Hindus and Muslim men at greater risk of dying with Covid in pandemic

Hindus and Muslim men have had a disproportionately high risk of dying with coronavirus throughout the pandemic compared with Christians, figures suggest. After adjusting for age, location, socio-demographic factors and certain pre-existing health conditions, Hindus and Muslim men were still more likely to die with Covid-19, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The ONS […]

Vaccine disinformation ‘forensically targeted ‘ at specific groups – minister

Vaccine disinformation is being “forensically targeted” at specific groups, MPs have heard. Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said that information is “very, very cleverly, hyper super-forensically targeted at different communities”. Mr Zahawi told the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee that disinformation about vaccines and fertility were “proving to be sadly quite potent”. The Medicines […]

US art museum returns stolen Hindu statue to Cambodia

A 10th-century sandstone sculpture of the Hindu god Rama returned to Cambodia decades after it was stolen from a temple during the kingdom’s civil war. Denver Art Museum had acquired the 62-inch-tall torso from the Doris Weiner Gallery in 1986, which was stolen in the 1970s from the Koh Ker temple site. The museum says, at the time, it had no idea that the statue had been stolen. That only came from discussions with delegates from Cambodia. Getting ready for the start of the handover ceremony of the Torso of Rama returned to Cambodia by @DenverArtMuseum. pic.twitter.com/rwikqspV8x — Jay Raman (@ramanjr) March 28, 2016 The quiver on the statue’s back suggested that it had resided in the eastern gopura of the temple site. This section of the temple was home to two ferocious monkey kings, Valin and Sugriva, now in the National Museum of Cambodia. But it still misses its head and other body parts. The kingdom of Cambodia continues to appeal to international art galleries and museums to return the missing limbs. Documents sent to the Denver museum with measurements of the feet in a pedestal matched the legs of the torso. This confirmed that the statue had not [...]

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Hindu and Sikh villagers rebuild mosque shut since 1947

Sikh and Hindu villagers in a Malla village in Ludhiana, India helped renovate and re-open a historic mosque. The mosque had closed in 1947 due to partial building collapse. But a communal rebuilding effort led to its inauguration on February 29. Both faiths assisted with fundraising and construction. Muslims are a tiny minority in a village where 90 per cent of residents are Sikh and 9 per cent Hindu. In the past, Muslims had to travel out of the village to pray at a mosque. The Majlis Ahrar Islam Hind Party of Ludhiana had contacted Maulana Habib Ur Rehman Sani Ludhianavi to assist. Ludhianvi told the Time of India that “Even as the village has just one Muslim family, the response had been overwhelming”. Villagers arranged a communal langar during the inauguration. Ludhianavi then published photos of the event on Facebook. The villagers in Ludhiana highlight how communities work together. Iqbal Hussain, a local Muslim in the village, expressed his gratitude and the bonds of affection for other faiths in his village.

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Asian, Muslim and Hindu holidays added to school calendars in Howard County, Maryland

A Maryland county will allow Muslim and Hindu students a day off from school to celebrate Diwali and Eid al-Adha. The Howard County Board of Education faced a tough decision: to foster inclusion by removing all religious holidays from the academic calender; Or add extra days to include non-Abrahamic celebrations. A unanimous decision in favour of the latter will result in school closings or professional development days for staff in the 2016/17 academic year. The board also voted to allow staff to take a professional development day off for Lunar News Years Eve, after requests from the local Chinese and Korean communities. As it falls on a Saturday, students remain unaffected. Schools in the county have shut during Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  But a recent motion threatened to end this  tradition. It proved controversial enough to attract more than 300 people to a public hearing in December. State and federal laws prevent schools from closing on religious holidays (unless mandated otherwise). Adjusting academic calenders requires a secular reason. Baltimore County had recorded a large levels of absenteeism during these Jewish holidays. Art Abramson, Executive Director of Baltimore’s Jewish Council, welcomed changes to academic calenders on the [...]

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A Study of the English Defence League: The Faith Hate Report

What Draws People of Faith to Right Wing Organisations & What Effects Does the EDL Have on Interfaith Relations? Key findings of the report include: EDL attempts to recruit among faith communities Christian leaders should publicly stand up to EDL UK government should examine group’s international funding Jewish Defence League should be banned Christian organisations […]

Faith Matters International Projects:

Faith Matters has numerous branches across the globe. We undertake the following: Faith Matters has also overseen two international ‘micro-finance’ projects which support the development of small businesses in Jerusalem, Israel and the West Bank in Palestine. The Jerusalem Interest Free Fund: The fund provides small business and study loans to. The fund offers the […]