Religion News Australia
April 19 – 25, 2021
Religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Religious Violence
Pakistan begins talks with banned extremist group after violent clashes (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 19 – Pakistan has begun talks with an extremist group it banned last week in a bid to control religious violence, which is becoming a major challenge for Prime Minister Imran Khan as he struggles to revive the economy.
Police official fatally stabbed near Paris, Macron calls it terrorism (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 24 – Rambouillet: A man fatally stabbed a police administrative worker as she walked into a police station in a Paris commuter town on Friday, and President Emmanuel Macron said France had again been the victim of a terror attack.
Sri Lanka arrests top Muslim leader over 2019 Easter terror attacks (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 25 – Colombo: Sri Lankan police on Saturday arrested a prominent Muslim lawmaker and his brother over suspected connections to the Easter Sunday suicide bombings in 2019 that killed 269 people.
Other
Prince Philip’s funeral a reminder of the power of rituals (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 19 – (Opinion: Robin Givhan) As the pallbearers carried the coffin of Prince Philip from Windsor Castle to the waiting Land Rover for the short drive to St George’s Chapel on Saturday, one could hear the sound of their footsteps on the gravel.
Quebec can bar government workers from wearing hijabs, turbans, court rules (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 21 – Toronto: Quebec will be able to bar government workers in “positions of authority” from wearing religious symbols such as Muslim hijabs and Sikh turbans on the job following a court ruling on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
There is no legal defence of LGBT+ conversions (The Guardian, Australia)
Apr 24 – (Opinion: Ahmed Shaheed) Outlawing the often shocking methods of trying to change people’s sexuality does not alter others’ rights to belief.
Florida family indicted for selling toxic bleach as fake Covid ‘cure’ (The Guardian, Australia)
Apr 25 – A federal grand jury in Miami has indicted a Florida man and his three sons for fraudulently marketing and selling a toxic industrial bleach as a supposed cure for Covid-19, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, autism, malaria, hepatitis, Parkinson’s, herpes, HIV/Aids, and a range of other medical disorders.
ISLAM
Uyghur Australian woman breaks her silence as her husband is sentenced to 25 years in jail (ABC News)
Apr 24 – Melbourne woman Mehray Mezensof has been married for five years, but her husband has been absent for most of that time.
POLITICS
Morrison’s faith paves way to justice for women (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 19 – (Opinion: Denise Austin) It didn’t take long, but the issues around Scott Morrison’s response to women’s rights and workplace sexual harassment have once again been inexplicably linked to his Pentecostal faith.
Morrison masters the sleight of hand of faith (The Australian)
Apr 24 – (Opinion: Peter Van Onselen, Wayne Errington) The miracle man of modern Australian politics brandishes his own flexible version of religion.
RELIGION & SOCIETY
Aishwarya’s parents’ pain exacerbated by four days spent not knowing where her body was (Brisbane Times)
Apr 20 – Aishwarya Aswath’s parents did not know where her body was for four days following her death and were denied the opportunity to host a traditional Hindu farewell.
Alleged serial predator Anthony Glumac targeted 19 women and girls across Sydney (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 21 – A Sydney man is accused of sexual violence against 19 women and girls, allegedly meeting his victims through work and friends as well as while out clubbing and partying.
Greek Orthodox Australians react to Archdiocese’s finances (ABC News)
Apr 22 – When Bessy Persenitis read last week’s ABC report that taxpayer-funded aged care homes across Australia had funnelled $31 million into the coffers of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, she wasn’t surprised.
Sixth sense: the science behind intuition (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 24 – We’ve all had moments when a “gut feeling” – whether good or bad – affects our judgment.
