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Iraks christliches Erbe: Vom Überleben im Zweistromland

Matthias Kopp

Freiburg: Herder (2025), 872 pp.

"Erstmals wird mit diesem Buch eine alle Epochen umfassende Monographie über den Irak bis zur Gegenwart vorgelegt, und zwar aus Sicht des Christentums. Die religionswissenschaftliche Untersuchung rückt dabei auch die islamischen Strömungen sowie weitere religiöse Minderheiten und Ethnien, insbes ... more

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Religious Freedom and Populism: The Appropriation of a Human Right and How to Counter it

Bernd Hirschberger, Katja Voges (eds.)

Bielefeld: transcript (2024), 263 pp.

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The Federal Government’s Third Report on the Global Status of Freedom of Religion or Belief. Reporting period 2020–2022
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Frank Schwabe et al.

Bonn; Berlin: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion or Belief (2023), 207 pp.

"Freedom of religion or belief is an essential human right. Not a superordinate right, but not a marginal right either. It is closely intertwined with other rights such as freedom of opinion or assembly, or the right to be protected against discrimination. And that is the objective of my efforts: to ... embed this right firmly at the centre of the human rights agenda. There is still a long way to go to achieve this [...] This report is about advancing the debate and it also enters new territory. It builds on the work done by my predecessor, Markus Grübel, but there are also some aspects where the report has been developed further. This is also reflected in the number of focus countries, which has been increased from 30 to 41. The German Parliament, the Bundestag, had asked for the country section to be expanded, and we were happy to comply with that request. Enlarging the range of countries covered by the report provides an opportunity to do two things at once: offer a regular report on developments in individual regions, and expand the focus in the light of new challenges. Among the focus countries that have been added this year are Armenia, Belarus, Guatemala, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, the Maldives and Syria. For some of them, the decision to add them was taken in the light of recent developments. With these aims in mind, the report will continue to be submitted at regular intervals as intended by the Bundestag, building on a solid basis of data and information. The report explores new ground above all with its thematic focus on the freedom of religion or belief of Indigenous peoples. There are about 5,000 such groups of people worldwide, with an estimated total population of more than 470 million. With this focus our report ties in with a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, developing the topic further. In the process of drafting the report, I realised that we are doing pioneering work, because there was and still is the belief that Indigenous spirituality has nothing to do with freedom of religion or belief. The report provides an opportunity to look in a different way at conflicts over land and infrastructure that involve Indigenous communities. And to develop an understanding that often such conflicts are not just about resources but in fact have to do with Indigenous peoples’ belief that all natural things have a spirit or soul. My personal learning curve on this topic is closely connected with Indigenous communities in Guatemala and my experiences with conflictual infrastructure projects. When I visited Guatemala many years ago, I had difficulty understanding why people staged fierce and violent protests against small-scale hydropower plants that were actually environmentally friendly. Today I know that the areas surrounding a small river were regarded as important spiritual places, with Indigenous communities believing that the forest had a soul, and that interfering with nature there without giving any thought to the spiritual implications was not acceptable." (Preface, page 2) more

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The Federal Government’s Third Report on the GlobalStatus of Freedom of Religion or Belief. Reporting period 2020 – 2022

Bonn: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) (2023), 234 pp.

"Freedom of religion or belief is also a human right that is constantly being misunderstood. It is not about any religion, church or institution claiming their rights. And I am not a Commissioner for Religion. It is about the freedom of every individual to manifest their religion or belief, either a ... more

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Media Coverage of Religious Diversity and Freedoms: Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan

Jaber Baker

Metn: Samir Kassir Foundation (2023), 19 pp.

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Countering Online Misinformation Against Religious Minorities in Pakistan

Anam Baloch

Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) (2023), 23 pp.

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What About Us? Global Perspectives on Redressing Religious Inequalities

Mariz Tadros (ed.)

Brighton: Institute of Development Studies (IDS); Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) (2022), xx, 332 pp.

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The Media and Social Media Debate Around the Call for the Demolition of Shiite Religious Shrines in Iraq

Beirut: Samir Kassir Foundation (2022), 18 pp.

"The report monitors the number and types of media material covering this topic and published by the monitored media platforms. It analyzes the content of the material, the way it tackles the topic, its degree of reliance on objective sources related to the story, as well as its way of addressing th ... more

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The Voiceless Victims of Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws: 28 Pakistani Christians Currently in Prison and a Guide to Effective Advocacy on Their Behalf

William Stark

Silver Spring, MD: International Christian Concern, February Update (2021), 30 pp.

"In 2018, Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, was acquitted of the blasphemy charges that had kept her on death row for nearly a decade. The lessons learned from her case, including the international advocacy critical to her acquittal, help to create a template for advocating on behalf of other religious ... more

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Moving Mountains: The Challenges of Religious Representation in Malaysia

Projek Dialog; Internews (2021), 25 pp.

"[...] Faith communities in Malaysia seem to constantly find ways to reach out to each other and to Malaysians who may not necessarily share their backgrounds. This already contradicts the assumption that local religions are often intolerant towards each other. Rather, what is required is a platform ... more

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Situation Analysis Study on Religious Freedom and Tolerance in Greater Bogor, Bandung, and Solo

Search for Common Ground (2021), 3 pp.

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Religious Minorities in Online Spaces: Research on their Experiences in Pakistan

Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) (2021), 31 pp.

"Our findings, combined with the individual statements we collected from our participants paint a bleak picture of the online experiences of religious minorities in Pakistan. It is pertinent to not only encourage reflection amongst society at large, but also to call on the state to take responsibili ... more

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Harmony Laws in Southeast Asia: Majority Dominance, Minority Repression

Bangkok: Asia Centre; Association for Progressive Communications (APC) (2021), 63 pp.

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"Prosecute Them with Awesome Power": China’s Crackdown on Tengdro Monastery and Restrictions on Communications in Tibet

Human Rights Watch (2021), 63 pp.

"This report provides the first detailed account of the raid on the Tengdro monastery and its consequences, including multiple detentions and a suicide, that has appeared in any media within or outside China. It also provides analysis of what the case shows about conditions in Tibet today and assess ... more

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Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief and Gender Equality in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals: A Focus on Access to Justice, Education and Health. Reflections from the 2019 Expert Consultation Process

Marie Juul Petersen

Copenhagen: Danish Institute for Human Rights (2020), 107 pp.

"Rights related to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and gender equality are often seen to be in contradiction with one another. Underlying this (mis) perception of a normative clash between the two is very often an understanding of FoRB as a right that protects religion – and often conservativ ... more

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Media and Social Media Analysis on Religious Freedom and Violent Extremism in Central Asia: Cases of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

Search for Common Ground (2020), 33 pp.

"This report analyzes the content of traditional media and social networks on religious freedom and violent extremism in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. At the same time, the study seeks to examine hate speech against certain religious groups and how pre-labeling affects those officially accu ... more

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2. Bericht der Bundesregierung zur weltweiten Lage der Religionsfreiheit. Berichtszeitraum 2018 bis 2019

Bonn: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) (2020), 322 pp.

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Apostasy, Blasphemy, and Hate Speech Laws in Africa: Implications for Freedom of Religion or Belief

Ferdaouis Bagga, Kirsten Lavery

Washington, DC: United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) (2019), 52 pp.

"This report shines light on the following trends: - Blasphemy and apostasy laws are often overbroad and can be used to limit a variety of religious expression. These laws violate international human rights law and should be repealed. - Hate speech laws are also generally overbroad and can be used t ... more

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A Closer Look at How Religious Restrictions Have Risen Around the World

Samirah Majumdar, Alan Cooperman, Anna Schiller

Pew Research Center (2019), 126 pp.

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Quel destin pour les minorités au Proche-Orient? Regards sur la diversité culturelle et religieuse en Irak, au Liban et en Syrie

Issy-les-Moulineaux, France: CFI; NASEEJ (2018), 30 pp.

"Les médias reflètent-ils les sociétés telles qu’elles sont aujourd’hui ou bien ne reflètent-ils que les tendances majoritaires ? Comment mettre en lumière les différences et les particularismes sans encourager le communautarisme et contribuer aux divisions ? Le rôle des médias est-il d ... more

The Federal Government’s Third Report on the Global Status of Freedom of Religion or Belief. Reporting period 2020–2022 Top Insights

The Federal Government’s Third Report on the Global Status of Freedom of Religion or Belief. Reporting period 2020–2022
Top Insights