Oxford University digitised more than one hundred 19th Century Kalighat paintings depicting Hindu deities. The digitisation is part of a wider project at the university’s Bodleian library to make thousands of rare manuscripts and images accessible to the public. Religious statesman, Rajan Zed, took to Twitter to heap praise on the university: We commend #OxfordUniversity for digitizing 110 19th-century #KalighatPaintings of #Hindu deities & others & posting on new #OnlinePortal. — Rajan Zed (@rajanzed) August 1, 2015 Sir Monier Monier-Williams acquired the Kalighat paintings for the Indian Institute Library following his third fund-raising trip to India in 1883. You can trace the history of the Kalighat art to a Kali Temple on the bank of the Buri Ganga (a canal diverging from the Ganges River) in southern Kolkata (Calcutta). This form of Bengali folk art, created between 1800 and 1930, was a product sold to tourists and pilgrims as souvenirs. The sprawling metropolitan success of 18th-century Kolkata attracted a wealth of creative talents. Others moved to the city due to the economic grip of The East India Company in the region. Among them were the trained artists of Murshidabad and folk painters (patuas). A patua depicted mythologies, religious figures, popular [...]
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Continue ReadingA Palestinian toddler died in an arson attack, suspected to have been carried out by far-right settlers. The deceased, an 18-month-old child, Ali Saad Dawabsha slept alongside his family, oblivious to an impending peril. In the early hours of Friday morning, two masked men entered the village of Duma, in the northern area of the West Bank, outside the city of Nablus. They smashed the windows of two properties (one of which was empty) and threw Molotov cocktails inside. The perpetrators also daubed the buildings with graffiti. The Hebrew text read “revenge” and “long live the Messiah”. As the flames burned, his father, Sa’ad, escorted his wife, Reham, and four-year-old son Ahmed to safety. But according to witnesses, a lack of electricity prevented him from finding Ali. The family visited a hospital in Nablus in the West Bank and then the burn unit at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. Reports suggest that Ali’s mother sustained between 70 and 90 per cent burns. His father and brother remain in critical conditions. Politicians across the Israeli political spectrum condemned the murder. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as “a clear-cut terrorist attack. Israel takes a strong hand against terror, no matter who [...]
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Continue ReadingFor more than 50 years, Catholic priests from New Zealand have sailed thousands of miles to the frozen desolation of the Antarctic. The US National Science Foundation invites New Zealand’s Catholic Church for the summer months. A select number of priests work at the whimiscally-titled Chapel of the Snows, at the US McMurdo Station on Ross Island. They provide the spiritual succour to research staff and scientists. But budget cuts and reduced religiosity among staff means the New Zealand diocese ends its tenure in the Antarctic. A military chaplaincy will continue to offer spiritual care and inter-denominational services. Father Dan Doyle, co-ordinator of the Catholic Church in Antarctica, told the Catholic Herald: “Before this digital age people felt very isolated and lonely; they were always under so much pressure, so I did a lot of counselling and peer support”. Email and Skype later replaced a 2-minute call on a ham-radio once a month. At peak summertime, Doyle (and four other priests) assisted up to 2,000 people. That number dropped to 1,200 in a decade. In the harsh winter months, the population drops to just 150 essential personnel. Every few weeks, they travelled 1,360km (845 miles) to the southernmost inhabited place [...]
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Continue ReadingThe Supreme Court of Pakistan recently suspended the execution of Asia Bibi – the Christian mother-of-five convicted on alleged blasphemy charges that reportedly started over a glass of water. It sounds positive, as historically Pakistani courts seemed to be under enormous pressure whenever it came to blasphemy related cases. One of the judges of the same court, Justice Arif Iqbal Bhatti, was assassinated in 1997 after he acquitted two Christians, Salamat Masih and Rehmat Masih, in a blasphemy case because of insufficient evidence. According to various reports, 1274 people have been charged with blasphemy between 1986 and 2010 – 51 accused have been murdered before finishing their respective trials. With that in mind, it is possible to see how the above potentially influenced the decision to uphold Asia Bibi’s death penalty conviction last year (without any credible evidence). The above numbers signify a horrific picture for the fate of anyone accused of breaching blasphemy laws in Pakistan. Whatever the courts decide about the case, the religious fanatics rarely allow them to survive. Not only are the accused at risk; but their supporters and lawyers are targets and killers are sometimes glorified. Under these circumstances, no one should think that Asia [...]
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Continue ReadingIndividuals are using manga to drown out ISIS propaganda. The birth of ISIS-chan (Japanese: ISISちゃん, Aishisu Chan) took place in January to damage ISIS’ image SEO. ISIS-chan’s popularity increased after hacktivist group Anonymous targeted and exposed sympathetic ISIS Twitter accounts. The use of ISIS-chan comes with its own set of rules: do not insult Islam, avoid Islamic iconography and avoid naming Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Alongside a strict no-gore, no-porn policy. At the turn of 2015, an alleged ISIS account attempted to spread propaganda on unrelated Japanese hashtags. Examples included ‘Daikan’ (a term to describe the coldest day of the year) and ‘Zuwaigani‘ (queen crab). A hashtag dedicated to Hitoshi Saito, the two-time judo Olympic gold medalist, who died on January 20, after a battle with cancer, became a target. The propaganda depicted the impeding peril of hostages Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa. Some created the hashtag #ISISクソコラグランプリ (ISIS kusokora guranpuri or ISIS crappy collage grand prix) to invert fear and ridicule the terror group. #ISISクソコラグランプリ pic.twitter.com/PR3BwpJevL — temmo kun (@temmo5) January 20, 2015 ISIS had threatened to murder both men unless Japan paid a $200m ransom – the same amount President Shinzo Abe donated to countries fighting the [...]
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Continue ReadingA recently discovered manuscript at Birmingham University could be one of the world’s oldest fragments of the Quran, thanks to scientific analysis. Tests at Oxford University’s Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit dated the parchment between AD 568 and 645 with 95.4 per cent accuracy. That timeline is a close match to the time of the Prophet Muhammad (AD 570 and 632). This accidental discovery gives new significance to the study of Islam in Birmingham. A PhD researcher, Alba Fedeli, decided to get the parchments tested. The manuscript was misbound with leaves of a similar seventh century Quran manuscript. Susan Worrall, Director of Special Collections (Cadbury Research Library), at the University of Birmingham, said: “We are thrilled that such an important historical document is here in Birmingham, the most culturally diverse city in the UK” The manuscript, which consists of two parchment leaves, contains parts of Suras 18 to 20, written in Hijazi, an early Arabic script. According to Professor David Thomas, Professor of Christianity and Islam, the findings are significant. With a ‘degree of confidence’ the parchment text is traceable to less than two decades after Muhammad’s death. “These portions must have been in a form that is very close to the [...]
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Continue ReadingThe story of Jan Karski’s bravery in the Second World War came to life in a recent documentary in his native Poland. Sławomir Grünberg’s ‘Karski and the Lords of Humanity‘ (Karski i władcy ludzkości), blends archival footage, animation, and interviews to retell a story of wartime heroism. Born in the Polish city of Łódź in 1914, the youngest of eight Catholic children, Jan Romuald Kozielewski later adopted the nom de guerre of Karski. The city exposed a young Karski to multiculturalism. He found himself living alongside Germans, Jews, Russians and Poles. That exposure to Jewish life created an affinity within Karski. Academic pursuits helped him join Poland’s diplomatic service. When interning for the foreign minister, he found himself in Nuremberg, Germany. Karski saw the Nazi propaganda rallies in 1933 and the toxicity of Nazi antisemitism. It created a deeper sympathy for their plight and a sense of foreboding. Other diplomatic assignments brought him to London and Paris. But the outbreak of war brought a career change as he enlisted in the army in 1939. In a few short weeks, invasions from German then Soviet troops divided Poland. The Soviets arrested Karski and placed him in a detention camp; but a [...]
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Continue ReadingJuly 18 is a day for change. A change inspired by the legacy of Nelson Mandela. Each year, the Nelson Mandela Foundation makes a simple request: that you dedicate 67 minutes of your time to humanity. Why 67 minutes? The number represents Mandela’s 67 years of public service. In 2009, the United Nations adopted a resolution to recognise Nelson Mandela Day. Saturday July 18 would have been his 97th birthday. Inspired by Mandela’s values, the day intends to promote positive self-improvement through community work. That work can be as simple as spending 67 minutes making a new friend; irrespective of ethnicity or faith. Or spending those minutes donating unwanted items and clothing to a charity shop. What matters most is to do something that inspires positive change. The Nelson Mandela Foundation encourages individuals to nominate ‘community changers’ with the #Time2Serve hashtag. Others can take part with the #MandelaDay hashtag. To echo Mandela’s words in 2008: “There is still too much discord, hatred, division, conflict and violence in our world here at the beginning of the 21st century. A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place [...]
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Continue ReadingDerby’s first free Sikh school still intends to open in September despite council opposition. Akaal Primary school opens its doors in September on the grounds of the city’s national Sikh museum. Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, wrote to Derby City Council requesting permanent land for the school. A request now under review as they explore their legal position. The council insists that extra primary school places are not required. Dr Daljit Singh Virk, one of the school’s insisted that a ‘political game’ is at hand due to the local and national political divide. In spite of its Sikh ethos, the school offers 50 per cent of places to non-Sikhs. It also offers optional ‘Sikh studies’ outside of school hours alongside an ‘inclusive vegetarian food policy’. The curriculum promises a ‘Sikh ethos and a strong focus on literacy development. Our curriculum will be broad, balanced and thematic’. It will be the first East Midlands school to follow the International Baccalaureate Primary Years programme. By 2020, the school hopes to offer places to 420 students in the region. In a statement, the National Secular Society took a critical stance in line with broader criticisms of faith schools.
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Continue ReadingRabbi Capers Funnye Jr. is set to be the first “black chief rabbi” of the 21st century. The International Israelite Board of Rabbis, a US-based umbrella body for black Jewry, announced that Funnye will serve as the “titular head of a worldwide community of Black Jews“. That movement includes the denomination of Black Jews founded by Rabbi W.A. Matthew in Harlem in 1919. Other affiliated black Jewish groups include the Lemba of South Africa, the Abayudaya of Uganda, and communities in Nigeria. A key part of Funnye’s work as Chief Rabbi is to build relationships with Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Funnye has met with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to lobby for greater acceptance of black Jews. Funnye converted to Judaism as an adult. But in some circles, there is a shock that a rabbi is black. It is an image he is keen to change. “We have African-American Jews, African Jews, Filipino Jews, Mexican Jews, white Jews and biracial Jews. It is really what the Jewish people, in fact, have always looked like. … We have to promote that Jews have always been a global people,” said Funnye in a Chicago Tribune interview. His rabbinical career began in 1985; in [...]
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