Since a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake last year killed more than 53,000 people and displaced some 3 million residents according to Turkey’s Interior Ministry, recovery has been slow. More than a year later, the city is quiet, often only disrupted by the sound of construction equipment.
Read MoreBhupat Bhai Sekhaliya, a rickshaw driver from Gujarat, a state in western India known for its economic progress and as the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, faces significant challenges due to his background. He belongs to the Dalit community, which is at the bottom of India’s caste system.
Read MoreYou’ve seen the train ads and massive billboards for years featuring colorful performers posing with pastel-colored ribbons. You might have even considered buying a ticket to see this dance troupe as they move from one to city to the next. So what exactly is Shen Yun, how do they define their religious ties and why do some even call the group a cult?
Read More(EXPLAINER) Cherry blossoms hold a profound significance in various cultures around the world, often intertwined with religious and spiritual symbolism. Both their beauty and delicate nature have inspired poets, artists and thinkers. Here’s a look at how different cultures — from Japan to India to the United States — feel about at these dazzling flowers that bloom each April.
Read MoreIndia’s increased use of Facial Recognition Technology has led to the arrest of those the government deemed “troublemakers” for their involvement in recent protests. It was not the first time video technology had been used to identify people taking part in such activity against the government. As a result, there’s the potential on the part of police to increasingly target religious minorities.
Read MoreThe issue of young women wearing hijabs in schools has become a controversial and heated topic in the Indian state of Rajasthan following a similar battle in the southern state of Karnataka. Hijab bans in Hindu-majority India are nothing new. However, such edicts have intensified recently under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, who adhere to Hindu nationalism and have focused on limiting the rights of religious minorities.
Read MoreDante has inspired countless artists through the centuries. Such has been the influence of Dante’s poem on Vietnamese American artist Tammy Nguyen, that she has devised an ambitious three-part exhibition, “A Comedy for Mortals,” inventively interpreting the text through the lens of Cold War-era geopolitics in Southeast Asia.
Read More(REVIEW) For the past five weekends, the horror movie “Exhuma” has topped box offices in South Korea, its country of origin. This movie, which recently opened in America, is a harrowing must-see. It brings to mind “The Wailing,” a South Korean horror movie from 2016. Both movies wrestle with identity and religion in a variety of ways that also includes a dislike of Japan, a former colonizer, and what it means to be pro-Korean.
Read More(ANALYSIS) An inquiry was convened to respond to the ever-growing marginalization of women and girls in Afghanistan and Iran, which closely resembles segregation. Women and girls in those countries are treated as second-class citizens, deprived of their freedoms and forced to adhere to strict dress codes under the threat of severe punishments.
Read MoreOn a hazy morning with an aura of high spirit and enthusiasm, Mohammad Abdullah Dar, 84, wearing a tracksuit and a skull cap, starts jogging in the playground of the Amar Singh College in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. He’s been on a mission to teach soccer to women and help them excel at it in a part of the world not always enthusiastic about female sports.
Read MoreIn his new book, Ian Johnson features Chinese historians who record the darkest episodes of Communist Party rule. The current president of China, Xi Jinping, calls alternatives to the state-sponsored narrative of Communist rule “historical nihilism.” For Xi, Chinese Communism is “the conclusion of history.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Feb. 14 election of Indonesia's current Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto as the country’s president should raise concern in the U.S., both because of who he is and also the chicanery surrounding his campaign. Official results will still take some weeks to appear and there are allegations of election fraud.
Read MoreThe memory of Feb. 25, 2020, remains vivid in Mohammed Tahir Saifi’s mind, as if it occurred only yesterday. He often looks back on that day as the one that turned his life upside down because he had to spend two years in jail for a crime he he did not commit. It was a day when a riot erupted in India’s capital, resulting in the death of over 50 people.
Read MoreIn China, people celebrate Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, but there are at least three holidays and cultural traditions centered on romantic love. A figure that ties together these other holidays is the Old Man Under the Moon — Yuexia Laoren in Mandarin, or Yuelao for short — who is believed to be a divine matchmaker.
Read MoreValentine’s Day often revives attention on romantic themes in literature. Stories are cited in media with the aim of helping people navigate the demands of the human heart on a day that has become intimately associated with romantic love. One literary tradition rarely highlighted is that of Hindu “bhakti” or ecstatic devotion, which birthed some of the most stirring mystical poetry composed in the world.
Read MoreAmong China’s traditional holidays and celebrations, none ranks higher in importance than the Lunar New Year (農曆新年). Also known as the Spring Festival (春節), or simply Chinese New Year, it marks the beginning of the year according to the traditional lunar calendar.
Read MoreAn alliance of civil organizations — known as the “Team BBM 2022 Coalition” — has rebranded in recent weeks into what’s known as the BLESSED Movement. Known by its acronym BLESSED under the leadership of Chairman Herbert Antonio Martinez, this group has transcended political affiliations in an effort to becoming a quasi-religious unifying force that brings together people from diverse backgrounds across the country.
Read MoreThe consecration rituals of the icon of Lord Rama were performed in a newly built mega-temple in the town of Ayodhya, India, on Jan. 22, 2024. The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, performed the rituals during a 48-minute period considered auspicious by Hindu astrologers. Lord Rama, an avatara or incarnation of Vishnu, is one of the most important deities in the Hindu tradition.
Read MoreAmid the chilly winter winds sweeping through Pakistan's unsettled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the election campaign for the Peoples Party of Pakistan's candidate Dr. Saveera Parkash is in full swing. The wind is not the only thing sweeping across the region, change is as well. In fact, Parkash’s candidacy is historic for several reasons.
Read More(TRAVEL) Aside from traditional methods such as counseling with psychologists and psychiatrists, many people explore various other methods to deal with mental health. In Indonesia, "melukat" has become one of the most-practiced methods when it comes to healing and purifying the mind, heart and soul.
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