Yearly Archives: 2021
Boat with 120 Rohingya refugees disembarks in Indonesia port
By Rahmat Mirza — December 30, 2021
LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia (AP) — A group of 120 Rohingya Muslims disembarked from a boat that had drifted for days off Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh and was towed by a navy ship into port, officials said Friday. The refugees’ wooden boat was reportedly leaking and had a damaged engine. Efforts to rescue its passengers, who […]
Hindu religious leader held for insulting Gandhi in India
By Ashok Sharma — December 30, 2021
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police on Thursday arrested a Hindu religious leader for allegedly making a derogatory speech against India’s independence leader.
Myanmar military reverts to strategy of massacres, burnings
By Rishabh R. Jain, David Rising, and Sam McNeil — December 30, 2021
BANGKOK (AP) — When the young farmhand returned to his village in Myanmar, he found the still smoldering corpses in a circle in a burned-out hut, some with their limbs tied. The Myanmar military had stormed Done Taw at 11 a.m. on Dec. 7, he told the AP, with about 50 soldiers hunting people on […]
Islamic-friendly comic book content finds a growing audience
By Joseph Hammond — December 29, 2021
(RNS) — 'I just knew there would be interests in dynamic storytelling outside of the superheroes, wizards and dragons out there,' said the founder of Fictional Frontiers, an initiative seeking to support Muslim writers and illustrators.
From conflict to cooperation: Lessons from the road to Muslim-Jewish partnership
By Ari Gordon — December 29, 2021
(RNS) — For the first time in history Muslims and Jews are living side by side as minorities in free democracies with robust civic engagement. The opportunities are unprecedented, as are the challenges.
How 2021 collapsed the divide between religion and politics
By Jacob Lupfer — December 29, 2021
(RNS) — As religion recedes as a force in American public life, politics has co-opted faith for its own purposes.
‘So, what are you reading these days?’
By Jeffrey Salkin — December 29, 2021
(RNS) — Let’s hope we are not in for another lockdown. But if we are, these books will keep you company.
Tutu’s advocacy for LGBTQ rights did not sway most of Africa
By David Crary — December 29, 2021
(AP) — Even within his own denomination, the Anglican Communion, there has been no continentwide embrace of LGBTQ rights.
Harry Reid remembered as a fighter, skilled Senate dealmaker
By Ken Ritter and Laurie Kellman — December 29, 2021
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Reid died Tuesday at 82 after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer and was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Indonesia to turn away boat with 120 Rohingya refugees
By Yayan Zamzami — December 29, 2021
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — The decision comes despite calls from the United Nations refugee agency to allow the passengers to disembark.
California man gets second life term for synagogue attack
By Elliot Spagat — December 29, 2021
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The 22-year-old white supremacist was sentenced for killing a woman and injuring three others in a Southern California synagogue in 2019.
Anti-racism training on Zoom from the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey
By RNS Press Release Distribution Service — December 29, 2021
Frank Barker, founding pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, is dead at 89
By Alejandra Molina — December 28, 2021
(RNS) — Barker, who was senior pastor at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham for 39 years, was a key figure in the launching of the conservative Presbyterian Church in America.
The top 10 Jewish news stories of 2021
By A. James Rudin — December 28, 2021
(RNS) — Israeli politics and the continuing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic dominated Jewish concerns this year.
The Trumpist Reformation is upon us
By Mark Silk — December 28, 2021
(RNS) — If you want to understand post-Trump politics, look to Martin Luther.
