Muslims and Islam
A Hamline Adjunct Showed a Painting of the Prophet Muhammad. She Lost Her Job.
To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. Erika López Prater, an adjunct professor at Hamline University, said she knew many Muslims have deeply held religious beliefs that prohibit depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. So last semester for a global art history class, she took […]
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In West Africa and Beyond, Mali’s Famed Manuscripts Are Put to Use
BAMAKO, Mali — In an air-conditioned room on a quiet tree-lined street in Mali’s capital, Bamako, three young men sat at desks with cameras mounted overhead, picked up one page of parchment at a time from tall stacks at their left, clicked the shutter button and then reached for the next page. Click. Flash. Repeat. […]
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Religious Unrest Spreads in India With Killing of Hindu Man
NAINITAL, India — The attackers recorded the gruesome killing on a mobile phone. Then they filmed themselves gloating about the act and threatening the prime minister. The video — of two Muslim men killing a Hindu man on Tuesday in the state of Rajasthan because they said he had insulted the Prophet Muhammad — spread […]
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Recording India’s Linguistic Riches as Leaders Push Hindi as Nation’s Tongue
DHARWAD, India — The task was gargantuan: assembling a team of more than 3,500 language specialists, academics and enthusiastic amateurs to determine just how many distinct languages still exist in India, a country of stunning linguistic diversity. Ganesh Narayan Devy has been obsessed with that question since, as a young scholar of literature, he came […]
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Desperate to Flee Attacks, Kashmir Hindus Say Officials Lock the Exits
SRINAGAR, Kashmir — The return of minority Hindus to Kashmir, two decades after an exodus in the face of militant attacks and threats, has been held up by the Indian government as an illustration of how it is bringing normalcy to the restive Himalayan region. But Kashmiri Hindus say that their lives have become anything […]
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China Spins U.N. Human Rights Chief’s Visit as Propaganda
The news was given prime placement in Chinese state media: The United Nations’ human rights chief, on her long-awaited visit to the country, had spoken with China’s leader, Xi Jinping. An article plastered across the website of Xinhua, the state news agency, relayed Mr. Xi’s declaration that the Chinese people were enjoying “unprecedented” rights. Then […]
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India’s Hindu-Muslim Tensions Reveal a Worrisome New Pattern
KHARGONE, India — The authorities sent bulldozers to the small city in central India within 24 hours of clashes between Hindus and Muslims that turned into a mob-fueled rampage. The Hindus said stones had been thrown from the direction of the mosque, where Muslims were breaking the Ramadan fast. The Muslims said the Hindu procession […]
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Israel Plans Zip Line for Ancient Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — A picturesque ridge in Jerusalem, steeped in ancient history, is a favorite with visitors who come to snap panoramic photographs of the domes and spires of the Old City across a wooded valley below. Many believe that the ridge is the site of the Hill of Evil Counsel, where, according to Christian tradition, […]
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Bangladesh Shutters Dozens of Schools Set Up by Rohingya in Camps
KUTUPALONG CAMP, Bangladesh — Every morning, Mohammad Reyaz, a sixth grader, appears in uniform outside his school for Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh. And every morning, he returns home with a sullen face after finding its gate locked. Bangladeshi authorities shut the school down last month. It is one of more […]
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