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Fri, 21 Feb 2020
Council slammed over plans to change school intake process - NSS quoted
The council has launched a consultation on its proposals, which would require parents to submit their child's Roman Catholic baptism certificate before primary places are allocated.
Daily Record
Knifeman stabs prayer leader at London Central Mosque
A revered figure at one of the country's best known mosques was allegedly stabbed in the neck by a man he had been teaching about Islam.
The Times
Church of England bids to evict 8,000-patient GP practice to build luxury home
The Church of England's property arm has applied to evict a GP practice in order to convert its premises into a luxury home.
Pulse Today
Thousands of women rally for legal abortion in Argentina
Thousands congregated outside the National Congress on Wednesday to demand for the government to legalise abortion in Argentina.
Latino USA
Australia: Children stage mass-walkout after teachers were forced to quit for being gay
Students at a Catholic school have walked out in protest at the resignations of two teachers who allegedly resigned because they were gay.
Metro
Women approve of FGM more than men in Egypt, survey reveals
Even though the country first outlawed FGM in 2008 and further deemed it a felony in 2016, 51 percent of Egyptian women still approve of the procedure.
Step Feed
'I loosened my hijab at a chess championship. Now I’m afraid to return to Iran.'
"Even if my faith was fading, as a woman in Iran I had no choice but to tolerate the hijab — the Islamic emblem of constant, misogynistic oppression."
The Washington Post
'Secular Israelis on buses strike a blow for religious freedom'
Transport on the Sabbath could have implications for Israel's election.
The Economist
Thu, 20 Feb 2020
Illegal Orthodox Jewish schools held council to ransom over child safety
A council's efforts to safeguard 1,500 Jewish boys attending illegal yeshivas were "frustrated" after Orthodox Jewish leaders warned they would only co-operate on a "quid pro quo" basis.
Jewish News
Victims of church-related abuse asked to come forward
Victims and survivors of church-related abuse are being asked to come forward as part of a safeguarding review across all 42 dioceses in the Church of England.
ITV News
Rebecca Long-Bailey vows to make it Labour policy to scrap Prevent
Rebecca Long-Bailey has vowed to make it Labour policy to scrap the anti-extremism programme Prevent if she is elected to replace Jeremy Corbyn as party leader.
The Guardian
Nine dead after two attacks on shisha bars in Germany
A gunman opened fire on two shisha bars in the western German city of Hanau, killing at least eight people and injuring several others, police say. The motive for the attack is currently unclear.
BBC
‘How Hindu supremacists are tearing India apart’
For seven decades, India has been held together by its constitution, which promises equality to all. But Narendra Modi's BJP is remaking the nation into one where some people count as more Indian than others.
The Guardian
France to end imam and teacher deals to counter extremism
French president Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday announced measures intended to counter Islamic extremism in France by giving the government more authority over the schooling of children, the financing of mosques and the training of imams.
Yahoo! News
Jägermeister logo does not offend Christians, Swiss court rules
A Swiss court has ruled that Jägermeister may expand its trademark amid claims its logo was offensive to Christians.
BBC
Children stage mass-walkout after teachers were forced to quit for being gay at Catholic school in US
Students at a Catholic school in Seattle have walked out in protest at the resignations of two teachers who allegedly resigned because they were gay.
Metro
Offended Christian group tries to shut down Disney cartoon
A Christian group has branded new Disney cartoon The Owl House 'demonic' for depicting a child wanting to learn to become a witch. A petition calling for the cartoon's removal has generated 16,000 signatures.
Metro
Wed, 19 Feb 2020
Fears over jihadist attacks in jail
A convicted killer with no history of extremism launched a copycat jihadist attack on jail staff last week.
The Times (£)
Same-sex marriage: new law has no opt out for Northern Irish florists, photographers and hotels
Hoteliers, florists and wedding photographers will be unable to refuse to cater to same-sex weddings under plans being drawn up by the government. The plans will also see registrars given no religious opt-out from marrying couples.
News Letter
Offensive jokes logged in ‘non-crime’ databases in Scotland
Hundreds of people in Scotland are being recorded on police databases every year for committing "non-crimes" such as telling offensive jokes.
The Times (£)
Jersey to form ‘citizens’ jury’ on assisted dying
Campaign group Dignity in Dying has praised the announcement by Jersey's health minister that the government will form a 'citizens' jury' to discuss assisted dying.
ITV News
‘Fringe religious party gains seats in crisis-stricken Peru’
A messianic religious group called the Israelites of the New Universal Pact is the third-largest legislative bloc in Peru's new parliament.
The Conversation
‘Conservative Islamic views are gaining ground in secular Bangladesh and curbing freedom of expression’
There has been a long-term shift in Islam's role in politics in Bangladesh.
The Conversation
‘The idea of secularism is indispensable in India’
Rajeev Bhargava says the term 'secularism' enables a focus on religion-based discrimination and misrecognition.
The Hindu
Known sex abuse priest was appointed headmaster of Catholic junior school in Australia
A Christian Brother convicted twice for sexually assaulting boys was appointed headmaster of a Melbourne Catholic boys' school a few years after the religious order became aware of his abuse.
Brisbane Times
Couple who filmed X-rated video at holy site in Burma charged with blasphemy
A couple who filmed themselves having sex at an ancient temple and posted the clip online have been charged with blasphemy.
Daily Star
Tue, 18 Feb 2020
Burkina Faso church attack leaves 24 dead
Gunmen have killed 24 people and wounded 18 in an attack on a Protestant church in a village in northern Burkina Faso, the regional governor has said.
The Guardian
China’s Uighur Muslims detained for growing beards and having too many babies, leaked document reveals
Chinese authorities are monitoring the Uighur Muslim population's everyday movements and behaviour and sending people to internment camps over facial hair and having too many babies, leaked documents have revealed.
The Independent
Christians urged to push doctors’ body to keep opposing assisted dying
Care Not Killing, an alliance of organisations opposed to assisted suicide, is asking Christians to contact their doctors to encourage them to support continued opposition.
Christian Today
Attack on Catholic church in NI a sectarian hate crime, say police
Criminal damage caused to a Catholic Church in Co Antrim is being investigated as a sectarian hate crime, police have confirmed.
4NI
Germany's Muslims call for protection after 'far-right terror plot' arrests
Muslim groups in Germany have called for more police protection after the arrest of members of a rightwing extremist group that is believed to have been plotting large-scale attacks on mosques around the country.
The Guardian
Mon, 17 Feb 2020
Ofsted could be given powers to seize evidence when inspecting illegal schools amid crackdown
Ofsted could be given greater powers to seize evidence when inspecting illegal schools, as the Education Secretary pledges a crackdown.
The Telegraph
Appeal Court rules Islamic marriages invalid in UK
A court has reversed a judgment from two years ago which found that a couple who had an Islamic wedding ceremony could legally divorce.
BBC
Charedi Jewish rabbis say their schools cannot talk about same-sex relations in class
Rabbis representing Britain's main Strictly Orthodox Jewish communities have issued a defiant challenge to the government by insisting their schools cannot discuss LGBT-related issues with pupils.
The Jewish Chronicle
Islamist terror website editors jailed
Two web managers who ran a website glorifying Islamist terror groups and encouraging attacks have been jailed.
BBC
Government minister warns venues over cancelling Franklin Graham
The leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has called on the owners of venues who cancelled the booking of American preacher Franklin Graham to ensure they are not unlawfully discriminating on grounds of religion and belief.
Premier Christian News
German far-right group 'planned attacks on mosques'
Members of a far-right group arrested in Germany were planning attacks on mosques, politicians and asylums seekers, local media report.
BBC
Christian convert says he ‘would risk death’ if deported to Iran
A Christian convert who says his life will be at risk if he is deported to Iran had his appeal rejected because he was unable to name Judas as the betrayer of Jesus.
The Sunday Times (£)
Legislation planned to protect religious buildings in NI
Justice Minister Naomi Long is planning to bring in legislation to help protect Northern Ireland's religious buildings from attacks.
Belfast Telegraph
Fri, 14 Feb 2020
Peterborough Roman Catholic primary gets green light
A council has approved the first state-funded Catholic school to be built in England for more than a decade.
BBC
Church of England education leaders are urged to work together with ‘honesty and prayer’
Educational leaders should "work together with honesty and prayer", the archbishop of Canterbury has said, as the C of E launched a new resource at its national education conference.
Church Times
New food minister has previously challenged non-stun slaughter
Environment secretary George Eustice has suggested there should be improvements to the kosher method of animal slaughter.
The Jewish Chronicle
A look at the new 1,400 place Hindu free school planned in Leicester
A new 1,372-pupil Hindu faith school could be built in Leicester.
Leicester Mercury
Catholic monk who abused three boys jailed for 20 years
A former monk at a Catholic boarding school who admitted abusing three boys has been jailed for more than 20 years.
Metro
Privacy groups warn of threat to free speech from online harms regulation
Privacy campaigners have labelled the government's planned online harms regulation a threat to free speech.
Evening Express
Campaigner urging council to stop using faith-based organisation to provide youth services
Youth services in Woodley in Reading could be overhauled for the first time in almost 20 years, with one councillor urging the town council to stop using a Christian faith-based organisation to provide services.
Reading Chronicle
MP calls for tougher controls on Muslim schools and security checks on imams
The number of extremists known to the security forces is only "the tip of the iceberg", Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood has warned.
Birmingham Live
‘Secular Israelis on buses strike a blow for religious freedom’
Transport on the Jewish sabbath could have implications for Israel's election.
The Economist
Thu, 13 Feb 2020
Cultures that are not governed by religion and are tolerant to all beliefs are more wealthy and have better education, study shows
Positive changes in culture relating to acceptance and tolerance generally come before improvements in these three measures of affluence, not the other way round.
Daily Mail
Church of England may have to pay out millions over child sexual abuse
Synod hears apologies must be followed by concrete action as it backs compensating survivors
Guardian
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