‘They used our hijabs to gag us’: Iran protesters tell of rapes, beatings and torture by police

More than four months after the death of Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish woman who died in custody after being arrested for incorrectly wearing her hijab, the Iranian authorities’ attempts to crush nationwide protests have seen more than 500 people killed by security forces, including 70 children. Four protesters have so far been executed by the state, with… Read More ‘They used our hijabs to gag us’: Iran protesters tell of rapes, beatings and torture by police

6th February 20236th February 2023 Dilip

Iranian couple filmed dancing in Tehran are jailed for 10 years

NB: The Iranian theocracy has banned happiness, in Gods name. I wonder what they understand of the promised paradise. DS An Iranian court has handed jail sentences of more than 10 years each to a young couple who danced in front of one of Tehran’s main landmarks in a video seen as a symbol of… Read More Iranian couple filmed dancing in Tehran are jailed for 10 years

1st February 20231st February 2023 Dilip

Salman Rushdie will not promote new novel after attack

Sarah Shaffi Rushdie’s Twitter account was inactive for a period following the attack, but the author begun posting again at the end of last year. He has also supported friend Hanif Kureishi’s recovery from a fall and spinal surgery, with Kureishi tweeting: “My friend Salman Rushdie, one of the bravest men I know, a man who has… Read More Salman Rushdie will not promote new novel after attack

1st February 2023 Dilip

Nadoja Sara Aboobacker

Chandan Gowda Sara Aboobacker and her husband, an engineer with the government, moved to Bangalore in 1981. He had been transferred from Mangalore. One day, as she was heading out of a public library in Halasur, Lankesh Patrike, which was dangling in a roadside stall, caught her eye. She bought a copy of the eight-page Kannada… Read More Nadoja Sara Aboobacker

15th January 2023 Dilip

Condemned to Joy: the cult of happiness is a mirthless enterprise

Extracts from Pascal Bruckner: On August 21, 1670, Jacques Bossuet, the bishop of Meaux and official preacher to the court of Louis XIV, pronounced the eulogy for Princess Henrietta of England before the Prince of Condé. The Duchess of Orléans had died at 26 after drinking a glass of chicory that may have been poisoned.… Read More Condemned to Joy: the cult of happiness is a mirthless enterprise

14th January 202313th January 2023 Dilip

Hazrat Inayat Khan on Religious Unity and Uniformity

First posted June 05, 2013 ‘All through the ages, the different religions, which have been given to man for his spiritual development with the sole idea of unity, have gradually become a kind of community or nationality. Many people who belong to a Church accept its dogmas, claim a certain name for their religion, and… Read More Hazrat Inayat Khan on Religious Unity and Uniformity

13th January 202313th January 2023 Dilip

The sinking of Joshimath and the commercialisation of sacredness

NB: This article was posted recently on social media under the title ‘The murder of a divine geography’; and was written by Amitabh Pande. His lines ring very true. Thanks are due to the writer. The video report below by Hridayesh Joshi is also a valuable piece of journalism: A sinking city: Fear and anger… Read More The sinking of Joshimath and the commercialisation of sacredness

13th January 202314th January 2023 Dilip

‘Only place we’ve ever known’: As Joshimath crumbles, the displaced demand ‘fair compensation’

SIMRIN SIRUR Joshimath: The land below their feet sinking, helpless residents of Joshimath town were gathered in front of the battered Malari Inn hotel for a second consecutive day of protests Wednesday. They were demanding “fair compensation” for being driven out of their homes and possibly the town itself. Tensions between the displaced residents on the one… Read More ‘Only place we’ve ever known’: As Joshimath crumbles, the displaced demand ‘fair compensation’

13th January 202313th January 2023 Dilip

Iran protests: Jailed activist Sepideh Qolian describes brutality in letter

One of Iran’s most prominent female activists has described how confessions are forced out of prisoners, in a letter written inside a notorious jail. Sepideh Qolian has been serving a five-year sentence since 2018 after being convicted of acting “against national security” for supporting a strike. Writing from Evin prison, she describes the brutal treatment… Read More Iran protests: Jailed activist Sepideh Qolian describes brutality in letter

11th January 2023 Dilip

After the truth-shower

Philosophy, history, literature, current affairs, and other stuff. Posted by Dilip Simeon

Tag: religion