(RNS) At the end of a three-day tour, the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation told Buddhist-majority Myanmar to repeal "laws restricting fundamental freedoms" after more than 240 Muslims were killed by Buddhist mobs during the past year.
(RNS) The sultan of Brunei announced on Tuesday (Oct. 22) he will rule according to Shariah laws, including death by stoning for adultery, the amputation of limbs for theft, flogging for alcohol consumption and abortion, and other punishments.
(RNS) Instead of going to the markets, Pakistani and Bangladeshi customers prefer websites that show photographs of live cows and goats for sacrifice.
(RNS) "The usage of the word Allah is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity," Chief Judge Mohamed Apandi Ali said in the ruling, which bans use of the word by non-Muslims.
(RNS) A court in Muslim-majority Bangladesh sentenced an Islamist member of Parliament to death for genocide and other crimes against Hindus during the country's 1971 war for independence.
(RNS) The Council on Islamic Ideology's demand to amend the blasphemy laws is being presented as a way to stop people from making false allegations or settling personal scores.
(RNS) In Nepal, 11 percent of girls under the age of 14 and 29 percent of girls aged 15-19 are married. A new video denounces the practice.
(RNS) "We don't just want to shout 'no' to Miss World,” said the pageant's founder Eka Shanti. “We'd rather show our children they have choices. Do you want to be like the women in Miss World? Or like those in Muslimah World?"
(RNS) Makeup artists added cosmetic touches to the models before they were photographed, to depict cuts and bruises on their faces.
(RNS) Malaysia's latest ban on foreign entertainers who violate Islam came after authorities there canceled a 2012 concert by American singer Erykah Badu.
(RNS) The influential Indonesian Ulema Council held a top-level meeting in August and decided the contest should not be held, even though Miss World's organizers agreed to allow contestants to wear wraparound sarongs instead of bikinis.
(RNS) "The Burmese government must make a concerted effort to allow an effective investigation into these abuses and hold perpetrators accountable," Physicians for Human Rights concluded in its report.
(RNS) The government's response is the latest in a series of crackdowns on behavior deemed disrespectful of Islamic traditions and beliefs.
(RNS) Pakistan's new animated television series, "Burka Avenger," features a female Muslim teacher disguised in a tight black outfit with a cape and ninja-style head cover who throws heavy books and sharp pens at men who oppose education for girls.
(RNS) A controversial Muslim scholar-turned-television-host has given away at least two abandoned babies during his live TV show in Pakistan, saying "it is real Islam" and not exploitation.
