Religion News – Weekly Newsletter for January 17-24, 2011

Monday, January 24, 2011

This Buddhist monk is pop fan, likes fashion and tweets

BEIJING – A Buddhist monk has become popular for performing pop music, using latest gadgets and wearing fashionable gowns while travelling in China to spread his religion.

Unlike traditional Buddhist monks, Shi Daoxin, formerly an abbot at a temple in eastern Jiangxi province, is a fan of Harry Potter and uses the latest iPhone and …. Read the original article : This Buddhist monk is pop fan, likes fashion and tweets.

Court allows prayers at demolished mosque site

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Monday ordered the capital’s land and housing developing authority to allow ten devotees to offer prayers for the next two months at the site of a mosque demolished in south Delhi last week.

Justice G.S. Sistani asked Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to build a boundary wall with … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Court allows prayers at demolished mosque site.

Bihar beckons: NRI shooting documentary with Hollywood crew

PATNA – California-based NRI filmmaker Ravi Verma has come all the way to his native Bihar with a Hollywood crew to make a documentary on famous Chinese Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang’s journey to India and says it’s a dream come true.

Verma and the crew are busy shooting the documentary “Hridayasutram” in Bihar’s popular Buddhist … Read : Bihar beckons: NRI shooting documentary with Hollywood crew.

Catholic Church urges ‘clarity’ from Berlusconi over sex scandal

ROME – The Catholic Church in Italy Tuesday urged embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to shed light on charges facing him in a widening sex scandal.

“Necessary clarity”, demanded the headline of a front-page editorial of Avvenire, a daily newspaper owned by Italy’s Catholic Bishops Conference.
About “the umpteenth judicial-political scandal”, raging against the premier … Original article on : Catholic Church urges ‘clarity’ from Berlusconi over sex scandal.

Finally, ’salvation’ for 128 Hindus who died in Pakistan

NEW DELHI – For 35 long years, the ashes of 128 Hindus remained at a cremation ground in Karachi, in the hope that some day the departed souls would attain “salvation” when their last remains are immersed in the holy Ganga.

That last wish of these people, who died in Pakistan since independence, … Read more : Finally, ’salvation’ for 128 Hindus who died in Pakistan.

Sikhs with kirpans denied entry to Quebec assembly

TORONTO – The kirpan issue was to the fore once again in Canada Wednesday when four Sikhs were barred from entering the Quebec provincial assembly for carrying a “potential weapon”.

The Bloc Quebecois political party further stoked the issue by seeking outright ban on the kirpan even in the Canadian parliament where two kirpan-wearing Sikh … Original source on Gaea Times at : Sikhs with kirpans denied entry to Quebec assembly.

Malaysian Hindu festival gets Buddhist touch

GEORGE TOWN – Two Malaysian Indian brothers celebrating the Thaipusam festival of the Tamil Hindus carried idols of Buddhist deity Kuan Yin after their ailing mother recovered.

G. Asokumar, 31, and his brother G. Sivakumar, 40, Wednesday carried the idol in a kavadi, a plywood platform, on their shoulders from a Buddhist temple to the … Read more : Malaysian Hindu festival gets Buddhist touch.

Kirpan ban slammed by Canadian opposition, media

TORONTO – The opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) Thursday slammed the barring of four Sikhs with kirpans from entering the Quebec provincial assembly and demands for ban on the symbolic dagger in parliament.

The Sikhs had gone to appear before a assembly committee which is debating a bill to deal with accommodation of religious minorities …. Original article : Kirpan ban slammed by Canadian opposition, media.

Only 10 people can pray at demolished Delhi mosque: Court

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Friday disallowed a fresh plea seeking permission to allow more than 10 people to offer Friday prayers at a mosque that was demolished by the authorities after being termed illegal.

“This land does not belong to you anymore. Therefore we cannot allow your plea,” Justice G.S. Sistani said …. Read the original article : Only 10 people can pray at demolished Delhi mosque: Court.

Apex court to go into quota for Dalit Christians, Muslims

NEW DELHI – Is denial of the Scheduled Caste reservations to Dalit Christians and Muslims – as available to Hindus, Sikh, and Buddhists – violative of Article 14 of the constitution? The Supreme Court Friday said it will hold a hearing on the question.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia …. Source article : Apex court to go into quota for Dalit Christians, Muslims.

New New York cab rules will still allow turbans

NEW YORK – New York taxi drivers, many of them immigrants from dozens of countries, are notorious for being unkempt and even obnoxious.

But in updating 20-year-old rules to set a new standard for drivers – that they maintain a “professional appearance” – the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Thursday made sure to communicate … Read more »».

Apex court to examine quota for Dalit Christians, Muslims

NEW DELHI – Is denial of the Scheduled Castes reservations to Dalit Christians and Muslims – as available to Hindus, Sikh, and Buddhists – violative of Article 14 of the constitution? The Supreme Court Friday said it will hold a hearing on the question.

The apex court bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice K.S. …. Read the original article : Apex court to examine quota for Dalit Christians, Muslims.

Showing photos of the place where he claimed the event takes place, Sanghom official Sreeni Pattathanam told reporters Saturday: “This is the place where … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Kerala rationalists go to court on ‘celestial light’.