Page 22 - Religion Belief
Kerala HC refuses to interfere in ban on Thrissur Pooram elephant
The Kerala High Court on Friday refused to interfere in the matter pertaining to the ban on parading elephant Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, at the Thrissur Pooram festival.The district administration had earlier banned the 54-year-old jumbo king citing security reasons, according to reports.Reports suggest that the elephant is partially blind and has killed 13 people.Following the ban, the Kerala Elephant Owners Federation announced through a Facebook post that it would not make any elephant available for elaborate temple festivities starting May 11.The elephant symbolically pushes open the entrance to the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur that signals the start of the Pooram, a large cultural festival held annually at the temple.
Badrinath temple reopens
The doors of Badrinath temple nestling in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand were thrown open for pilgrims on Friday after performing all Vedic rituals.
Kerala Bishop's bail extended till June 7
A court near here on Friday extended till June 7 the bail of former Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of sexually assaulting a nun between 2014 and 2016.
Ramzan '19: Hindus, Muslims unite at Gujarat dargah to break fast; devotees say 'Iftar is for all'
Setting an example of communal harmony, people from different religions assembled at Dargah Hazrat Khwaja Dana in Surat on Thursday for Iftar - the meal consumed to break the day-long fast observed during the ongoing holy month of Ramzan.Speaking to ANI, K Gheewala, a frequent visitor to the dargah, said, "I have been coming to this Dargah for over five years. Many Hindus come to this Dargah. It is a great symbol of religious harmony."Another devotee said, "I have been coming here for the last 38 years. The number of people coming here has always increased with time. Also, I see people belonging from different religions coming here and praying. Iftar is not just for Muslims, it is for all."Echoing similar sentiments, a worker at the dargah said year after year, people have been gathering at the dargah cutting across all religious barriers to sit and pray together."If you want to see an example of religious harmony, then you should definitely visit this Dargah," he added.In Delhi, ...
Lanka's Catholic schools likely to reopen next week, mass services to resume from Sunday
Sri Lanka's Catholic Church on Thursday announced that all Catholic schools are likely to reopen next week, while mass services would resume from Sunday depending on the country's security situation after the Easter bombings that killed 258 people. The schools were shutdown and public mass services were suspended following fears of a repeat of the April 21 attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels here. Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malclom Ranjith in a press conference said that Catholic private schools might be opened on May 14. However, these schools would be closed till Vesak Holidays if there are fresh threats. "We are hoping to open the schools on May 14. The decision is still not final as we continue to observe the country's security situation. We want to be absolutely sure before we open our schools because we don't want even a single child to suffer as a result of any unwanted attacks," Cardinal Ranjith said after a meeting between the country's 12 bishops and ...
Temple Run: How much gold do Kerala temples have?
In 2011, former IPS officer-turned-lawyer T.P. Soundarajan filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking to know the stock of gold in the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple here. Since then, speculation has pegged the value of the gold stored in the temple at over Rs 1 lakh crore.
Lanka's Catholic schools to reopen next week
Sri Lanka's Catholic Church on Thursday announced that all the Catholic schools will reopen next week while mass services would resume from Sunday depending on the country's security situation after the Easter bombings that killed 258 people. The schools were shutdown and public mass services were suspended following fears of a repeat of the April 21 attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels here. Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malclom Ranjith in a press conference said that that Catholic private schools might be opened on May 14. However, he said these schools would be closed till Vesak Holidays, if there are fresh threats, the Daily Mirror reported. We cannot allow even a single child to suffer. Therefore, we intend to watch the situation closely and carefully, Cardinal Ranjith said following a meeting between the country's 12 bishops and President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo on Thursday. Vesak, the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May, is the most sacred day to ...
Indian Christian serves iftar to nearly 800 Muslim workers
An Indian Christian businessman, who built a mosque for Muslim workers in the UAE, is serving iftar meals to nearly 800 workers during the ongoing month of Ramzan. Saji Cheriyan, 49, who hails from Kerala's Kayamkulam, built the mosque last year for Muslim workers living in a worker accommodation that he rented out to 53 companies in Fujairah. He built the Mariam Umm Eisa (Mary, the Mother of Jesus) mosque after he saw workers spending their earnings on taking taxis to go to the nearest mosque to offer prayers during the holy month. Ramzan this year began on May 7. Cheriyan, who landed in the UAE in 2003 with just a few hundred dirhams, hosts iftar for about 800 people including workers and other senior employees of various companies at an air conditioned convention centre in the same complex, the Gulf News reported. The mosque opened on the 17th night of Ramadan last year. So, I could offer iftar to the worshippers only for the remaining days. From this year, I would be doing it ...
Kedarnath temple reopens
The Kedarnath temple in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand was re-opened for pilgrims on Thursday.
Images show rarely seen UAE ruler greet sheikhs for Ramadan
State media in the United Arab Emirates has published images of the country's rarely seen president greeting other ruling sheikhs for Ramadan. The state-run WAM news agency early Thursday published images of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Al Bateen Palace in Abu Dhabi. In the images, the 71-year-old Sheikh Khalifa wears white sneakers under his traditional robes. He is greeted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the powerful crown prince of Abu Dhabi who analysts believe runs day-to-day affairs in the UAE. Sheikh Khalifa became the UAE's president in 2004. He is also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the UAE's seven sheikhdoms. Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke on Jan. 24, 2014, and underwent emergency surgery. He has rarely been seen in public since.
Heat wave grips Andhra Pradesh; temperature likely to touch 47 degrees
People here are likely to witness "severe" heat wave in the next three days, Andhra Pradesh government's Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) has said.The temperature in the state is oscillating between 41 to 45 degrees for the past week."There is a heat wave condition going on in Andhra Pradesh especially in state's central parts. It mainly includes districts of Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam and Nellore. For the next two to three days, the severity will be high in Krishna, Guntur, Nellore and Prakasam," Anantha Krishnan, an RTGS official said on Wednesday."The temperature is likely to rise till 47 degrees. We request the general public to be cautious. The government has also taken steps to mitigate the situation. It has already asked district collectors to take necessary actions," Krishnan said.The agency has advised people not to venture outside between 9 am to 5 pm. 13 districts of the state have been categorised in Red Alert.
Despite no income, Naik moved Rs 49 crore to bank a/cs: ED
Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, accused of money laundering, doesn't have any "known source of income" but still managed to transfer more than Rs 49 crore to bank accounts in India, the ED has claimed in a charge sheet filed against him in a special court. Judge M S Azmi on Wednesday took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Naik, currently residing in Malaysia, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). "Zakir Naik, an Islamic preacher who keeps travelling around the world to deliver speeches, does not have any known source of income through any known source of employment or business. "Even in such a situation, he has managed to transfer Rs 49.20 crore to his Indian bank accounts," the charge-sheet said. The ED claimed total proceeds of crime in the said case are Rs 193.06. The financial probe agency said Naik, who also faces charges under anti-terror act UAPA, utilised this money to purchase properties in Pune and ...
Over 100 Hindu inmates of prisons in Delhi join Muslims in observing roza
Over 100 Hindu inmates of prisons in Delhi are observing roza, the dawn-to-dusk fast during Ramzan, along with Muslim prisoners. In a statement, the Tihar prison administration said out of 16,665 inmates lodged in 16 central jails of Delhi prisons, 2,658 prisoners are observing rozas. Out of these 2,658 inmates, 110 are Hindus. There are 31 Hindu women inmates and 12 Hindu adolescent inmates observing the fast during the holy month of Ramzan, the statement read. According to prison authorities, 'langar' timings have been modified to ensure availability of prescribed meals for 'sehri' and other prayers. "Inmate canteens have been stocked with Rooh Afza, dates and fresh fruits which can be purchased by the inmates. Arrangements for 'roza iftar' have been made in all central jails," the authorities said. Religious and charitable organisations have been permitted to make visits to conduct prayers and 'roza iftar' with inmates, subject to usual security precautions, they said. Delhi ...
Pak sets up committee to determine dates of religious festivals scientifically
Pakistan has set up a committee to determine lunar dates of religious festivals through a scientific method and end confusion in dates related to moon-sighting by clerics. "The five-member committee will finalize the calendar to indicate the exact dates of Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha and Moharram for the next five years with 100 per cent accuracy, Fawad Chaudhry, Minister for Science and Technology, said on his twitter account on Tuesday, quoting an official notification. The committee will replace the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee for sighting of the moon, Chaudhry said. The minister had earlier questioned the large amount of money spent on moon sighting every year, saying that the Ruet-i-Hilal committee should carry out the sighting voluntarily, Geo news reported. The minister had said up to Rs 4 million (USD 28,250) were spent on the moon-sighting procedure every year, and that it was time to utilise science and technology to end the controversy, the report said. The Central
Devotees offer prayers at hill shrine
Thousands of devotees from various parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh thronged the Varaha Lakhsmi Narasimha Swamy hill shrine here to offer prayers Tuesday. The Chandanotsavam or the Nijaroopa Darshanam Day is an annual ritual conducted at the temple and it is only on this day thatdevotees would have a chance to see the actual shape of the Lord (Nirjaroopam). On normal days, the deity is covered with a layer of 'Chandanam' (Sandalwood paste). It is on Chandanotsavam day that the sandalwood paste is removed and the deity is covered with a fresh layer of sandalwood paste brought from Andhra Pradesh, Chennai and other places. Devotees visit the shrine to have darshan of the Lord in his true form. After 'suprabhatam' early Tuesday, temple priests removed the sandalwood paste using small gold and silver spades. 'Abhishekam' wasperformed with water from Gangadhara (water from a natural stream that flows down the Simhachala hills 24 x7 throughout the ...
Pakistani girls trafficked to China in new "bride market"
Muqadas Ashraf was just 16 when her parents married her off to a Chinese man who had come to Pakistan looking for a bride. Less than five months later, Muqadas is back in her home country, pregnant and seeking a divorce from a husband she says was abusive. She is one of hundreds of poor Christian girls who have been trafficked to China in a market for brides that has swiftly grown in Pakistan since late last year, activists say. Brokers are aggressively seeking out girls for Chinese men, sometimes even cruising outside churches to ask for potential brides. They are being helped by Christian clerics paid to target impoverished parents in their congregation with promises of wealth in exchange for their daughters. Parents receive several thousand dollars and are told that their new sons-in-law are wealthy Christian converts. The grooms turn out to be neither, according to several brides, their parents, an activist, pastors and government officials, all of whom spoke to The Associated ...
Computer Baba prays for Digvijaya; says 'No Modi if no Mandir'
Hundreds of sadhus Tuesday trooped to the Madhya Pradesh capital to seek votes for the Congress Lok Sabha candidate Digvijaya Singh and campaign against BJP nominee Pragya Singh Thakur. Led by Namdev Tyagi alias Computer Baba, they will camp in Bhopal for three days. They undertook Hath Yoga Tuesday, followed by a road show. Hath Yoga involves 'asanas' (positions) that help in relaxing and breathing control. Computer Baba was bestowed minister of state status by the then BJP-led government in Madhya Pradesh and appointed on a panel to clean the Narmada. "BJP sarkaar 5 saal mein Ram Mandir bhi nahi bana paayi. Ab Ram Mandir nahi toh Modi nahi." (BJP remained in power for five years but it failed to construct Ram Temple, so when there is no Ram Mandir then there should be no Narendra Modi too.)," the Baba said. The self-styled godman, who was recently appointed chairman of a river trust by the Congress government in the state, extended his support to Digvijaya Singh, the ..
In North Macedonia, Pope urges Balkans to embrace diversity
Pope Francis called on the Western Balkans to embrace its patchwork of faiths and ethnicities during a visit to North Macedonia on Tuesday, saying "respect for diversity" is key to the region's efforts to integrate with Europe. The pontiff was welcomed with yellow billboards and buses bearing his smiling face after he touched down in the tiny Balkan state, which is mainly Orthodox Christian but was delighted to welcome him. Catholics make up only a small sliver -- less than one percent -- of the country of 2.1 million, which is also home to a large ethnic Albanian Muslim minority. In an address before President Gjorge Ivanov and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Francis praised the "crucible of cultures and ethnic and religious identities" in "your land, a bridge between East and West". North Macedonia's diversity, which reflects the broader Western Balkan region, forms a "mosaic in which every piece is essential for the uniqueness and beauty of the whole." A "peaceful and enduring ...
Woman held in Poland for adding LGBT symbol to revered icon
A protest is planned in Poland later Tuesday after police held for a few hours an Amnesty International activist on allegations she desecrated the country's most-revered Catholic icon by adding the LGBT rainbow colors to its halos. Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski said on Twitter that the woman was detained Monday in the central city of Plock and would hear charges over the desecration of the icon of Mother of God of Czestochowa. In predominantly Catholic Poland, individuals can face up to two years in prison for hurting religious feelings. Amnesty International has identified the woman detained by police Monday as their activist, Elzbieta Podlesna, and called the charges "spurious.
Pakistani Christian girls targeted by Chinese as brides
Hundreds of women and girls from Pakistan's Christian minority have been trafficked to China as brides in recent months as their country becomes a new marriage market for Chinese men. Chinese and Pakistani brokers are aggressively seeking out girls, sometimes even cruising outside churches to ask for potential brides, and some pastors get payments to lure impoverished parents with promises of wealth in exchange for their daughters. Parents receive several thousand dollars and are told that their new sons-in-law are wealthy Christian converts. The grooms turn out to be neither. Once in China, the girls most often married against their will can find themselves isolated in remote rural regions, vulnerable to abuse, unable to communicate and reliant on a translation app even for a glass of water.