Page 32 - Religion Belief
Will win with or without you: Maneka tells Muslim community while appealing for votes
Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said that her win from the Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency is certain "with or without" the support of the Muslims and the community should realise it since they will need to get their work done once BJP is in power."You have to recognise that this victory is sure without you and even with you, and you will have to spread the word," she said while addressing a rally in Sultanpur.Emphasising that she had distributed Rs 1000 crore for Muslim institutions to flourish, she said: "You came to seek our help at the time of your need. But, if you say during election time that we will not vote for the BJP and instead vote for any other party which can defeat BJP, then it breaks our heart"."I have already passed this election. But now if you have to lay the foundation for getting help then this is the right time to do so," Maneka Gandhi added while indirectly calling upon the Muslim community to vote for her.Polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held in all seven ...
Brunei: Controversial Sharia law aimed at 'prevention'
Brunei has defended its move to implement Sharia law, saying it was "about prevention rather than punishment", after global condemnation of its decision to implement the strict Islamic code under which adultery and sex between men is punishable by stoning to death.
Goa Dy CM asks EC to relax alcohol sale deadline
In a letter to the Election Commission (EC), Goa's Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai on Friday sought a relaxation in the 11 p.m. deadline for the sale of alcohol in Goa's bars and clubs, saying the measure would have an adverse impact on the state's tourism-driven economy.
Sense of oneness brings greater life satisfaction to people: Study
People who believe in oneness -- the idea that everything in the world is connected and interdependent -- may have a significantly greater life satisfaction than those who don't, regardless of whether they are religious or not, according to a study. "The feeling of being at one with a divine principle, life, the world, other people or even activities has been discussed in various religious traditions but also in a wide variety of scientific research from different disciplines," said Laura Marie Edinger-Schons from the University of Mannheim in Germany. "The results of this study reveal a significant positive effect of oneness beliefs on life satisfaction, even controlling for religious beliefs," said Edinger-Schons, author of the study published in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. Edinger-Schons conducted two surveys involving nearly 75,000 people in Germany. In the first survey, over 7,000 participants were asked to respond to a series of statements designed to ...
Goa CEO asks parties not to use religious events to woo voters
Poll authorities in Goa have asked political parties and their candidates to desist from using socio-religious functions to woo voters ahead of the April 23 election in the state. They have also directed political parties not to hold any public meetings in religious places. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kunal Thursday held a meeting with political parties with regards to hindrance caused while performing religious activities due to the restrictions imposed under the model code of conduct (MCC). The MCC is currently in force for elections to the two Lok Sabha seats and bypolls to three assembly seats in Goa on April 23. The meeting was called following a series of complaints from temple committees that the EC's flying squads are forcing them to stop religious activities post 10 pm citing the MCC. Goa is currently witnessing feasts at various temples in rural areas. Speaking to PTI, Kunal said directions have been issued to political parties and their candidates, asking ...
Ex-Pope breaks silence on church's sex abuse crisis
Retired Pope Benedict XVI has broken his silence on the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, claiming that it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalisation of the church's moral teaching.
71.81 pc polling in AP's Krishna dist
A total of 71.81 per cent of polling was registered by 6 PM in Andhra Pradesh' Krishna district Thursday, the district election officer said. At a press conference here Thursday night, district collector A.Md. Imtiaz said the highest polling percentage of 84 in the district (16 assembly segments) was reported in the Kaikaluru parliamentary constituency and the lowest percentage was 60 in the Vijayawada West and Mylavaram assembly segments by 6 PM. Still the voting was continuing in some polling centres in the district, he added. The polling has been delayed for hours in many locations, including Vijayawada (East), Vijayawada (west) and Tiruvuru segments due to technical glitches of the electronic voting machines. The polling was completed peacefully and no untoward incident was reported across the district. The voters, who were standing in queues by 6 PM, were being allowed to cast their votes. All the EVMs were being sent to the counting centres - Vijayawada and Krishna University ...
EC sends notice to Yogi, Mayawati for 'violation' of Model Code of Conduct, seeks reply within 24 hours
Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday sent notices to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and UP CM Yogi Adityanath over their speeches delivered in Deoband in Saharanpur on April 7 and 9 respectively, which allegedly violated the Model Code of Conduct.Both the leaders have been asked to submit their response within 24 hours.The two leaders have been issued notice under Sub-Section (3) of Section 123 of the Representation of the People's Act. The commission in its notice to them also reminded that the Supreme Court through a judgement in 2017 had ordered that religion and caste cannot be used by anyone while making any statement during electioneering or otherwise."The EC is prima facie of the opinion that you have violated the aforesaid provisions of the MCC and also wilfully disobeyed the order of the Supreme Court by making impugned statements," the Commission said in the notice issued to both the leaders.Mayawati while addressing a rally in Deoband on April 7 had ...
Election Commission issues notice to Mayawati
The Election Commission on Thursday issued notice to BSP chief Mayawati over her remarks exhorting the Muslim community to vote only for SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidates in Uttar Pradesh and said it violated the Model Code of Conduct.
Polling on at some booths in Andhra even after 10 p.m.
Polling continued in some polling centres in Andhra Pradesh past 10 p.m. Thursday as voters stood in long queues waiting for their turn to exercise their franchise.
Hindu sisters not forcibly converted: Pak HC
A Pakistani High Court on Thursday declared that the two Hindu sisters from the country's Sindh province were not forcibly converted to Islam.The court permitted them to reunite with their husbands.According to Dawn, the two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15) and their spouses had filed a petition in the Islamabad High court on March 25, against the alleged harassment by the police.In their plea, the girls maintained that they willfully converted to Islam.The incident came to light after a video went viral on social media, showing the girls' father and brother claiming the two girls were abducted and forcibly converted to Islam.In a separate video, however, the girls claimed that they accepted Islam out of their own free will, as they were impressed by its teachings.Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah had constituted a five-member committee to probe the matter.During an earlier hearing, the court had directed the state to take over the custody of two girls and ensure ...
Ex-pope Benedict blames Church sex abuse crisis on '68
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI on Thursday blamed the Catholic clerical sex abuse scandals on the 1960s sexual revolution and a collapse in faith in the West. The ex-pope, who retired in 2013, said responsibility for the crises rocking the Roman Catholic Church globally from Australia to Europe lay with the fight for an "all-out sexual freedom, one which no longer admitted any norms". "Part of the physiognomy of the Revolution of '68 was that paedophilia was then also diagnosed as allowed and appropriate," he wrote in a 6,000-word essay for Klerusblatt, a German monthly magazine for clergy. Benedict, who was the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years, said the direct consequence was the "collapse of the next generation of priests in those years and the very high number of laicisations" or priests leaving the Church. The 91 year old said paedophilia "reached such proportions" because of the "absence of God". Some theologians were quick to criticise Benedict's analysis of the causes of
Kerala bids tearful farewell to K.M. Mani
A large number of people with teary eyes on Thursday bid farewell to veteran politician and Kerala Congress-Mani Chairman, K.M. Mani, who passed away in Kochi on Tuesday.
Rugby player Israel Folau set to face contract termination after homophobic post
Australian rugby player Israel Folau is likely to face contract termination after he shared a homophobic post on social media.Folau took Instagram to share the image reading: "WARNING drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, and idolaters HELL AWAITS YOU REPENT! ONLY JESUS SAVES.""Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him," the rugby player captioned the post.The post did not go down well with Rugby Australia, the sport's governing body, and issued a statement with their "intention to terminate his contract.""Israel has failed to understand that the expectation of him as a Rugby Australia and NSW Waratahs employee is that he cannot share material on social media that condemns, vilifies or discriminates against people on the basis of their sexuality," Rugby Australia Chief Executive, Raelene Castle and NSW Rugby Union CEO, Andrew Hore said on
Fire Temple's trust denies in HC allegation of discrimination against women
A Fire Temple trust told the Delhi High Court Thursday that it does not profess gender discrimination as even men bleeding from a bodily injury are not allowed entry to the place of worship, just as menstruating women. The trust, Delhi Parsi Anjuman, told a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice A J Bhambhani that as the temple near Delhi Gate here was privately funded by Parsi Zoroastrians, no one else has the right under the law to demand entry into it. The DPA submissions were in response to a PIL which alleged that persons belonging to other races and religions were being discriminated against by denying them entry into the temple. The petition, by lawyer Sanjjiiv Kkumaar, has also sought entry of menstruating women into the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. DPA contended that Kkumaar's plea was "misconceived" and liable to be dismissed as the reliefs sought by him were "constitutionally impermissible", violated the rights of all Zoroastrians and was "ignorant" of the ...
NZ police arrest Trump fan over Christchurch mosque abuse
New Zealand police on Thursday arrested a man spotted in a "Trump" tee-shirt hurling abuse at worshippers outside one of the Christchurch mosques where dozens were killed in a massacre last month. Police said the 33-year-old man had "shaken" the Muslim community late Wednesday at the Al Noor mosque by shouting abuse at people. "Our community has no tolerance for those who target or victimise others because of their identity, and nor does police," Canterbury district commander superintendent John Price said in a statement Wednesday. "This is especially so for members of our Muslim community who are already dealing with so much," he added. The man described as being "of solid build with short dark hair and a tattoo on his left shoulder/neck area", walked off into the park opposite the mosque after the incident, but was later apprehended. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a self-avowed white supremacist, has been charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 of attempted murder over the ...
Japan Catholic Church to begin investigating sex abuse cases
The Catholic Church in Japan is preparing to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against minors by its priests, including accusations from 20 years ago, amid widening pedophilia scandals. The Catholic Bishops' Conference in Japan said Thursday it has established a committee per district but details of an investigation haven't been decided. The conference said surveys found two reported cases in 2002 and five in 2015, which weren't disclosed or verified. It said they will be retroactively investigated. The decision comes after Pope Francis convened a bishops' summit in February to press responses to worldwide scandals. He is expected to visit Japan in November in the first papal visit to the country since John Paul II in 1981. Japan's Catholic community is about 440,000, or 0.3 percent of the population.
NZ police seek man over Christchurch mosque worshipper abuse
New Zealand police on Thursday were seeking a man who allegedly hurled abuse at worshippers outside one of the Christchurch mosques where dozens were killed in a massacre last month. Police said the man was wearing a "Trump" t-shirt and black cap and had "shaken" the Muslim community late Wednesday at the Al Noor mosque by shouting abuse at people. "Our community has no tolerance for those who target or victimise others because of their identity, and nor does police," Canterbury district commander superintendent John Price said in a statement Wednesday. "This is especially so for members of our Muslim community who are already dealing with so much," he added. The man walked off into the park opposite the mosque after the incident. Police renewed their calls Thursday, seeking to identify the man they described as "of solid build with short dark hair and a tattoo on his left shoulder/neck area". Police said they are reviewing their response as two armed officers were at the mosque at ..
Bengaluru-based Saddam Hussein keeps this Ram temple clean and running
In what could be perceived as an example of devotion with no boundaries, a 27-year-old Muslim man has been cleaning and taking care of a Ram temple here for the past three years.Ahead of Ram Navami - the celebration of the birth of Lord Ram - 27-year-old Saddam Hussein is once again engaged in cleaning up the premises.Hussein says he finds peace of mind while working at the Lord's adobe.The temple, situated in Rajajinagar area of the city, is thronged by a large number of devotes who also appreciate and encourage the work being done by Hussein.Speaking to ANI, Venkatesh Babu, an office-bearer in the temple committee, said, "He has been working with me at my shop for over 18 years. After I was elected as an office bearer of the temple committee, I gave him the responsibility of cleaning the temple. He comes every year before Ram Navami and cleans the temple.""There are no issues between Hindus and Muslims in this region. We all live in complete harmony. This all is a political issue ...
Pak court orders teenage Christian girl back in parents' custody
A court here on Wednesday ordered that a teenage Pakistani Christian girl, who was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam after marrying off to a Muslim man in February, be handed over to her parents. Shalat Masih, 14, was produced by police in the Lahore High Court and said that she was abducted from her native town Faisalabad and later sold to a Muslim man. The girl's father told the court that some members of the Christian community of his locality had abducted his daughter and later sold her off to a Muslim man named Zafar Iqbal. "After forcibly converting her to Islam, Iqbal married the underage girl. She was later taken to the Jamia Rizvia Mazhar-i-Islam Faisalabad on February 20 and was renamed Ayesha," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn. During the hearing, Justice Tariq Saleem Shaikh ordered handing over the girl to her parents. In a similar case last month, two Hindu sisters --Reena, Raveena, were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in ...