Menu Close

Articles on Religious minorities

Displaying all articles

On a visit in May 2000 to the Islamia primary school in London, Prince Charles (left) met Yusuf Islam (centre) and pupils before joining assembly for readings, prayers and speeches. PA Images | Alamy Stock Photo

The school Cat Stevens built: how Conservative politicians opposed funding for Muslim schools in England

Archival documents show that in the 1980s, British education officials refused to engage with Muslim communities about funding faith-based schooling.
The Hazara have long been targeted in Afghanistan, and many fear violence will intensify with the Taliban in power. Dimitris Lampropoulos/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Who are the Hazara of Afghanistan? An expert on Islam explains

With the Taliban again in power in Afghanistan, minorities like the Hazara may have the most to lose.
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man is arrested by Israeli security forces for resisting efforts to shut down a synagogue in the Me’a She’arim neighborhood in Jerusalem, April 17, 2020. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Jewish history explains why some ultra-Orthodox communities defy coronavirus restrictions

Persecution is central to Jewish collective memory. So when armed police entered ultra-Orthodox areas of Jerusalem to close synagogues due to COVID-19, some residents reacted with fear and suspicion.
An Uighur woman rests near a barricaded structure and heavily armed Chinese policemen in Urumqi. Ng Han Guan/AP Photo

I was in China doing research when I saw my Uighur friends disappear

A scholar who spent 24 months in the Uighur-dominated regions of China recalls when the Chinese crackdown on Uighurs started in 2017 – people were picked up and never returned.
The countryside around Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, is home to the country’s largest Mennonite population. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Mexican Mennonites combat fears of violence with a new Christmas tradition

Chronic violence was dampening the holiday spirit in Chihuahua, Mexico. So the Mennonite community planned a ‘Parade of Lights’ and holiday party where neighbors could celebrate safely even at night.
Dilbar Ali Ravu, 10, is kissed by his aunt, Dalal Ravu, as Yazidi children are reunited with their families in Iraq after five years of captivity with the Islamic State group, March 2, 2019. AP Photo/Philip Issa, File

5 years after Islamic State massacre, an Iraqi minority is transformed by trauma

Interviews with the Yazidi survivors of IS attacks that killed 3,100 people in 2014 reveal the emotional, cultural and spiritual scars of religious persecution.
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils says the bill doesn’t go far enough to protect religious minorities in an increasingly intolerant society. Dan Himbrechts/AAP

The biggest hurdle for the Coalition’s religious discrimination bill: how to define ‘religion’

Many scholars agree it is impossible to have a clear, universal definition of religion. Given this ambiguity, passing new laws using a specific concept of religion can have serious repercussions.
Paramilitary soldiers walk past Rapid Action Force (RAF) soldiers standing guard during security lockdown in Jammu, India, Aug. 9, 2019. The restrictions on public movement throughout Kashmir have forced people to stay indoors. All communications and the internet have been cut off. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Modi ushers in a new intolerant India and revokes multicultural democracy

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he’s ushering in a ‘new India.’ But this new era is of ethnic majoritarianism and erases differences, dissent and the rights of minorities.
A voter at a polling station during the New York primary elections in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Religious feelings could sway the vote in 2016 election

How white Republicans and white Democrats feel about Muslims is influencing their candidate choice as well as willingness to vote in the 2016 election.

Top contributors

More