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In the latest offensive against Islam's Prophet Mohammad which seems to go unreported in mainstream media, Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari called him 'the world's first homosexual', which caused the Muslim community to vehemently protest the statement. According to Breitbart which first reported the news, the Muslim community in India condemned the act, saying it is designed to 'incite a riot'. The protestors, who staged numerous marches and rallies called on the government to prosecute Tiwari, accusing him of making 'anti-social' statements and 'blasphemy'. Breitbart said that about 2.5 lakh people attended the latest rallies, which later took a violent turn....

When we think of religious persecution, the Middle East comes to mind. But the world's largest democracy? At this time last year, I urged BreakPoint listeners to pay close attention to the state of religious freedom around the world in 2015. I said that this most important of freedoms was in peril at home as well as abroad. Little has changed in the past twelve months. If anything, the state of religious freedom is even more precarious, as events in India amply demonstrate. Normally, when we think about the persecuted Church, what comes to mind are places like the Middle...

I am a Hindu. I am hearing alot about religious persecution from the lawyers representing the family of the Islamic terrorists. But my "second home" is India. I know a lot about Islam. Come with me to Kolkata (Calcutta), I can show you Islam. I know how this game works, and this grievance game. Politics and religion are one and the same in this modern radical Islam. So let me give my view of religion and politics because today, it is one and the same, because today where you stand in politics has a lot to bare on where you...

An atheist professor said Tuesday that it's acceptable to criticize Christians but not Muslims, because he does not "fear" retaliation from Christians. "I know what keeps me from critiquing Islam on my blog is just fear," Phil Zuckerman said at a discussion on religious liberty at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. "I've got three kids. "So I know I can say anything about Christianity or Mormonism, and I'm not living in fear, which is a testament to Christianity and Mormonism, and that's wonderful. Thank you," said Zuckerman, who is a self-described atheist and professor of secular studies at Pitzer College...

Mumbai Celebrates Krishna's Birthday By Building Human Pyramids Dahi Handi festival is celebrated in Mumbai by people building human pyramids trying to reach the pot of curd hanging above the ground 06 Sep 2015 The birthday of the Hindu deity Krishna was celebrated in Mumbai on Sunday, with the annual Dahi Handi festival. The tradition involves participants, known as govindas, forming a human pyramid to reach a pot filled with curd hanging above the ground.

NEW DELHI: In a breathtaking spectacle, Goddess Kali was projected on the Empire State Building in New York. Artist Andrew Jones designed the portrait of the goddess to make the point that Mother Nature now more than ever needs a fierce avatar to fight the dangers of pollution and extinction, Firstpost.com reported...

[1]A crowd of naysayers that ranged from her cousin in the state of Washington, to Buddhist leaders in Boise, Colo., to a rabbi in Nevada has called on Idaho Sen. Sheryl “Sherry” Nuxoll (R) to apologize for calling Hinduism a “false faith with false gods.”While the self-described mother, housewife and co-manager of a farm/ranch in Cottonwood, Idaho, has admitted she could have turned a better phrase, she has refused to say the words many people want to hear: “I’m sorry.”Senators Not Happy with Decision to Open with Hindu Prayer Nuxoll and two other Republicans refused to attend the opening...

Hindus Ask Pope Francis To Punish Priest Who Said Yoga Leads To Satanism, 'Kingdom Of Darkness' By Bruce Wright @bctw on February 23 2015 The pope has been asked by some Hindus to discipline a Catholic priest who equated yoga and the devil. Reuters/Max Rossi A group of Hindus is appealing to Pope Francis to intervene after a Catholic priest from Northern Ireland insinuated that the ancient discipline of yoga is tantamount to Satanism and paganism. Rev. Roland Colhoun from Glendermott parish was delivering a sermon in the village of Drumsurn on Feb. 8 dealing with the devil and exorcism...

Every month there is an incident, like taking property of Hindu people or forced conversion of Hindu girls. ... Minority Hindus have complained of increasing harassment and discrimination in Muslim-dominated Pakistan in recent years, including the destruction or desecration of their places of worship. ... Hindus complain that girls are forcibly converted to Islam, there is no legal recognition for Hindu marriages, and Hindus are discriminated against when it comes to access to government jobs or schooling. ... During partition in 1947, the violent separation of Pakistan and India into separate countries, hundreds of thousands of Hindus decided to migrate...

The head of India's most powerful Hindu group vowed to press ahead with a campaign to convert Muslims and Christians to Hinduism, stoking a sensitive debate that has stalled parliament and threatened the prime minister's economic reform agenda. Mohan Bhagwat of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, which is also the ideological wing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, said India was a "Hindu nation" where many Hindus had been forcibly converted to other religions. "We will bring back those who have lost their way. They did not go on their own," Bhagwat said in a speech late on Saturday. "They...

Religions have surprisingly diverse approaches to the issue of possible extraterrestrial life, David Weintraub found. Below, a quick survey adapted from his book "Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It?" and interviews with the author.

DECHANTSKIRCHEN, Austria, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Officials at an Austrian elementary school said yoga lessons were stricken from the curriculum due to a complaint from a parent who cited "religious reasons." Ingrid Karner, who taught yoga to students once a month during gym classes at the school in Dechantskirchen, told the Kleine Zeitung newspaper the classes had been popular with students and their parents until one parent's complaint led to yoga being banned from the curriculum. "All I heard was that according to the Bible yoga should not be allowed and it would lead the children in the wrong direction,"...

A stampede at a popular religious festival in eastern India on Friday left 32 people dead and several dozen injured, an official said. Thousands of people had gathered to celebrate the Dussehra festival at a ground in the city of Patna in Bihar state, when panic erupted, officials said. It was unclear what triggered the stampede, which occurred as crowds were leaving the venue after watching giant effigies of the Hindu demon king Ravana set ablaze for Dussehra, which celebrates the victory of good over evil. "We have information that 32 people including women and children died due to a...

New Delhi — The family and followers of one of India’s wealthiest Hindu spiritual leaders are fighting a legal battle over whether he is dead or simply in a deep state of meditation. His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj, the founder of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan religious order, with a property estate worth an estimated US$167-million, died in January, according to his wife and son. However, his disciples at his ashram have refused to let the family take his body for cremation because they claim he is still alive. According to his followers, based in the Punjab city of Jalandhar,...

Newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has officially invited Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Modi’s inauguration ceremony, according to India’s victorious Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BBC reported that this is believed to be the first time an olive branch of this magnitude has been extended to Pakistan’s Prime Minister. On May 16, Modi and the BJP were victorious in an Indian election that experienced the highest quantitative voter turnout in history. Modi is set to take the oath as India’s new leader on May 26. In addition to Pakistan, Modi has also reached out to neighboring states...

The evils of the caste system are regularly expounded in contemporary writings. In The Open Society and Its Enemies, Karl Popper argued that Plato’s ideal state, with it three-tier structure, is totalitarian. Yet, as others have noted, Plato's ideal represents an improvement upon the rigid caste structure that characterized ancient societies. Plato suggested that some particularly gifted individuals should be trained to work outside of their caste. This was a radical idea for his time (B.C. 428-347). The egalitarian nature of American society makes castes anathema. We react strongly to perceived or real limitations of our freedom of choice. On...

First paragraph excerpt: Of all the moral precepts instilled in Buddhist monks the promise not to kill comes first, and the principle of non-violence is arguably more central to Buddhism than any other major religion. So why have monks been using hate speech against Muslims and joining mobs that have left dozens dead?

Italy, December 14, 2012 (articolotre.com): [HPI notes: This article is a translation of the original Italian language article. The Hindu population of Italy is at least five times greater than the number mentioned here.] A new milestone for religious freedom and equality between religions in Italy: The parliament has finally approved an agreement with the Italian Hindu Union (Sanatana Dharma Sangha) and the Italy Buddhist Union. These religions will now have the ability to open schools and have access to limited state funding. Article 8 of our Constitution provides for freedom for all religions that do not conflict with Italian...

Many people in India know that, according to their narrative, Jews have lived in their country for two thousand years. They are very proud of the fact that Jews have lived there for so long without experiencing indigenous anti-Semitism. It supports their self-perception as an extremely tolerant and welcoming society to foreign religious minorities. "The fact that Jews lived in India without experiencing persecution is part and parcel of contemporary Hindu identity. This is especially significant for Indians as tensions with Muslims become stronger and friction with Christian missionaries is highlighted in the world press. Indians want to be able...

A disturbing action known as "love jihad" is gaining notoriety after several reports have emerged of young impressionable women being seduced by Muslim men who wish to manipulate them and use them in an effort to aid their jihad. Troves of diplomatic cables were disclosed to the public after the WikiLeaks incident, and one of the cables revealed how foreign officials were monitoring what they referred to as "love jihad" -- an alleged conspiracy of foreign-funded "charming" Muslim men attempting to seduce, marry and convert Hindu and Christian women to be used in the jihadi effort. One such correspondence from...