in Britain, recorded a total of 685 racially-aggravated incidents between January and June 2018. The report found that 58% of victims were women. Hate...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: Interfaith dialogue is a necessity in our age. In a world suffering from armed conflicts, diplomatic standoffs and trade wars, cooperative and constructive interaction between people of different religious traditions is fundamental to solidifying peace and stability, and stemming racism, xenophobia, radicalization, violent extremism and terrorism. Interreligious dialogue is about encounters — it drives respect, mutual understanding and appreciation for common values. Interfaith dialogue helps debunk the myths and eradicate the stereotypes about religion that politicians abuse to further their (often populist) agendas. The 1893 Parliament of World Religions at the World’s Columbian Exposition...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: France is home to a sizeable Muslim population that is rapidly growing in number. The state does not collect religious or ethnic census data in accordance with an 1872 legislation, so it’s difficult to ascertain how many Muslims of different nationalities and racial backgrounds live in France. However, it’s estimated that there are 6 million Muslims in France, half of whom are born or naturalized French citizens. Muslims of Algerian descent make up the largest subgroup. With the global refugee crisis looming large, the number of France’s Muslims is expected to rise. In 2012, the Interior Ministry estimated that there are around 2,500 mosques in France. Notwithstanding, a 2016 report by the Senate put the...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: To those who celebrate it, Christmas is as important as the history of Christianity itself. The religious and cultural celebration connects millions of people throughout the world who speak a variety of languages and come from different backgrounds but share the same religion and calendar. Christmas, however, has evolved throughout the years to become a worldwide fiesta that is both religious and secular, integrating a range of pre-Christian and pagan traditions into the festivities. As the annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas is observed by most on December 25. It has become so popular that many non-Christians around the world mark it by exchanging gifts, putting up...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Whether it takes the form of vandalizing mosques, assaulting women wearing hijab walking down the streets, painting graffiti with hateful messages on the walls of a Muslim teacher's house or bullying the Syrian child at school, Islamophobia is raising its ugly head across the world and seems to be more powerful than ever. The coming to power of Donald Trump in the United States, Brexit in the United Kingdom and the inability of the international community to address the global refugee crisis have only exacerbated anti-Muslim prejudice and paved the way for more hate crimes to happen here and there. More than before, the world is in need of inter-faith dialogue and people need education to be able to...