Latest news with #religiousminorities
Washington Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
A church bombing leads Syria's Christians to consider leaving as foreign fighters remain
DAMASCUS, Syria — The day after last month's deadly suicide attack on a church outside Syria's capital, hundreds of Christians marched in Damascus chanting against foreign fighters and calling for them to leave the country. The June 22 attack on the Mar Elias church, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens, was the latest alarm for religious minorities who say they have suffered one blow after another since President Bashar Assad was removed from power in December.
Times of Oman
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Minority organisations hold protests in Bangladesh, demand rebuilding of temple in Khilkhet
Dhaka: Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, Minority Unity Front, and Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council held a human chain and protest march in front of the Dhaka Press Club and across the country. The protest was organised to condemn "the ongoing violence against religious and ethnic minorities". In Dhaka's Khilkhet area, the Khilkhet Sarbajanin Durga Temple was demolished with a bulldozer. This happened after communal forces made demands to a government institution. In Lalmonirhat, a low-income family's father, Paresh Chandra Shil (69), and son, Bishnu Chandra Shil (35), were beaten and handed over to the police on the false charge of "religious defamation." From the protest, the organisations made strong demands to the government for immediate action. They called for the immediate rebuilding of the temple in Khilkhet, the formation of an investigation committee to identify and punish those responsible for the demolition, the immediate release of Paresh Chandra Shil, Bishnu Chandra Shil, and others who were unjustly arrested in Lalmonirhat, and urgent measures to stop the ongoing persecution of religious and ethnic minorities. The speakers emphasised that an inclusive, secular Bangladesh was created in 1971 through the Liberation War. However, they stated that communal forces, both domestic and foreign, are now using the interim government as a cover to persecute religious and ethnic minorities. This includes looting their homes, vandalising places of worship, attacking them on false religious grounds, and filing lawsuits against minority leaders across the country. They called this a major challenge to communal harmony and urged all progressive, non-communal social, political and cultural groups to unite against these forces. The central protest in front of the Dhaka Press Club was chaired by Nim Chandra Bhowmik, a prominent president of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, and moderated by joint general secretary Advocate Shyamal Kumar Ray.
Associated Press
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
CSI warns at UN that religious minorities in Syria face genocide
Human rights group's warning comes one day after suicide attack on church in Damascus 'Nearly every week, there are reports of fresh killings or abductions of Alawites in Syria.'— Abi McDougal ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, June 24, 2025 / / -- The day after a suicide bomber massacred 27 Christians at worship in Damascus, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) made a statement at the UN Human Rights Council warning of the threat of genocide to religious minorities in Syria. CSI's Abi McDougal made the statement during an Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Virginia Gamba, at the Council session in Geneva on June 23. McDougal reminded the Council that between March 6 and March 10, pro-government forces in Syria massacred hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Alawite Muslim civilians across the coastal re-gion. CSI thanked the Special Adviser for making a statement about this violence on March 11, in which she expressed concern over 'targeted attacks, including against members of the Alawite community,' and stated that the violence 'must stop immediately.' 'Unfortunately, it has not stopped,' McDougal said. 'Nearly every week, there are reports of fresh killings or abductions of Alawites in Syria.' Around 40,000 Alawites have fled across the border into Lebanon since March, according to the UNHCR. McDougal added that in late April, government-aligned forces had attacked another religious minority group, the Druzes, in the Damascus suburbs. 'Then, just yesterday, a horrific suicide bombing at Mar Elias Church in Damascus took the lives of 27 people.' This violence is driven by an ideology of Sunni Muslim supremacism which views Alawites, Druzes, and Ismailis as apostates, and Christians as inferior, McDougal said. 'Combined with the fragile security situation in Syria, we believe the conditions now exist for genocide in the Syrian Arab Republic,' McDougal concluded. 'UN member states must fulfill their obligations under the Genocide Convention and take action to prevent it.' The UN Special Adviser on Genocide Prevention, Professor Virginia Gamba, replied that she has been 'personally engaged' with the Syrian government on this issue, and expects to travel to Syria soon at the government's invitation, to 'inspect all of the issues there, but particularly the situation of the Alawites.' About CSI Christian Solidarity International is an international human rights group campaigning for religious liberty and human dignity. Contact: Joel Veldkamp | [email protected] Joel Veldkamp Christian Solidarity International +41 449823310 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
LBCI
14-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Pope Leo says he will make 'every effort' for world peace
Pope Leo XIV, the first American to head the global Catholic Church, pledged on Wednesday to make "every effort" for peace and offered the Vatican as a mediator in international conflicts, saying war was "never inevitable." Leo, elected last week to succeed the late Pope Francis, has made repeated calls for peace in the early days of his papacy. His first words to St Peter's Square crowds were "Peace be with all you." He returned to the issue while addressing members of the Eastern Catholic Churches, some of which are based in conflict-ridden places such as Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, and often face persecution as religious minorities. Reuters
